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

From the “Now See Here, Motherfucker, We Work Hard On Those Reviews” department comes word of an eBay store swiping the reviews written by other users on Amazon and review blogs, and posting them on their own book listings under their own name.

The EDson Financial Group has posted over 220 reviews on eBay, and according to a few online sources, including Joyfully Reviewed, those beefy reviews were swiped from other sources, usually from among Amazon featured reviews.

Kathleen Gilligan has posted about it and has started notifying reviewers on Amazon via the comment feature that their writing has been thieved for eBay without attribution.

For example: a review for “Charm!” “by” Kendall Hart posted on 23 February 2008 matches identically a review by Carol “Avid 20-something reader” on Amazon.com, posted 18 February 2008.

Ok, this book has nothing to do with one of the prizes, but I have an ARC to give away, and this cover makes me feel verry verrrry creative. And really, there is no law at Smart Bitch HQ that says I have to make any sense. Whee! So, two prizes, one contest, and my thanks to April for the linkage and the original question.

Take a look at the picture below the fold. In the comments, tell me what he’s looking at. A few words, a narrative, a poem, whatever. Just tell us what he’s looking at. The two best winners as judged by you all and yours truly will win either (a) a copy of Rhonda Nelson’s The Hell Raiser and The Loner OR (b) my ARC of C.L. Wilson’s King of Sword and Sky (which is due out in October). The fabulous folks at The Dorch sent me a digital copy and a paper copy, and when I asked and said “Please,” they said it would be spiffy to give my paper ARC away to one of you lovely readers. Comments expire in 24 hours.

So, on your mark, get set, and tell me: What’s he looking at?! What’s he saying to himself? 

From the “If I Had a Bodrillion Dollars and Free Healthcare” department comes my pondering of a “more better documentary” about romance – one that started at RT and kept going to RWA, The Romance Slam Jam, and some of the more awesome chapter conferences and reader events. Alas, my million has not rolled in so I’m left to dream.

But this month’s letter from RWA President Sherry Lewis reveals her year as “The Face of Romance” - a title that made her cringe, as she is not normally, as she puts it, a “bona fide introvert.” Lewis, who declines all interviews no matter how many times I say “Pbbbblease?” represented RWA at the Public Library Association’s National Conference with Allison Kelley and Stephani Fry (all of whom are very cool, says I) and her experience proves that there’s some genuinely active and eager people out there looking for romance to read (and not necessarily man titty to grope along with it):

Thanks to Kari, who directed me to this article, we have news that the Indiana law that “required booksellers and others to pay a fee for selling ‘adult’ material” was overruled by a Federal judge. Sarah’s Succinct Legal Commentary: “Thank God and thank judges named Sarah.”

U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker ruled that the law “burdens First Amendment rights and is unconstitutionally vague and overly broad.”

I’ll give you a moment to celebrate before pointing your attention, as Kari directed, towards the comments, specifically one by “Phred” who lovingly states,

As someone else said, you didn’t need to be a Harvard Law grad to see the folly in this “law.” And by the way, if you want to read some really explicit stuff, check out some of the “romance” novels at your local Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library branch. They make the letters in Penthouse Forum seem tame!

I think it’s time I ran for Queen. And when I am Queen, it will be none of anyone else’s goddam business what I read, what’s in what I read, where I buy it or where I borrow it from. Same goes for you, Phred. And if you can’t tell the difference between Penthouse Forum and a romance, you need to avail yourself of that library some more, and stop reading so much of the Forum to begin with before you start passing judgment on what is and what isn’t explicit.

If you’re looking to tighten up your prose, or if you find that grammatical and structural lessons on the art of writing serve as fascinating leisure reading (I do, I do!) go check out Joanna Bourne’s growing series on the top 100 best of the worst writing mistakes.

So far there are four or five entries, but they reveal as much about the writer as they do about the craft and labor of writing itself. I find writing about writing, particularly examinations which pick apart structure to reveal meaning and vice versa, utterly addictive.  Well played, Ms. Bourne, well played.