What I'm Reading: April 2011

I'm on a bit of a reading binge -- of all the binges I engage it, it's the worst for my eyesight, but my hips are certainly happy that I'm choosing books over cupcakes. But since I just finished a manuscript of my own, I'm taking some time to make a dent in my to-be-read pile. The pile is more like a Hydra than a finite resource, and books that I've always meant to read somehow manage to spring up and replace anything I finish, but that is not such a bad problem to have. Here's a taste of what I've read and what I hope to read in April -- what am I missing?

Finished:

- Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet (starting with VISION IN WHITE). Borders's demise was my gain, since I got the whole quartet in trade paperback at 50% off, and I read them over the course of two days (I told you I was bingeing). They're sweet, utterly charming, and put me into the darkest despair over whether I will be able to write such wonderful stories consistently for the next three decades like Ms. Roberts has.

- Deanna Raybourn's SILENT IN THE GRAVE and SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY. These have been on my TBR pile for ages, ever since I got SANCTUARY for free at the '09 RWA conference, but it was her latest release (DARK ROAD TO DARJEELING) that finally prompted me to read them. I love India, so I can't wait to get to DARJEELING, but I was a good girl and went back to the beginning of the series first. These books are wonderful -- the Victorian mystery with strong romantic elements and a very slight tinge of paranormal is a nice break from what I usually read, and the heroine is great. Better, the hero is my favorite kind of brooding, enigmatic alpha male -- I very much recommend them (and him ;).

- Anne Stuart's RUTHLESS. This reminded me a lot of Georgette Heyer's THESE OLD SHADES, if Heyer had written sex scenes (which would have made her books the best romance novels in the history of the world). However, I can only recommend RUTHLESS if you have a secret fondness for the bad old romances of the '80s -- there's more kidnapping/coercion than one usually sees in modern romances. If you, like me, have a tattered collection of Johanna Lindsey books that you sometimes go to for comfort, you'll probably love this.

To Read:

- Homer's THE ODYSSEY. Okay, not so romantic. But my next book involves some ODYSSEY-like wandering, and I actually adore the translation by Robert Fagles that I linked to above. I read it all the way through a decade ago, and I'm excited to revisit it.

- Sarah MacLean's TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHILE LANDING A LORD. Another score from a bankrupt Borders; I loved her debut, and can't wait to read this one.

- Christina Dodd's TAKEN BY THE PRINCE. This is getting a lot of good buzz on Twitter and was recommended by a bookseller, so it's sitting on my shelf gathering dust until I get to it.

- Amanda Quick's ARCANE SOCIETY books. Her alter ego, Jayne Ann Krentz, is speaking at Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park on April 26, and since I devoured all of Amanda Quick's early books before somehow falling away from them, I'm eager to get back into her work before the talk.

What have you read recently? What are you planning to read? What should I add to my teetering TBR pile? Please share!

We Interrupt This Blog To Temporarily Direct You Elsewhere

Don't go away forever - this is still where it's happening (some days, when I'm not so busy living my hip writer life that I fail to blog). But, I'm blogging today over on the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood site, where I interviewed my fellow '09 Golden Heart finalist Cynthia Justlin on her new release HER OWN BEST ENEMY. It's romantic suspense, not historical, but I suppose we'll forgive it this time :) Check out the interview here - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

What I'm Reading: March 2011

As usual, I'm not reading any historical romance at the moment. I'm too deep into edits for my current project, and I find that I can't read historicals when I need to maintain a grasp on my own voice. Instead, I've been reading more paranormal -- rather like the Regency's fascination with Gothic novels. I do find it rather interesting that works with fantastical elements appeared relatively soon after the development of the modern novel in the mid-1700s; for all that paranormal is such a huge trend right now, it's a good reminder that the paranormal boom/bust cycle has been going on for at least two centuries already. Take that, Edward Cullen! Anyway, here's what I've recently read and what I can't wait to get my hands on this month:

• DREAMS OF A DARK WARRIOR by Kresley Cole. I have been salivating for this book since approximately two seconds after I finished her last book, and it didn't disappoint. The story was v. moving, the hero was dark and brooding (just how I like 'em), and the heroine was of a particularly kick-ass variety. I can't recommend this book, and the entire Immortals After Dark series, highly enough - if you haven't tried it already, you really must. However, I must warn you that you're going to want to read the next book as soon as you finish this one, and as it's not out for another year, you're welcome to join me in wailing and gnashing of teeth while awaiting it.
• RAZIEL (THE FALLEN) by Kristina Douglas. I've been meaning to try Anne Stuart's historical books for ages, but as I mentioned before, I'm not reading historicals right now. But when I heard that she just started a new paranormal series using the name Kristina Douglas, I couldn't help myself. I generally enjoyed this book, but as usual with many series books, I get so excited by the story that is being set up for the sequel that I kind of forget to enjoy the one that I'm reading. Overall, though, it was a great 'debut' paranormal.
• Six not-to-be-named Golden Heart entries. I signed up to judge this year, and as usual, I procrastinated. I'm done now, and while I didn't thoroughly enjoy every entry that I read, there were a couple that I'm still thinking about, which is a good sign. I can't wait to see who finals in the category I judged.

As for upcoming books, I have a whole shelf of books (well, multiple shelves of books) that I intend to read as soon as I finish my edits. More specifically, I've got titles by Tessa Dare, Courtney Milan, Delilah Marvelle, and a bunch of others on the historical side; with paranormals, I'm super psyched to read the latest from Addison Fox and the debut from Tamara Hogan (both of whom were fellow 2009 GH finalists).

What are you reading? Are there any great February or March releases that I need to add to my pile?

What I'm Reading: February 2011

I've been reading a lot of non-Regency work recently - this always happens when I'm slogging thickly through my own story, since reading in my own genre can be too distracting. So, my recent reads are heavy on the paranormal elements:

• FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT by Darynda Jones. This is a smashing debut from one of my fellow 2009 Golden Heart winners - and holding her (gorgeous, hardcover) book in my hands at Borders gave me chills even though I'm on the teensiest edge of the periphery of her supernova success. Okay, that may be melodramatic. Still, her voice is incredible - the best way I can describe it is that the book has the best of the early Janet Evanovich/Stephanie Plum books (kickass, slightly ridiculous heroine, not yet mired in a love triangle) with all the heat and awesome paranormal elements that I'm loving with that side of the genre. I would totally recommend this even if I didn't know Darynda (and recommend it even more because I do).

• THE GHOST SHRINK, THE ACCIDENTAL GIGOLO AND THE POLTERGEIST ACCOUNTANT by Vivi Andrews. This is starting to look like nepotism, since Vivi is another of my fellow 2009 Golden Heart winners - but I'm way behind on reading the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood's stuff, and Vivi's novella hit the spot exactly when I needed it. While the story has paranormal elements (in fact, precisely the elements listed in the title - shocking!), at its core it's really a sweet, fun romp with a lovely woman who desperately needs to get laid and the unbelievably hot man who's more than willing to help her take care of that problem. It was just as sweet and fun as the heroine herself (and Vivi, for that matter), and a great afternoon read.

• WARRIOR by Zoe Archer. I'd heard great things about this series, and so far, so good. I got the bundle a couple of months ago and devoured Warrior in one sitting sometime in late January. Having a kick-ass heroine definitely helps, and the hero was one of those uncannily-good warriors I love so much (which explains my deep, abiding love for Aragorn from Lord of the Rings).

Up next, Kresley Cole's DREAMS OF A DARK WARRIOR releases this week, and it's already on the way to my doorstep. I also have a stack of novels as tall as me waiting for when I finish the final draft of my current project - which can't come soon enough, or else my TBR pile is going to bury me.

What are you reading? Are there any recent or upcoming books that I should add to the pile?

What I'm Reading: December 2010

My fellow readers, I have a dark confession. I haven't read anything new in at least two weeks. If this continues, my writer card may be revoked.

But, there are a dozens of books waiting for me to read, and I hope to make some serious progress over the holidays. Given that I also intend to finish writing my book, write a hundred Christmas cards, switch blog hosting companies, start researching a shiny secret idea I have for a medieval-flavored young adult book, and spend time with the family I've shamefully neglected these past few months, I may be setting too high a bar.

Still, I've got a reading list - does it match yours? What hot new books am I missing?

• Zoe Archer's BLADES OF THE ROSE series. I got WARRIOR, SCOUNDREL, REBEL, and STRANGER as part of a discounted Amazon bundle for my Kindle, and I can't wait to dive in - I've heard such good things.
• Vivi Andrews's THE GHOST SHRINK, THE ACCIDENTAL GIGOLO, AND THE POLTERGEIST ACCOUNTANT. Disclaimer: I'm friends with Vivi, since she won a Golden Heart the same year that I did, but this book got fantastic reviews.
• Courtney Milan's TRIAL BY DESIRE. I loved her debut, PROOF BY SEDUCTION, so I'm hoping for great things in this one.
• Sarah MacLean's TEN WAYS TO BE ADORED WHEN LANDING A LORD. Extremely long titles aside, her first book in this series (NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE) was one of the best debuts I've ever read. She signed a copy for me at RWA convention in Orlando and was perfectly lovely in person, so I'm excited to read the sequel.

I'm sure there are other books on the list, but this list will change depending on what books I may get for Christmas. What's on your must-read list for December?

What I'm Reading - SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: AN HOUR A DAY

Starting today, I'm going to start taking the opportunity to discuss what I'm reading. This is a daunting proposal; while it's theoretically easier to find blog topics if they have a theme, something like "what I'm reading" necessitates that I find the time to read -- and that's no easy task, given how many other things I have on my plate. But, you can't be a writer unless you love to read, and it's tragic how much my reading has fallen by the wayside over the past few months. Hopefully this will encourage me to keep up. One of the books I've been reading off and on over the past few days is SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: AN HOUR A DAY. As a by-product of Silicon Valley, it's little wonder that I'm attracted to new technologies; beyond that, I actually studied social and group psychology in college, and I'm intrigued by how groups come together, bond, and ultimately succeed or fall apart. Social marketing is a cool blend of these two areas of interest, and is something that I could see myself getting into even if my writing career fails to take off.

My challenge is figuring out how to build my presence online without losing all of my time to the madness of the Internet. I already spend way too much time online, whether it's reading the "real" news, checking the one celebrity gossip blog that I allow myself to read, or staying up to date on the dozens of publishing blogs that I've subscribed to on Google Reader. Then there's Twitter, Facebook, email loops, etc. -- until I could spend all day just staying current on other peoples' content without ever writing another book again.

This is where SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING is supposed to help. Theoretically you're supposed to be able to put together a full-fledged social marketing plan for yourself in an hour a day, and then keep it up in the future. The challenge will be whether I actually have the discipline necessary to a) follow the plan and b) cut myself off after an hour so that I can focus on my real writing. I'll keep you updated on my progress -- although if I'm successful, you'll hopefully notice when I start getting more comments and followers and all those other accoutrements of a bona fide social network in the next few months. I don't mean for it to sound as mercenary as all that -- the main benefit is obviously sharing information and learning from others, even if the hope is that you may eventually sell some books too. It's just a matter of getting started, and having some sort of tether around myself so that I don't fall all the way down the rabbit hole of the Internet...