Video interview: Cathy Maxwell, author of 'Lyon's Bride'
By Joyce Lamb, USA TODAY
While at the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago earlier this month, I had the pleasure of interviewing some of my favorite authors. First up, we have Cathy Maxwell, whose latest release is Lyon's Bride, out today (April 24). Cathy shares Naval Intelligence secrets (and promises not to kill you), stories about her own gullibility and, of course, the scoop on Lyon's Bride, the first in her Chattan Curse series. (If you're checking this out on HEA's iPad, iPhone or Android app, please click on the headline to see the video.)
Review: 'Oracle's Moon' by Thea Harrison
By Jessie Potts, USA TODAY
Genre: Paranormal romance
Thea Harrison exploded onto the paranormal romance scene in 2011 with her novel Dragon Bound. This was the first in the Elder Races series and became a new favorite among readers in both the romance and paranormal/fantasy genre. What many readers don't know is that Thea Harrison is a pen name for the previously published Teddy Harrison … who also has another pen name, Amanda Carpenter. As Amanda Carpenter, she has about 16 published romance novels. For longtime fans, Dragon Bound was something new and exciting from an already favorite author. But for new readers, Thea's dragon books were the gateway into a new world and an introduction to a new favorite author.
The Elder Races series includes four full novels (Dragon Bound, Storm's Heart, Serpent's Kiss and Oracle's Moon) and two novellas (True Colors and Natural Evil). The fifth book, Lord's Fall, is expected out later this year. The Elder Races is a series full of fire, dragons, intrigue, heroines and heroes needing saving and, of course, steam!
Several authors form Rock*It Reads brand for self-pubbed romance
By Joyce Lamb, USA TODAY
Several romance authors have gotten together to launch a brand designed to help readers find "high-quality self-published works." This brand is called Rock*It Reads, and you'll be able to identify Rock*It Reads books by the logo on the cover. You can see it on Mia Marlowe's cover at right, in the upper right corner. In addition, the authors are launching a column, Love Rocks, at the B&N website (it starts Monday!) that will highlight great romances and initiate conversation about self-pubbed romances as well as traditionally published. I managed to corner some of the Rock*It Reads authors to find out more about their endeavor and what readers can expect. (And, hey, if you stick around until the end of the interview and leave a comment, you could win a book.)
Joyce: What is Rock*It Reads and who's involved?
A: Rock*It Reads is an authors' collective of New York-published authors who are also self-publishing romances. We're committed to producing only high-quality self-published works, which match or exceed the standards set by traditional publishing houses. Our Rock*It Reads logo, appearing on the cover of our self-published works, will signal to the reader our steadfast commitment to quality.
Review: 'Cuts Like a Knife' by M.K. Gilroy
By Serena Chase, USA TODAY
Mystery, suspense, touches of romance and a hearty dose of wry humor fill the action-packed pages of M.K. Gilroy's debut novel, Cuts Like a Knife.
The sitch: Kristen Conner is a tough police detective who coaches her niece's soccer team, spends a lot of time with her family – even when things are tense, which is most of the time – and goes to church on Sunday – except when family things are tense or she's busy with work, which is a lot of the time, lately. She's a good cop who has risen through the ranks quickly – too quickly some think, crediting her dad's legacy in the department more than her skill set.
Though she can't hit the proverbial barn with a bullet, she's got great detective instincts and is all aces in hand-to-hand combat, a skill that protects her in the field but garners the attention of Internal Affairs when a knife-wielding punk cries "excessive force" upon his arrest.
Narrowly avoiding a suspension, Kristen is assigned to a hush-hush joint task force of the Chicago P.D. and the FBI to catch the serial killer known as the Cutter Shark. Desperate to catch the killer before he does his grisly work on another young Chicago woman, Kristen goes undercover in hopes of drawing him out. But the Cutter Shark has had Detective Conner in his sights all along … and he's closer than she thinks.
Review: 'The Mine' by John Heldt
By Kathy Altman, USA TODAY
Charming, self-absorbed adventurer Joel Smith and a college buddy are three weeks away from graduation when they decide to spend a week biking in Yellowstone National Park. A spur-of-the-moment off-road trek brings the friends to an abandoned mine, which, despite the "No Trespassing" signs, geology major Joel can't resist exploring. Since his buddy refuses to go inside, Joel checks out the shaft alone, and discovers a chamber lit by an eerie phosphorescent glow. But before he can do much investigating, he realizes he's not alone — he's sharing the chamber with an angry rattlesnake. Joel backs away, then turns to run and smacks his forehead on a low-hanging beam. A split second later he's out cold on the floor.
When he awakes, he finds himself in a pre-cellular, pre-computer, pre-credit card era he eventually identifies as 1941. Joel is stunned and confused, not to mention dismayed when he discovers the mine is no longer a portal — apparently his trip through time was one way. Meanwhile, he's wearing 21st-century clothes, carrying 21st-century money and struggling with the 21st-century knowledge that life is about to change, drastically and tragically and irrevocably, for the inhabitants of this prewar world. With no real clue as to what to do next, he hops a freight train to Seattle, where he lives, or rather lived, 59 years in the future.
IndieReader.com recommends some indie-published e-books
By Joyce Lamb, USA TODAY
Website IndieReader.com offers recommendations for indie-published e-books that the site's reviewers have declared are pretty great.
My Life in Loubies by Erica Negi ($2.99)
Almost 30, Vanessa Schwartz has graduated from Princeton, owns an exclusive Upper East Side preschool and has a healthy collection of designer shoes, a charming yoga-teacher best friend and a handsome, sweet boyfriend named Ethan. She dreams of marriage, money and shopping, until she one day discovers that Ethan is not the successful man she thought he was.
Devastated by the breakup (and still mourning the death of her twin sister, who was lost on a diving expedition several years prior), Vanessa rebounds into a heady, fast-paced romance with a wealthy Cuban businessman from Palm Springs. Before she knows it she's packed up her Louboutins, toddler Sofia — her sister's child and her ward — and moved to Florida. But once she's there even this highflying life turns out to be far different beneath the surface.
Chick-lit lovers will be held in suspense while Vanessa sorts out the real from the phony, examines her own priorities and learns that real friendship and authentic love have nothing to do with owning a jet or a mansion. This lively tale of a young woman finding her own true voice and calling (while wearing Loubies, of course!) will keep readers guessing until the final chapters. (Reviewed by Kathryn Livingston for IndieReader)
Interview: Elle Lothlorien, author of 'Sleeping Beauty'
By Joyce Lamb, USA TODAY
Elle Lothlorien knows how to keep her readers happy. If some don't like the ending of her book Sleeping Beauty, then there's another option: Sleeping Beauty with a different ending. How cool is that? This concept is also an advantage of being independently published: Readers unhappy with your book? You can change it (if you want to). Elle hangs out with HEA to explain how the alternate ending of her Sleeping Beauty came about, creating a dialogue with readers and what's up next for her.
Joyce: Welcome to HEA, Elle! I love what you've done with Sleeping Beauty, writing an alternate ending to please readers unhappy with how the love triangle in the original story turned out. That has to be one of the best things about indie publishing, to me: the ability to quickly respond to readers' protests.
Elle: I would go a step further and suggest that indie publishing has fundamentally (and perhaps permanently) changed the dynamic between authors and readers.
Before the Internet, the Kindle Store, and the advent of print-on-demand (POD) companies such as CreateSpace, there was one avenue to publication: traditional publishing. Communication between the traditionally published author and the reader was very much one of a "monologue." The author would communicate with the reader through their novel, but there was no way for the reader to "talk back" in any immediate or meaningful way.
Romance Slam Jam 2012: A family affair to remember
By Michelle Monkou, USA TODAY
If I had a voice, '70s clothes, and panache, I would've sung We Are Family throughout the entire Romance Slam Jam 2012 conference (April 12-15). Attending was a happy homecoming for me. Ten years ago, I attended my first RSJ in North Carolina and have attended four since.
For my fifth RSJ conference, in Little Rock, I'd planned to stay the better part of the conference in my room writing, watching TV, and/or navel-gazing on the balcony of my room. Call me Ms. Crankypants. However, The Sistahs of Color Reading Group, the worker bees at this conference, had the perfect remedy for my malaise: hearty helpings of warm, soulful, energizing family vibes.
Each year the conference moves to a different city where a book club partners with a host author. Sistahs of Color did the heavy-lifting with Claritta Stinson at the helm, along with the host author Laura Parker Castoro. They shared Little Rock with approximately 150 attendees (with several more showing up onsite to register), all eager to spend several days celebrating books, authors, and each other at the Doubletree Hotel.
Deatri King-Bey, chair of RSJ, a non-profit organization, explained the importance of holding an annual conference: "When the Romance Slam Jam (RSJ) started some 17 years ago, finding romances with black heroes and heroines was rare. I, like many other readers, grew up reading romances, so when a spackling of romances popped up with characters who looked like me, I lost my mind in reader heaven. The RSJ grew into the place for readers and authors of black romance and women's fiction (to) celebrate their love of the genres. Over the years, we've become a family that is ever growing. The loving bond that we share is something (you) truly need to attend to grasp. Every year is a truly amazing experience."
Interview: Katie Lane, author of 'Catch Me a Cowboy'
By Pamela Clare, USA TODAY
Until today, you hadn't met a writer whose first story was written from the point of view of a skirt. Enter Katie Lane. And, yes, her first foray into fiction was told from the point of view of a piece of clothing. But that was fifth grade. Now the author of hometown romances set in Bramble, Texas, Lane has dropped her skirt — the character, I mean — for tales of contemporary cowboys. Although Lane is more comfortable talking about her characters and her stories than she is talking about herself, we managed to have a conversation with her about her lively imagination, the joys of writing and reading small-town romance, and why cowboys from Texas are the sexiest.
Pamela: A lot of authors are daydreamers, both as children and adults, and sometimes that gets us into trouble. What's the strangest thing that has happened to you as a result of your — shall we say active — imagination?
Katie: I can't think of anything strange that has happened because of my daydreaming, but it has made me look like an idiot. I sit through green stoplights, lose track of conversations, and root for the wrong team at sporting events. And on more than one occasion, I've run into things (doors, cars, people) because I was lost in my own little dream world. Wait a minute — I guess these things are strange.
Pamela: Just a little. The first book you wrote was about a skirt and was told from the perspective of the skirt. It was first-skirt, as you say, not first-person. Do you still have that story? It might make a nice avant-garde theater piece or literary short story. Not many people have seen the world through the eyes — or is it eyelets? — of a skirt, or really any other piece of clothing.
Review: 'Raven Calls' by C.E. Murphy
By Jessie Potts, USA TODAY
Genre: Urban fantasy/paranormal romance
Raven Calls is the latest book in the Walker Papers series. Murphy has created an imaginative, complex world revolving around Native American mythology and, in Raven Calls, a bit of Irish lore. I wouldn't recommend reading it out of order, but the first book, Urban Shaman, is a ride in and of itself, and if you are a fan of urban fantasy, paranormal romance and strong heroines, then you might want to pick it up and see just where Joanne will lead you.
Joanne's life is a mess. Since the beginning, readers have shaken their heads at the trouble that Joanne attracts, like bees to honey (or like wolves to lambs!). In Raven Calls her powers and skills have grown tremendously. But that just makes her a target. With her powers growing, an ambiguous relationship with her former boss and now time-traveling, a werewolf bite (an earlier plot thread) turns out to be the least of her problems. The major problems include her late mother (the mother's "essence" is under the influence of an evil being called The Master) and the werewolf bite. She flies to her mother's homeland of Ireland to attempt to get her "issues" under control. Unfortunately for her, and fortunately for readers who adore drama, life for Joanne is never easy. Ultimately, the twists and turns will have readers shaking their heads while devouring the next page.
