




by SB Sarah • Wednesday, October 01, 2008 at 01:02 PM
Her 1: “What are you reading? Oh, hey, I read that book.”
Her 2: “This book is amazing. OMG. It sucks you in. I can’t put it down.”
Her 1: “Totally does, doesn’t it?”
Her 2: “Oh, yeah. You can’t believe how compelling it is to read. I feel like changing my entire life, and following each section of this book.”
Her 1: “Wait, huh?”
Her 2: “Seriously, it’s incredible, how this book has touched me.”
Her 1: “Oh...you’re not kidding. I mean, it was a quick read but -”
Her 2: “No, no, not quick at ALL. I’m savoring every phrase, and contemplating each one. It’s taken me ages to decipher some of the meanings behind the prose.”
Her 1: “I don’t ... I mean… wow.”
Her 2: “Lewis is just an incredible writer.”
Her 1: “Lewis? Don’t you mean Meyer?”









by SB Sarah • Wednesday, October 01, 2008 at 10:59 AM
While both Karen and many others questioned the statement that this man is hot, behold, she is teh winnah of our latest Caption that Cover contest, with her entry, Cat on a Hot Tan Man. Hooray Karen! You win $20 spanky dollars at your choice, Amazon or Powells.
Honorable mentions go to Suze for The Incongruously Blond Italian Billionaire’s Familiar Mistress , Karmyn for the inimitable This wasn’t what he had in mind when Mrs. Slocumbe offered him her pussy, and to Amy for i haz ur heero / u bring cheezbrgr / or no happyend fur u .
Well played, y’all. That thread was way too much fun.





by SB Sarah • Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 09:37 AM
JebB dove into the user book store, and came up with a cover so excellent, she immediately sent it to me with the request that we caption this bad boy.
I dunno, really. There aren’t any decent puns that are at all obvious in the art.
As usual, vote for your fave, and I’ll use my paper and pencil to count up the votes and award $20 in gifty dollars to the winner. Ready set go!






by SB Sarah • Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 03:49 AM
In a recent comment, Jennifer Echols mentioned No Plot? No Problem, a how-to manual by Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo.
According to Echols, “He suggests that before you sit down to write a novel, you make a list of everything you love to see in novels. When you write your own novel, you should put the stuff from your list in there. Then you should make a second list of everything you hate to see in novels. When you write your own novel, you should make sure none of the stuff from that second list creeps in when you’re tired.”
Ooh, neat. But looking at that idea from the perspective of a reader, I can generate an equally useful list - for shopping and seeking recommendations.
Here’s my list:
Things I Love:
Characters who are mysterious, who don’t say much, but whose deeds are wonderfully telling and could reveal a character who keeps a great deal of depth hidden. I’m all about the steamy unspoken ardor.
Example: Gleason’s Max from the Gardella Chronicles, who carries a burnt rose in his pocket from when Victoria lit it on fire to try to see in the dungeon where they were trapped. He kept it - and would be mortified if anyone found out that he did and asked him why.
Characters who are genuinely funny, not just in a slapstick way but in a witty, clever, and realistic way.
Example: Deirdre Martin’s Power Play, in which a soap opera actress falls for a hockey player. The hockey team’s scenes in particular had me giggling to the point that Hubby wanted to know what was wrong with me.
Plots that are sustained by multiple threads of tension, some large and some small, that don’t line up like links on a chain one after another merely for additional pages. Wait, that’s more of a hate. So let’s go there.
Things I Hate:
Dialogue that is completely unrealistic.
Characters getting angry for no good reason, except to sustain conflict. Flipping out over minor things, getting all icy and disdainful for really stupid shit? GAH. (Harlequin Presents and Helen Brooks, I am LOOKING AT YOU.)
What do you want as a reader? What don’t you want? And as a writer, do you write the plots you love to read?










by SB Sarah • Monday, September 29, 2008 at 04:48 PM
Samhain is offering another free Kindle ebook - Perfecting Amanda by Bonnie Dee.
Seriously, I love the free Kindle books. I know it’s device exclusive and probably pisses the hell out of people who don’t have Kindles haven’t had a good gulp of the Kindle-Ade, but I have to say, click-click try a new author? Verrrry seductive. Well played, Samhain.
And by the way, do you get prank calls for people looking for Mr. Sam Hain? Next time I know you’re at a conference, I’m so paging Mr. Sam Hain to the lobby.