Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

Awhile back, a very nice lady contacted me about clinch covers. She was writing an article for Publishers Weekly, and several people told her that she ought to speak with me about cover art, so would I mind if she asked me about clinches?

Pah! says I. I would be pleased to talk about cover art! My opinions, gleaned from… three years of running this blog and searing my eyeballs with Covers Gone Wild!

The article went live today: The Forever Clinch by Lucinda Dyer, featuring a quote from yours truly, a mention of the Smart Bitch Book (THANK YOU) and a nod to some very wise people, including Kate Smith, founder of Romancing the Blog. The upshot: clinches can be awful but they’re not going away any time soon.

Best quote: Jennifer Enderlin from St. Martin’s Press: “Avoid at all cost poses where the heroine is bent so far backward she’ll be in need of a chiropractor.”

Well, don’t avoid it too often, please. We needeth the covers to snark! 

Another Sarah, another blog, another righteous sword of cover snark brought down upon the tackiest novels in existence.

My fave? “To restore the honor of Rome and of his own family, Severus Varus left the decadent life of Rome… his only hope was to join the barbarians.”

If that were an erotica novel, he’d need Burma Sauce for those barbarians, is all I’m sayin’.

[Thanks to Linda for the link.]

From Rebecca comes this thought provoking link: a Georgian (I think) -era vampire hunting kit sold at auction for $14,850.00 in Natchez, Mississippi. It contained stakes, holy water, Bibles, mirrors, crosses and garlic.

Aside from the question as to whether Colleen Gleason is going to go see it for herself, my query is this: how in the world does 200 year old garlic look that fresh? I mean, I have some garlic that’s past its prime, and it does NOT look like that.

I sense supernatural powers at work. 

Not sure what to get your favorite author this holiday season? Sharon Buchbinder can help.

Romance: it’s in the air. Go on. Click. You’ll thank me. And Sharon. And the person who thought that up.

I have a few rules for gift giving, the first being that I put a good amount of thought into the gift I give, and the second that I do not ever, EVER give someone something that suggests they need improvement, or that there is something wrong with them. I don’t like gifts that might possibly hurt feelings, and I’m a big fan of the non-tschotske gift, because gifts that ultimately take up space and require dusting are not necessarily gifts I enjoy as a recipient.

I love experience gifts, too - for Hubby’s birthday one year I drafted an itinerary of all things he loves, from donuts for breakfast to baseball games (and the only team at home that day was a few hours away, so I incorporated driving on country roads in our convertible as part of the gift) to good food and wine at dinner that evening. I packed a change of clothes and surprised him with the dinner, if I remember correctly.

Either way, I love gift giving, even when the budget is tight and the options are limited. So Tuesday’s Publisher’s Lunch caught my eye as they discussed Random House’s new campaign to promote books as holiday gifts this year. In a mandate from CEO Markus Dohle, a task force (NOOOOOOO NOT A TASK FORCE NOOOOOOOOO!) was formed to create the “got milk campaign for books,” encouraging buyers to give books as gifts this year.

The ad campaign will reach the NYT Book Review, the New Yorker, and a crapload of other places, including Facebook and YouTube.