bookslut

http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_05.php#018990

Oh, thank god, someone has something reasonable to say about the "serious book publishing is dead" argument that keeps re-appearing. "Argument" is probably fancying up what is really just whining, but whatever.

I do my own fair share of whining, too. But whenever someone starts talking about how "serious" books are under threat because of [enter whatever factor you like here: ebooks/declining sales/Amazon/the end of the large advance/texting], they're ignoring the fact that serious books have always been under threat. Read the publishing adventures of James Joyce, trying to get Ulysses into the world, and how a bunch of women, independent publishers all of them, were the only ones brave enough to take on the censors. Joyce did not have a huge amount of money thrown at his head, publishers were not begging him to write his bizarro land books, they'd take care of his family and expenses.

People right now are using the example of Caro's multi-volume LBJ biography and how obviously this could never be recreated ever again. Because of texting or whatever. Dean points out what others have left out of the conversation:

Caro actually went broke writing the first of his biographies, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. Caro had to sell his house, and take a job teaching, to support himself and his family in the seven years it took him to finish the book. Plus: his wife worked. When I saw Caro speak at an event in Tribeca, recently, he was asked what kind of advice he’d give to aspiring biographers. “Become independently wealthy,” he said. And that’s from one of the biggest names in the “serious” business, who grew up as a writer in publishing’s alleged golden years.

From generation to generation there are always pressures. And some will fold. Some will do whatever the publishers ask them to do, cranking out two books a year because there's a "demand." Others will take the hit to their reputations and their bank accounts and do the work they feel has integrity. As it ever was and ever shall be, amen.

bookslut

http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_05.php#018989

Carlos Fuentes, Mexico’s elegant public intellectual and grand man of letters, whose panoramic novels captured the complicated essence of his country’s history for readers around the world, died on Tuesday in Mexico City. He was 83.

dearauthor_com

http://dearauthor.com/features/industry-news/doj-lawsuit-update-where-windowing-becomes-important/

http://dearauthor.com/?p=44427

Introduction

There are two major updates in the DOJ lawsuit.  An additional 17 states have sued the publishers and Apple.  Judge Denise Cote’s filed a denial of Apple, Penguin, and Macmillan’s motion to dismiss.  You may want to read the Primer here if you haven’t already before going forward.

States Attorneys General Amended Complaint

1)  An additional 17 states have joined the existing states that have filed suit against the major publishers and Apple bringing the total number up to 31. Those states include: Texas, Comiecticut, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Termessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealths of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and Virginia.

Highlights from the amended lawsuit include a more detailed description of all the alleged concerted action and more damning quotations.  Prepare for your mind to be blown. Mine was.

•  Collectively the Big 6 account for approximately 60% of all revenue generated from print titles sold in the U.S. and 85% of all revenue generated from the sale of NYT Bestsellers.  In 2009, the publishers’ market share broke down as follows:  Random House (17.5%), Penguin (11.3%), Hachette (10%), HarperCollins (9.8%), Simon & Schuster (9.1%), and  Macmillan (5.4%)
• In 2009, Amazon held up to 80% of the digital book marketshare. (Judge Cote’s decision said 90%).
• Amazon’s price point of $9.99 “stoked intense competition among e-book retailers as its rivals priced at or near Amazon’s price point to remain competitive.  As a result, prior to January 2010, consumers could generally purchase NYT Bestselling e-books for $9.99″ (This is an important point because Cote points out in her decision that the price for digital books is identical from retailer to retailer post agency pricing)
• An executive of the parent corporation of one publisher met with other Big 6 executives “to discuss a joint venture” that would compete with Amazon and hopefully raise prices. (I wonder if this was/is Bookish).
• Windowing is referred to as “the first collective attempt to raise prices.”
• “Months before announcing that they would experiment with Windowing certain titles, certain Publishers shared information among one another about which titles they would Window and their anticipated delay period for e-book publication.”
• Carolyn Reidy shared information “confidentially” to another publisher of S&S’s plan to window Stephen King’s Under the Dome.  The executive shared this with his boss via email.  ”At the conclusion of the e-mail, the executive urges his boss to ‘double delete’ this e-mail from his files.”
• Carolyn Reidy emails Les Moonves, CEO of S&S’s parent corporation CBS, regarding windowing and the need to “‘gather more troops’ and ammunition first.”
• “[T]he Conspiring Publishers considering Windowing referenced themselves in one email as “the Club!”
• “On December 10, 2009, Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy discussed systematic Windowing of e-books with Macmillan executive Stephen Rubin, a friend and former colleague of Reidy’s.  In an e-mail to Macmillan CEO John Sargent recounting part of their conversation, Mr. Rubin wrote, “In the nicest possible way, she’d [Carolyn Reidy] love for you to join them. She feels if one more publisher comes aboard, everyone else will follow suit.”
• John Sargent asked Eddy Cue from Apple to take a reduced cut on hardcover first releases because under the new Agency model, revenue would decrease from $14 per book to $9.00.  (This is important because Judge Cote uses this as an example of how anti competitive the actions were – that they would intentionally take a much lower figure in order to slow ebook adoption and raise prices).
• An executive to another executive in a parent corp. shared via email that Eddy Cue had indicated that Random House was out “and that ne [sic] need the five majors in but maybe four.”
• On Saturday, January 22, Penguin CEO David Shanks contacted Apple’s negotiator Eddie Cue.  As Mr. Cue reported to Steve Jobs, Shanks ‘wanted an assurance that he is 1 of 4 before signing.”
• One executive (it must be Hachette by process of elimination) called John Sargent to confirm whether Macmillan was in. Sargent affirmed but the executive told Sargent that the executive’s company would not likely agree.
• Sargent and Reidy had a conversation wherein Sargent told Reidy he was signing the Apple agreement and would pursue the agency model.
• Eddy Cue asked Steve Jobs for help reeling in one recalcitrant publisher (whom I am assuming is Hachette).  Jobs writes to an executive at the parent company of the publisher “As I see it, [Conspiring Publisher] has the following choices:  1) Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream ebooks market at $12.99 to $14.99″  Within three days, the recalcitrant publisher threw in.
• The publisher contracts with Apple were virtually identical, particularly as it relates to the maximum price floor, definitions for bestselling titles, commission rate, and the most favored nations clause.
• Penguin could not switch to Agency Model until June 2010 so it withheld from Amazon all newly released ebooks until Agency Model implemented. (AH HA! Seriously I remember this panicked time a few years ago).
• “The higher retail prices benefitted Apple because it would earn higher revenues from its commissions on each sale. Insulated from e-book price competition with other Outlets, Apple could earn gross margins up to several times higher than in the Wholesale-Retail Model.  The Publishers achieved their long-running collective goal: higher retail prices for e-books.”
• After Macmillan had its buy buttons removed from Amazon following its demand to go Agency, publishers began to email “John Sargent needs our help!” and “Macmillan ‘has been brave, but they are small. We need to move the lines. And I am thrilled to know how A[mazon] will react against 3 0r 4 of the big guys.”  The same executive emailed Sargent saying “I can ensure you that are not going to find your company alone in the battle.”
• The CEO of Barnes & Noble emailed Sargent to let him know that B&N had Macmillan’s back.  ”Barnes & Noble would ‘go to the mat’ for Macmillan. In an attempt to assist Macmillan during the negotiation process, B&N moved its titles to the top of its merchandizing pods & search results on the Nook.”  (these things are so dirty)
• Amazon learned that five of the six publishers agreed to the Agency model and that these five accounted for about half of Amazon’s ebook business and thus Amazon caved to Macmillan.  (In Judge Cote’s decision we find out that Amazon was presented with this information on the same day (Jan 20) by four different publishers)
• When Random House refused to move to Agency, David Shanks of Penguin went to Barnes & Noble “I would hope that [Barnes & Noble] would be equally brutal to Publishers who have thrown in with your competition [Amazon] with obvious disdain for your welfare.  B&N continued to promote RH titles and so Shanks went back to B&N.  ”Following this contact, B&N’s management decided not to feature Random House in any future advertising.”
• Random House eventually caves.  I actually feel sorry for Random House for some reason.

Mind blown?

Judge Cote’s Denial of Apple, Penguin and Macmillan’s Motions to Dismiss

2)  Judge Cote issued a ruling denying Apple, Penguin and Macmillan’s motions to dismiss in the civil class action.  The civil class action has been stayed against Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins, pending the outcome of the state attorney general lawsuits.  A motion to dismiss is measured against a standard that does not favor dismissal. Every pled fact is assumed true and every inference is read in favor of the complainant (or plaintiff).  The short version is that Judge Cote found that the class action petition made a plausible claim for per se antitrust violations based on horizontal price fixing agreements.  That is doom, in my opinion, for the publishers and Apple.  In fact, reading Judge Cote’s decision, my first thought was that she might reject the settlement because it doesn’t go far enough to protect consumers and punish the conspiring parties.

Here are some highlights from Judge Cote’s decision

•  ”By the Fall of 2009, the Publisher Defendants had come to see the growth of eBooks, combined with retailers’ discount pricing strategies, as a significant threat to their business model and to the publishing industry as a whole.  Traditionally, hardcover book sales have been publishers’ most profitable product.  Hardcovers typically provide publishers with the highest margins per unit of sale.”
• The Publisher Defendants feared that low-cost eBooks sales would cannibalize sales of physical books, especially hardcovers, eat into publishers’ profit margins, and harm brick- and-mortar retailers.  They also feared that in the future, Amazon might use its market power to reduce publishers’ share of the profit margins for eBooks.  Most fundamentally, the Publisher Defendants worried that Amazon’s low price point would condition consumers to believe that a book was only “worth” $9.99, and that this consumer expectation would exert powerful downward pressure on prices for eBooks and physical books alike. In the face of these pricing pressures, the Publisher Defendants feared that their business model would prove unsustainable over the long term.”
• Windowing decisions were announced by 4 of the big 6 within days of each other.  Dec 4 – Hachette; Dec 7 –  S&S; Dec 10 – HC; and Dec 16 – Macmillan.
• “In January 2010, Apple signed nearly identical contracts (the “Agency Agreements”) with each of the Publisher Defendants. Each of these Agency Agreements allegedly included four major elements.  First, each Agency Agreement specified that beginning with the launch of Apple’s iPad and iBookstore on April 3, 2010, the publisher would sell its eBooks in the iBookstore under the agency model.  For each sale in the iBookstore, Apple was to receive a commission of thirty percent of the sales price. Second, the contracts included MFN clauses.  These clauses stipulated that the final sales price for eBooks sold through other distribution channels could not be lower than the prices for those titles in the iBookstore.  Third, each Agency Agreement set the prices for eBooks according to a formula tied to the list price of physical books.  Under this formula, the eBook prices would range from $12.99 to $14.99 for most newly- released general fiction and nonfiction titles.  Lastly, each Agency Agreement explicitly required the Publisher Defendants to use the agency model when selling eBooks through other vendors of any meaningful size beginning on April 1, 2010.”
• The complaint alleges that the Publisher Defendants’ average per unit revenue for eBook sales decreased by 31 percent following the adoption of the agency model.
• After adoption of the agency model, the price of new bestselling eBooks increased by forty percent on average, even though there had been no corresponding increase in costs.
• “The CAC plausibly alleges that Apple and the Publisher Defendants took part in a conspiracy in restraint of trade, that an object of this conspiracy was to raise prices for eBooks, and that this restraint was unreasonable per se.  The Complaint describes specific conversations from which it is fair to infer that the Publisher Defendants had agreed among themselves to adopt a joint strategy to force an increase in the price of eBooks.  These include Hachette’s representation to Amazon on December 3, 2009 that the “industry’s” problem with eBook pricing would be solved if Amazon raised its prices by two or three dollars, and the separate meetings on a single day, January 20, 2010, in which four Publisher Defendants each presented Amazon with the identical demand that it adopt the agency model.  There are ample allegations that Apple became an integral member of this conspiracy and well understood that the upshot of its participation would be the elimination of price competition at the retail level, forcing consumers to, in Jobs’s words, “pay[] a little more” for eBooks. (my emphasis)
• “Although the Complaint does not claim that Apple had an interest in higher retail prices, per se, it does plausibly allege that Apple had an interest in limiting retail competition.  The Agency Agreements were a means to accomplish both these goals through a single tool.  The switch to the agency model meant that the Publisher Defendants could control retail prices, whereas the MFN clauses protected Apple and its 30 percent commission from price competition by other retailers.”
• The hub in a hub and spoke conspiracy need not be a dominant player.  (This was one of my concerns about the hub/spoke conspiracy.)  Judge Cote said ” Second, the above-quoted dicta in Dentsply does not establish that a hub must be a dominant purchaser or supplier; it merely states that this is “generally” the case. This observation should not be surprising: a hub’s existing market power provides an obvious incentive to horizontal competitors to sign agreements in restraint of trade. In this case, however, existing dynamics in the publishing industry provided powerful incentives for the publishers to sign such agreements.”
• Cote also wrote (and I think this is important) ” These arguments do not address the fundamental claim in the CAC. It alleges that the defendants conspired to eliminate retail price competition and to raise the price of eBooks above the $9.99 price set by Amazon. This states a claim for violation of the law. That the eBook prices may now fall within a range, albeit one typically well-above $9.99, does not render the Complaint’s description of the conspiratorial agreement implausible. Similarly, as explained in the Complaint, the publishers perceived that their financial interests and business model, taken as a whole, were better protected by raising the prices of eBooks even if it meant reducing their profit margins in that line of their business. In the words of Macmillan’s CEO, the publishers believed the agency model would allow them to “have a stable and rational market,” and that the tradeoff was in their long-term business interests. “
• Cote ultimately found that the price restraint allegations were horizontal (between firms) and not merely vertical (within the firm) & conscious parallelism and thus measured under a per se standard but that even under a rule of reason would be illegal.

Judge Cote pointed to elements that she felt were supportive of an agreement (the essential ingredient for a horizontal cartel)

• Specific conversations from which it is fair to infer that the Publisher Defendants had agreed among themselves to adopt a joint strategy to force an increase in the price of eBooks.
• Signing agency agreement with Apple and demanding the same from Amazon would not have been in the publishers’ self interests unless there was a conspiracy of action.
• The rapid and simultaneous switch to the agency model — a model heretofore unknown in the publishing industry — by multiple competitors with every major eBook retailer was similar to the frowned upon action in Twombly.  Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556 n.4.

Other notes of interest

Penguin argued that it was entitled to arbitration based on the user agreements between the customer and retailers like Amazon.  This is based on the premise that Amazon is merely an agent of Penguin and thus any agreement a customer  has with Amazon passes to Penguin.  According to the docket, Penguin appears to be abandoning this claim.  Penguin was ordered to advise the court by April 30, 2012, whether it intended to proceed with its arbitration argument.  No filing by Penguin exists in the record which likely means that Penguin has waived the right to arbitrate.

 ORDER: ORDERED that, unless Penguin advises the Court by April 30, 2012 that it wishes its March 2 motion to stay proceedings and compel arbitration to be addressed, the motion will be deemed withdrawn. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that in the event Penguin files a renewed motion to arbitrate, any party opposing the motion may present any arguments that are appropriate, including that Penguin has waived its right to arbitrate. (Signed by Judge Denise L. Cote on 4/25/2012) Filed In Associated Cases: 1:11-md-02293-DLC et al.(djc) (Entered: 04/26/2012)

The emphasis on windowing is new to me and I don’t know why I missed it. It’s genius of the DOJ/States Attorneys General to argue this because it sets a pattern of concerted behavior regarding price controls. In this study by Yu Hu and Michael D Smith, the scholars collected quotes by major publishers regarding windowing:

Table 1: Delaying Ebooks

Event	Quote
September 2009: HarperCollins delays the ebook release of Sarah Palin’s memoirs by 5 months after the hardcover release date.	“The publishing plan is focused on maximizing velocity of the hardcover before Christmas.”Brian Murray, CEO HarperCollins
November 2009: Viacom/Schribner delays the ebook release of Stephen King’s new novel by 6 weeks after the hardcover release date.	“We think that this publishing sequence gives us the opportunity to maximize hardcover sales”Adam Rothberg, Spokesperson Schribner
Early 2010: Hachette Book Group delays the ebook release of nearly all of its titles by 3-4 months after the hardcover release date.	“I can’t sit back and watch years of building authors sold off at bargain- basement prices.”David Young, CEO Hachette
Early 2010: Simon & Schuster delays ebook release for 35 major titles by 4 months after the hardcover release date.	“The right place for the e-book is after the hardcover but before the paperback,”Carolyn Reidy, CEO Simon & Schuster

My guess is that the publishers felt like discussing windowing and plans to window books wasn’t illegal collusive behavior because there was no price discussed but the objective remained the same – how to raise digital book prices.

What’s Next?

Discovery is next as well as the approval or rejection of the settlement.I wouldn’t be surprised if the DOJ or the States Attorneys General to ask for a temporary injunction to halt any agency agreements based on the language in Judge Cote’s decision.  The publishers would be hard pressed to argue that they couldn’t make a change quickly given how they were able to move from Wholesale to Agency.

A motion to dismiss merely means that a case can proceed forward but the explicit finding by Judge Cote that the evidence supports a per se violation makes it difficult for the defendants.  They are going to have to convince Judge Cote and then a jury (if they get by Cote) that there was no agreement.  Business justifications are not allowed in a per se claim.  Cote points to these facts as supportive of agreement:

the early efforts to induce Amazon to raise its prices for eBooks, first through Hachette’s request on behalf of the “industry” in December 2009, and when that proved unsuccessful, through windowing eBooks, are principally relevant as evidence of the willingness of Publisher Defendants to work together to effect market change, and specifically, to raise the prices of eBooks through collusion. That evidence of earlier jointly undertaken activity render more plausible the claim that the Publisher Defendants were indeed colluding when they acted to end the wholesale model for distribution of eBooks and thereby to raise the prices of these books.

I think that the defendants (Apple, Penguin and Macmillan) have two options here. Settle now or take their slim chances to jury where I am convinced they will lose and hope that the 2nd Circuit slaps down Judge Cote’s per se finding on appeal.

Documents in PDF form.

• Amended States Complaint
• Judge Cote’s Decision

Related posts:

1. Antitrust Primer for the Publishing Price Fixing Lawsuit
2. New Report Says Author Presence Online Is Important
3. Publishers Get Wise, Undercut Amazon prices

dearauthor_com

http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-c-reviews/c-reviews/review-rock-chick-by-kristen-ashley/

http://dearauthor.com/?p=44421

Dear Ms. Ashley:

After Kati D reviewed Knight for Dear Author, I had to read it myself. It was rough but Ruthie Knox, in the comments, suggested I give Sweet Dreams a try and I did. Sweet Dreams is an interesting story and one that I am going to review later but I actually went on to read several of your books and I wanted to start writing reviews with Rock Chick. Rock Chick is the beginning of a series of books that are interrelated. (another author used the word “Daisy Chained” to describe books that are loosely connected by a series of characters). Rock Chick is one of your better works and it also contains nearly every one of your signature writing features so that if readers like Rock Chick, they are likely to enjoy most of your writing. If they don’t like Rock Chick, then it is probably best for readers to pass on your extensive backlist.

Rock Chick reads like Stephanie Plum fan fiction for the Rangerettes (the shippers who wanted a pairing between Stephanie and Ranger). There is the intrepid heroine who rushes into danger.  There is the hot, mysterious security guy.  There are drag queens, irascible older people, people getting shot at and cars exploding.

India Savage, known as Indy, grew up loving Liam Nightingale. The Savage and Nightingale families were close. The parents knew each other. Allie Nightingale was Indy’s best friend. Their mothers, especially, wanted the two families tied together by marriage. Indy pursued Liam relentlessly as a teen until Indy finally got the message at the age of twenty that Lee (as he is known to all) would never want her back. From that point on, Indy made a point to avoid Lee at as much as possible. When Indy’s life is endangered, Lee steps in and declares to all and sundry that Indy is his woman and sets out to convince Indy of this new to her truth.

The storytelling is conversational, as if Indy is sitting next to you in her bookstore, Fortnum’s in Lower Downtown Denver. It’s as if you’ve made a new friend and she is telling you all about her crazy mixed up love life and how she got the man of her dreams.  It works exceptionally well. The best part of all these books is the unapologetic brashness of the characters. Indy, in particular, is a bold.  Indy is a full figured woman with great T&A.  She is comfortable in her skin.  She is independent, has a great group of friends, likes to wear tight clothes and lots of makeup.  Also, she is in danger and every guy, even the bad ones, wants her.  While Indy meets the definition of a Mary Sue squarely, she also represents a complete change (at least for me) from the demure, never been kissed, heroines who shy away from loving their body and appreciating their own personal agency.

Ranger, err, Lee is a more reserved guy who owns a security firm that does things like skip tracing and bodyguard work, amongst other security tasks.  On more than one occasion, he wades in to save Indy from a dangerous scenario arising from some impetuous act.  Indy describes Lee as badass, several times. Despite how bold and independent Indy is, there is a vague tone of msygony that runs through these Rock Chick books. It might be totally unintentional but the men, like Lee, look at the women with benign amusement.  They frequently make demands  that result in female capitulation. All the demands seem to end in an imperative “get me?” either in tone, eye contact, or verbalization. (I.e., do you get what I am telling you?)  Lee cuffs Indy to the bed more than once in order to prevent her from engaging in behavior that he thinks will endanger her (and given her past record, maybe the cuffing is justified).  But just about the moment that I (and Indy) are ready to blow our stacks, you have Lee (and the other men in your books) say something completely endearing, making themselves vulnerable:

“Jesus,” he buried his face in my neck, “there’s nothin’ better in the world than hearin’ you say my name when I’m inside you.” He slid in deep, filling me. “I’ve been waitin’ years to be right here.”

Holy crap.

His mouth was at my ear.

“I could be on assignment, in a desert as hot as an oven, in a jungle as close as fuck and sometimes I’d get through it dreamin’ of you sayin’ my name like that.”

I told a friend of mine that these books read a little like old school Linda Howard.  Lee is full of take charge machismo.  He’s written as if he can do anything including negotiate a detente with a criminal who is after his woman. No lock can keep him out.  No situation is too dangerous for him.   It’s only dangerous for those that oppose him.  The characters drink a lot of beer, curse a lot, watch sports on TV, gossip with their girlfriends, party regularly, and in every aspect seem ordinary and relatable and somehow so very different than many characters I’ve read in contemporary romances of late.

Indy is a good match for Lee.  She stands up for herself and pushes back against Lee. The secondary characters are well drawn even if they are exaggerated eccentrics.   Plus, Indy’s exchanges (especially the ones with Ally) are funny:

“Did you bring me a Sushi Den outfit?” I asked Ally.

You didn’t go to Sushi Den in jeans and cowboy boots. Sushi Den demanded something else entirely. Clothing… black. Shoes… stiletto. I had a full section of my closet devoted to Sushi Den clothes.

“You bet your ass,” Ally replied.

and

“You just hung up on my brother?” Ally asked, sidling into bitch smackdown mode in defense of her sibling.

“Ally,” Kitty Sue said placatingly.

“We’re on a break,” I told Ally.

“You’re on a break? You’ve been together a week!” Ally yelled.

“We’re on a break,” I repeated.

“I don’t believe this,” Ally snapped, her hand at her hip, countdown to bitch smackdown mode hitting critical.

“Ally,” Kitty Sue put in, “it’s none of your business.”

“What do you mean it’s none of my business? Lee’s my brother, she’s my best friend.”

“She means it’s none of your business,” I told Ally, “back off.”

“Back off? Did you just tell me to back off? I’ve been waiting twenty-two years for this!” Ally was back to yelling. “You can’t be on a break. That’s ridiculous! Hank’s never gonna get married, there’s no one perfect for him. You’re perfect for Lee and you won’t sort it out with him. I’m never gonna get a niece named after me.”

“For God’s sake, Ally, make your own babies,” I yelled back.

“No please, don’t do that. Not until you’ve found someone special,” Kitty Sue threw in.

“Um… I don’t mean to interrupt your asinine conversation but, are we gonna let those diamond earrings just sit on the counter?” Tex asked.

I laughed out loud at several points in the story even as I was simultaneously worn down by the non stop description of Indy’s every outfit, of Indy’s every meal, and of every street in Denver.  Your books really need an editor. There are many sentences like this dispersed throughout the book “A body like mine isn’t difficult to maintain, just feed it loads of crap to keep the curves but keep in shape because you’ve got to lug it around everywhere.” I’d often have to read the sentence twice to ascertain its precise meaning. Anytime a reader stops to puzzle out the meaning of a sentence is a break in the mood, the fantasy you are creating.

The stories need a content editor that will help to smooth out some writing tics and to introduce some brevity. Some of the characters make epic long speeches. Speeches so long I wonder at their lung capacities.  The stories need a copy editor and a proofreader to eliminate the typos, misspellings, and grammatical inaccuracies. The blurbs for these books are some of the worst I’ve read. You are a great storyteller and I think you are telling stories that aren’t out there right now. Unfortunately, every time I give a recommendation for one of these books, I have to be up front and tell my reader friends that the writing is really rough, that there are serious periods of momentum lulls, and an unholy amount of repetition.  (And its repetitive from book to book. In nearly every Rock Chick book there is a time when the hero will go through a litany of things that they love about the heroine and end with an “you’d be a pain in the ass.”

“Honey, it’s good you’re gorgeous or you’d be a pain in the ass.”

Here’s one writing tic that I find challenging (and by challenging I mean difficult to follow and thus annoying)

But, twenty minutes ago, my employee, Rosie, told me something I didn’t want to hear. Rosie could be difficult but this was ridiculous.

And he’d involved another employee (and one of my most favorite people in the world), Duke.
* * * * *

Then, five minutes ago, Rosie and I locked up and stood at the front of my bookstore, Fortnum’s, wondering what to do about that something.

Then two guys came up to us, we had a chat that did not go well (and if I’m honest, the reason it didn’t go well is because of me) and then they shot at us.

Shot.
At.
Us.
With guns.
Guns filled with bullets.

Another writing tic is to use the word “after”

After, we had pie.

Then, we had a shower.

What with wet, soapy, naked bodies, especially with one of them being Lee’s, things got out of hand and we tumbled out of the shower onto the bath mat.

After that, I said a silent thank you to the unknown Judy as the bathroom was sparkling clean and the bath mat smelled of fragrant drier sheets.

Later, we were in bed and I was pressed up against his side, his arm around my waist ….

I’ve read all the Rock Chick books. I’m not going to do a full review for each of them, but instead do a summary review of the next 6 in tomorrow’s post.  Obviously I was captivated by your writing, but I can’t give a full throated endorsement. Instead, I feel it necessary to caution readers and hopefully arm them with enough information so that they can make their own decisions. I’d love to grade this book higher but even though the storytelling was engaging, I just can’t.  C

Best regards,

Jane

AmazonBNSonyKobo HQN ARE

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Knight by Kristen Ashley
2. REVIEW: Rock Star by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb
3. Joanna Trollope Gives Chick Lit Some Props

bookslut

http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_05.php#018988

And in the new publishing category of "Neuroscience! It Explains Everything!" we have Memoirs of an Addicted Brain. The Guardian shrugs at it:

It's very hard to feel the same towards Lewis once he admits giving his partner a black eye, before "explaining" it with neuroscience.

bookslut

http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_05.php#018987

Mike McGrady, a prizewinning reporter for Newsday who to his chagrin was best known as the mastermind of one of the juiciest literary hoaxes in America — the best-selling collaborative novel “Naked Came the Stranger,” whose publication in 1969 made “Peyton Place” look like a church picnic — died on Sunday in Shelton, Wash. He was 78 and lived in Lilliwaup, Wash.

dearauthor_com

http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-reviews/review-a-different-kind-of-forever-by-dee-ernst/

http://dearauthor.com/?p=44384

Dear Ms. Ernst,

Once upon a time, in a seedy bar, many years ago, I met a man, fell for him on the spot, married him, and decades later count myself lucky to have and hold him as my own. And yet, as I read your book, the wonderful A Different Kind of Forever, I found myself wondering, what if my life had turned out differently. What if I were divorced, trying to raise my kids as a single mom, loving my work, surrounded by great friends, but, romantically, sexually, alone? If I were, if I had that life instead of the one I do, I pray to the gods I, like your forty-five year old divorced heroine Diane Matthews, would have the great good fortune to one day, walking in the park, meet twenty-six year old Michael Carlucci.

Michael isn’t just any twenty-six year old. He’s “Mickey Flynn” the creative genius behind and the keyboard player in one of the world’s most successful bands, NinetySeven. He and his band have come back to their home town to play the last concert of their current tour. A few weeks before the concert, he’s walking his dog Max in the park and Max, who has a serious obsession with pastrami, smells the sandwich Diane is eating and begins dashing toward her. Diane, standing on the picnic table she’s jumped up on, decides her lunch isn’t worth being tackled by a very large dog, and gives Max her sandwich just as Michael finally catches up with his marauding pet.

Diane stared at the animal in amazement, then turned as the owner came running up to her. He was completely winded, gasping, bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

“I’m so sorry,” he panted. “But my dog really loves pastrami.”

Diane stared at him. “That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.”

The owner of the dog nodded his head. “Oh, I know,” he gulped. “It’s probably the silliest thing I’ve ever had to say.”

Diane began to laugh, a tickle that began in her throat and bubbled up. She felt tears streaming from her eyes. No one would ever believe this. The owner started to laugh with her. He seemed very young, dark hair cut short and as he lifted his smiling face, she saw startling blue eyes, an angular jaw. Suddenly, she stopped laughing

“Oh, my God. I know you.”

He was still breathing heavily. “I’m Michael Carlucci, and this is Max.” The dog had finished and was sitting quietly at his master’s feet. Michael gazed up at her. “I’m very sorry. Can I help you down?”

“Oh. Yes, please.” She felt suddenly awkward, and reached down to take his hand. She climbed down off the table carefully, her skirt riding to mid-thigh, heels unsteady on the grass. They were suddenly eye to eye. He was not much taller than her, slim, in a white polo shirt tucked into faded jeans, a thin belt around his waist. His arms and hands were beautiful, she noticed, sculpted and strong-looking.

““I’m sorry,” she said, smoothing her skirt. “I thought you were somebody else. You look just like Mickey Flynn.”

He grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, that’s me. Michael Flynn Carlucci. I was named for my Irish grandfather.”

“I thought it was you. There’s a life sized poster of you in my daughters’ bedroom.

Diane is the mother of three daughters. While the eldest, Rachel, has outgrown her obsession with NinetySeven, her younger two, Emily and Morgan, ages fourteen and sixteen, have not. Michael, as a peace offering for his dog’s thieving behavior, offers Diane free tickets to the concert, and, after talking with her for a few minutes, asks if he can buy her lunch. At lunch, he throws in backstage passes as well. Diane isn’t sure he’s serious, but sure enough, the next day, a large envelope arrives at her house with eight VIP tickets to the show. Then, that night, Michael calls her and asks her out to dinner. Diane, nervous but attracted, agrees to meet him but doesn’t tell anyone she’s going out with him.

The date though, is perfect. Michael tells Diane his life story, she tells him hers, they drink, laugh, and, when Michael walks her to her car, he kisses her until she can’t breathe and tells her he wants to see her again. They agree to meet backstage after his concert this coming Friday night. Diane, her friend, and their daughters go to hear the band—Diane isn’t sure what to expect. She hasn’t been to a concert in years and all week she’s thought about Michael, his kiss, his smile, and how much she’s wanted to see him again. The concert is great—Diane is astonished at how talented Michael is. As the music winds down, Michael comes out onto the stage—it’s a band tradition: at the end of each show he tells a story. This night, he tells the story of meeting Diane,

“So, last week, I’m back home and I figure I’ll take Max out to Bloomfield Park. I got the Frisbee, I got tennis balls, we’re ready for anything, you know? So, we’re on the ball field, the park is practically empty, we’re having this great old time, and suddenly the wind shifts. Max freezes, and takes off like a shot and I know, man, I just know.” He paused and dropped his voice. “Shhhiiiit. It’s pastrami.”

Diane sank lower into her seat as Sue hit her excitedly on the arm.

“So Max is flying, and I am pounding after him, and there’s one, lone woman, sitting at a picnic table, eating a sandwich.” Laughter. “I yell, ‘he wants your sandwich’, and the woman jumps up on the picnic table, and she sticks out her hand and Max leaps like a gazelle, gets the sandwich, and it’s gone .” The audience started to clap and cheer. Michael was shaking his head, one hand on his hip. “So I’m looking up at this woman.” He got in closer to the mike, and dropped his voice again. “Sensational legs.” Diane glanced over at Emily, who was open-mouthed. “And this great tattoo right above her ankle.”

The crowd roared and hooted. Diane felt the blood drumming in her ears.

“Since she didn’t say anything about suing me,” Michael went on, “I bought her lunch and invited her to the show.” He shaded his eyes and looked down at them. “Are you girls having a good time?”

Megan, Emily and all their friends shrieked and waved excitedly. Michael nodded.

“Good.” He turned to the stage hand that had walked onstage with another microphone and an acoustic guitar. “Thanks, man.” He slipped the guitar strap over his shoulder and adjusted the mike.

“Now I’m going to tell you all about my sisters. I have three, all older, and they were all into music, and I spent my whole childhood sneaking into one of their rooms, and listening to whatever they were listening to. That’s how I began to love music. That’s when I decided to make it a part of my life.”

His voice had dropped, grown softer, and Diane could feel everyone leaning in, straining to hear.

“When I was five, I started taking piano lessons, because everyone in my house took piano lessons. But I wanted to play guitar. Angela, my youngest sister, was taking guitar lessons. I made a deal with my Dad that I’d go to my piano lesson like a good little boy, if I could also go with Angela. So she took me along with her, I’d sit in the corner and listen, then we’d go home and practice together, and that’s how I learned to play the guitar. Angela had this big, old Lennon-McCartney songbook, and we learned every song.” The crowd burst into applause. As they quieted, he went on.

“My sisters all loved the Beatles, especially Paul. I would play and they would sing along. And that is just about as perfect a memory you could have.” He had been looking down as he spoke, his hands folded over the curve of the guitar. He suddenly lifted his eyes and his smile went out across the audience. “I had forgotten. Diane with the sexy tattoo reminded me. I want to thank her for that. So this song is for the Carlucci girls, who are responsible for so many of the good things in my life.”

He began to play ‘And I Love Her.’

Michael, you see, fell in love with Diane the moment he met her. He believes there is one true love out there for each of us and, for him, he’s sure Diane is his. He woos her with everything he has.

Diane though is, well, forty-five. She’s been married—is happily divorced– and has been in love once since her marriage broke up—he was married, so, despite believing she’d found her true love, she wouldn’t get involved with him. She thinks Michael is wonderful but damn, he’s young.  And she has her daughters to think about—she’s afraid to tell them about Michael, fearing somehow, they will see his youth and fame as inappropriate for her. And, in fact, the first time the two come close to making love, not only is Diane overwhelmed, she is horrified to be interrupted by her eldest daughter Rachel who bitterly points out Diane is old enough to be Michael’s mother.

But Michael doesn’t give up and slowly but surely pulls Diane into his arms and then his life. The latter is made easier by the fact Rachel is living in the City for the summer and Megan and Emily are spending the summer on the Long Island Shore with their father and his new wife and baby. They spend almost every day and night together. Diane, an academic and a playwright, is putting the final touches on a play that will be opening in the fall. Michael is working on an incredibly challenging project—the score for a movie being made by one of England’s most famously difficult directors. When not working, they make love—God, Diane loves making love with Michael—sail, visit with his friends and family, and, in general live each day to the fullest.

But when the summer comes to an end, the ease with which Diane and Michael have been together unravels. Michael must go to London to work; Diane’s daughters, who, with exception of Rachel, know nothing about Diane’s relationship with Michael, return home; and, most challengingly for Michael, Quinn, the married man Diane once loved is now divorced and is back in town while Michael, lonely and unsure of Diane’s feelings for him, is a continent away from the woman he loves.

So many things in this book worked for me. I liked the way the jobs Diane, Michael, and others do in A Different Kind of Forever is portrayed. The creative work Diane and Michael do is wholly believable as is the context that work exists in. It was interesting to see Diane as both an academic and as a writer. She’s good at both professions, both require different skill sets, and both are shown in realistic detail. The entire context of this book–the neighborhoods Diane and Michael live in, the meals they share with others, even the way the weather is described–seemed credibly genuine. The world you’ve written is the world many of us live in–full of laundry, bills, swing-sets, arguments, and traffic.

The novel is filled with characters, all of whom have parts to play in the story, and are convincingly and compassionately rendered. Diane has complex relationships with her daughters, especially her middle child, Emily. Emily’s anger and hurtfulness is written realistically–and plays beautifully into Diane’s concerns about the choices Diane is struggling between. Diane’s friends and co-workers are also well-done–I was impressed with your ability to write different voices all of which are original and fully formed.

Most importantly, Michael and Diane are remarkably real people.  I’ve read countless contemporaries with famous, sexy young men—rock stars, athletes, bazillionaires–Michael is one of the most genuine. He’s a man–a young man–first, a musician second, and, several steps down the list, a rock star. His love for Diane seems impossibly idealistic and yet authentic. He’s fallen in love for the first time in his life—his joy and hope are breathtaking… and somewhat unbelievable to Diane. As she points out to him, their life together, were they to make a permanent life together, faces all sorts of pitfalls.

Diane’s fears, of course, aren’t unfounded, and that’s one of the very best things about this book. For Diane to partner with Michael, she has to believe not only in his love for her but in herself. We live in a culture where beauty, youth, and wealth are prized over their counterparts. Michael will always have more of all of those coveted assets than will Diane. She likes herself and yet, at one point, she hies herself off for a full spa makeover because, as she tells one of her best friends,

“A couple of nights ago, Michael and I went to the movies, and afterwards, I went to the bathroom, and you know how those lines are, so I was in there for a while, and when I came out, this incredible girl was talking to Michael. Sharon, she was gorgeous, legs up to her neck, boobs out to there, swinging all this long hair around. I just looked at her and felt, well, old and run-down. So I figured I’d treat myself to a little sprucing up.” “Shit.” Sharon said angrily. “You look fantastic, Diane.” Diane looked at her friend. “I know I do. I think I look great for my age. But I’m still forty-five, you know? My boobs sag, I’ve got those great little lines around my eyes, my jaw line is soft and puffy, not to mention the gray hair.” Sharon snorted. “Now wait. Your hair always looks terrific. I haven’t seen gray on your head in a long time.” Diane made a face. “I’m not talking about the hair on my head,” she said wryly. Sharon sighed. “Oh, that gray hair. Yeah, that really sucks.”

Yep, it does.

I don’t know if this book would resonate with younger women in the way that it did with me. If you’ve never, in an irate moment, seen age as just giving you more to shave, perhaps Diane’s fears might seem overblown. After all, she’s got a gorgeous, sweetheart of a man who loves her and has the sexual stamina of a twenty-six year old. But Diane’s fears and doubts are portrayed so well, so realistically that, honestly, I wasn’t sure how the book would end. But as I turned the pages, reading late in to the night, I hoped that Michael and his conviction of true love, would be stronger than Diane’s fears. I give it a B.

Sincerely,

Dabney

AmazonBN

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dearauthor_com

http://dearauthor.com/need-a-rec/book-club-features/da-may-book-club-pick-beguiling-the-beast-by-sherry-thomas/

http://dearauthor.com/?p=44411

The readers have voted (and it was a close call) but Sherry Thomas’ Beguiling the Beauty has won.  Next Tuesday we’ll post a series of questions about the book and invite the author and the editor to weigh in.

I thought the idea of themes is a great one for the book club so in June, we’ll have a friends to lovers themed book club. If you have your own suggestions, please email them to me jane at dear author.com

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas
2. The Relaunch of the DA Book Club (May Book Club)
3. Best First Book Nominee: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas

dearauthor_com

http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-c-reviews/c-minus-reviews/review-embrace-of-the-damned-by-anya-bast/

http://dearauthor.com/?p=44394

Dear Ms. Bast,

I have long been a fan of your books, particularly your Elemental Witches series. I find that your voice lends itself well to building paranormal worlds, and I’ve always appreciated your ability to build a fascinating mythology while never losing sight of the main couple’s romance. Which is why I was disconcerted to find myself struggling with your new book, Embrace of the Damned.

A damned Viking warrior.
Centuries ago Broder Calderson committed murder. As punishment, he was given over to the dominion of Loki, the Trickster God, made part of the Brotherhood of the Damned and condemned to an immortal life of battle against the Blight, blood-drinkers from Hel.

A mysterious woman he can’t resist.
One thousand years to the day he was damned, Loki allows him a woman as reward for his good service and repentance of his crimes. Once Broder sees Jessamine Hamilton, he is overcome with need. But Jessa is no ordinary woman, and the truth of who—and what—she is could have dangerous consequences.

A tormented man she can’t deny.
Though a future together is impossible, the warrior’s touch ignites an irresistible passion in Jessa. But every heated kiss pushes them closer to destruction. Forced to return to the brutality of his Viking past to protect her, will Broder surrender forever to his darkest impulses?

Jessamine Hamilton is shocked to find herself attacked one night while on a clandestine visit to the City Clerk’s office. While walking through a parking lot, she finds herself chased and cornered by what could only be described as a demon. Just as she thinks her life is about to end, the demon is destroyed by a hulking man, who stabs the demon causing it to turn to disintegrate into ice. This man is Broder Calderson, and he is a member of the Brotherhood of the Damned. A thousand years ago, Broder committed a crime so atrocious; he was damned to eternal service to the Norse god, Loki. During his servitude, Broder feels nothing. He has not been with a woman in a thousand years, and has lived for a promise made by Loki, that once he’s completed a thousand years of service, he will be given a woman as a reward. Little does Broder know when he rescues Jessa that she is that woman. He knows she’s in danger, and isn’t quite sure why the Blight (demons) would be after her.

Jessa has lost the only family she’s ever known, and has been manifesting strange abilities, particularly an affinity to electrical equipment. She can make any broken piece of electrical equipment work again. She’s always been an outsider who yearned to part of something, but was never able to connect with those around her. So when naturally, when Broder rescues her, she’s suspicious. When he tells her that she will surely die if she goes back to her previous life, she’s infuriated. Sure, she’s grateful that he saved her, but she wants no part of this new and terrifying world she has been exposed to. For his part, Broder is miserable. He’s desperately attracted to Jessa and wants her with a single-minded desperation, but she pushes him away constantly. Once he kisses her, he can taste that Jessa is a witch. The reasons why she was taken away from her clan is a mystery, and Broder believes returning her to that family before she is ready to fight for herself would be a huge mistake. He takes Jessa to his home in Europe and arranges for her training. The longer they are around each other, the more the connection between them grows. But Jessa realizes that she will be leaving Broder soon, and is very reluctant to begin any kind of involvement with him knowing that soon she’ll be joining her family.

On paper, this book is exactly the sort of paranormal romance I enjoy. I love alpha heroes, and deeply appreciate smart heroines. Where this book fell down for me was in the execution. The external conflict worked for me, and I quite enjoyed the fact that Norse gods, whom we don’t see much of in paranormal romance, were used as the foundation for the world building. Unfortunately, I found that there were a number of strands that were never picked up on, particularly Jessa’s ability with electrical equipment. While there were a few throw away scenes where Jessa’s ability came into play, unless I’m missing something, it was never utilized as a tool to propel the story forward. This felt like a wasted opportunity.

Another missed opportunity for me was the connection between the hero and heroine. While I’m all for sexual tension, and many of my favorite romances feature heavy doses of it, this book felt to me like the heroine was a bit of a tease. With every encounter she would go farther and farther with the hero, only to pull back at the final moment. This didn’t feel like sexual tension so much as a power play on her part. I never really understood her motivation for pulling back. The result for me was a belief that the heroine was childish and immature, which of course made me wish that Broder would move on without getting involved with her.

My final gripe with the book was the deus ex machina employed at the end of the book. I really hate stories where a magic wand is waved to give the couple their happily ever after. In this case, I felt like a character that really had no role in the book other than backstory “saved” the relationship. While I understood why you did it, it felt too easy for me. Particularly for a couple whose connection I didn’t completely buy in the first place.

All of that being said, I am intrigued by the world, and there is quite a bit of sequel bait here. I found your use of the Norse gods fresh and new, and enough to make me want more. Given that I am a long time reader of yours, I will continue with the series in the hopes that the next book will work better for me. Embrace of the Damned gets a C- from me.

Best wishes,
Kati

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poiseandpen
nanoljers

Originally published at Poise and Pen. You can comment here or there.

You’ve made it to Day Fifteen! Congratulations!

Has your usual writing space changed any the last few weeks from all this activity? Has it become cluttered? Or the opposite?
~Amber

bookslut

http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_05.php#018986

How far can this kind of thing go? For example: how long will it be before a severely cash-strapped government will be tempted to sell people-killing licenses? There are sure to be people out there who would pay to shoot, say, a condemned murderer. One could add to the fun by setting the the murderer free in the fields, and the shooters could go after him in helicopters -- an updated version of the Roman circus where gladiators dispose of those already given the thumbs-down. Come to think of it: what about creating a market in killing Taliban, allowing people to buy an opportunity to do so from a drone-control center in the safety of Texas? The variations and possibilities are legion. But if (as I hope we do) we think these are horrible suggestions, then we think that there are moral limits to markets. And that is exactly Sandel's point.

Michael Sandel's What Money Can't Buy continues to make the rounds, and allows us all to speculate on the debasement of humanity. AC Grayling has a review at B&N, and the Guardian is running an excerpt.

I just did my fucking German taxes (they're saving Europe, they're saving Europe, they're saving Europe), so maybe I should grab myself a copy of the book, find out specifically what money can't buy. Because that's all I'll be partaking in for a while.

bookslut

http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_05.php#018985

And while we're on the subject of author misdeeds, Alex Heard digs around a bit in the work of that lying liar David Sedaris, to see how much of it is made up. (A lot!) He also tries to figure out how much that might actually matter. (It's complicated!)

bookslut

http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_05.php#018984

In our actual world Heidegger was a Nazi, a cowardly hypocrite, and the greatest European thinker of our time.

From the LRB archives, one of the better pieces I've read about dealing with a writer's unsavory politics.

bookslut

http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_05.php#018983

Ah, the weird problem of the memoir, when you like the book but come to dislike the author. It happens. And it's a weird feeling, at least for someone as bleh about the whole memoir genre to begin with, because in novels, who cares? But in memoir it kind of matters.

This week's Kirkus interview is with Héctor Abad. I liked sections of the memoir Oblivion immensely. At some point, though, I was feeling irritated with the novelist. Maybe it was when he started calling people who hold religious beliefs foolish. Maybe it was when he started making proclamations about what makes a "real writer." (God, I hate that shit. Because it always suspiciously aligns with the characteristics of the writer speaking.) But huge sections of the book are beautiful, so I decided to submit a few questions to Abad about the story of his father's assassination in Colombia.

dearauthor_com

http://dearauthor.com/misc/a-farewell-from-sarah-f/

http://dearauthor.com/?p=44413

I started writing for Dear Author because I wanted to share my absolute fangirl love for Anah Crow’s brilliant SM romance, Uneven. Jane kindly published a Guest Review and then generously invited me to join the DA reviewers. I’ve been reviewing for DA ever since (3 years and 8 months).

Reading for and writing the reviews have kept me sane and made me utterly crazy. They’ve helped my academic work and kept me from it by keeping me up all night reading. I’ve discovered authors whose work I adore (K.A. Mitchell, Heidi Cullinan, A.M. Riley) and books that made me want to scream in anger and frustration — thankfully more of the former than the latter.

As much as I adore reviewing for DA, though, things have shifted in my life. For various convoluted reasons, I’ve started a business, Alphabet Editing, doing freelance fiction editing and BDSM consultation for authors. I’ll be working with self-publishing authors on their upcoming novels, and in the last two days, I’ve contracted with Riptide Publishing to work as an editor for them. As such, Jane and I came to a completely mutual decision that this presents too much of a conflict of interest for me to continue as a DA reviewer.

This step in my life would not be possible without my time at DA. Reviewing for DA helped me recognize wooden dialogue and dubious motivation at thirty paces. But I’m now transferred my reviewing skills to editing, hoping to catch those problems before the books are published, rather than after.

I will not be leaving the DA community — spending time with you guys is too much a part of my regular daytime procrastination — but I’ll be participating in it as a reader, just like the rest of you. And I might still be sharing with you some brilliant books (NOT ones I’ve worked on!) through some more Guest Reviews, bringing my time here full circle.

I want to thank Jane and the rest of the DA crew. I want to thank all you authors out there for sharing your characters and their journeys with us. But most of all I want to thank the DA readership. You guys are the best. I’ll still be sharing books with you, I promise. Just in slightly different ways.

-Sarah
Twitter: @sarahfrantz
Email: alphabetediting at gmail dot com

Related posts:

1. Best of 2008 List: Reviewer Joan/Sarah F
2. REVIEW: The Dark Farewell by Josh Lanyon
3. Borders True Romance + SB Sarah & DA Jane = Hijinks