Seriously, though, there's something about Becca Fitzpatrick's writing that's addictive. It's more than just style; I suppose she's given the reader a reason to read on voraciously from the very beginning-- we want to know the truth about Patch. And as we read, the questions keep coming:
Publishers have welcomed the launch of Apple's iPad as an "important step" in the transition towards digital books, with one branding it "the most significant development yet". Dan Franklin, digital editor at Canongate, said: "I sat there and thought 'this is what we've been waiting for'." John Makinson, chief executive at Penguin, said the announcement represented "an important step in the development of a digital audience for books".
Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the much-anticipated iPad, alongside the iBook and its iBook Store, at a press conference, with the iBook Store launched with the backing of five publishers, Hachette, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and HarperCollins.
The Bookseller, like many publishers, followed the event via live video streams with news of the iBook Store not breaking until about 90 minutes into the press conference which began at 6pm GMT. The Apple chief insisted that the iBook Store would sit alongside its popular iTunes and Apps stores. Jobs said that the company was ready to open "the floodgates" to other publishers, adding that he wanted to "go a bit further" than Amazon.com's Kindle.
Dan Franklin, digital editor at Canongate, told The Bookseller: "It's the most significant development yet. Everyone's been talking about the iPod moment [for e-books] and who else was going to deliver it but Apple!"
The device is 0.5inches thin, weighs 1.5 pounds and has a 9.7inch display. It will not be available internationally until "June/July" at the earliest, shipping in 60 days, with 3G models to follow after 90. It is not yet clear whether international users will be able to buy the device without internet access, or what price it will be sold at outside of the US.
But publishers are already eagerly anticipating the iPad's arrival in the UK, with Franklin pointing out that Amazon's Kindle "hasn't taken root here". He highlighted the $499 price point as "not too expensive" for a multi-purpose device, and said he was "encouraged" by signs that publishers would be able to set their own prices.
Franklin added the iBooks Store, effectively an iTunes for books, was one of the biggest draws, as well as the "slick and sexy as hell" user experience. Makinson agreed: "The iPad and iBook Store will, we believe, appeal to existing Penguin customers and also attract millions of new readers to the world’s best books."
Tim Cooper, director of direct and digital marketing at Mills and Boon, added: "It looks great, fundamentally it's going to make a pretty big difference. It's fantastic news for publishers and the consumers as well, it must have sent a few shivers down the spines of other companies with e-reading devices. At that price point and with those multimedia opportunities, it's great for everyone. I think this will definitely help the e-book market."
Agents spoken to by The Bookseller at the A W Bruna party held at the Groucho last night were also thrilled to learn the news of the launch, with one quipping that Andrew Wylie had already begun offering "iRights" to his authors' books.
Romance novels. The term conjures up a paperback with an airbrushed Fabio enclenched with a wild-haired young maiden on the cover. Hardly the stuff of great literature, right?
But, that’s just the image that Yale grad Lauren Willig and, as Willig calls her, “another Yalie-turned-romance-novelist, Andrea DaRif” (pen name, Cara Elliott), are trying to dispel in their “Reading the Historical Romance Novel” course at Yale this spring.
Romance is a rather broad term for a whole genre of books ranging from historical romance fiction, mysteries, family sagas to chick lit. This is purported to be the first such class at an Ivy League school.
And Willig — well, when you read her background, you won’t be surprised — is sandwiching in a book signing, Monday at 6 p.m. at the Yale Bookstore for her sixth novel, “The Betrayal of the Blood Lily.”
The course is part of Yale’s College Seminar Program: classes taught in the residential colleges for full undergraduate credit.
The two best-selling authors submitted their syllabus for review by committees of faculty and students in October, and, after rigorous examination, it was approved in December for the spring semester in Saybrook College.
Willig is not surprised by either the popularity of the course (80 applied for 18 spots) nor the willingness of the university to endorse it. The genre has been embraced by academia for years, early on by Eric Selinger at DePaul and Sarah Frantz at Fayetteville.
“The two of them have been instrumental in the movement to treat romance novels as text in their own right, rather than a sociological construct,” says Willig. “The trend was to treat romance novels only as interesting as to what they told us about the readership. They weren’t being looked at in terms of structure, theme and the usual critical literary apparatus.”
Romance novels or “bodice rippers” in a commonly used parlance, are the most widely read genre in the world. This course is meant to discern the difference between those, modern “chick lit, works of great textual quality or even historical significance, including the vampire gothics. It narrows its examination to the sub-genre of the Regency romance novel (think Jane Austen), “because it’s small enough to trace its origins to multitudinous genres,” says Willig.
“It has a distinct time period, from 1811-1820, but what we call long Regency extends from the French Revolution to the 1820s and even well into the reign of Victoria,” Willig says.
“But it encompasses such a broad range of things, which is what we’re talking about in class this year. We’ve had students talk about how they would define a romance novel. That stretches on one side from great harlequin to great sweeping stories.
“My books, for instance, are hard to classify. My publicist calls them historical fiction, and they’re frequently shelved in mystery or chick lit — I’m all over the spectrum, which I think speaks to the variety of the spectrum.”
This is not like signing up for a conservation course to fulfill your science requirement. This is a rigorous, scholarly two-hour class on Mondays, with Willig and Darif, who has a master’s in graphic design, sharing the teaching chores.
When the semester ends in April, the students will, after first getting a foundation by reading critical works of the genre by academic experts, be expected to read a novel a week for a total of 14 books, and “complete three writing assignments: a book review which needs to be analytical rather than emotive (3-4 pp), a short critical essay (5 pp) and the final project (10-15 pp).”
“We were blown away by the response,” says Willig.
Part of the impetus for the course also came from Willig’s membership in Lady Jane’s Salon, a Manhattan group of romance writers and readers which meets monthly for readings “and to hang out and drink. It’s become in a very short time an institution and a way for various people from various parts of the industry to share their love of romance novels,” says Willig.
Any parent would be happy to have their kid’s interest in romance novels turn into Willig’s career.
Willig, Yale class of 1999, has been reading the novels and trying to write them since she was 6. After double-majoring in Renaissance studies and political science, she entered the doctoral program in English History at Harvard, adding on Harvard Law School in her fifth year of grad school, where, oh by the way, she happened to write her first three novels while she was picking up her law degree at Harvard. She even practiced law at a top New York law firm before finally giving her all to her writing career.
Her Pink Carnation series is a staple on best-seller lists, with a faithful fan base eagerly awaiting the next installment of her latest heroine Pamela Devereaux.
“I started the first book in the series when I was doing my Ph.d at Harvard. It was two years of coursework, then orals, then a dissertation. I promised myself I would take the summer off and write fiction. I started writing ‘The Secret History of the Pink Carnation,’ and finished it two years later.”
She talks of her fiction writing as a diversion, juggling law work with book deadlines.
“I ended up leaving law school magna cum laude with three books. It was an incredible experience,” says Willig, and you don’t even hate her.
While most Romani girls her age desire a husband and a wagon of their own to care for, what sixteen-year old Mara wants is to stop seeing muló, tortured spirits of the dead. To keep from passing this curse along to her unborn children (mostly), Mara refuses the marriage proposal of her childhood sweet heart. Soon after he leaves for Paris, Alex’s letters stop coming. Since her other dream is to play her violin on the Parisian stage, it doesn’t take much to convince Mara to go in search of him. Especially since leaving her family also means leaving behind the frightening muló that haunts her.Hope that piques some interest! I really love this story and want to make it the best I can, but I can't do that without your help! It's not just the idea, but the time period that makes it my current favorite of all my "kids". I love the art, the music, the performance art of this period. I love the artist Alphonse Mucha, who illustrated the cover of the magazine above, which was printed during the same winter in which my novel occurs. I've been in love with the artsy 18th arrondissement--Montmartre--for years. Hopefully, I've done it justice!
Accepting Alex’s old job and room at Hysteria, a nightclub in fin de siècle Montmartre, Mara learns nothing of his whereabouts. Though Guy, a handsome tenor, goes to great lengths to determine that Alex is dead, Mara won’t accept the truth. Alex appears to her that night, telling her to leave. In the morning, the reality becomes all too clear: she’s actually been visited by his muló. Despite the danger, Mara’s guilt won’t let her go home-- not until she learns the identity of Alex’s killer. The problem is, Alex won’t tell her. He won’t even show himself. Though she’s ruined her chances with Guy, the longer Mara stays at the nightclub, the more she likes life there. The lure of the stage grows stronger than her desire to uncover the truth. Will Mara find out what really happened to Alex before the murderer strikes again?<><><><><>
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine, and it is a way to show off the books you can't wait to be released!!
Unless you know the context.
Little does Joan know, her new apartment in
Nice coffee table!
This groovy pad is wheelchair accessible! 
Are you sure you don't want to kick Clarisse because
Sweet freedom!
"It is lovely honey, but I think the place could use
Creepy clown painting alert!
Eviction stinks!Kevin Weiss, chief executive officer of Author Solutions (ASI)--the world leader in indie book publishing--released a video statement today calling for three major authors' guilds to join him for a discussion about choice and opportunity in book publishing. Video here
I'm inviting the three writers guilds who've expressed the greatest objections with the partnerships we've established with traditional publishing to sit down with us and discuss how we can improve the opportunity for their writers and the choice for readers
Not only do I want to discuss the differences they have with our business, as well as the partnership models that we're engaging with traditional publishing, but I also want to discuss the things that we are doing and plan to do to advance the cause of their members on a daily basis
Bloomington, Ind. (PRWEB) January 22, 2010 -- Kevin Weiss, chief executive officer of Author Solutions, Inc (ASI)--the world leader in indie book publishing--released a video statement today calling for three major authors' guilds to join him for a discussion about choice and opportunity in book publishing. Weiss specifically addresses the leadership of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), the Mystery Writers of America (MWA), and Science Fiction Writers Association (SFWA)--all vocal critics of ASI's new partnerships with leading traditional publishers.
"I'm inviting the three writers guilds who've expressed the greatest objections with the partnerships we've established with traditional publishing to sit down with us and discuss how we can improve the opportunity for their writers and the choice for readers," Weiss said in the statement.
In response to ASI's announcements of partnerships with traditional publishers, the three writer's guilds led a campaign to discredit the publishers involved in creating these groundbreaking opportunities, even going so far as to de-list one as a qualified publisher. Weiss believes the guilds may not fully understand the role self-publishing can play in expanding options for writers and consumers while at the same time providing benefits to traditional publishers who are in the midst of tremendous upheaval.
"Not only do I want to discuss the differences they have with our business, as well as the partnership models that we're engaging with traditional publishing, but I also want to discuss the things that we are doing and plan to do to advance the cause of their members on a daily basis," Weiss said.
Weiss invited the groups to engage in a direct conversation with him and other ASI leaders at their convenience.
For more information on Author Solutions and its leadership of the indie book publishing revolution, visit authorsolutions.com.
About Author Solutions, Inc.
Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI), an Inc. 5000 company, is owned by Bertram Capital and is the world leader in indie book publishing--the fastest-growing segment of publishing. ASI's self-publishing brands--AuthorHouse, AuthorHouse UK, iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris, and Wordclay--have helped more than 85,000 authors self-publish, promote, and bring to market more than 120,000 new titles. Through strategic alliances with leading trade publishers, ASI is making it possible to develop new literary talent efficiently and provide emerging authors a platform for bringing their books to market. Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, ASI also operates offices in Indianapolis and Milton Keynes, England. Visit authorsolutions.com, or call 1-888-519-5121 x5238 for more information.
(PRWEB) January 23, Napa, CAThe National Study of Family Growth (NSFG) reports that brides age 25 and older are about twice as likely to enjoy long marriages than teenage brides. Teen couples who get engaged over Valentine’s Day might want to consider a long engagement to increase their odds of a successful marriage.
-- Many couples will get engaged on Valentine’s Day. On the whole, people wait longer to get married these days than ever before, and that may be a good thing. Women who get married at age 25 or older are twice as likely to remain married for at least ten years when compared with teenage brides, according to a report based on the National Study of Family Growth.
The Sparkling One by Susan Mallery“The heroines in my books tend to be in their late twenties,” says New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery. Known for her funny and sexy writing style, Mallery writes romance novels, books that focus on the developing love story between a man and a woman. “I believe women at this age have matured enough to know what they want in a husband, and are better at shrugging off the small stuff. Plus, they’ve been dinged up by life a little bit, and we’re all more interesting with scars.”
People who have never married have a higher risk of death at every age. Not a bad reason to get engaged this Valentine’s Day.
Is divorce inevitable for younger couples?
One of Mallery’s most popular series of books centers around the Marcellis, a family of California vintners. The first book, The Sparkling One, features a young couple whose engagement announcement sets the hero and heroine of the story at odds with each other. The sister of the bride-to-be is all for it, and even offers to plan the wedding. The father of the groom is adamantly opposed. So will the teenagers go through with the wedding, and will the marriage last?
“I don’t want to ruin the surprise,” says Mallery with a laugh. “I will tell you, though, that I positively believe that young marriages can last. That study says 40% of women who marry when they’re 18 or 19 years old divorce within the first ten years of marriage. That means that 60% don’t. That’s a lot of happy couples who are laughing with each other, loving each other, and finding a way to grow old together.”
In fact, they may grow older than their unmarried peers. A study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that people who have never married have a higher risk of death at every age. Not a bad reason to get engaged this Valentine's Day. The Sparkling One is being reissued this month, with the next two books in the series – The Sassy One and The Seductive One – coming in March and April.
