Sarah and Jane chat with bestselling author Susan Donovan about her writing process, her contemporary series, and writing character driven romance. We also discuss cover art, “gentle fiction,” how her illness affected her writing, and we get some surprise information about dino holiday anthology.
Onward with the RITA® Reader Challenge reviews! I had an email this morning asking why I didn’t do any last week. Sorry! There’s plenty more a-comin’, fear not! This review is by Julie C. She read Not That Kind of Girl by Susan Donovan. Behold, ye plot summary: Roxanne Bloom is through with love. Fresh on the heels of a bad break-up, she’s decided to devote all her time to her man-slamming website—and her man-hating … Continue reading RITA Reader Challenge Review: Not That Kind of Girl by Susan Donovan
Over lunch I read Susan Donovan’s novella in this anthology – it’s a novella, a complete story, so fear not. I think the Dahl story is the only tease in the book. There were moments when I empathized totally with the characters, and there were moments when the hero or heroine would do something so jarring I’d blink at the page to make sure I’d seen that correctly, but in all, it soothed the ire … Continue reading Gail’s Gone Wild by Susan Donovan
When Jane Litte and I hosted a session on “Save the Contemporary” at RT this year, in the middle of a discussion, we discovered that in the audience was contemporary romance author Susan Donovan. I think my literal response was, “Oh, cool!” So when she got in touch with me later, I suggested an interview, because I was curious what she thought of the contemporary market, and romance in general. You visited our Save the … Continue reading Susan Donovan, Save the Contemporary, and Gettin’ Lucky: An Interview
Three sexy new spring-fling novellas from three of today’s hottest contemporary romance authors! Ready, Set, Jett by Lori Foster A vacation from her no-strings romance with her sexy next-door neighbor.That’s what Natalie Alexander needs to get her head—and heart—together. But her solo trip south turns into a disaster when gorgeous Jett Sutter turns up with another challenge. Gail’s Gone Wild by Susan Donovan Single mom Gail Chapman insists on chaperoning her teenage daughter’s spring-break trip … Continue reading The Guy Next Door
I'm feeling very sad, and not much like being silly, but I so appreciate the humor that other people have created today. It is much needed, and I am thankful. Specifically, I am thankful for Jim C. Hines and his bear. Jim emailed me asking for suggestions from romance cover art for his poses for charity, and I sent a few. The Pull My Finger Viking, for example, and a few others, but he went … Continue reading Cover Poses, Re-Coverings, and Books on Sale
Let's travel! First stop: all of the world's most beautiful bookstores. I think a world tour is in order! Thanks to Daisy for the link. Publisher Barney Rosset died this week at age 89. His obituary is truly amazing: he published titles like Lady Chatterley's Lover in the US and defied censors to do so. He defied censors in the 1960s by publishing D. H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and Henry Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer,” ultimately winning … Continue reading Links and Picks and Stuff on Sale
First: NEWS! Which isn't new news, but I'm still thinking about it. Literary god Jonathan Franzen decided that ebooks are horrible and immoral and paper books have a tangible longevity that is superior to digital. Yeah, whatever. Here's my question: I think there needs to be a term for book format prejudice, and it works both ways. There are snide comments made about paper by ebook lovers, and equally snide Franzenesque comments about digital from … Continue reading Book Format Prejudice and eBook Sales
Winner: Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis (Forever; Alex Logan, editor) Finalists: ▪ And One Last Thing by Molly Harper (Gallery Books; Jennifer Heddle, editor) ▪ Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts (Berkley Trade; Leslie Gelbman, editor) ▪ Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl (HQN Books; Tara Parsons, editor) ▪ Not That Kind of Girl by Susan Donovan (St. Martin’s Press; Monique Patterson, editor) ▪ Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson (Avon Books; Lucia Macro, editor) … Continue reading 2011 RITA Winner for Contemporary Single Title Romance
A lot of people try to see all the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars ceremony- so let’s do that for the RITAs, shall we? I looked at the list of RITA® nominated books from the RWA and there were a lot of books I was curious about. I’m not going to be able to read every nominated book before the ceremony… but I can read one in each category – and I invite you … Continue reading The RITA Reading Challenge 2011
RT is difficult to describe to someone who isn’t familiar with romance novels, with fan conventions or with the way avid women readers feel about their books. For example, I told someone recently that romance novel readers have a noise they make when someone mentions a book they adore as well. Sort of a heavy sigh, like an extended, “Aaaaaaah.” I’ve said before that two romance readers might not have a single thing in common … Continue reading Overheard at Romantic Times 2010
