Reading Recommendations for the Holidays (2017) — Books I Love, and Hope You Will, Too I love to read. Books are my boon companions and the chance to visit worlds that aren’t my own. However, I tank at writing reviews, because I know exactly how much work goes into writing a book, so I can’t…
Romance is the Hope of Life If you read (or write) romance, chances are, you’ve received subtle or overt negative commentary on your choice of genre. You’ve probably hidden the cover, or felt embarrassed, or made excuses, just to keep the peace. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. The reasons for discounting, sneering at,…
This is one of an occasional series on my pet peeves about romance. If you’re not in the mood for a long rant, please go look the hilarious cat videos on YouTube. Dubious Consent in Romance Has Got to Go I love to read, and I read a lot. I almost always finish the book,…
No respect for romances Romance authors, even really prolific, best-selling authors, don’t get noticed for major awards, or mentioned in articles about the publishing industry. I’ve seen more than one listing of “most important books” that goes out of its way to snub romance. But, while romances are being dismissed as unimportant, their readers are being…
Genres: Reader’s Friend, or Straightjacket? A classic Saturday Night Live fake commercial had Dan Akroyd and Gilda Radner arguing about whether a new product, Shimmer, was a floor wax or a desert topping, only to have spokesperson Chevy Chase reveal that it’s both. If you’ve never seen it, watch it here. I feel that way about…
Three Features I’d Like to See in Future E-readers Dear E-reader Manufacturers and User Interface Designers, First, kudos for inventing e-readers, and for figuring out how to make it easy to get content for them. Independent authors like me wouldn’t have nearly as viable a career without them, and as a reader, I am thrilled…
Thoughts about Book Content Warnings and Disclosures There’s been a controversy brewing for awhile on content disclosure and warnings. As a reader, I tend to favor disclosure, because I like good smexy scenes (if they’re plot-driven) as well as the next person, but I like advance notice. I especially want to know if the…
I was having a conversation-by-post with another science fiction romance (SFR) author, Pauline Baird Jones, and we agreed we’re readers as well as writers, and like to recommend books to our friends. I especially like recommending SFR books to my friends because I’d like our relatively new little corner of the genre universe to take…
The old adage, “write what you know,” is a good place to start for some writers. Unfortunately, it’s used by some critics, editors, and even writers themselves as a straight-jacket stricture to mean, “write ONLY what you know.” That is egregious nonsense. No science fiction would ever have been written, because if it hasn’t happened…
Chapters and Breaks in Fiction… I don’t know quite how to categorize this post, because it’s partly me as a reader with opinions, and partly me as an author with opinions, too. Chapter Breaks, Time Jumps, POV Changes, and other Sticky Wickets Few things throw me out of the story faster than realizing the last…
Why You Should Read More Science Fiction Romance in 2015 Five reasons you should read more science fiction romance (SFR) in 2015. For those new to the term, in my book (oh look, humor!), SFR balances plot threads involving futuristic technology and the growth of the emotional relationship between the main characters.* It also has to have…
Thoughts About Fiction Categories and Keywords We humans love patterns – they’re a time saver, so we don’t have to make the same decision each time we come across something new. “Look at that big tawny cat,” thought a dimwitted ancestor, “I saw one pounce on and eat a gazelle last month. I’m not a…
On Writing Romance: Character Flaws vs. Flawed Characters Pet Peeves, Round 2This is another in my “reader’s pet peeves” series, primarily in the romance genre. (In case you missed it, here was my previous post on pet peeves.) I’m rather annoyed by impossibly beautiful heroines/heroes who don’t know they’re beautiful, and successful people who don’t…
Fiction book blurbs—more properly described as “book descriptions”—are hard to write. Whether they’re on the back of the paperback or the first part of the ebook listing, they’re the first taste of what’s in the book, and they will make or break the sale. They have to confirm the genre (the cover should be…
Alpha heroes abound throughout genre fiction, and nowhere more blatantly than in the romance genre and all its subcategories. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll take a beta hero any day, thanks. OK, that sounds a little snarky, but I’m kind of over the whole larger-than-life, my-way-or-the-highway, macho male role and the…
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