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This third installment in her Honey Badger Chronicles was released on March 31 and I downloaded it the second I got up. Then spent the rest of the day reading it. I cannot express how much I enjoy her books. How much I laugh and giggle while reading them. To me they are simply fun to read. Which means I’m probably going to go back and read all three. Like immediately. One other thing I’ve noticed, especially this time, is how much she always surprises me with her heroes and heroines. I always think they’re going to go in one direction personality-wise. And they don’t.Read More →

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originally posted on February 11, 2010 there’s a definition of romance novels? I first arrived on the Internet in the mid-1990s. And, of course, I eventually discovered various forums and websites related to romance novels. One of the things that fascinated me was the Romance Writers of America official definition of romance. It’s perfectly logical one would exist from a marketing standpoint. That’s business. I can respect that need. What amazed me was how stripped down that definition was. At least from how I viewed the romances I read. That I’ve always read whether I realized it or not at that point. What I’ve alwaysRead More →

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originally posted on February 10, 2010 defending her heroines Over the twelve years since the Cynster series by Stephanie Laurens first debuted, I sometimes honestly believe I’ve spent more time defending her heroines to other romance readers online than I’ve spent reading the books. Her heroines, mind you, not her heroes. To me, that’s significant because I’m not sure what other author’s heroine’s I’d think deserved the defense. Not needed it, mind you, but deserved it. irresistible force and immovable object In the one and only review I ever wrote, I said this about Honoria, the heroine in Devil’s Bride, and in many ways IRead More →

smartphone browsing

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I follow several blogs related to pulp fiction and vintage paperbacks. The other day I almost dropped my phone when I saw one item pop up in my feeds. It was the publisher info for the book behind the cover I use as the icon for my Ten Nights of Love post series. Finally. Avon Books 128 – Herbert Williams – Ten Nights of Love 10 of the World’s Great Romantic AdventuresAvon Books 128, 1947Cover Artist: Modest Stein  Contents:Émile Zola – For a Night of LoveGiovanni Fiorentino – Lessons in LoveGiovanni Boccaccio – Listen to the NightingalePierre Louÿs – A New SensationIvan Bunin – SunstrokeGuyRead More →

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originally posted on February 9, 2010 mind blown by a sexy futuristic It’s now late spring of 1995 and I’ve picked up another issue of Romantic Times. Inside is this preview description of what sounded like possibly the wackiest romance I’ve ever heard of. The real kicker was that it was a futuristic – being marketed for its sexiness. Whoa. Now, we have to put this in context because futuristic romances, AKA what the publishers at that time were attempting to pass off as some type of watered down blending of science fiction and romance, were not known for their, ah, sexiness. Heck, they wereRead More →

mug & books

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short life update First and foremost, recently I’ve been having a lot of medical test related to some pain in my right side. Nothing is conclusive yet. I suspect, though, I will probably end up having gallbladder surgery within the next month or so. Therefore I’m attempting to backlog some posts. Just in case. There may only be one or two posts a week occasionally in the near future if I’m not successful. I try to do three posts each week but, you know, sometimes life happens.  All things considered it’s a really good thing I decided to rerun the Ten Nights of Love seriesRead More →

Rendezvous by Amanda Quick, 1991 - this is the cover on the paperback I have, except it's supposed to have a stepback and doesn't

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originally posted on February 8, 2010 historical romances Once I’d started reading historical romance with Julie Garwood, I did sort of dive into that particular pool headfirst. I remember reading a lot of mostly medievals in those next few years of the early 1990s. All the while still reading some contemporaries. And searching for that elusive perfect fantasy/science fiction romance combination to appear on the horizon. There were occasional fits and starts in that direction with the new Leisure/Love Spell line. Not a lot of enthusiasm on my part for what they were producing, though. But back to reading historical romances. I slowly began toRead More →

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They are normally not to my taste. But I was in the mood recently to re-watch my set of Jason Bourne movies. And I suddenly realized that I basically like three kinds of action movies. (Possibly my definition of action movies there, not someone else’s.) Now, I’ve never been big on spy movies although I have enjoyed the random James Bond. Well, okay, kind of enjoyed them. Right up until I reached the point that I wanted to beat Bond over the head with something. I’m also really not crazy about the shoot-em up, blow’em up variety although I do have the Die-Hard collection somewhereRead More →

The Bride

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originally posted on February 7, 2010 romance novels magazine? Sometime during 1989, I picked up a copy of Romantic Times at the local independent bookstore. When we still had a local independent bookstore here. I distinctly remember that was where I first read a preview of The Bride by Julie Garwood. So, I did something very out-of-character and found that book. I say it was out-of-character because before that I didn’t like to read historicals. The Bride was not only my first book by Garwood. It was the first historical romance I ever remember reading and actually enjoying. I loved it and the rest as theyRead More →

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Apparently bad covers are a problem that is as old as paperback publishing. I ran across an article that, um, beautifully illustrates that point. And it’s about the first US paperback covers for J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit of all things. Barbara Remington’s first cover is truly an exercise in interpreting the idea of The Hobbit, rather than its content, since she was not given a chance to read the book when she received the commission. The Bizarre Book Covers for the First U.S. Paperback Editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Books, Made By an Artist Who Had Never Read Them The cover in question: Um, o-kay. Well,Read More →

Journey to Love

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originally posted on February 6, 2010 bodice rippers? no, thank you One major misconception is that all romance readers took the bodice ripper route during the 1970s. I’m one of the ones who didn’t. I continued to read read books by Hill, Loring and eventually Glenna Finley. At the same time I mostly read mysteries with a light sprinkling of category romances mixed in. In fact, I’m pretty sure the late 70s all the way through the mid 80s was my Agatha Christie phase. I know I collected most of her books in paperback back then. Oh, I may have occasionally picked up that rare single title historical romance during that era. IRead More →

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I binged on the first season of The Orville TV series and fell in love with it. Which completely caught me off guard. I mean I thought I knew what was coming. But it wasn’t at all what I expected. To be honest, I actually thought of several different titles for this post.  never trust professional critics Particularly when it comes to science fiction. (And superheroes, too, to some extent.) Personally, I’ve never quite figured out why the “professionals” can be so far off from fan reactions. But there it is. And not just occasionally but they do it a lot. when something old isRead More →

The Solitary Horseman

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originally posted on February 5, 2010 next library recommendations The next romance author I remember getting handed routinely from librarians as a relatively young teen was Emilie Loring. I didn’t mind at all to tell the truth. Her books were actively published from the 1920s-1970s. That’s a tad misleading, however, since she died in 1951. She wrote and published 30 novels before her death. Then, after her death, her sons found a lot of unfinished manuscripts and notes. So they finished those into 20 more novels that were published under her name over the next 20 years. Considering she didn’t start writing until after sheRead More →