Historical and Contemporary Romance Author
Back in the early days of 2019, one of the biggest scandals to hit Romancelandia came to be known on Twitter as #CopyPasteCris. Cris Serruya, whose books apparently sold well enough to hit the USA Today bestseller list, was caught plagiarizing at least 25 authors in her books. She defended herself in a number of ways, including the claim that…
Yesterday, I posted Emily Hubbard’s eloquent letter to Bethany House regarding its decision to publish For Such a Time by Kate Breslin. The following is their response: Hi Emily, We appreciate you reaching out to us to express how you feel and what you thought. We certainly are always open to feedback. Bethany House Publishers has been very saddened to…
Introduction: Emily Hubbard, is a writer, reader, and member of the discussion group with which I read For Such a Time by Kate Breslin. Emily wrote the following letter to Bethany House, the book’s publisher. It’s easy for us to focus on the author of this book, but Bethany House contracted, edited, and published it. I have said I feel…
When discussion of Kate Breslin’s For Such a Time exploded on Twitter last week, I was pretty quick to express both my dismay at the book’s premise and my confusion over how such a book could be published in the first place. I also stated that I didn’t see how it would be possible for RWA (Romance Writers of America)…
Because so many of my friends in the writing and romance community were kind enough to donate money to our family in the weeks that followed Julian’s death last March 20th, I wanted everyone to know what we have decided to do with that money. I always thought we’d want to establish a scholarship in Julian’s name for students of…
If The Princess Bride isn’t the most oft-quoted movie ever made, it ought to be. Sometimes, I feel like I could speak entirely in quotes from it and make perfect sense in a conversation. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here or on my Facebook page, but it feels like time to give some sort of an update.…
Full disclosure: I am not on either Hachette’s or Amazon’s “side.” I am on the side of not distorting facts. This particular “fact” has been bothering me for days. In Amazon’s recent statement about its contract negotiations with Hachette, it has stated (among other things) that it thinks the correct retail price for ebooks is $9.99 or less. It makes…
…That is, unless you’re willing to put up with a lot of sad, rambling observations about grief and survival. If you feel you can stomach my navel-gazing, then by all means, continue. I’ve read a lot of books about grief and grieving in the past four months. Yesterday, I finished Harriet Sarnoff Schiff’s The Bereaved Parent, which was published in…
I was not at this year’s RT, so I can’t speak to the precise dynamics that occurred this year. However, in the past, authors who did not have returnable print books (that is, most authors published by digital-first houses and self-published authors) had a SEPARATE signing on an entirely different day. That signing was poorly attended by the public because…
Many of you may recognize the title of this post as a direct quote from the New Testament. Specifically, it’s from 1st Corinthians, Chapter 13. The verse is often read at Christian weddings because it includes statements such as “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast” and “Love never ends.” Of course, I don’t think Paul…