The Color Purple

 

What do these three gorgeous covers have in common? 

It must be the season for purple because so many recent releases seem to be donning the color. I like the hue - and happen to have purchased all three of the above - but I do wonder about the recent purple proliferation.

If we approach it from color psychology, purple is the color of royalty and connotes luxury, wealth and sophistication. It can also symbolize magic and mystery. Purple is associated with femininity, sensuality and romance.

Purple, the color of good judgment, is sought by people seeking spiritual fulfillment. It is said if you surround yourself with purple you will have peace of mind. That is why purple is thought to be a good color to use in meditation.

Transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance and mourning all also associated with purple, which is considered an exotic color. 

If one's mood ring turns purple, (They still make those?) it means the sensual, clarity and purpose is known.

Any, some, or all of these interpretations would seem right on target for a romance novel. Or maybe the person behind each cover just likes the shade.

Whatever the reason, the purple trend continues. Sabrina Jeffries' next novel How to Woo a Reluctant Lady  - due out in January - is pretty in purple.

Delightful 'Year of Living Scandalously'

There are many things to like about Julia London's latest offering, The Year of Living Scandalously, starting with its cover.

There seem to be lots of purple covers lately and I, for one, am liking them. Of course, taking a look at the cover, there's lots more to feast one's eyes on besides the color!

Declan O’Connor, Earl of Donnelly, arrives at Hadley Green to find that the new countess of Ashwood is actually an impostor - a woman he knows quite well from back in the day in Ireland.

Snappy repartee keeps this fun story zipping right along from start to finish. The heroine is winningly charming and the hero is easy to fall in love with.

The back story centers on the mystery surrounding the execution of a man for the theft of the Countess of Ashwood's historic jewels.London uses it to set up an intriguing twist at the end of  The Year of Living Scandalously that made me want to run out and buy the next book in the series.

That's where the bad news comes in.

According to London (per her website), the sequel - The Secrets of Hadley Green - will not be out until February of 2012. That's more than a year from now.  London says the long wait was unforeseen when she wrote the ending to The Year of Living Scandalously.

Disappointing yes, but I still plan to be among the first to read The Secrets of Hadley Green.  (I just hope I can remember the story!)


And now for the shameless plug...

Writing with the Stars Voting is Now Open!

Voting is now open in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest.

Online polling runs until November 28.

I am one of eight remaining finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published. But I can't get there without your support!

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, scroll down to the bottom, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!

A Christmas Promise Delivers

Is it too early to read holiday-themed books? Not for me apparently since I just read the last page of Mary Balogh's A Christmas Promise  (on my new Kindle, naturally).  

The novel first appeared as a Signet Regency in 1992. In it, the Earl of Falloden inherits heavy debts along with his title and agrees to marry the daughter of a wealthy coal merchant to have his debts cancelled. Eleanor Transome's father is gravely ill and wants to secure his daughter's future before he dies.

Both agree to the alliance. He thinks she is a grasping cold commoner who hungers to be a countess while she assumes Falloden is a greedy spendthrift.Of course neither is true!

When Eleanor invites her relatives to spend the holiday with them, Falloden is surprised to find himself drawn to the boisterous bunch. Since this is a romance as well as a Christmas story, it does have a happy ending. And the journey to get there is a fulfilling one. 

Balogh is one of my favorites because of her spare, almost poetic, writing style. She deftly manages to evoke deep emotion with fewer words. Her writing brings to mind Willa Cather's sparse yet evocative style.

My only pet peeve is a meaningless one really. The cover shows a couple ice skating. I don't recall that happening in the book. Am I wrong? If you've read A Christmas Promise  and do remember such a scene, let me know!


And now for the shameless plug...

Voting continues in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest. I am one of eight remaining finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published.

But I can't get there without lots of support because I am up against some very talented writers. (Hopefully, one day we'll all be published!)

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!

Joining the Kindle Wave

It's official. I'm a Kindle-ista. I received the latest generation of the e-reader for my birthday.

I'm still navigating my way through it. Initially, I was surprised to find the Kindle does not have a touch screen. However, my early impressions are definitely on the positive side.

It's easy to use and does feel like you're reading a regular book...only in a much cooler way! While it is strange not to have page numbers, there is a little bar at the bottom that tells me how far along I am in the book.  

I also got the saucy apple green leather cover with built-in book light, which works beautifully. I used it on the bus this morning and the entire "page" was nicely illuminated. (Yes, my commute starts so early even the sun hasn't stirred yet.)  

I have to say the ebook prices are a surprise. I've just started shopping in the Kindle store but I can't help wondering why the latest ebooks are about the same price as the paperbacks I usually pick up in the grocery store. It has got to be cheaper to sell books in e form -  without all the paper, printing and shipping costs.

But what do I know?

Prices on the older books aren't bad, though. I just purchased Mary Jo Putney's Carousel of Hearts in ebook form for just $4!

And a reminder...

Voting continues in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest. I am one of eight remaining finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published...who knows...maybe in ebook form!

But I can't get there without lots of support because I am up against some very talented writers. (Hopefully, one day we'll all be published!)

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!  

 

Ebook Explosion

More and more people seem to be reading ebooks lately but do you ever wonder just how big a piece of the market they are?

Publishers Marketplace puts that figure at about eight percent for 2010. About $304.6 million worth of ebooks have been sold so far this year.

The latest monthly figures from 12 publishers show that ebooks made up about 7.5 percent of overall book sales in September. Total trade print sales for the month were at $489.5 million.

According to the American Association of Publishers, ebook sales continue to grow at what seems to be an astonishing rate, with a 158.1 percent increase over September 2009.

But the experts caution that we should not read too much into these figures. That's because 12 companies report their ebook sales while about 20 companies report trade print sales so these final numbers could be somewhat skewed.
 
And a reminder...

Voting continues in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest. I am one of eight finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published...who knows...maybe in ebook form! But I can't get there without lots of support because I am up against some very talented writers.

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!

Highland Hellcat is a Must Read

First of all, I think the cover of Mary Wine's Highland Hellcat is gorgeous and the pages in between don't disappoint either.

The highly-engaging plot involves Connor, who arranges to marry Diedre for the strong political alliance it will bring him. However, when he discovers Diedre has slept with the enemy, he steals her sister, Brina, instead. The only problem (aside from the fact that he steals a human being) is that Brina is promised to the church. She's been groomed for the life of a nun although it doesn't take too long for Connor to arouse some unholy feelings in her.

The interplay between the two is so much fun and they have that 'spark'. What I also enjoy about Mary's writing is the little historical tidbits she slips in along the way. I don't know about you, but I enjoy a strong historical component in my historical romances.

I highly recommend this memorable read. It's the most entertaining book I've read in a while.

And I'm not only saying that because Mary Wine is my mentor in Kensington Brava's Writing with the Stars contest. While that is the reason I first picked up one of her books, I bought Highland Hellcat because I was really excited to read it.

Speaking of excited...I'm thrilled to have made it into the second round of the Writing with the Stars contest. Online voting is now open for the category of Best Hero and Heroine.

Initially, 10 finalists were selected by editors Alicia Condon and Megan Records at Kensington. Online voters whittled that number down to eight after the first round. The last writer standing wins a book deal!

Click here to read the passages and then scroll all the way down to the bottom for the menu of author names to vote.

I hope you'll consider voting for me. It's very quick and easy. You can click in, VOTE and be out in under a minute.

Thanks for your support! 

Writing With the Stars - Making it to Round Two!

The exciting news today is that my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte - a Regency romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution - has made it into the second round of Brava Kensington's Writing With the Stars contest. A big thank you to all who voted for my entry. I could not have done it without you!

If you're new to the blog, here's the deal. Late last summer, Kensington Editors Alicia Condon and Megan Records selected 10 finalists for the competition. The grand prize is every unpublished writer's dream: a publishing contract!

But, first, that person has to make it through five rounds of competition. Two finalists were eliminated after the first round, in which readers of RT Book Reviews voted online for their favorite First Paragraph and Last Sentence.

Round Two begins today!

This time the category is Best Hero and Heroine in 150 words or less - no easy task. We were assigned mentors for this contest. I lucked out with Mary Wine, author of books such as To Conquer a Highlander and Highland Hellcat,  who helped me refine my descriptions to really make them shine.

Check it out for yourself and see what you think. CLICK HERE to read all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for me! It is very quick. You can click in, vote and be done in under a minute.

I appreciate your support! 

 

Harlequin Digital Sales Skyrocket , While US Sales Weaken

Wondering about the future role of ebooks in the marketplace? Well,   Harlequin just announced that it's digital sales jumped 70 percent in the first nine months of 2010. 

At the same time, according to parent company Torstar, Harlequin also experienced weaker U.S. retail sales in the period between April and June of this year. The company does not break its digital sales down by region so there's no telling how much of their ebook action came from U.S. readers. 

Along with ebook sales, Harlequin's direct sales to consumers as well as its overseas business increased. Overall, its book publishing revenues rose $1.4 million in the third quarter - the period between April 1 and June 30, 2010.

However, Torstar said it expects sales for the entire year to be down compared to 2009, because of diminished U.S. retail sales.

The news comes as Harlequin prepares to shelve its Silhouette and Steeple Hill imprints. The series will now be called Harlequin. Otherwise all of the books series will remain the same. The company believes the stronger Harlequin branding will make it easier for consumers to find their products.