Blog Archive

Would You Like to Dine Outside?

Finally, it appears as if summer (or a belated spring) has arrived in much of the northern United States. Seemingly within minutes of the warmup, one of the major rites of summer occurred: all of the…

Top Ten Clichés About Romance Novels (and Romance Readers) I Never Want to Hear Again

A few articles with the usual dribble have appeared in various media over the past few weeks.  I’m not going to link to them (well, except to one truly extree speshul example of idiocy), because we…

"Bad Romance" v. 854

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAlnM7RUDcA I never really noticed how big Lady Gaga had become until now.  It just happened so quickly, so astronomically, so (insert choice of superlative)-ly, that I’m not sure I have any concept of it. There…

Deadeye Dick's Last Shot, or All for the Love of Bessie Burton

If you are not a fan of the 1960’s western television show, The Virginian , then this title means nothing to you. As a caregiver for an aging relative, I can almost repeat all the dialogue.…

The Biology of Beauty

A friend of mine surprised me the other day by announcing that she hadn’t washed her hair since October. Given that she did not look like a total grease ball — quite the opposite, actually —…

Romance Novel Covers: A Rant

They’re like bad relatives.  You can’t avoid sleazy Uncle Bob or foul-mouthed Cousin Betty, because Uncle Bob married to Aunt Emily (the loveliest auntie in the world), and Cousin Betty is sister to Cousin Mark (who’s…

Casting the AAR Top Ten Romance Novels

In 2010 readers voted on their Top 100 favorite romance novels. Some of these have been made and remade into films, but many of the top 10 haven’t. Isn’t it time to give Hollywood a nudge…

Hunting High and Low

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPAzwUhXnzs… is my earworm of the day. I am feeling a certain restlessness at the moment, and the song captures this emotion just perfectly. In addition, I love the old A-ha songs. (They remind me of…

Speaking of Audiobooks: June Releases and Slave to Sensation Discussion

Speaking of Audiobooks has now been around for two years!  This represents our 52nd column and if you are wondering about anything concerning romance audiobooks, you’ll probably find it in our audio archives.  They remain an…