Links!

There’s always something happening on the Internet. It’s so cool that way.

First up: Paul Biba, my fellow Jersey-an, has an interview with Susan Edwards, COO of Ellora’s Cave, about their new direct-to-consumer eReader that will debut at RomantiCon in September.

A branded version of a device that, according to Paul, is very similar to devices from Russian companies Digma and Prology, the EC reader will come stocked with short stories, and will be sold at the convention. They haven’t set a price.

Best part: It vibrates.

You mentioned a “vibrating key” functionality. What!?
SE: It’s a tactile feedback function, like the clicking sound you get when you tap keys. We chose the vibration rather than the usual click mostly just for fun. We are, after all, primarily an erotic romance publisher, and we like to have fun with that, so we often inject a note of fun around the sexuality of our content.

Oh, Lord.

Graceful curtsey to Amy Wilkins for tweeting the link.


Book CoverMazel tov and Hot Damn to Loretta Chase and the team at Avon. This week, nearing the end of the month that Lord of Scoundrels (BN | Kindle | Kobo) was put on sale as a .99c ebook, this book hit the New York Times ebook list at #8 – a full sixteen years after it was originally published. This is a perfect storm of awesome in my opinion: a romance classic attractively priced for both new readers and those who want the “convenience copy” available for reading whenever a reader wants it – to say nothing of gifting the book to friends to make them read it!

A long time ago, this was one of the novels I gave to math professor and romance-doubter DocTurtle, who reviewed it for us chapter by chapter. To quote DocTurtle: “the book is pretty much a big ol’ loaf of awesome smothered in a rich awesome sauce.”

Graceful Curtsey and a big martini to Pam Jaffee, who tweeted about the good news. Extra strong martini, at that.

(NB: if you’re not foliowing Pam on Twitter, she’s awesome. She’s the Mastermind and Headmistress of Publicity for Avon, but her tweetstream is friendly and real and not 100% promo all the time. Plus she’s a big fan of romance, which is always fun.)

 

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  1. LG says:

    Hm. Not really all that interested in the EC reader. The vibrating aspect is gimmicky, kind of icky, and, depending on how often it happens (every time you push a button of any sort? only with certain rarely used buttons?) I could see it getting the way of actual use of the reader.

  2. kylydia says:

    I’m one of the purchasers of the $0.99 Lord of Scoundrels. I LOVED it. So glad that it was on sale, as it introduced me to Loretta Chase, who I’d never read before. I think a new reader who will read the backlist and new titles is definitely worth whatever loss there was at that price point.

  3. Susan says:

    I could make so many jokes about the vibrating e-reader, but I’m gonna restrain myself.  Er, no pun or joke intended with that phrasing.

  4. Lisa R says:

    I’m another reader who purchased Lord of Scoundrels when SBTB mentioned it was outrageously discounted and awesome.

    Unfortuantely, I didn’t find it that enjoyable. I got though their wedding (halfway mark) and stopped caring about them and their story. I thought the plot was contrived and the characters rather flat.

    I know I’m probably in the minority for not liking it, but I wanted to offer my two cents for those who are curious but haven’t bought it yet.

  5. Julie says:

    As a relatively new romance reader, I’m pretty excited to read Lord of Scoundrels since everyone considers it a classic. The 99-cent pricing definitely helped, and I hope in the future some more romance classics go on sale like that. I think it could help introduce me and other readers to new-to-us authors.

  6. Chicklet says:

    We chose the vibration rather than the usual click mostly just for fun. We are, after all, primarily an erotic romance publisher, and we like to have fun with that, so we often inject a note of fun around the sexuality of our content.

    Gee, I wonder why people outside romance continue to denigrate the genre. *eyeroll*

  7. AmyW says:

    Oh, that EC reader. I’m curious if it’s intended to keep readers buying direct for EC, or just for publicity.

    I wish I could have bought Lord of Scoundrels for 99cents, but unfortunately the promotion excluded Canada. Boo-urns! I’ve been meaning to read it forever and still haven’t gotten around to it…

  8. AmyW says:

    *from EC.

  9. Crysta says:

    I have to tell you that I stumbled upon SBTB only a few weeks ago, right when Lord of Scoundrels went on sale for .99, so you were all talking about it. I had never read romance before (nor had wanted to, as I was spending all my time scoffing at people who read romance). But SBTB made me think maybe I was missing out on something awesome, so before my vacation, I went to the library and picked up the well-worn copy of LoS, and I’m almost done with it. I LOVE IT. So thanks. I can’t explain why it’s all so good (and my boyfriend has skeptically asked) but I’m glad I’m in the club now. 🙂

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