We always had a lot of books around us when we were kids. My brother, sister and I knew our nursery rhymes and read a lot. I remember boxes of books in the back of the wardrobe that belonged to my parents – mainly mysteries and westerns. My mother was a teacher who taught new entrants (five-year-olds) and she used to have heaps of books that she’d use in her teaching. She’d show us her new purchases and of course, I’d read them. She died in an accident when I was 21 and I kept a few of my favorites. I was looking at my bookcase today and pulled out one about a rabbit finding an egg. It made me smile.
Here are Thirteen of My Favorites (that are still in my bookcase)
3. Travels of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting – this version adapted by Al Perkins. As a kid I had the actual Hugh Lofting series, which is probably what started my fascination with talking animals.
11. The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss – still one of my favorites. I like the message.
12. Shelley and the pony of the year by Ellen Bosworth. How could I resist this story? I see that it’s out of stock and a used copy is on sale for $45.
13. Proud Riders by Josephine Pullein-Thompson. Like lots of other little girls I liked pony stories.
I noticed when I did the Amazon links that many of these books are still popular and highly rated. A good book never goes out of date.
What stories do you remember from your childhood? Do your children or grandchildren have some of these?
During the past week I’ve been working hard on editing book eight in my Middlemarch series. I think one more read through should do the trick and then it’s off to my editor. I’ve also been doing quite a few agent queries for a contemporary project I have and working on a contemporary story for Samhain Publishing.
I like to have lots of “hope in the mail” and intend to write a story to submit to Nocturne Bites. I enjoy reading Harlequin Blaze and Nocturne lines best so it makes sense for me to target one of these lines.
As a reader, I enjoy reading different lengths of romances. I like short stories such as Ellora’s Cave Quickies and the Harlequin Spice, Bites and Historical Undone lines for times when I’m busy with deadlines and other writing things that leave little time for reading. As a writer I appreciate the skill involved in writing a good short story. It’s not easy getting the balance just right.
I read longer stories when I have more time to read and savor. Bring on my holiday. I have dozens of books loaded on my PDA. Add the pool and a fruity drink, and I’ll be a very happy camper.
True Blood, the TV series based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, started in New Zealand two weeks ago. The theme song burrowed into my head the first time I heard it and it’s been stuck there ever since.
Here’s the trailer in case you don’t know what I’m talking about.
I’ve enjoyed the first two episodes in the series. The show has a New Zealand connection in the way of Anna Paquin, and I would have watched it even if I wasn’t already a fan of the Sookie Stackhouse books. It is a LOT raunchier than I’d imagined with quite a bit of nudity and adult language – sort of along the lines of one of my Ellora’s Cave books. (Hey, TV producers check out some of my books if you’re looking for new ideas! )
I think the Sookie character comes across as a lot more naive in the TV series and very innocent. I thought in the books she seemed more streetwise even though she is a virgin. I’ve always enjoyed Sam in the books and like the actor who plays him in the show. Very cute. When it comes to Bill, I haven’t quite made up my mind yet. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next in the series and how closely it follows the books.
Back to the song – Bad Things. It drove me crazy until I found it on iTunes and downloaded it. Here’s a version by the original artist.
Have you watched True Blood and have you enjoyed it? Have you read the books and how do you think it compares?
I’ve heard readers comment about authors who write a variation of the same book over and over again. Each new release is a rewrite of the same story. I know I’ve stopped reading a couple of authors because I felt their stories were pretty much identical. Maybe the characters were different, but the conflicts and plot were similar. It didn’t feel as if I was reading a different book.
I’ve written over thirty books now. I’ll admit I think about originality when I’m writing a new book. I like to think each story is distinctly different, but I’m also aware that an author’s upbringing colors their perceptions. Their books may contain the same theme. Many of my stories deal with finding a home and security. I hope my books are different enough that readers don’t think I’m a one-book wonder. It’s hard to judge your own work sometimes.
What do you think? Does an author tend to write the same story over and over?
Last week Kaye Munro did a post about writing and author productivity. I’ve been thinking about this, and I want everyone to put on their reader hats while they read this post about author releases.
It used to be that authors would write one book a year and sometimes one book every two years. These days authors tend to have a higher rate of productivity. Some authors write three or four books a year, depending on the line they write for and also if they write for traditional or e-publishers.
The good thing for readers is this means there are a large number of books available to choose from. We’re spoiled for choice. I don’t know about you, but as a reader, I love the trilogies or connected books by the same author that come out in three successive months. I think that’s reader heaven. I like my favorite authors to have releases at least every six months. That’s a good length of time for me. If the wait is much longer, I forget to look for the next release because I have a lot of favorites. If I can’t find a book written by one of my favorite authors, I tend to look farther afield, and I explore the books of new-to-me writers. Sometimes I find new favorites, so there’s a danger if an author doesn’t have frequent releases, they’ll lose me to another writer or writers.
How long are you willing to wait between books? Can an author have too many releases in one year? Do you think quality is sacrificed in favor of quantity these days?
I’ve just finished reading a book by a fairly well-known author. The writing was solid. The characterization good. The dialogue made me chuckle in a few places, and then I reached the love scenes…
Most of the love scenes took place on horseback. Now I’ve ridden a horse before. I know anything is possible, but honestly, when the hero and heroine started having anal sex on horseback (the heroine was a virgin and they were in the middle of nowhere with the baddies after them) I was ready to throw the book at the wall. The love scenes were also really long. The characters chit-chatted for so long while doing the deed I became bored and lost track of who was doing what. Pages and pages of chit-chat during a love scene does not work. I fast forwarded to find more of the same. After that I became cranky and started to notice the plot holes in the story.
My love scenes range from a paragraph to half a page to several pages. It depends on the characters, the story and what stage the relationship is at. I like to change it up when it comes to length. When it comes to location: bedroom, kitchen, hallway, outside, spa pool, a tent, a vehicle, mountains, sea, space ship… A horse or other similar moving object such as camel or elephant–no, because it doesn’t strike me as safe or sane even though it might be possible. Animals are unpredictable creatures and I keep thinking about the injuries…
So, my question for you is: how long do you like the love scenes to be in a romance? What is the strangest location you’ve read/written in a romance? Are there locations that make you go ewww!?
I saw the Mom song at Leah Braemel’s blog last week and had to post it here because it made me laugh.
Early in January I posted about the Book Challenges I intended to do for this year. They’ve stalled a little because I’m judging a contest and need to read those books first, but I have two mini reviews of books for new-to-me authors I’ve read so far this year.
Jenifer Janey Booth is a single mother, living in a small town called Doolittle. Her two twins have left for college and she’s on her own for the first time—apart from her family and relations. Despite being alone, she’s determined she doesn’t need a man. Of course that doesn’t mean that sometimes she doesn’t want one.
Eric Hamilton is undercover, trying to catch the people responsible for counterfeit money. Jenifer is his main suspect since she was witnessed chatting to two of the crooks on two occasions. He befriends Jenifer, trying to solve his crime. He’s happy with his life, moving from place to place and from one undercover assignment to the next, but he hadn’t counted on the friendly people of Doolittle and the way they embrace him into their lives. And then there’s Jenifer. That’s a definite temptation for a start. Soon he’s thinking she’s not a criminal, despite evidence to the contrary.
I chose this book from my to-read pile because I’m going through a contemporary stage after overdosing a little on paranormal stories. It’s a sweet romance rather than the spicy ones I prefer, but the characters really grabbed me. They’re loveable and very human. I cared what happened to them as they took me on a wild ride trying to solve the case. I enjoyed the small town setting and the secondary characters. The secondary plots were interesting. As a writer, I tend to analyze a book. I know it’s a good book if I stop analyzing and start reading for pleasure rather than as a research exercise. I stopped analyzing Love Undercover fairly quickly and enjoyed both the plot and pacing. This is a solid B for me.
Jennifer Carman is a CPA. She spends all her time working, aiming for a promotion. When someone else gets the promotion she wanted, she goes to a pub with her friend Marcee. Her friend tells her she should have a one-night stand. She says no until she sees Robert Marshall. They hit it off and she ends up going home with him, but she tells him her name is Jasmine and invents a more exciting background for herself. The sex is incredible but she doesn’t intend to see him again. She meets up with Robert again and a relationship evolves. They talk about financial matters and have this side of their life in common, although Robert doesn’t realize it. Jennifer has opportunities to tell Robert the truth about herself but she keeps putting it off. Then it’s too late and Jennifer realizes she might have made the biggest mistake of her life.
Once again, I stopped analyzing pretty quickly with this book. This was a hot read with great characterization, although I thought Jennifer carried on her pretence for a little long. I liked the way she grew during the course of the book and the way her relationship with her younger sister changed and improved. The plot held my interest, and I enjoyed the financial careers of the main characters since that’s my background. I liked it enough to pick up the connected book about Marcee, Jennifer’s friend. Another B read for me.
I enjoy watching a good game of rugby, and it’s no secret that I gain hero inspiration while I’m watching all those players run up and down the field. I also like reading romance, so I was excited to hear Harlequin is releasing some rugby related romances. The first book, the Prince’s Waitress Wife by Sarah Morgan launches on 1 February.
And speaking of rugby romances, I’m ahead of the times because I have two stories out already with Ellora’s Cave. Issy’s Infatuation is about women’s rugby while Best Man is an m/m story that features two rugby players.
And finally, I have a cover for my February 27 release, Leticia’s Lovers. You can find a blurb and excerpt if you follow this link.
“Ms. Shelley Munro is quickly becoming a must read author. I enjoy her style and her approach to her varied plots. These two main characters were certainly no exception. The storyline was full of secrets (from both Hayley and Sam). The more time the couple spent together, the less likely it became that Sam would buy into his family’s theory that Norville’s fell in love at first sight. Ms. Munro has such an appealing way of revealing her story that it is impossible to put down the book.” – Brenda Talley.
Thanks so much to The Romance Studio and all the readers who voted for Tea For Two!
Author, Emily Bryan is doing a 50 day/50 blog whirlwind cybertour to celebrate the arrival of her historical Vexing the Viscount.
Emily will be at my blog on 9 January, and she’ll be giving away a copy of Vexing the Viscount to one lucky commenter. Here’s a link to Emily’s itinerary
This week’s 5 Heart Sweetheart…
