Risky Regencies

Congratulations on your Release Day Diane! I poste...

2009-11-30T16:41:25.674-08:00

Congratulations on your Release Day Diane! I posted it on my Blog & will Tweet it too.
Love & Best Wishes to you & yours,
RKCharron

Jane George, I forgot to comment about your commen...

2009-11-30T16:29:36.184-08:00

Jane George, I forgot to comment about your comment. I wonder about food reviews. There are some foods I just don't like that others love. Like Indian food and sushi

Jane Austen, your love of books just shines out fr...

2009-11-30T16:28:01.620-08:00

Jane Austen, your love of books just shines out from that comment!

Barbara, I quite like my book being one of your rewards.

Megan, come to think of it, I read reviews after reading the book, too.

Omigosh, Tamara! I had no idea!!!! Thank you so mu...

2009-11-30T16:23:42.946-08:00

Omigosh, Tamara! I had no idea!!!! Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention.

Here's the link everybody!

Fave 2009 Romance Books from BN’s Heart to Heart Blog

I don't go by reviews, but by friends' recommendat...

2009-11-30T16:10:42.401-08:00

I don't go by reviews, but by friends' recommendations. Usually I read reviews after I've read the book to see if I missed something, or if someone had a dramatically different opinion. But I don't listen to people I don't know, unless they get paid for their opinion, and I know they are relatively objective.

Congrats on the release, Diane!

I read reviews, but only for entertainment value -...

2009-11-30T15:00:09.891-08:00

I read reviews, but only for entertainment value - never to direct my purchasing habits. Most of the time, I think reviews tell me more about the reviewer than the actual experience I will have reading the book.

Congrats, btw, for making the B&N top books of 2009!

I bought it Saturday in Walmart, and can't wait to...

2009-11-30T14:54:42.395-08:00

I bought it Saturday in Walmart, and can't wait to read it. I've got all sorts of rewards for myself once I finish the WIP (about 9500 words to go...but who's counting?)and your book is one of them.

I have a circle of romance buddies whose opinion I rely on. I do read RT and can usually tell if something's going to work for me, but I never read Amazon reviews. I am absolutely dreading the whole review thing for my spring debut releases...someone will have to lock me in a closet until it's all over. :)

Diane, can't wait to get the book on Kindle. You a...

2009-11-30T12:56:21.520-08:00

Diane, can't wait to get the book on Kindle. You are one of my favorite new authors, so I must have all your books.

I do subscribe to Bookmarks, which has over 500 book reviews a month. When I worked at Barnes & Noble I would read what my customers were buying because I wanted to be able to talk about a popular book. I found some great authors this way and some not so great.

I do love Targets bookmarked breakouts, which I have said before. Now when I go to Target though I don't buy the books. I stand in the book aisle with my Kindle and download the books I'm interested in or just download a sample if I'm unsure. (Love the sample function of Kindle).

For the most part I browse the web or in bookstores. If I'm in a bookstore and see a book I think might interest me (I just walk up and down the aisles reading titles waiting for something to JUMP at me) I pick up the book and open it to three random pages and read those pages. It's how I see if I like how a book is written. I never read the end or the beginning, but parts in the middle. This trick has only steered my wrong one time and that is with the book The Lily and The Dragon by Dafvdd Jones. I recommend no one buy or read this book. On page 47 it's turns into bestiality with dwarves and the Queen of France (the book is about the battle of Aggincourt) puts a bat where no human should ever put a bat (in her rectum to use a nice word). Sad thing is, I couldn't throw the book away because I just can't throw a book away. So my friends created a distraction in the library while I shoved it in the return pile. A year later I went back to that library (it was in Wales) and they had cataloged the book and made it part of their collection. I looked for it on the shelf and it was missing. Perhaps it found a friend who enjoyed the book. I wish them well.

As far as amazon reviews go, I only read the two or one star reviews. I like to know what people felt was wrong with the book to see if those would actually bother me as well. Most of the time I find that they wouldn't and so I buy the book. Sometimes it would bother me though and then I look for something else.

I also download almost every Kindle bestseller that is free because it's free and maybe I'll find something I like.

And finally since this comment just isn't long enough, I feel that as a librarian I should read from every genre and I do. I read a book from each genre a year. Some are good, some are bad, some are indifferent, but I feel it makes me knowledgeable about many subjects. I must admit there's some fun historical gay fiction: look up these titles on Amazon.com....the pictures are a hoot and the books are pretty good: Discreet Young Gentlemen by M.J. Pearson and The Back Passage by James Lear. I'm surprised my Amazon.com recommendations list hasn't exploded yet. I'm sure it's the only one where gay fiction, christian romance, sports and children's lit sit together side by side saying "buy me, you'll like me because you liked this...."

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I can't wait to read GOFL. And...

2009-11-30T12:13:38.534-08:00

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I can't wait to read GOFL.
And no, I don't pay much attention to reviews of books or movies. It's so subjective. I give a bit more weight to restaurant reviews. There seems to be more agreement on what tastes good.

eHarlequin.com is offering 15% off all ebooks in a...

2009-11-30T12:09:11.724-08:00

eHarlequin.com is offering 15% off all ebooks in a 24-hour sale. Coupon code "24HOURSALE" at checkout.

Omigosh, Keira! Thank you so much! I'm blushing.

2009-11-30T10:43:29.740-08:00

Omigosh, Keira! Thank you so much! I'm blushing.

And hey, Ammanda has an Undone novella releasing t...

2009-11-30T10:19:02.148-08:00

And hey, Ammanda has an Undone novella releasing tomorrow!

Not at all! I don't read reviews. These days, I'm ...

2009-11-30T10:18:23.258-08:00

Not at all! I don't read reviews. These days, I'm either reading upcoming books by authors I know and love or backlists of authors I know and love. Every once in a while, I'll give a new-to-me author a try based on word-of-mouth of a very select set of friends.

For highly anticipated books, I don't even read back-cover copy, summary, author's note, or even excerpts. I want a pristine reading experience unmarred by any 'seeding.'

Diane, I would say this book is imo your best book to date, and that's saying a lot given how much I've enjoyed your books. You took a lot of risk with the non-romantic portrayl of war and its after-effects, and I felt, succeeded on all fronts.

Thanks again, Judy, for your support! I'm so glad ...

2009-11-30T09:44:41.735-08:00

Thanks again, Judy, for your support! I'm so glad my books fit in with your "likes."

Hi, Deb! My reading time is limited too and I hate that I don't have time to read every book that interests me.

Elizabeth, like you, I evaluate Amazon reviews carefully. So a bad Amazon review doesn't necessarily stop me.

Congratulations Diane on your release date. I have...

2009-11-30T09:33:28.936-08:00

Congratulations Diane on your release date. I have to say that I try not to let reviews influence my buying. If I like an author, I'll automatically buy the book, and I pay more attention to the back cover blurb. I also tend, at least with historicals, to buy certain time periods more than others. If a book is set during the Victorian period, that is automatically going to make me pause to check it out. Also, with Amazon reviews, you have to take them with a grain of salt. Some of them can be very good, and very nuanced in their criticism, and some are just people with axes to grind. I always check out to see if they say what they like about the book before they start talking about what they didn't like.

I haven't found my copy yet, but I can't wait! My...

2009-11-30T09:15:35.923-08:00

I haven't found my copy yet, but I can't wait!

My reading time is limited these days, so I mostly stick to authors I know I enjoy.

I do belong to a great book club, and that helps keep me reading. I've also grown to know the members' tastes, so I know who to go to for recommendations.

Happy almost Release Day, Diane!

You're most welcome. And I loved The Improper Wife...

2009-11-30T08:03:44.524-08:00

You're most welcome. And I loved The Improper Wife, so what does the reviewer know.

My first choice in selecting a new author is for a friend who knows my reading likes and dislikes to recommend them. I also take the recommendations of authors I like, but most often it's an impulse buy. I have used Amazon recommendations, ie, you've read that author, you might like this one. It has worked occasionally and failed miserably other times. I do read reviews when I'm browsing and take note if it's something like "the hero was totally self-absorbed and the heroine was whiney." If the reviewer is criticizing the plot, I don't pay much attention as I'm always more focused on the characters.

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. I'd pass them...

2009-11-28T09:00:09.698-08:00

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. I'd pass them along to my son, but he already thinks he's all that.

What was cool is that his teacher didn't give any direction, except for "write a Thanksgiving poem." All the rest is him.

Oh, Megan, he's so precious! Love it!!!!

2009-11-27T23:55:51.791-08:00

Oh, Megan, he's so precious! Love it!!!!

Great poem! He's inherited the genes.

2009-11-27T23:37:29.723-08:00

Great poem! He's inherited the genes.

Megan, you're son is wicked talented. Thanks for s...

2009-11-27T19:13:59.120-08:00

Megan, you're son is wicked talented. Thanks for sharing this with us.

I LOVE this poem! How typically boy, but completel...

2009-11-27T18:10:26.066-08:00

I LOVE this poem! How typically boy, but completely untypically brilliant! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it.

Jane George. he drives the volcano around the stage. What a COOL job!

What a clever boy! I guarantee my daughter at that...

2009-11-27T14:04:36.474-08:00

What a clever boy! I guarantee my daughter at that age would never have written THAT poem

I’m thankful for the bugs, The wasps, and the slugs, And I don’t care if they’re gross or slimy.

He makes a very important point.

Awwww. And volcanoes that spew! I love that line. ...

2009-11-27T13:57:18.779-08:00

Awwww. And volcanoes that spew! I love that line.

And it makes me think of my step brother-in-law who is in Europe with the Walking With the Dinosaurs show. He drives the volcano around the stage.

Happy Leftovers everybody!

Priceless. And all boy.You must be proud!

2009-11-27T13:40:07.598-08:00

Priceless. And all boy.You must be proud!