The Cara Elliot cover is good, as is the one for Julie Ann Long’s “I Kissed an Earl”, where the heroine is also the active agent in the picture. If you like scientist heroines in historicals, try Zoe Archer’s “Love…
Sarah, I loved your comments about the clinch covers. Also, I’m glad you’re not the only one who prefers the UK M&B covers to the US Harlequin covers. What is up with the US covers being so…imbalanced? Is it because…
Per Shelf Awareness today, Audible has launched ACX, which enables authors to create audiobooks of their work, either by narrating them or by hiring voice actors from the registered database of talent.
Here, have a video about it, featuring two actors who really irritated me with their pseudo-bashful self-congratulatory demeanor:
The upshot is that so many excellent books are not made into audio books, and with the increasing success of self-publishing ventures in digital and print-on-demand, audiobooks are a natural extension of that success. The ACX program is available to authors at a flat rate or at a 50/50 share of royalties.
I figure that anything which increases the number of audiobooks for those who need or prefer the format is a very good thing, particularly if it allows authors who hold their audio rights to exercise them for fun and profit. On the flip side, though, as Don Maass said on Twitter, if a publisher…
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Last week I learned that Fatin, better known as the tireless creator behind RR@H Novel Thoughts, lost her husband in a horrible shooting at his store. The romance community, because it is amazing, has responded by creating an auction to benefit Fatin and her children.
You can learn more about what to donate at Jaci Burton’s site, get ideas from this hella list of ideas from Larissa Ione, and get contact information for donation at the Novel Thoughts website. I’m donating something along with Jane Litte and Angela James, and if you have books, critiques, or services to add, please get in touch with any of the auction organizers.
A website has been set up with a long (and truly inspiring) list of items donated so far at OperationAuction.wordpress.com.
The auction will go live the last week of March on eBay, and details will be all over the place when the items go live. My prayers and thoughts are with Fatin, who has been part of the romance community as long as anyone can remember. May…
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Avon Books announced Monday that it has set up a digital romance imprint, Avon Impulse, where books by new and established authors will be released electronically, with paper editions available on demand. The imprint begins next week with an e-novella by Katherine Ashe, “A Lady’s Wish,” and “multiple titles” are planned each month. Avon Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
The digital market has been especially strong for romance fiction, in part because fans can read e-editions in public without fear of embarrassment. Avon also cited decreased shelf space in physical stores as a reason for starting Avon Impulse.
Following “A Lady’s Wish” will be “Royal Wedding, “a historical romance short fiction anthology by Stephanie Laurens, Gaelen Foley and Loretta Chase, which will be timed to release alongside that other royal wedding.
The press release also says,
Later in the season bring four releases from Lavinia Kent and a prelude to Karina Cooper’s Avon debut, Blood of the Wicked. Jaime Rush launches a brand new…
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September 22, 2010 | Wednesday at 10:45 pm | 34 Comments
From Orbit Books comes the very sad news that author Jennifer Rardin passed away suddenly on Monday 20 September. I am so sorry to hear this news, and my condolences to her friends and family.
Jennifer Rardin wrote one of the best kickass heroines I’ve read. Her Jaz Parks series had a way with building the tension and never allowing the heroine to become weak or scared or in need of constant rescue. Jennifer also hosted one of our haiku contests a few years ago. You can get a sense from her judgment of the winners how funny she was:
Cat Marsters:
I like vampires Especially when They fight back a bit
Jennifer says, “Cat, I picked yours because you might have been channeling my heroine, Jaz, when you wrote it. In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it’s the last thing she thinks before she stakes a villainous vamp. Congratulations. I hope you enjoy reading the series as much as I’ve loved writing it!”
January 04, 2010 | Monday at 1:55 am | 22 Comments
As part of their 60th Anniversary year, Harlequin gave away 16 free titles and set a goal of putting a romance in the hands of over 1 million women.
I inquired at the end of the year as to the total number of downloads they received for their free book promotion, and got the final tally as soon as they’d finished counting: over 2.5 million romances were downloaded as of 29 December 2009.
That is numerically and romantically awesome. Way to go.
November 09, 2009 | Monday at 4:28 pm | 40 Comments
It’s stars and astronomy time!
Carina is a constellation in the Southern sky, and is Latin for “keel” - as in, the fins and structures operating below the surface of the water unseen yet keeping the ship balanced, and on its course. Here’s an interesting bit of physics I didn’t know: the keel’s job is to convert a sideways force to a forward force, sort of like trying to figure out how to convert a changing tide or market to keep your industry moving forward.
Nice name.
It’s even more awesome when applied to Harlequin, who launched Carina Press today, a digital-only publishing house. it is a division of Harlequin Enterprises LTD but because it is digital only, as in, not print, it operates separately.
October 07, 2009 | Wednesday at 9:24 pm | 14 Comments
Dear Internet: I miss you. So very, very much. I’ve started a half-dozen posts (Katiebabs, I’m still working on finishing the cri de coeur—though cri de singe fâché might be more accurate—that’s my review of Cry No More) and left them unfinished. I am shaking my tiny, tiny fist against the various timesuck vortices that have spontaneously emerged around me.
But if you miss seeing me on-line, you have an opportunity to see me IN REAL LIFE, if you live in the Portland area and you’re free this weekend, because behold, I’ll be taking part in two events at our annual literary festival, Wordstock. One of them costs a bit of moolah ($25, but there will be many, many other intimidatingly awesome authors there) and the other costs essentially the price of admission to the festival.
Item the First Saturday, October 10, is the Live Wire show, wherein you get to see Many People Who Are Not Me Who Intimidate the Everloving Snot Out of Me. The line up includes Sherman Alexie (AAAAAAAAAAAA here’s hoping I don’t fangirl all over him and then faint on his shoes from the hyperventilation), James motherfucking Ellroy, and Wesley Stace, who wrote a…
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It is not clear how much Amazon is paying for the year-old company with offices in Austin and Portland. But the move indicates Amazon wants to consolidate its position on mobile devices, particularly within Apple’s ecosystem, which may include a tablet computer later this year.
We are not planning any changes in the Stanza application or user experience as a result of the acquisition. Customers will still be able to browse, buy, and read ebooks from our many content partners. We look forward to offering future products and services that we hope will resonate with our passionate readers.
Behold, a list because my brain is spinning.
- My stomach literally dropped when I read that.
- Amazon doesn’t support ePub - is this a sign of changes to come? And how does Stanza/iPhone/Apple…
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April 15, 2009 | Wednesday at 1:16 am | 11 Comments
So Sarah and I, we’re separated by a whole continent, which is a tragedy and a travesty (tragesty? Travedy? Why do I like stupid portmanteaus so much?). Not only are we unable to hang out in person, we’re unable to make joint appearances at bookstore tours—in fact, the only time we’ll be able to do a signing in person together will be at the RWA National Conference this year.
But lo! Not all is darkness and tears, because we can totally do blog tours together. Huzzah! So here’s the first in a series of blog guest appearances, both joint and separate: Sarah and me at Drunk Writer Talk, where we discuss our hatred of romance novel character shorthand, and how I want to lick Lee Pace. (Answer: slowly and thoroughly.) It’s also a giveaway, so comment on that blog entry, and one of the commenters will receive a copy of the book. I’m going to be the one sending the book out, and if you want, I’ll sign it with wild—perhaps even savage—abandon.
Thanks to the crew at Drunk Writer Talk for hosting us!
MOAR THEORIES! Some douchebag on Livejournal is taking credit for the brouhaha, but I’m incredibly skeptical over his claims, because it sounds a little bit too pat and because not only “fag books” were affected (among other things—my bullshit alarm went WOOP WOOP WOOP when I read that post); somebody else tried the exploit and it doesn’t seem to work in the way the douchebag claims.
And now, via Lilith Saintcrow, the Seattle Post Intelligencer blog has a statement from Amazon about how this is a “ham-fisted cataloguing error” as well as some statements about how it may have been a massive editing cock-up from former Amazon employee Mike Daisey, but there are other variations on the theme flying around—Jessica of Feministing heard from her agent who heard from an Amazon rep (QUICK HOW MANY LEVELS OF HEARSAY IS THAT) about how this adult content de-ranking policy was basically an experiment that blew up in their face.
Feel free to scroll below to read my somewhat stale (and rushed—I composed the entry during Con Law II) speculations below. Wish I had more time to write about why Amazon is…
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July 31, 2008 | Thursday at 11:07 am | 36 Comments
Who called it? We fucking called it. Except Changeling Press were the ones to pick up the gauntlet, not Ellora’s Cave, with an e-book short entitled Fuck a Duck.
That’s right, motherfuckers. Were-duck romances are here.
Here’s the thing, though: the size of duck cocks is highly dependent on the season. They can range from “as long as their own bodies” to “about as big as a grain of rice.” Guess the heroine will have to find out for herself when the weather gets colder.
Alerted to the existence of this wonder by a Slightly Tipsy Editor Who Shall Remain Nameless while gossiping shamelessly at the RWA National Conference. Hot damn, I love this conference.
Maine publisher BookLocker.com has filed an antitrust class action lawsuit against Amazon.com.
According to their blog about the antitrust case, a complaint was filed in Bangor, Maine, on 19 May. Publisher Angela Hoy’s synopsis of their decision to file the complaint references what they consider a clandestine effort on the part of Amazon.com to unlawfully force all publishers to use their proprietary print-on-demand technology, using their own market share to advance their printing subsidiary. The complaint alleges that Amazon is demanding an “anticompetitive tying arrangement that violates section 1 of the Sherman Act” and requests a trial by jury.
Hoy’s entry also mentions that one option facing Print on Demand publishers included paying a premium to be part of Amazon’s “Advantage Program:”
However, they did not divulge in the public statement that the terms of the Advantage Program are even worse than their printing contract. The Advantage Program requires POD publishers to give Amazon 55% of the list price, pay them $29.95/year, and pay the shipping costs for books going to Amazon.
Hoy’s suit, which is currently seeking class-action status, “seeks an injunction preventing Amazon from implementing the new policy, as…
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April 12, 2008 | Saturday at 11:59 am | 8 Comments
Our site may be offline this weekend, most likely on Sunday, as we host a private wrestling match with a few of our favorite parts of the site, and see who wins. I’m backing the Jell-o wrestling team, but I think Candy may be backing the team that fights using a mixture of ghee and olive oil. Either way, if you stop by and we’re not here, fear not. We’ll be back.
Christine Brashear, currently at Samhain Publishing and a 5% shareholder in Ellora’s Cave, has filed civil suit against Ellora’s Cave, Tina Engler/Jaid Black, Patricia Marks, and various affiliated individuals and companies.
To read the 19-page PDF of the civil suit filed in Summit County, Ohio, last week, you can search by Last name or you can download your own copy here. Brashear’s complaint asks for “damages and injunctions for breach of contract; breach of statutory and common law duties, breach of fiduciary duties and defamation.”
Per Shelf Awareness today, Audible has launched ACX, which enables authors to create audiobooks of their work, either by narrating them or by hiring voice actors from the registered database of talent. 
