Is Paranormal fiction the new Historical Romance?

Do you ever feel like just about every book you pick up these days has a supernatural flavour to it?  Have we, as a generation, just fallen out of love with the average Jo and Jane story?  I think we have.

I was trolling through my large bookshelves the other night and found, to my horror, that a huge percentage of space was devoted to romances of the paranormal kind.  It seems that Paranormal romance has become the new Historical Romance.  We are bombarded with covers of sexy vampires, witches, or werewolves.  If you walk into K-Mart, Big W, Target, or any other shop that sells books, all the romances are tucked away in a little corner while the Vampires, Witches and Werewolves are in your face up the front.  The extra tinge of dangerous love seems to have hit the spot with most women these days. 

Seriously, which of these books would you buy?

Think about what your local bookshop was selling 15-20 years ago.  Fabio was the hottest cover model out there, and if the blurb mentioned hunky knights, corsets and castles we bought it.  Fast foward 15 years and we are no longer drawn to a cover with Fabio manhandling his wench - face it, we cringe and put it down, nor does the windswept vista of a medieval castle high on a hill in the background have the power to woo us.  Have we just become too jaded? 

Now, feeling a little shamefaced, I went to one of the boxes where I store some of my older books, and sure enough there they were.  All my old favourites, slightly battered and looking extremely well read.  I felt like I'd just discovered old friends that I hadn't realised I'd missed.  There were my favourite romances that I'd discovered in high school (French was quite boring at times), and found my old Johanna Lindsey's.  The Mallory's and who could forget Warrior's Woman - my first Sci-fi/Fantasy romance.

I still have Nora Roberts' The Donovan trilogy (Captivated, Entranced and Charmed) and even some one-off historical romances that I'd managed to rescue from library book sales.  All of them, waiting patiently in this old brown box for the day when they'd be read again.  I don't have the heart to put them back in the box, and I don't want to get rid of them . . . I guess that means I'll be getting a bigger bookcase instead.

Twitter or bust?

The other day I did something that I never, ever, ever thought I'd do... I joined - wait for it people - Twitter! 

{gasps... and pause for dramatic effect}

Yep, that's right.  I've now joined the Twitter Army.  I'm blaming this on my new phone.  Accessing Twitter, Facebook, etc, is free in Australia with my plan.  So I caved - hanging head in shame now.

The weird thing was, I was only joining so I could follow the random quips, quotes and ravings of some of my favourite authors and actor.  I hadn't written a line... and I still got a follower!  Who da thought?

So now I'm stumped as to what I should be writing.  Should I try and be profound?  Quote the greats or even the not so greats?  I sure as heck don't want to be one of those twitterers who post my every move, thought or purchase.  I'll give it some serious thought while I familiarise myself with the Twitterverse.  If you've got any tips on what to write about, please let me know :P

Apart from that, my Robyn Carr books finally arrived from Amazon!  Yippeeee Skippy!  I can now snuggle up in my bed (that I now have 2 doona's on and 1 blanket) and loose myself in the Virgin River series books 1-4.

Also arriving in the order was the unabridged audio book Fingerlickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich.  Everyone has one little guilty please, and the Stephanie Plum series is mine.  I just love it.  It has been flagging just a little lately, but fingers crossed that the new book kicks some major butt.

Andrea Kane rocks!

Ms Kane is such an underrated author, in my humble opinion.  Having read five of her murder-mysteries, including Scent of Danger (which is the book that first brought Andrea Kane to my attention) and the fantastic Twisted whose delusional, depraved killer had me feeling pity for him. 

If you're ever wanting a gritty police procedural mystery, or looking for an interesting background story for your characters, then look no further.

Is there a Doctor in the house?

I have been watching the new Doctor Who series on the ABC and I realised that this new Doctor is growing on me - who knew?  I do prefer the previous Doctor, portrayed to perfection by the delightfully wonderful David Tennant.  So in honour of this truly fabulous Doctor, I'm putting up a wallpaper of my own design.  Enjoy!

It's here! It's finally here!

Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday my copy of Magic Slays finally arrived!  Yippeeeeee!!!
It is only about, oh let me see ... nearly 2 weeks late, but I don't care about that now.  All that matters is that I could finally read it.  I've been trying to stay away from the reviews - I confess that I did sneek a peek at the amazon reviews - and tried to read it with an open mind.  What can I say?  I LOVED IT!

The way the story is told is a little different than previous books, plus an added bonus of finding out more about Kate's mother.  Curran is still bossy, manipulative, domineering, umm... snarly, steely eyed and all that, but his behaviour in no way detracts from the chemistry between him and Kate.  For those of you who still haven't read it (would you like a tissue to stem your tears of regret?) this book leads the continuing story of Kate in a new direction.  There are more factions working together against Roland, and the Order has been compromised - but is that with or without asshole Ted's approval?

All our favourite's are in this story - except for Dali and Raphael!  I couldn't believe that he was only mentioned in passing a few times... what the?  Hopefully he will pop up in the next installment in all his furry glory.  And to say Julie has a bad time is a total understatement, but as River Song always says 'Spoilers', so I shan't tell you what happens to her... hehe.

If you've loved the books and followed them religiously from Magic Bites, then you'll love Magic Slays.  My rating for this book?  2 paws up!

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception

Okay, this book is a doozy.  Nancy Martin, who also writes the Blackbird Sisters Mystery series, has come up with a character that has more than a few issues.  To put it simply, I did like this book but I had more than a few problems with Roxy Abruzzo, owner and manager of an architectural salvage company, who sleeps with anything that has a dick at the drop of a hat! Seriously, she doesn’t even have to know the guy but will fling him a condom and “...test his mileage.”   Hey, don’t blame me.  Her quote, not mine.  Now if she wasn’t such a . . . what’s the word I’m looking for . . . slut (and I really hate that word) then this would be a really great book.  If you can however get past her not so endearing hobby, Roxy is a funny, tough, level headed, independent single mum who struggles to pay the bills and stay out of her Uncle Carmine’s employment (mob boss), yet is loyal to her friends like Nooch. 

I have no idea whether this is part of a series, but I can definitely see more books featuring Roxy.  This gals got so much baggage to work through that you could get a whole Eve Dallas sized series out of her.  Her ex-lover Patrick Flynn (and father of her daughter) is back in her life.  A nice enough guy, Flynn's troubled past is hinted at here and there, but although he's still drawn to Roxy, he’s dating someone.  You can see the sparks fly between Flynn and Roxy that would have them wind up together in any future books, but with all the emotional baggage weighing them both down they’d more than likely sink like a bloody stone.  An emotional train crash just waiting to happen. 

The storyline for this book is simple, wife burns down house (with husband and his mistress inside), and from the ruins Roxy salvages a few items – including a nude Greek statue.  Turns out that this statue is worth an absolute fortune and was being hidden in plain site by the family’s matriarch (who is in and out of a convenient coma at a nursing home) and when her son is killed the same night Roxy takes the statue then it turns into a race against time until she can offload the antique for a good price, or the killer finds her.

The real scene stealer for me in this book was Rooney.  A moth eaten looking pit bull Roxy adopted that loves his momma, and will take a bite out of your arse at her say so.

Now, I’m not sure if I’d ever buy this book to put on my bookshelf, but I can see myself borrowing it again in the future.  I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who isn’t keen on reading sex scenes, not that it’s terribly graphic, but she does get around.  You do get sucked into Roxy’s world so it doesn’t take long to read. Great for a bus or train, or even during your lunch hour.

Rating: 3 / 5

Birthday shout

I just want to say Happy Birthday to my favourite aunt. I hope you enjoy today, and are spoiled beyond redemption... hehe

Rumour Mill

I've been wondering for many months now just when I'd see the next Merry Gentry book.  It has been sooo long between drinks, and there have been more than a few Anita Blake books released. 

Was the Merry Gentry series going to be killed off?

or had Anita just kidnapped LKH?

The truth is that none of that happened.  And while I, personally, have not enjoyed the last few Anita books (and be truthful, are you really happy with the way Anita has changed?), LKH is preparing another Merry book. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..... huh?  Just not for 2011! 

"I have begun work on the next one, actually, but it will not be out this year. The demise of the series and various other rumors have been greatly exaggerated, or just plain made up out of whole-cloth."

I found a blog entry on LKH's newly, and fabulously, revamped website here.  So if you want to read the real reasons behind the disappearance of new Merry books from bookstore shelves, and wish to pray to the Goddess of Fertility, then go there.

Too much?

It is officially freezing!  The mercury didn't budge above 12°c today. At the moment I'm rugged up in Tracksuit pants, Jersey top, a fluffy dressing gown and under a blanket and doona! I feel like a trussed up Turkey.  I'll be making sure that my hot water bottle is ready to go tonight, and think warm thoughts.

Hey, it worked!

Well, what do you know... blogging via mobile works!  Look out world :D

Gotta be quick.  I'm freezing my butt off at the local McDonald's.  Anyway, as promised I started to make a Curran wallpaper.  I'm not too sure if this is the final design, but thought that I'd put a small pic of it up.  Let me know if you like it or not, or if you can suggest the perfect human to be Curran.

Think warm thoughts guys.  I'm outta here......

On the go

Just downloaded a blog app. Hopefully this will work. So far its force closed twice. I'm beginning to think that some of the negative comments were right!

If this does work, then it means I'll be able to blog whenever the muse strikes.  Wish me luck.

Needing a Kate Daniel's fix?

Well, look no further.  I've been feeling a tad creative lately, so I asked myself "...what wallpaper do I really, really, really want to have on my desktop?"  and as I'm waiting for my copy of Magic Slays to arrive, the answer pops into my head - Kate Daniels of course! 

So here is a 1680x1050 wallpaper I knocked up.

And before you tell me, yes, I know this isn't her usual sword.  Work with me people!

Enjoy :D

PS - am working on a Curran wallpaper now.  Will post as soon as it's ready!

Who ya gonna call?

Okay, take two.

I tried to post this entry earlier but it went into the ether.  So here it is again . . . huh hmmmm

I just got my new mobile phone yesterday.  I love it.  It's only my 2nd ever mobile, but the first connected to the internet.  My old faithful phone lasted for 11 years, but lately had been a bit dodgy, so I upgraded plans and got a new phone.  Yesterday I just explored all the apps - and couldn't resist adding kindle - but the book I was bursting to get isn't available to Australia!  I had that happen before.  They don't mind selling you paperbacks, hardcovers, audiobooks but not the kindle!  Heavens forbid that we would want to purchase an ebook!  Okay, over it.

So I've been adding contacts, and basically customising it to my desires. 

PS - Would add a pic, but I keep running into this stupid 'cloud picker' box when I try to upload an image.  Will add one when I can.

Gotta Dance!

Have been feeding my silver screen fix for the last few days.  I recently pulled out and dusted off my boxed set of 'That's Entertainment' and spent a few hours just watching Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ann Miller and company light up the screen.

It really has been ages since I have even so much as glanced at the 'classics' section of my DVDs, but I saw something on TV earlier this week and it just got me hankering to watch my all time favourite legend Gene Kelly.  Unfortunately for moi I'd forgotten that I've packed most of my DVDs away in boxes - to save room for my books - oops!  So I sought comfort on the net, trying to find a couple of really great photos.  Talk about trying to find a needle in a haystack! 

I did happen across a truly wonderful photo thanks to a friend who emailed it to me {big thanks to you!}.  I just have to show you because it shows Gene Kelly the man, not the polished star.  For all you Kelly fans out there, little white attic, enjoy!

Who do you love?

I've been asked this question a lot lately, "Who is your favourite author?"  and while I could take the easy way out and just say Jane Austen, Karen Rose, or which ever author I'm currently devouring, this morning I just sat and really thought about it for awhile and came to the conclusion that I'm not a one author gal.  I just can't honestly say that I love one author above all others.

During said rumination I bounced from literary snobbishness ". . .but I only read the classics!", to Para-Rom tart where only Kate Daniels, Elena Deveraux and other kick-ass heroines are welcome.  So were do you draw the line?  If I'm totally honest with myself and you, it really depends on when you ask me.  So as you've asked me today this is my answer.

In no particular order, here are the top ten author's that have pride of place on my bookshelves.

•  Laurell K Hamilton - Anita Blake (books 1-10 only) and Merry Gentry series
•  JD Robb/Nora Roberts
•  Kylie Chan
•  Ilona Andrews - Kate Daniels rocks
•  Anne Bishop
•  Ella Wheeler Wilcox - brilliant poet
•  Nalini Singh - Guild Hunters series
•  Jane Austen - Je rêve de toi, Mr Darcy
•  Janet Evanovich, and finally
•  Stephanie Laurens

Yes, I know I have an ecclectic palate.  It seems my tastes vary wildly in both literature and music.  You'll notice that some names are missing, and while I really enjoyed Christine Feehan, Sharon Sala, the Arcane Society and Twilight series I wouldn't class them as some of my all-time favourites.  These are the books that I just can't help but return to again, and again, and again, and again . . . you get the idea.

Do you agree with me?  Let me know if you think I should include a certain author in my top ten.

PS - for those Kate Daniels fans out there I have included a small banner and picture that I've made for Curran.  Hope you enjoy.