From Kathryn comes this amazing video, which, in her words, "looks neat for about the first 15 seconds, and then the jaw-dropping stuff begins." Link! I hope your weekend is full of amazing things that make you holler - in a good way! read more »
Y’all, it is HaBO-thon day! HaBOs all day, like a party with mysterious books everywhere. WOO! Pam sent this over, requesting help. You’d think this would be easy to find, but my Google-Fu and hers have come up empty. Silhouette Special Edition, probably from the 80s. Hero is a rock star. Cover has cherry blossoms on it, and I think the title is cherry blossom themed too. Took place partly in Japan. Had TONS of heartbreak…because hero was a rock star, and rockstars can be tools?? But tools in leather pants. I just remember LOVING IT. OK, I would totally… read more »
Today I’m at PubCamp at SXSWi, where I’m the keynote speaker for a rather intimate conference about publishing. I am told a live stream will begin at 4pm CT/5pm ET - it should be online at the PubCamp SXSW website OR from the Kirkus website. I got the first link from Jane Friedman who is also speaking, and the other from Kirkus, and I won’t be able to test to see which is the right one since I’m up first, but one of those two should work. I know a few romance authors from the Austin RWA chapter plan to… read more »
This is another I Read This To Push It On The Unsuspecting Bitchery. It’s older, and not totally a romance, but it is a favorite of mine. It takes place in Feudal Japan, and is a version of the story of the 47 Samurai. I remember someone in the comments of… something… asking if both characters in Impulsive were Asian, and that’s it’s rare to get both main characters to be a minority. So here we are (although I planned to do this one long before that conversation even happened). Cat is the daughter of a daimyo and… read more »
From Jina, here’s something that just captures why Japan is silly and awesome at the same time: True story: I have very little experience with video games from my childhood. I never had a Nintendo or anything like that. And when I first saw someone playing Super Mario Brothers, I didn’t ask questions as to what was going on. I figured it out for myself, and decided that there were giant aspirin floating in the air that little Mario needed to grab because smashing bricks with the top of his head gave him a headache. And if Mario didn’t get… read more »
I sit next to a lot of kids on their way to school on the subway, and many of them have a DS or other small gaming device, though I don’t often see them reading unless it’s a text screen from a game. Not so in Japan - “Love Stories for Grown-Ups,” better known around here as “Harlequin romances” are now available for the Nintendo DS in Japan. Can we discuss my jealousy here? Not over the books - the features of the DS Harlequin selection. Check out the features: Love Stories for Grown-Ups enhances the reading experience by offering… read more »
Despite the focus on romance novels in the hot pink palace, I buy many other different types of books, including cookbooks (boy is that a problem), computer instruction guides, and children’s books. This past week I’ve found two children’s products - one book and one DVD/CD - that have rocked my socks enough that I wanted to spread the word. My older son, known online as Freebird, has a book from Sleeping Bear Press called “H is for Homerun.” It’s an alphabetical poem with verses about baseball, from “A is for the All Stars,” to my favorite, “Z is for… read more »
Nine times out of ten, Harlequin does something digital, and I say, “OH, COOL. Now that is some smart right there.” And everyone once in a while, they do something and I go, “Hur?” Of course, whatever it is that makes me go “Hur?” is as much as success as the other nine things. This newest press release from Harlequin Digital falls in the “Oh COOL” department: digital comics based on Harlequin novels are now available on Chinese cell phones: Each month almost one million Harlequin digital comic files are downloaded making Harlequin digital comics among the most popular comic… read more »
Next stop on the Smart Bitches World Tour: Japan. Especially if these guys are playing. [Thanks to Barb Ferrer for the link.] read more »
JaneDrew sent me this link and SLURP it sucked up an hour of my life. So, what better to do than inflict it on all of you? Name Redacted is, well, kind of awesomely addictive. A secretary, a mysterious boss, insane demands, egocentrism, adorable looks hidden behind big blinky-owl glasses? Sound familiar? It’s like Harlequin: Presents crossed with manga and vampire romance. Enjoy. Mwaaaahahahahaa. read more »
Thanks to Elizabeth, we have adorable pictures of what deer in Nara, Japan, like to read. This much cuteness might knock you over, so consider yourself warned. Says Elizabeth, Nara was the capitol of Japan before Kyoto, which was the capitol before the current one (it moved around a lot) and the old palace grounds are now a huge park with museums, gift shops, etc. It also has a metric shitload of sacred deer no one is allowed to hurt. Since they’re safe from harm, they have no fear, and will walk right up to you and eat from your… read more »
Bitchery reader and aspiring writer Sarah (not me) writes in with a request: I am an aspiring writer, and am working on some of my first manuscripts after years of anime fanfiction and original fantasy shorts. Most of my readers have been saying I should get published, even if I’ve never taken one creative writing course, and am finally breaking down to maybe give it a try. Most of what I write currently is almost kitchen-sink type stories, some action-adventure, some suspense, plenty of humor, deep philosophical discussions, and lots of sex and romance. Problem is, I’ve never picked up… read more »
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