Whatcha Reading?

In addition to letting my writing go by the wayside these last several months, I’ve also let my reading go. I haven’t read anything in eons.

But in the last week, I picked up my Kindle, recharged it, and downloaded a couple of Eloisa James stories! Whoo-hoo! — I bought her new novel, a novella, and a short story. Started on the novel first, and really enjoying the (very Dr. House-like!) Piers and heroine Linnet. Eloisa James always does a great job.

What are you reading these days?

Old Fashioned Ideas on Men and Women

Awhile ago, I became obsessed with watching “Millionaire Matchmaker” on Bravo TV. I would be trying to get things done on the weekend – you know, like painting the bathroom or getting a load of laundry done – but I would walk through a room where “Millionaire Matchmaker” was on, and – next thing I knew – I’d be sitting on the edge of the couch with the laundry basket on my hip, sucked in, while my sons’ T-shirts would have their wrinkles set in.

One weekend, the show had me particularly enthralled. Partly because I was fascinated with the ne’er-do-well wealthy bachelor of the hour and the seemingly lost, desperate lineup of would-be-millionaire wives, but mostly because – arriving on the set suddenly – was none other than Dr. Pat Allen!

I interviewed Pat Allen many moons ago for an article I was doing for the newspaper on creating and breaking New Year’s resolutions. At the time, she was doing weekly seminars at a local hall in Orange County, focused on helping women and men communicate with one another. My editor friend Dixie gave me her number and said I must interview her. I loved that Pat was all about empowering women – helping them find their strength (in many cases for free) – and I became a big fan of hers, then and there. She turned out to be an amazing interview. She has this deep, gravelly voice, and a wicked sense of humor, and she tells everything exactly like it is. I remember wanting to talk to her for hours. Continue reading

Is Bentley for Real?

Okay, is Bentley Williams from “The Bachelorette” for real? No guy can really be THAT much of a jerk, can he? He acts like he’s reading from a bad script for the villian of a romantic comedy.

With lines like:

  • “I’m going to make Ashley cry; I hope my hair looks okay…”
  • “Ashley looks like an ugly duckling [next to Emily, another former contestant].”
  • “It’s hard to hold a girl and just let her cry, and cry, and cry….”

He just can’t be for real, can he? And the worst part is that he’s the bachelor she seems most interested in? How can that be?

What do you think?

E-Pub Versus Traditional Pub

My critique partner Patti and I have been having long email discussions about e-pubbing.

I’m all for it. I’m all for reading e-pubbed books; I’m all for publishing e-pubbed books; and I think the future for e-publishing is just going to get more and more exciting.

But Patti, like many writers, has a part of her that already misses traditional publishing and wants to hold out for her own books to be bound and printed. She’s labored for years on these books, and she’s always dreamed of holding her books in her hands and flipping through real pages. She wants to see her name on a cover.

This is the discussion that’s been going on all over — well outside my and Patti’s inboxes. It’s been going on across the publishing world and all over the publishing blogs. Readers are embracing e-reading in rapidly increasing numbers (either on computers, laptops, or e-readers). Last January was the biggest jump, presumably because record numbers received e-readers for Christmas. Readers are simply getting used to reading books online, used to the backlit lettering, used to different column sizes. E-reader prices are coming down. It’s just becoming the norm, and people are craving their “real books” less and less. Continue reading

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