Avon Archives : All About Romance

An Interview with Jill Shalvis

By Dabney Grinnan|2017-05-24T17:11:42-04:00June 26th, 2016|Categories: Authors, Dabney AAR, Interviews|Tags: Avon, Heartbreaker Bay series, Jill Shalvis, May Chen|

Perennial contemporary romance favorite Jill Shalvis has a new book out this week. It’s called Sweet Little Lies and it’s her first release with Avon Books as well as the first edited by well-known editor May Chen (she has edited Julie Anne Long, Sherry Thomas, Lorraine Heath, and others). Sweet Little Lies is book one in Jill’s new Heartbreaker Bay series. I’ve read most of Jill’s work and, after reading this one, asked if she’s answer a few questions.

Dabney: Hi Jill. Thanks for talking to me. After reading Sweet Little Lies—which I enjoyed—I have questions.

For starters, what do you have against glitter?

Jill: Ha! Have you ever tried to clean up after glitter? If you have, you wouldn’t ask me that question. Having raised four girls, I can tell you I’ve had more glitter in my […]

It’s the 20th Anniversary of Lord of Scoundrels!

By Dabney Grinnan|2017-06-23T08:30:23-04:00January 23rd, 2015|Categories: All About Romance, Book news, Books with Buzz, Historicals|Tags: Avon, Lord of Scoundrels, loretta chase, Top 100 Poll|

AAR feels old! We can’t believe many of us first read Loretta Chase’s classic romance Lord of Scoundrels 20 years ago! We first reviewed the historical romance in 1997. The review was written by a reader who gave the book an A. In the review, she wrote:

One of the greatest thrills about reading, for me, is to begin a new book and within the first few pages realize that it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. I get a shiver and I breathe a sigh of contentment and just fall into state of near total euphoria. This book will reside on my bedside table for months or longer, so I’ll have it near to reread a favorite bit of dialogue, a particularly wonderful scene or simply experience the same heartfelt emotion […]

New Opportunities for Aspiring Writers – and Other News From Around the Web

By Lynn Spencer|2017-06-23T08:30:47-04:00April 25th, 2013|Categories: Lynn AAR, Publishing|Tags: Alexandria, Amazon, Avon, E.L. Konigsburg, Harlequin Blaze|

** I’d noticed recently that Avon redesigned its website, and it has also now announced the launch of Share Your Book, a place for aspiring writers to post writing samples and receive feedback from readers, editors, and other authors. It reminds me somewhat of the First Page feature at Dear Author, but since this one is sponsored by a publishing house, I suspect there will be more of a presence from editors giving comments and hopefully finding new talent. Avon has had similar features in the past, including the FanLit contest that brought us Tessa Dare, Courtney Milan, Manda Collins, Elyssa Patrick, and several other authors. I’ll be curious to see what new voices emerge from this new feature. More than a few writers have emerged from the self-publishing world recently, and it looks like Avon is trying to bring some of that talent on board.

Avon Wants a Piece of Your Mind…

By AAR Admin|2017-05-24T17:30:32-04:00January 17th, 2012|Categories: AAR Blythe, Polls, Publishing, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: Avon, Polls|

Have you ever wanted to give a publisher a piece of your mind? Well, Avon is asking for one. They have a fairly extensive survey for romance readers on facebook. They want to know how you read, how much you read, whether you listen to audiobooks, where you get your book recommendations, which websites you like (you know, like ours)…

There is a place to comment at the end with any other feedback you’d like to give. Since they really want to know what you think, you might as well tell them! You can find the survey here.

– Blythe Barnhill

Avon Royal Weddings Giveaway (Contest Closed)

By AAR Admin|2017-06-23T08:31:33-04:00April 4th, 2011|Categories: Authors, Contests, E-books, giveaways|Tags: Avon, Gaelen Foley, loretta chase, Royal Weddings, Stephanie Laurens, William and Kate|

china On Tuesday Royal Weddings, a new Avon Impulse digital anthology featuring Loretta Chase, Gaelen Foley, and Stephanie Laurens is released. The authors pull out their charm, wit, and passion to tell three stories set amidst grand historical royal weddings, including those of Princess Charlotte and Queen Victoria.

Of course, the timing of this digital anthology is perfect since anticipation is building for the royal wedding between William and Kate on the horizon. Avon wants to make the wait until April 29th a bit easier with a fun giveaway.

Grand Prize Valued at $225:

One electronic copy of Royal Weddings

One set of William and Catherine Wedding China: On the day of the wedding you can feel like you are right there withWilliam and Kate as they eat their first meal as a married couple. Partake of a light repast from replicas of the official set of wedding china William and Kate […]

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Avon ARC and Vera Bradley Bag Giveaway (Contest Closed)

By AAR Admin|2017-06-23T08:31:50-04:00June 21st, 2010|Categories: All About Romance, Book news, Contests, giveaways, Historicals, Romance|Tags: Avon, Eloisa James, giveaway, liz carlyle, lynsay sands|

Avonbag Our friends at Avon books are helping AAR celebrate our new look by putting together an extra special prize package for one lucky reader, including coveted ARCs of favorite authors and one from a historical romance debut author. It includes the following ARCs:

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James (July 27 release)

One Touch of Scandal by Liz Carlyle (September 28 release)

Born to Bite by Lynsay Sands (August 31 release)

Eat Prey Love by Kerrelyn Sparks (September 28 release)

Afterlife by Merrie Destefano (September 28 release)

Swept Away by Kiss by Katherine Ashe (July 27, Avon debut author)

And, to make a good giveaway even better, the prize package also includes a cute Vera Bradley drawstring bag and a beach towel in a coordinating pattern.

To enter for your chance to win, simply comment to this post by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Thursday, June 24th. The usual […]

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News and Musings

By Lynn Spencer|2017-06-23T08:31:51-04:00June 10th, 2010|Categories: Book news, Lynn AAR|Tags: Avon, Carina Press, harlequin, news, random|

skip_to_end – The big news around the web this week has been the launch of Carina Press. They launched Monday and their books are now available in a number of places, including at their own site, where they’re offering a 20% discount. I bought a couple of the new releases this Monday, and compared to what I’ve encountered elsewhere, their site was very user-friendly. I’ve looked over their list of upcoming books through August, and we’re in for some treats – including reprints of some Hope Tarr historicals I’d almost given up on finding at the UBS!

[…]

20% Off Avon Books and a Cool Advanced Read Giveway (Contest Closed)

By AAR Admin|2017-06-23T08:32:04-04:00November 16th, 2009|Categories: All About Romance, Authors, Contests, E-books|Tags: Avon, avon books discount, contest, discount, giveaway|

Avon20.150.2 We’re very excited to announce a special new benefit exclusively for AAR readers, thanks to the generosity of Avon Books.

From now until December 12th, when you shop at Harper Collins online, you’ll save 20% from your total order when you enter the code AARAvon20 at checkout.

And, to keep the good news coming, we’re also excited to announce a giveaway of an exciting package of Avon advanced reading copies for one lucky winner packed in a cute (really, really cute) handmade tote bag. To enter for your chance to win, just post in the comments section of this post by Thursday, November 19th at 12 midnight, eastern time. A winner will be randomly selected and announced here on Friday.

The prize consists of three e-galleys and six print galleys. The actual release date of all upcoming books is included in parentheses, but the prize will be shipped shortly after the […]

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Hey, Did You Know We're All Irrelevant?

By Lynn Spencer|2017-06-23T08:32:17-04:00May 20th, 2009|Categories: Publishing|Tags: Avon, Interviews, Publishing|

That’s right. Avon Books still believes that those of us out there writing internet reviews and reading them before we buy books don’t make a difference in the sales numbers. I was a little startled when I first saw this view expressed in Laurie Gold’s 2002 interview with Avon, but downright flabbergasted to see this expressed in 2009. After all, the internet is all-pervasive in today’s culture. People shop online, socialize online, research all manner of things online, and review all manner of items online. Therefore, it seemed a little odd to me to discount the importance of online book reviewing.

Various news stories recently have described the decline of newspapers as internet news sources surge in popularity. For a few examples, see here, here, and here. And if people are turning online to get […]