When I was a growing up, my favorite thing about summer was that I could read what I wanted, as much as I wanted. The perks of being a teen included devouring Gone with the Wind in three days – without having to a) talk to anyone or b) make anyone dinner. The headiest thrill…
I’m back in Denver, all the laundry’s done, and I have had a little time to reflect on RWA. First of all, I had a fabulous time. I’ve been to RWA twice before: Denver 2002 (my own backyard) and Reno in 2005. So it had been a while for me. This was by far my…
I think fiction was my first love. The B. Dalton I frequented as a teenager was shaped like an octagon, and I can still see the shelves of the fiction section in my mind’s eye. I scanned them often, looking for something new to try. Classics were first (I read Mark Twain and Jane Austen…
“Will you marry me? You would be well advised to say no.” These are the words Edmond uses to propose to Mary in Mary Balogh’s The Notorious Rake. I first read it well over a decade ago, but it remains my favorite proposal in all of romance. And as a veteran reviewer of nearly twelve…
I admit it: I am a Malcolm Gladwell fan girl. I don’t stalk his blog or anything, but I’ve read all his books – two of them twice – and found them all fascinating. I recently reread Outliers: The Story of Success, and was giving some thought to the notion of expertise. If you haven’t…
I nearly always find writing the Reviewer’s Choice Column affirming (in a “See? There WERE some good books this year!” kind of way). And it’s always nice to have a column with unabashed gushing; often we keep that stuff under wraps. Unlike years past, we all managed to find favorites this year, and some of…
I got what I’d politely call a very confrontational e-mail from an author last week. She writes for a smaller press (electronic and POD), and referred to herself as an “independent author.” The gist of her e-mail was that AAR unfairly discriminates against “independent authors.” Now, I’m not new to this job; I’ve been doing…
In addition to attending the booksigning with Diana Gabaldon, Blythe has brought back a signed copy of Echo in the Bone for one lucky reader. To enter, simply answer the following, “What medical condition prompts Briana and Roger to journey back to the 20th century with their children?” NOTE: If you haven’t read all the…
“There’s a reason I write long books: I like digressions.” That’s how Diana Gabaldon started off her booksigning for An Echo in the Bone (9/23 at the Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch, CO). Since I’m a bit of a fan girl, this was not my first Gabaldon signing; in fact, it was my fourth. So…
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