Elmore Leonard said: I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances ''full of rape and adverbs.''

Sunday 30 May 2010

EXCITED TREPIDATION...

... Much like a virgin heroine on her wedding night, I am all aflutter. I have Dead in the Family in my hands and it is hugely exciting. (Okay, I'll stop there.)

But.

I have concerns. Is it just me or is Harris paving the way for Sookie and Sam? The last two books in the series, which I devoured back to back over two sleepless nights, were dropping some rather heavy hints.

Who did Sookie think of when she lay close to death? Whose good opinion does she value above all others? Who can she always depend on without qualification?

Sam! Boring, lame, SAM!

Gah! I guess it's obvious that I'm not a fan. And I suppose I should add that if I were somehow controlling Harris, Eric Northman, Sookie's super-hot-and-sexy-and-slightly-evil-vampire-lover, would be on every other page...


So it fills me with concern to find this on the blurb:
Just about the only bright spot in her life - besides the fact that she is, after all, still alive - is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman.
(emphasis mine)

This doesn't bode well. I am filled with foreboding.

Yet also excited. New Sookie Stackhouse. Woo.


Sunday 16 May 2010

WHY WORLD, WHY??

Earlier in the year, I made a list of all the romances I was looking forward to, my must-reads for 2010. Below is a sample:

  • April: Patience, by Lisa Valdez
  • May 4: Dead in the Family, by Charlaine Harris
  • May 25: Married by Morning, Lisa Kleypas
  • June 29: Love in the Afternoon, Lisa Kleypas
  • June 1: The Time Weaver, by Shana Abe
  • June 1: Dreamveil, Lynn Viehl
  • July 6: Demon Blood, Meljean Brook
  • August 1: Last Night's Scandal, Loretta Chase
  • August 31: Demon From the Dark, Kresley Cole
  • October 5: The Iron Duke, Meljean Brook
(I know! If someone had told me a year ago that Lisa Kleypas would author the only historicals I'd enjoy reading, I would have laughed them out of town.)

ANYWAY, long story short, it sucks to be British for the avid romance reader. Not only do I have to wait a whole month longer for the latest Sookie Stackhouse (agony!) but the two Kleypas romances are due out in October and December! As The Book Depository helpfully points out, that's 144 days between me and Leo Hathaway.

My pain doesn't end there. Should I choose to spend my hard earned pennies shipping the books over from the US, I get crappy floral covers that give me no aesthetic joy. By waiting the interminable 144 days, I get the much nicer UK edition.

Sophie's choice, people!