Slump Busting

Lately I find myself in a reading slump—which I HATE. I've started and abandoned four books in a row, and it's getting me down. Nothing is grabbing me, not even things that I'm pretty sure I would enjoy. I'm having trouble connecting to the characters, and I find that they irk me more than they invited empathy. I keep switching books, starting and stopping my reading one book after another. Plus, I'm easily distracted and find my brain would rather put down the book I'm trying to read and play with dragons in ...

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Naming Your Favorite Types

One of the more interesting pieces of feedback I received from my last post on romance was found in the number of people who really, really liked what I'd called all those contemporary romances that made me laugh: Contemporary Comedy Romances. The fact that I'd named the subgenre something that described it was commented on by several folks via email and on Twitter, with much appreciation.

I hadn't realized I'd done something so noteworthy. I was trying to differentiate contemporary romances with humor from the contemporary romances that are out to make you uglycry, the contemporary ...

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Contemporary Comedy Romances

In a recent podcast interview with author Lisa Renee Jones, Jane from DearAuthor asked Lisa what she thought the next big trend in romance might be. Lisa's answer: romantic comedies. In the movie world, they're called rom-coms, but in the romance genre, I tend to think of them as "contemporary comedy romances." 

(You can listen to the complete podcast or read a transcript of it on SBTB, if you're interested. We also talk about self publishing, trends, and marketing for indie and traditionally published authors.)

But back to the contemporary comedies: Oh, I hope she's right ...

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Novellas: Perfect for the Busy, Tired Brain

For the past few days, I've been very tired and a little stressed as a result, all of which I'm attributing to not getting enough sleep. The solution should be obvious: Go to bed. Preferably earlier than I have been. Sometimes that's not possible—I'm the grown up and have to do the grown up things, after all—and sometimes, well….

OK, I'll be honest. Sometimes, I am really not good at going to bed because I'm reading a book. And I want to FINISH the book. Even if I'm on, like, page ...

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Grade-A Books And My Socks

I’m pretty miserly with vowels. Grading vowels, I mean. I use actual vowels in words with no problem, but when it comes to grading books, to earn a vowel, a couple of things have to happen. My socks have to blown off clear across the room and possibly into the back yard so my dogs can happily bury them. Sock-propelling books are rare. Foot coverings metaphorically and perhaps literally fly off only when a story gives me the good book emo-tingles, which is when I feel the emotions of the book, and empathize with the characters so much, my ...

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Recommended Romances for Holiday Gifting

Last time, I talked about books that would make great gifts for young folks, should you know any who require some gifting. This week, I'm rounding up a few romance novels that make great holiday gifts for readers you know.

First, a word about romances as gifts. Romances often (but not always) contain some sexuality. Possibly descriptive sexuality. Sometimes, if you're very lucky, gravity-defying sexuality. But more importantly, romances are about intimacy—intimacy of emotion, of physical space and of individuals in the story—and the reader, too, if the writer is talented. So giving a romance as ...

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Books as Gifts: Children's Edition

I do an annual series of gift guides at Smart Bitches wherein I feature gift ideas that might appeal to readers and book lovers of all types, from goofy t-shirts and afghans and tea sets to bookshelves made of books, jewelry and skin products. It's a lot of fun to shop with the entire website in mind, picking out things I think they'd like, and finding things I really like, too. Often I end up giving items from my own gift guide to my friends during the holidays. 

One thing I always do each year is bring children ...

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A Hanukkah Romance

I've kvetched a few times about the lack of Hanukkah holiday stories. Sometimes it seems like every other romance published from October onward has been hosed down with Christmas, and I know from conversations with friends in publishing that a well-designed Christmas cover paired with a great story can be a huge seller. 

Of course, not everyone celebrates Christmas, and the lack of romances portraying other faiths and cultures is something that bugs me as well. Speaking solely for myself, I wish there were more Hanukkah romances, especially this year, when Hanukkah begins the night before Thanksgiving, the earliest ...

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