Am I the only one who thinks this blows?

I admit I have a hard time remembering titles but good night, just about every title Charlotte Boyett-Compo has uses the word wind. Her website url is even Windledgends. I am guessing this is an attempt at branding but it is so not working for me. How about you guys? Are you able to keep her stories straight? How do you remember what you have read and what you haven't? But most important... is she any good and what would you recommend reading?

Dear Author goes 20/20

From Dear Author: The week of October 2nd through October 8th we will be featuring an interview and several reviews of an author that the Two Ja(y)nes and Janine love. Today marks the first of a three part series on Romance Publishers Promises to Romance Readers. Today’s articles addresses Advertising (the delivery of the promise), next week will feature an article on Branding (the promise), and finally we’ll end with What to Do When a Good Author Goes Bad (or when the promises are broken). First up: Advertising (the delivery of the promise) go forth and read... I could be wrong, but I don't think this is about the never ending debate of 'What makes a Happy Every After'. Is it marriage and a baby makes three? Can a Happy for Now be a HEA? Can a couple end HEA without a ring? So forth and so on... I *think* we are going with: Romance = HEA (YMMV on what that means ) Erotic Romance = HEA with steamy, throw the door wide open sex Romantica = same as ER but trademarked to EC which some people 'get' and know and some choose to ignore Erotica = Fiction story where the plot is driven by sex Porn = sex, sex, sex, and sex no rhyme or reason, plot? what plot? Personally I think all of the above are peachy and all have their fans. What I think the dear ja(y)ne's are addressing is, well, what they say they are addressing... Advertising and the way publishers choose to market their books. Jane please correct me if I am wrong.

New to me Blog

The Berkley Babes

And yet again...

Booklist: Core Collection: Erotic Romance, by John Charles and Shelley Mosley from the ever fab Kate Duffy: In 2006 Kensington launched Aphrodisia, an erotic fiction line. Although it can be difficult to distinguish between erotic romances and erotica, Duffy has a simple yet effective way of separating the two kinds of books. "While there is often a lot of really great sex in an erotic romance, the focus of the story is always on the romantic relationship between the two protagonists. In erotica, while there might be a relationship between the two protagonists, the focus of the story is on the really great sex." Thanks jay!

If you haven't seen this

read it great post... shall tie into some other posts later...

Romance courting erotica

Erotic Romance, Erotica and or Romantica, no matter what you label it or how you define it, you can't argue that it is a hot market right now. HOT is an understatement, it has exploded and just about every publisher is coming out with a line or buying books to fit this market. It has been talked about, blogged about, printed in newspapers, made a talk show or two and now even has its own idiot's Guide. Since this is Avon Red Week, figured we would start with... WHAT THE HELL is erotic romance, erotica and/or romantica. In the interest of time (raining! make the rain go away!) we will retro post... because as I said, this has been blogged about before *g*. BUT first... Avon Red Where do you see this fitting? I think/thought it was Erotic Romance but the site at Harper (not updated and rather on the eh side of websites , sez I) says: In today's marketplace, Erotica is one of the fastest-growing segments of women's fiction. Avon Red is committed to providing the best, most sophisticated erotic fiction available in the industry, written by the most talented authors. With our striking cover designs and steamy narratives, Avon Red is in a class by itself. Erotica... is that a lack of understanding in the difference or could Avon be taking the opposite (and much better) approach of Aphordisia and marketing its books as erotica and allowing for a HEA or not. I could not find submissions guidelines for Avon Red but there was this note on Karen Fox's site: May Chen oversees the Avon Red (erotica) lines. They will put out one book a month in trade size starting September 2006. This is very hot but emotional sex. It can be historical, contemporary, time-travel, paranormal, urban fantasy, and short story or full length. She recommends you query her first. Send the query to (go look it up). If she requests you to snail mail the manuscript, be sure to include a copy of her email. Follow up with her if you haven't heard anything in a month. Maybe one of the Avon Red Authors will chime in and let us know if these are HEA only or not. Fever isn't such a new scene First Posted February 10, 2006: Helenkay blogged For Further Confusion regarding the March Romantic Times trying to, as Alison Kent sez: Define Eroticism . I happen to agree there is no right or wrong. But as I sit here trying to assign sensuality rating, the question is running through my head. I have read books recently that are called hot, hot baby but seem very mild to me. I am missing something? LOL or just too jaded and on romantic erotica overload ;). 1. How do you define erotic vs erotic romance in your personal reading or reviews? 2. Do you have any personal examples of authors you feel fit the two? 3. Where do you feel romantica fits in between erotic vs erotic romance? 4. Is the sensuality rating something you even pay attention to before you read a novel? Or do you look after? Do you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing? 5. If you do look at the ratings before - you are looking for hotter stories? Or are you looking for the sweeter ones? 6. If you write, is the level or page amount focused on sex something you even think of when you plot out a story (if you outline) or do you just 'let the characters lead?'? 7. Do you think we are flooding the market with too many hotter books? Or are you happy to see so many new erotica lines? 8. Where does BRAVA fit in with erotic vs erotic romance? lots of questions... and I have more! readers and/or authors answers as many as you want or not ;) ETA: Cindy's answers [note: beta blogger is being goofy if you have issues posting use the option 'other' and type in your name... if you use anon, make sure you type your name in the post]

Guess that answers that question

From HelenKay's blog: In the never-ending Aphrodisia v. Brava debate, the editors say: Aphrodisia is about sex and Brava is about romance. Hillary Sares (the main Aphrodisia editor) says the term “erotic romance” with the imprint is a misnomer. The books are not really romance and don’t have to be. Use of the title is for marketing - Kensington wants the books in the romance section and wants to reach romance readers. That’s it. And, the only limit on the sex is that it be legal. I have to say this annoys me greatly. Since when is misleading and lying ok marketing? What is next, erotic sex in inspirationals? hmmmm ::see that isn't as much fun without the lil pictures::

EBUZZ: Screwing with Perfect by Louisa Trent

When PERFECT isn't really good enough. Kesley Richmond is stuck in an undergraduate time warp, stagnating in the same-old-same-old routine. On top of that, her total dedication to an emotionally draining career is leading to burnout. She needs more, something just for herself—like a personal life for instance. All her college friends have moved on, fallen in and out of love, married, divorced. Done something! Except her… And her complacent downstairs neighbor, Andrew Chandler. If it ain't broke, don't fix it—that's Drew's philosophy. His college apartment suits him fine, and his sex life is one score after another. Though his consulting business keeps him traveling, he has Kesley, a girl in a million, to come back to. He doesn't know what's set Kes off, why she wants to shake things up, why she's on this kick about moving on, changing stuff that doesn't need changing. He wants her status quo to stay right where it belongs—one flight up from him. But to keep his sweetheart happy, he'll do anything, anything at all, even... SCREWING WITH PERFECT. Would you Like to Know More Genre: Erotic/Red Hot!/Contemporary Grade: B Sensuality: Burning Jane Meter: TRY This is a reissue of a book that was previously published by LSB. I don't think there have been changes but the one I have read was the LSB. The Good: It seems to be friends to lovers review week. So I guess I like that theme ;). There are many common elements in this book but they have enough of a twist that they are different. Kesley is a virgin and tired of it. So of course when she decides to date some guy, she met in the a very sad way, she wants to be rid of that silly virginity. Enter Drew, her BFF and a manwhore, who better to show her the ropes? Yes, all been done before. The thing is even though she loves him and he loves her neither really think this could be 'it' for them. She wants marriage and babies. He wants, well he wants his life just like it is right now - perfect. He loves his job, travels loads, fucks away from home (often) and has a great love in his friend where sex isn't involved to fuck it up. As sex does.... so once she says the S word, life goes completely out of wack for Drew. I love a rake who falls and falls hard. I love how when her set timeline is up, she goes on with her business as planned. And I love it is the man doing the chasing. The Bad: There is a lot here not to love as well. To be honest, I had the worst time trying to read, Courtesan. After reading the blurb for Screwing with Perfect (LOVE the title) and reminding myself I should never write an author off after one book, I read this. Louisa Trent does a lot of telling, right after showing And the inner dialogue grows old, as does the almost sex. I hate almost sex. You know when your two character get to a point and something unexpected happens and poof, they almost had sex. This is ok once (sometimes), twice it gets annoying, and by the third time you throw the book. But whenever the author annoyed too much, she would do something to pull me back in. There are some funky breaks in the story from chapter to chapter. Things would end and then where you would expect them to pick up, they didn't. So we miss out on some great reactions and get 'told' about things I could have just read about. My biggest issue though is the time frame. 10 years... just seems like an awful lot of wasted time. The Verdict: I think it comes down to I really loved the characters. Drew and Kesley are people I enjoyed meeting and had a friendship I could believe that developed into a relationship I wanted to work. I would recommend the book just to read the scene when Drew returns home. Of course I could see many people hating it. But it amused the hell out of me. Next Captive The author can be found here and here. The book can be purchased here.

EBUZZ: Her Wildest Dreams By Shiloh Walker

Timid and shy, in her wildest dreams, Allie never imagined Alex would look at her with anything more than friendship and maybe a little pity in his eyes. One horrible night Allie is attacked and Alex comes rushing to her rescue. He wonders if he is really needed when he finds a little hellcat fighting off her attacker. Much later that night, Alex holds that little hellcat in his arms. Months later, he runs into Allie again and he barely recognizes her. She's no longer the shy little wallflower she had once been. Problem is... she doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with him. Allie's about to find out that Alex is the only man guaranteed to make her wildest dreams come true. I have said it before, shiloh has hell of a lot of books. And the nifty thing is she writes a little of everything. hmmm well she needs to write some historicals... Would you Like to Know More Genre: Contemporary Grade: B Sensuality: Burning Jane Meter: 50/50 The Good: I really enjoy Shiloh's contemporary voice. She can take some very common category like situations and sex them up, in a good way. And her characters have a very real feel to them. The reader enjoys the time spent getting to know them. When Allie decides to change her life and herself, she works at it. No really, she doesn't just take off her glasses and put on a red dress and two days later becomes HAWT. When she decides to change, she changes. Allie decides what she doesn't like about herself. Then amazingly enough she does something about it. Allie goes after what she wants to tries to create the happiness she knows she deserves. When Alex pulls his head out of his ass, he has to figure out how to lead, follow or get the fuck out of her way. The Bad: The brother is an asshole. I hate that crap when it is ok to do whatever, to whoever but HEY not my sister. Cuz she is pure and crap... that could just be me. The Verdict:Did I mention I like it when a rake falls hard? Again this is a friends to lovers story, done well, with great characters. If you have only tried Shiloh's paranormals or haven't tired her because you don't read paranormals, I highly suggest trying this one out or Her Best Friends Lover Next Hunting the Hunter You can find shiloh here and here. And you can buy the book here.

Lauren, Megan and Anya's Ebuzz: Adrianna Dane's Eluria's Enforcer

Adrianna Dane book information and blog Devon Andromeda, a Nanus-altered Argadian Enforcer of the First Level, is assigned the mission to hunt down and eliminate Eluria Zydon, a rebel leader, who also happens to be the daughter of an Elite Tribunal Commander. Enforcers are altered and trained as assassins who retain no memories, or humanoid emotions that would hamper their purpose. Aggression is the only emotion unblocked in an Enforcer; the Tribunal directs their existence. Eluria Zydon's life is filled with more than enough memories and emotions for both Devon and her. She lives with the guilt of past injustice and her life has been dedicated to finding the cure to set Devon and those like him free. It is a payment she prays will also free her soul once and for all from her tormenting past. Confrontation on the lifeless planet, Serdion, will change them both forever. An explosion delivers Devon into Eluria's hands. An experimental drug opens the floodgates to Devon's emotions...and his memory. The first emotion he faces, and must learn to control, is desire. Eluria has been trained as a Twilight Companion and has the knowledge to help him harness his passions. Will he accept her help? Or is his only intent to complete his mission—her termination? Ebuzz bought to you today by the letter M and the number 3. Lauren Dane, Megan Hart and Anya Bast aka Maverick Authors can be found causing trouble together OR on their own Scissors, Sparkles and Piston EBuzz ( Key: Lauren Dane=Scissors, Megan Hart=Sparkles, Anya Bast=Piston) Piston- I really love how Adrianna Dane created a unique world in her novel, Eluria's Enforcer, complete with its own laws, customs and religion. I loved it so much that I wanted more of it. I wish this book had been about twice as long and had really delved into this planet and its peoples. Scissors - I did really like the worldbuilding here. I love sci fi and futuristics and I don't see nearly enough of them in the romance world so I was thrilled to see that (the other) Dane had done it. I also felt like I wanted more. I looked her up though and she's got a second installment that comes after this one. I'd love to have seen her fleshed this out to at least twice the length it was! But she left me wanting more and that made me go to look and see if she had it, all very good signs. Sparkles: One of the great things about a good SF story is the world building and use of different languages, history and cultures. I found a lot to enjoy in Eluria's Enforcer. Adrianna Dane obviously put a lot of thought into her world, including religion, politics and society. I had a little problem with the vocabulary sometimes, keeping all the new words straight, but overall really liked what she did with the story and weaving background in without overloading it all at once. And alien sex! Woo! Let me say that reading alien sex is ALWAYS interesting, but the physical make up of Eluria and Devon surely did leave an impression on me. It was familiar and yet different enough to keep me reading. Piston - The story is set mostly in a cave and the plot focuses on the resumption of a former romance between Devon and Eluria. After reading Eluria's Enforcer, I feel confident that Ms. Dane is completely capable of writing a substantial science fiction plot and wish there had been more of that. However, as an author I know you can't please everyone, and every reader brings different expectations to a book. Scissors - I quite liked that she narrowed the focus to that cave. I thought it gave a depth and intensity to the storyline that it wouldn't have necessarily had if they'd been all over the place throughout, especially at this length. Sparkles: I both agree and disagree. I think narrowing it to the cave worked for this story, but I'd have loved to read more about what was going on in the rest of the world. Sequel? :) Piston - Perhaps this world will be more thoroughly explored in a sequel or two? I definitely scented a couple spin off characters in there. Perhaps Devon's brother Alekos and maybe even Kierra, Devon's sister. On a final note, the only quibble I had with the worldbuilding were the foreign words Dane uses for sexual organs and sexual slang. I find these distance the reader from the eroticism. So, in my opinion, the book could have been a little hotter. Scissors - this is the kind of thing that bugs me in all sci fi/fantasy books. I understand that it's a different world and they'd use different words and all, but at some points it got to be too much and I had to stop to look back or remember what it is she was referring to. A little of this convention goes a long way, IMO. Sparkles: I didn't mind the vocabulary referring to body parts. Those I kept straight. LOL! The ones I had problems with were the names of the rocks and minerals, and stuff in the cave though to be honest, had they been the "real" words I wouldn't have done any better keeping them straight. Piston - The writing was clear and the plot was well structured, I just wanted more of it. That said, I found this to be an engaging and enjoyable story and I'd definitely read any sequels that Dane releases. Scissors - While I wouldn't call Eluria's Enforcer an "erotic" romance, it was a very readable and enjoyable romance. I did like the chemistry between the H/H and I thought both were likeable and three dimensional characters. I truly enjoyed Eluria's Enforcer and I'll be checking out the sequel to continue on in this world Adrianna Dane had created. Sparkles: I liked the sex. It was well thought out and in keeping with the world. I must admit to a personal "squick" about all things anal, but hey, everyone's got their own thing. I thought how she created a new reproductive system was well thought out and worked in the story. As for it being erotic, I will say I found myself fascinated by the actual goings on more than turned on by them, but that's coming from a writer's viewpoint and not a reader's. I was saying things like "cool!" and "ooh, how neat!" I really liked the effort she put into the s/f aspect of the story. It left me satisfied on many levels. Great job! Thanks for the buzz guys! Always nice to hear of a new author to try. Eluria's Enforcer can be purchase here. And the fearsome threesome have a nice size back list, well if size matters I think Hart is the biggest. I highly recommend Playing the Game by Megan Hart, Triad by Lauren Dane and Winter Pleasures: The Training by Anya Bast.