Blog (Page 38)

While not actually finding romances on my shelves that truly feature barbarians, I have found a couple that scratched the itch for me. I’ve also come up with a theory. There are no barbarians in romances. Jerks, yes. True barbarians? Hmmm, maybe not. It seems to be one of those descriptive terms tossed around a lot like lions and wolves but without any true reality.   What I haven’t decided is whether this is because most romances are so limited in terms of time and place for settings or because it’s all a matter of perspective in the first place. Say a book was set inRead More →

Just got back from seeing it. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, where have you been? Anyway, will post more tomorrow about both it and Superman Returns – we saw that last week and I’m still trying to figure out what I think about it - but suffice it to say that I do believe I actually laughed more at Dead Man’s Chest than the first one. Oh, and just so there’s a point to this other than my sleepy ravings, has anyone else noticed the discussion over on Squawk Radio about the surprising new (old) hunk in the movie? Check it outRead More →

Or maybe that should be “found & lost” because first I found the Krentz book I was looking for several posts back. It’s Lady’s Choice and once I started looking it was fairly easy to find because there was a high-heeled shoe on the cover, front and back. What gets me is that the scene I was thinking of didn’t have her standing on his fancy car but his old beat up sedan. Everything else was as I was remembered, an excellent mating challenge with the heroine the one issuing the original challenge. After I revisited it, I jumped rereading two best friends romances, one byRead More →

I have discovered a new pet peeve. Well, okay, in all fairness, I don’t believe it was a problem until recently so it’s truly a brand new one. But it’s a major one, believe me. What is it, you ask? Reviews, recommendations or otherwise just plain commentary on erotic romances and erotica that don’t necessarily make it clear that’s what they’re talking about in the first place.  ARGH! No, really. This is something that’s slowly been building up in my spleen since so many of the blogs I visit regularly have started pushing both ebooks and erotic romances/erotica. I don’t have a problem with themRead More →

I think I’m in a blogging funk. Sort of. It started when I was sick last week but seems to have continued on after that, partly due to real life demands on my time and partly due to simply not feeling interested in talking about any of the books I’ve read recently. I’m not even in the mood to finish editing the blog post ideas I have stored in Outlook drafts but I’ll keep staring at them.  The strange thing is that I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I just haven’t been enthused enough to comment on any of them. I’m still on myRead More →

I’d convinced myself that I wasn’t interested in seeing the new Superman Returns movie right away. At least not until recommendations came in from other Lois & Clark fans so I know they didn’t completely mess up the relationship. But after spending several hours at Walmart today, surrounded by Superman merchandize on practically every aisle, I think I’ve been subliminally brainwashed. Okay, blatantly mesmerized. Honestly, I can’t believe how much merchandize they’ve cranked out for this one. Then there’s the fact that in just the last few days our TiVo has managed to snag around a dozen different interviews/shows related to the new movie. Yeah, I have aRead More →

I am so out of it today. I started getting a sore throat last night and was hoping it would be gone this morning. No such luck. So, I’ve been dragging today. Not sure if Suisan cheered me up or bummed me out, either, because like her I’m also so ready for Captain Jack. Arr. Yes, one would think I’d be breathless waiting for the new Superman movie instead, but I’m too leery of it to hold my breath that long. Hehehe. Okay, back to bed for me. Bye now.Read More →

Over the weekend, Mark and I were eyeing a couple of books/series, one of which is very much out of our normal comfort zone and the other no so much but still different for me, so I thought I’d ask in anyone has read either. The first that we decided not to get was People of the Wolf by W. Michael Gear & Kathleen O’Neal Gear (The First North Americans series). As far as I can tell, this is straight history only prehistoric in nature, if that makes sense. There appear to be about 12 books so far, with WOLF being the first. Have toRead More →

I made a joking comment over on Sybil’s blog about Laurens maybe continuing the Cynster series on into the next generation and while that would be a nightmare – maybe, oh, okay, considering how prolific that clan is, yeah, it would definitely be a nightmare – it did start me wondering about something else. Anyone know if any romance author has ever tried to do a connected series based upon following one family line through history with only one book per generation – father to son, mother to daughter, as it were? Or anything even close to that idea? I can see both advantages and disadvantages to this idea.Read More →

I need a new reading lamp because I’ve decided I don’t have a decent one in my entire house, which strikes me as outrageous all things considered. ;O No, really, the ones I have are either too weak or shine the light in the wrong place. The one on my bedside table is actually starting to give me a crick in my neck besides. The problem is that I need to know what to look for before I start shopping. What type of bulbs, shades, stands, etc., are truly the best for extended reading pleasure? So, what are your personal recommendations? What works for youRead More →

Did I wake up a different person this morning? Cause I just read about not one but two books that shouldn’t interest me and yet do. I feel like a cat with a hairball stuck in her throat she doesn’t know how to get rid of. (Hehehe, now there’s an image for you.) Anyway, the first title that caught my interest is The Quilter’s Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini and I read about it over on Marg’s blog. Sure sounds like women’s fiction to me and I normally avoid that with a passion and yet this one also sounds fascinating. I have a weakness for craft related storiesRead More →

I’ve been thinking. Dangerous, I know, but it sometimes happens when I least expect it and then what am I to do? Really, though, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this fixation romance readers have with their romantic HEA, i.e. couple meets and couple ends up together riding into the sunset. PERIOD. Absolutely no exceptions. Okay, almost no exceptions. Nah, no exceptions. Like I said, it’s a fixation. A serious fixation that brings out the snarling beast in those sweet creatures we all know as romance readers. (And if you believe that last description have I got a bridge for you.) Anyway, while thinkingRead More →

I’ve mentioned before that within the last couple of years my sister and I have taken our parents into our homes with me taking our father and Barbara taking our mother. This is something I’ve rarely mentioned online in the past but I feel like maybe I should talk about it more if only to give a little background on it so that when I do refer to the situation in the future everyone won’t be completely lost on what I’m talking about. I say that because it’s become such a normal part of our lives now that sometimes I’m surprised when others comment onRead More →

I love Stobie Piel’s books. I won’t say she’s never let me down but I will say that when she does it’s never in ways that other authors do. Okay, wow, that’s definitely the kind of statement one needs to explain and usually have no idea how to do so but I shall try anyway.Let me put it this way, her stories, characters and approaches are usually so different from most other romances that I guess I’m willing to forgive more “problems” simply for the sheer enjoyment of the storytelling. She also has a certain non-linear approach to choosing her spin-off plots that I canRead More →