The Joys And Perils Of Contest Judging

By romance standards I classify myself as a "slow reader."  It takes everything I've got to get through 100 books a year - and that takes some fudging (Yes, I count short stories, novellas and category romances the same as I would a 400 page single title.  Yes, that's probably cheating, but my record keeping, my rules).  By romance reader standards, that's pretty light in the pants.  I know many readers online who routinely get through 200 books a year.  And they somehow manage to hold down full time jobs, deal with their families, and the general annoyances of Real Life.  I could read 200 books a year, but I'd need to realize my life-long dream of being a kept woman to achieve it.  And since the Greek tycoons don't seem to be beating down the Bat Cave's door?  Yeah, Wendy struggles on every year to hit 100.

Which means I must have been crazy to agree to do some contest judging for a local RWA chapter.  Part of it was I was flattered.  I was asked to read all the top scoring books in each of the 9 categories and then pick the "best" overall.  So yeah - 9 books.  There are months I don't get 9 books finished.  Luckily for me my yearly sojourn to visit my family in the Midwest coincided with me getting through these books.  Wendy + airplanes + layovers = I Get Reading Done!  I read three books alone just stuck on airplanes.  Hell, I read 6 books in 5 days - which is unheard of for me.

Think of all the reading I could get done if I didn't have to worry about paying the rent!  Oh, and staying clothed, fed, healthy - you know, the little things in life.

For those of you who have never done contest judging....it's interesting.  I like to do it every once in a while to keep myself honest.  It exposes me to books/authors who aren't in my usual wheelhouse and from a professional standpoint, it helps with my general reader's advisory skills.  I also try to look more at the "big picture" of a book.  It's not just the simple of matter of did I like it, or didn't I.  It's looking at the whole scope: pacing, writing, sense of place, plot, characters, yada yada yada.  When it comes to my own personal reading I'm a see book, read book, like (or dislike) book kinda gal.  Which is to say that isn't useful with contest judging - but it does involve a bit more than that.

So after going through 9 books, I'm spending the weekend thinking about who will be the "Top Pick" winner among the finalists I read.  I'll be honest - it's between two books.  And it's.....hard.  Both had a wonderful sense of place, both had great stories, both had great characterizations, and both of them had their faults as well.  I think I know which way I'm leaning at the moment, but I'm giving myself the holiday weekend to really make sure.

Since it's been well-advertised to contest enterers (is that a word?) that I am the "Top Pick" judge - I can't talk about specifics yet.  Frankly, I don't want to spoil it.  But here are some highlights (and lowlights.....) that should be vague enough.

Grades were as follows: 3 B, 3 C, 3 D.  Yes, 3 Ds.

The B grades were all over the map when it came to "tone."  Everything from angst to fluff.  Two of the books in this range are duking it out for my final pick as I type this.  The third one was very solid, but not as strong as the other two, hence I've already decided it won't be "the one."

The C reads were ultimate mixed bag reads.  There were really well-done aspects, and other things that were odd.  Like the book that had so much emotional angsty goodness, but then the "contemporary" characters would say something that made me wonder if they were stuck in the 1950s.  Another book had characters that drove me batty most of the time, but the plot was really good.  Then there was the one where the plot could have done something fresh and different, but instead fell into predictability.  Not outright "bad" reads - but also nothing epically special.

Now, the D reads.  Oh, the D reads.  One book was going just fine until one of the most teeth-grinding sex scenes I've read in a LONG time - not to mention the annoying sequel-bait.  Then there was the book that featured the most absurd plot I have ever read in a romance novel.  Ever.  And this is coming from the girl who has read some pretty terrible category romances in her day.  I'll see you your secret babies and amnesia and raise you this book I had to slog through.  And then there was the heroine that I loathed so much that I kept hoping the hero would come to his senses and run as if the hounds of Hell were nipping at his privates.  Words cannot express how much I hated her.  Haaaaattttteeeeeeeeedddddddd her.

So what can we take away from all of this.  Contest judging isn't that different from my regular reading.  The D numbers were high.  1/3?!  But given that the other 6 titles were split right down the middle of good to average?  Pretty typical, I think, for a lot of books.  I was hoping for an A read, but didn't find one.  But I did find authors I certainly will read more of, and the two books I'm currently debating as the "Top Pick" were both nice, pleasant surprises - books I'm not sure I would have found on my own.  Which at the end of the day?  Is really the reason that contest judging kicks ass.

And for those of you dying with curiosity?  The contest winner is going to be announced in October, I believe.  So maybe before we turn our calendars over to 2014 I'll be able to name some names.....

Yeah, One Of Those Posts

Don't you just hate those bloggers who write posts whining about how busy they are and how they have had no time to update their blog?

Ahem.

I had a glorious time visiting family and friends in Michigan, gorged myself on reading, and wasn't anywhere near my office for about 10 days.  Which means that when I got back to said office?

Um, yeah.  It's been kind of like that.

Hence, no blog posting from Wendy.

Not that I don't have ideas.  I've got scads of ideas! 

Just no time to actually, you know, write up said ideas.

But the good news?  We've got a long weekend here in the States and yours truly is almost done with her contest judging! 

Groove thang isn't found, but currently visible on the horizon, and hopefully things will be back to normal around here soon.

Roping The Wrangler

Sometimes a girl just wants a "sweet" read.  Something that's gentle and uncomplicated and has my cynical heart melting into a puddle like a Hershey bar on a hot summer day.  Roping The Wrangler by Lacy Williams fits the bill nicely.  Here we have a nice story, about nice people, who need to overcome their personal fears to get to their happy-ever-after.

This story is a tie-in to an earlier Williams release, The Homesteader's Sweetheart.  For those readers familiar with that earlier story, the hero and heroine had a whole passel of adopted children.  The hero in Roping The Wrangler, Oscar White, is one of those children, now all grown up.  He's making his living as a horse trainer and has earned himself a bit of a reputation.  The latest town he's rolling into is practically buzzing about his arrival, including the children, which is making the schoolmarm's job a little trying at the moment.  Sarah Hansen actually grew up with Oscar in neighboring Bear Creek, Wyoming - and all she remembers about him is that he teased her mercilessly, even calling her shrew in front of all their schoolmates. 

Oscar is in town for one last job.  With the money he's going to get from Paul Allen (who also happens to be head of the school board and Sarah's overbearing boss), he plans to buy a quality stud horse and head back to his small patch of land near his folks' place.  Naturally the good intentions fly out the window when he sees Sarah again.  He remembers her as a bossy sort, but he finds himself captivated by the schoolmarm who everybody in town knows is trying to land a husband.  What ends up bringing these two together?  Kidlets, of course.  Three sisters, two of them Sarah's students, who are in dire straights, and for reasons that escape Sarah and Oscar, the "good townspeople" refuse to step in and help.

Williams is one of Harlequin's inspirational writers who could easily be publishing with secular Harlequin Historical.  Her religious themes tend to be extremely subtle, and this book in particular would be hard to distinguish as an inspirational if it didn't have the Love Inspired banner splashed along the top.  Here the author tackles fear.  How fear can overrun you life, how it can hold you back, how it can keep you from living.  Both Oscar and Sarah need to overcome their fears, to step outside their respective boxes, and discover that a life worth living is a life spent taking a few risks.

The three young girls who enter into their orbit are handled well.  At first Sarah thinks that the town turns their nose up at them because their dead father was an Indian.  After their mother passes, they are left in the care of a stepfather who spends his day at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.  Sarah desperately wants to help, but has a tendency to muck it all up (so nice to read a heroine who isn't Mary Poppins!).  Oscar remembers what it was like to be unwanted, unloved, an orphan that nobody gave a damn about until Jonas White took him in - so he starts working behind the scenes to help those girls - for their sake, for his and for Sarah's.

Where this story stumbles a bit for me is with the ending, when the villain is dispatched with.  I liked the revelation, but it's the sort that would carry some serious fallout for the people in the villains' life.  I found the fact that they were left swinging in the breeze a little unsettling, but it certainly opens up some intriguing possibilities for later installments in this series, should the author want to revisit some of these characters.  I think she easily could - and heck, maybe even redeem a few of them.

This was a quick, sweet read that had a nice, uplifting message without beating me over the head.  For readers who like cozy historical western romances, Williams has written another good one.

Final Grade = B-

TBR Challenge 2013: Training The Receptionist

The Book: Training The Receptionist by Juniper Bell

The Particulars: Erotic romance ménage BDSM novella, #1 in trilogy, Samhain, 2010, Digital Only

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  I picked this up as a free download at the Samhain Publisher Signing at RWA 2012 (in Anaheim). 

The Review: Normally for TBR Challenge day I try to read something out of the print pile, but I'm currently traveling.  And since I had to bring several print books with me for my current stint of contest judging, I was loathe to add yet one more print book to my carry-on luggage.  The Kindle was coming with me anyway, so I looked for something appropriate for this month's theme, and found this novella.  Being a total sucker for boss/secretary stories (I know, I know....), I settled on this one rather quickly. 

And I frackin' loved it.

Dana Arthur lives in "Low-Life Long Island."  She's in her early 20s, getting ready to move into a dumpy apartment on a scary side of town, is single, and is flitting from one job to the next.  Which is how she ends up answering an entry-level receptionist ad for the firm Cowell & Dirk.  Exacting Mr. Cowell is currently out of town on business, which means her training period is being spearheaded by his partner, Simon Dirk.  Simon is demanding and particular about how a receptionist should not only meet the needs of their clients, but also the needs of him and his partner.  Yeah, you guessed it - Mr. Simon Dirk and Mr. Ethan Cowell have very particular ideas on what their receptionist's on-the-job duties should entail - and it's up to Simon to get Dana up to speed.  If that means a little "punishment" for her mistakes?  Well, so be it.  The question is, will Dana be up for the challenge, and now that Simon finds himself drawn to her, will he be willing to share with Ethan?

For those of you who have seen the movie Secretary (with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal), that's kind of what we have here - except there's way less angst, Dana is not as "damaged" as the Gyllenhaal character, and there's the ménage angle.

I was sucked into this story right away thanks to the first-person narration.  I love first-person.  I want to have babies with first-person.  And certainly Dana is a great character.  I love that she's not standard issue romance heroine.  I love that she's got a little edge to her.  I love that she doesn't have her life planned out perfectly and she's sort of half-assing a lot of things.  She acts like a young woman in her early 20s.  She likes to party, she likes tattoos, she hates to be bored.  And certainly this new job?  Not boring. 

I have stated many times, publicly, that I am over BDSM.  Yeah, I lied.  Turns out I'm not over BDSM when it's written well - and it's written well here.  Dana is the sub (and yes, I've also publicly stated I'm over female subs), but I never felt like she wasn't in control.  Dana has choices in this story.  She has power.  Simon may be asking her to do things, he may even be "punishing" her - but she has the choice to walk away.  She has the choice to tell him no.  She doesn't want to.  And she never acts like some mealy-mouthed, innocent, brain-dead ninny that needs protecting and coddling.  Dana is in this situation because she wants to be there and she can walk away at any time.  Bliss!

This is a novella and it certainly does subscribe to the Erotic As Fantasy school of plotting.  As the reader you need to let go and just enjoy the ride.  You also need to be aware (I wasn't going into it!) that this is actually the first novella in a trilogy and yes the next two entries follow the same three characters.  Which means this month's TBR Challenge was completely counterproductive for me.  Yeah, this one is off the pile, but I immediately went out and bought the next two. 

And I'm currently holding myself back from immediately buying everything else Bell has written.

Damn.

Final Grade = B+

Let Me Go

"We have our ups and down, like any other couple." 

Let Me Go marks the sixth entry in Chelsea Cain's suspense series featuring damaged Portland detective Archie Sheridan, and currently-escaped serial killer, Gretchen Lowell.  This book opens up right around Halloween, and coincidentally, Archie's birthday.  Oh sure, Gretchen is out and about, on the run, but Archie is effectively not sticking his nose into the investigation, which is being spearheaded by the FBI.  What ends up kicking off the action in this installment is the murder of a DEA agent.  This agent was the contact for Leo Reynolds, son of a notorious drug kingpin, working on the inside to bring down Daddy's organization.  Now with the death of this agent, everything is in jeopardy, and Archie finds himself crashing a party at Daddy's house in the hopes of making contact with Leo. 

Naturally the whole thing goes south quickly.  Archie finds himself falling into painkillers again, journalist Susan Ward finds herself being used as a pawn in a dangerous game between Leo and his father, and somehow Gretchen Lowell finds herself smack dab in the middle of it all.  Well, as long as she's back in Portland, she might as well plan something really special for Archie's birthday.  I mean, why not?

Cain's brilliance as a suspense writer is that she's very good at "urgency."  There have been past books in this series that I have been loathe to even start until I'm certain I have a couple of solid hours of uninterrupted reading time at my disposal.  They're runaway train reads.  As the reader you simply hold on for dear life until the thing comes to a stop.  I certainly plowed through this story quickly (I mean, I did finish it in a day!), but it doesn't have that non-stop, frantic pace like some of the other books in this series - and I'll be honest, I missed that.  A lot.

The story here is mostly very solid.  I do think Archie tends to get a "free pass" a lot from his friends and colleagues - but then I would hope someone would give me a free pass if I survived being tortured by a serial killer for 10 days.  The character that surprised me the most was Susan Ward, who bordered on blatantly too-stupid-to-live in some of the earlier entries.  Susan really has some of the best moments in this one - mostly saying things, out loud, that the reader is thinking.  Also it was nice to see that Cain is really moving the story of Jack and Leo Reynolds further along - given that it was mostly treading water over the last couple of installments.

But I didn't love this like I've loved some of the others - mostly because the tells are showing.  Or maybe it's because I've been reading suspense novels for too many years.  But there are twists in this book that I saw coming the moment the author inserts the foundation for them in the story.  I can't delve into specifics without blatantly giving spoilers, but yeah I knew what was coming and when.  Bad guys, Gretchen's maneuverings behind the scenes etc.  Saw it all.  Which was a downer for me, since I genuinely love being surprised by suspense.  With this book?  Not so much.

Still, I read it in a day and I enjoyed it while I was reading it.  I bought it new, in hard cover, and I don't feel like that money was wasted or ill-spent (especially since it's now winging it's way to Lil' Sis for her to read).  It's not my favorite entry in the series, but I was entertained and eagerly await the next installment.

Final Grade = B

Reminder: TBR Challenge for August

For those of you participating in the 2013 TBR Challenge, this is a reminder that your "commentary" is due on Wednesday, August 21.

The theme this month is Steamy Reads.   We're in the dog days of summer, which means it's time to turn up the heat!  Erotica, erotic romance, or if you're not an "erotic" fan?  A nice sensual book heavy on tension works just as well.  However remember, the themes are totally and completely optional.  Maybe there's nothing in your TBR that fits, or maybe you're not in the mood for chandelier-swinging sex.  Hey, that's totally cool! The themes aren't important - it's the act of reading something, anything!, that has been lying neglected in your TBR pile.

Details about the challenge and a list of participants can be found here.

The Month That Was July 2013

Me: Mmmmmm, ice cream!  Can I have some?

Lemon Drop: Ha!  As if!  Mommy thinks this is her secret stash of ice cream, but I found it!

Me: But, but, but....can't I have some?  ::sadface::

Lemon Drop:  Sigh.  I suppose.  But only after you tell me what you read last month Auntie Wendy.  And just so long as you stop pouting.....

Title links will take you to full reviews.

Diamonds In The Rough by Portia Da Costa - Historical erotic romance, HQN, 2013, Grade = C

• I've liked her short stories, but Da Costa's full-length historicals have been mixed for me.  Loved the heroine, was less thrilled with hero, and never really bought into the romance.

A Cowboy's Pride by Pamela Britton - Contemporary romance, Harlequin American, 2013, Grade = B-

• Injured rodeo cowboy falls for physical therapist.  Great emotional struggle for both characters but the We Don't Have Any Condoms sex scene got on my last hot nerve.

Rancher To The Rescue by Jennifer Faye - Contemporary romance, Harlequin Romance, 2013, Grade = D+

•  Liked hero.  Liked the relationship he had with his grandmother.  Hated the heroine with the passion of a thousand blazing suns.  I cannot stand reading about women who won't help themselves and that's this cupcake in a nutshell.

The Man Behind The Pinstripes by Melissa McClone - Contemporary romance, Harlequin Romance, 2013, Grade = B+

•  Heroine With A Past runs up against a distrustful hero when she starts working for his grandmother.  Great heroine!

To Have A Wilde by Kimberly Kaye Terry - Contemporary romance, Kimani Romance, 2013, Grade = DNF

• I gave up on this one out of sheer boredom.  By Chapter Six (in a category romance no less!) the hero and heroine still hadn't spent any meaningful time together and the lack of dialogue made all the internal lusting a slog to wade through.  

High Noon by Nora Roberts - Romantic suspense, Putnam, 2007, Grade = B-

•  The perfect cure for a DNF was diving into a Nora Roberts book.  I just felt like I was in the hands of a pro.  The hero and heroine were both a little too perfect for me - but I loved the suspense in this one, and really enjoyed reading about the heroine's job.

Paradise Valley by Rosanne Bittner - Historical western romance, Sourcebooks, 2013, Grade = B-

•  Wonderful, gritty, frontier-style setting with plenty of action.  Was less enamored with the romance which seemed rushed to me.

His Uptown Girl by Liz Talley - Contemporary romance, Harlequin SuperRomance, 2013, Grade = A

•  Young widow finds romance in post-Katrina New Orleans with younger musician hero.  Wonderful romance with plenty of emotionally charged dialogue.

A Cowboy To Come Home To by Donna Alward - Contemporary romance, Harlequin Romance, 2013, Grade = B

• A story that should have been a train-wreck, but wasn't.  Yes, the heroine is determined to get pregnant at all costs.  Yes, it's a reunion story featuring an unrequited high school crush.  But the author avoids all the crap that can crop up in stories of this ilk that annoy the heck out of me.  Not a favorite of mine by Alward, but really solid.

Me: OK, where's my ice cream?

Lemon Drop: Geez, one track mind Auntie Wendy.  Just don't tell Mommy.

Shopping List At H&H

I'm currently buried under a small mountain of books, but that doesn't mean I don't like to make shopping lists!  You can find me over at Heroes & Heartbreakers today with a handy shopping list of "unusual historicals" for the month of August.

Let us not speak of how many of these I'm interested in.  It just makes me wish I was independently wealthy and didn't have my pesky day job holding me back from reading all day, every day, all the time, stupid Real Life keeping me from reading.....

Tap, tap, tap - Is This Thing On?

So it's been a little quiet around the Bat Cave this week, and the three of you who read this blog will likely notice this trend continuing over the next few weeks.  Why?  Well, here it goes....

+++++

One of the things that Jennifer Lohmann and I brought up during our Librarians Day presentation at RWA last month was working with your local RWA chapters.  And by working with - this means developing a two-way street.  Nobody likes someone who just takes, takes, takes.  So in the Practicing What I Preach department, I am the "Top Pick" judge for OCCRWA's annual "published authors" contest called Book Buyer's Best.  I've actually judged in this contest before, as a first rounder - and contest judging is a good way of seeing what else is "out there" - essentially forcing me to escape my narrow little realm of category, historical and erotic romance.  Also in Professional Librarian Speak - it's good for reader's advisory.

My job is to read the nine finalists (the top scores in all nine of the categories) and pick the "Top Pick" or the "best one" as it were.  It's been a lot of fun - but this also means that I really am not comfortable talking about these books until after the contest is over and after OCCRWA makes the final announcement (I believe at their October meeting - which is also their anniversary celebration).  I'm pretty easy to track down via the Internet, and certainly I don't want to spoil it for anybody - but especially the authors whose books I'm currently wading through.  Right now I'm toying with the idea of doing a "round-up" style post after the contest is well and truly over.  Because, you know, I got things to say.  And asking me to not talk about books is keeeeeeling me!

+++++

My Detroit Tigers have now won 12 games in a row.  It's all baseball all the time around here.  Well except now that.....

+++++

Pre-season football has started.  My Man, it should be noted, is a major NFL fan despite the fact that we're both Buffalo Bills fans.  Being a Bills fan tends to require a fair amount of alcohol, a healthy dose of Buffalo wings, and usually ends with a lot of rocking back and forth in the corner while wailing, "Why, why, why?!?!?!?!"  over and over again.

Which means Wendy is, once again, on the hunt for A Bandwagon Team.  Which might cause some of you to think I'm not a "true fan" if I'm already looking for a bandwagon.  No, I'm a fan.  I'm just not, you know, a masochist.  And there's going to be more talent out tailgating in the Bills parking lot this season than on the actual field - so yeah.  Wendy needs a bandwagon.

It can't be the Lions.  Yes, yes, I'm from Michigan.  Which is why it can't be the Lions.  Never has a team had more talent and sucked so badly.  It's like they're a self-fulfilling prophecy of suckitude.  And it can't be the Saints.  Even though the Saints had been my bandwagon du jour since Hurricane Katrina.  I love you Drew Brees but that whole Bounty Gate thing?  So vile and deplorable that I can't condone it by planting my butt on your bandwagon.  (Sean Peyton should thank his lucky stars he wasn't "suspended indefinitely" like Gregg Williams.  Dude, that happened on YOUR watch.  They should have thrown away the key.)

So where does this leave me?  Right now, possibly Seattle - even though I have this irrational dislike for Pete Carroll.  They have a Mighty-Mite for a quarterback (the listed-at 5'11" Russell Wilson) and they have Beast-Mode running back Marshawn Lynch.  So yeah, maybe Seattle.  So long as Pete Carroll stays off-camera a lot.

+++++

And finally, I'm taking my annual sojourn to Michigan later next week.  Which, now that I'm wading through contest books, couldn't have come at a better time.  It's amazing how much I get read when I'm either 1) stuck at an airport or 2) stuck on an airplane.  The plan, such as it is, is to enjoy the fact that I'm off work, on vacation, have a chance to watch baseball with my Dad, and hopefully secure a mess of uninterrupted reading time.

It's the simple things.  Really, it is.

To Sin With A Viking

I've never bought into the concept that characters tell authors what to write: "I had other ideas but Hunky Hero spoke to me and started behaving in a way I hadn't planned!"

I'm not a creative-type (at all) - but seriously?  Spare me.

Authors make choices.  Certainly they create characters out of whole cloth, and certainly I want these fictional people to "feel real," but the author is still in control of the ship, says me.  Please don't try to tell me, as the reader, otherwise.  It just makes you sound like a flake.

Michelle Willingham makes a choice in her latest, the first in a duet, To Sin With A Viking.  It's a really interesting choice, and very different from what we typically read in the romance genre.  How many books have we all read about arranged marriages, marriages of convenience, and mail-order brides that turned out swimmingly? Tons, right?  What Willingham does here is give us an arranged marriage that is in the midst of falling apart.  And while in the process of the final death throes, the married couple falls in love with other people.

Styr Hardrata has sailed to Ireland with his wife and his men looking for a fresh start.  His marriage is not good.  They were childhood playmates, a marriage was arranged to unite their clans, and while he worked to provide and she settled into the role of being the perfect wife - they have not been blessed with children.  Their childless state is starting to wear on Elena, who has begun to spurn Styr in the bedroom.  He's hoping a move, a change of scenery, will help to save his marriage.  What he didn't plan on were the starving locals to overtake them and kidnap Elena.

Caragh Ó Brannon is slowly wasting away.  In the midst of a famine, her older brothers have left the village to find food, leaving her and her younger brother to fend for themselves.  She tries to stop him from attacking the Vikings, but he does anyway - taking the woman hostage.  Fearing for her brother's life, Caragh does the only thing she can do - she beans Styr over the head and takes him captive. Needless to say when he wakes up, to find himself in chains and his wife missing?  Yeah, not a happy guy.

What follows is Styr and Caragh slowly making their way to each other.  He's duty-bound to find Elena and is determined to cut her brother's throat if any harm comes to his wife.  He doesn't feel this way out of love - but more out of a sense of honor, duty, and shame for not being able to protect her.  If a man cannot protect a woman charged in his care, what good is he?  However he is also drawn to Caragh.  He helps her find food and eventually they decide to sail together to track down her brother and his wife.  They're powerfully attracted to each other, but nothing can ever come of it.  Styr's marriage may be in trouble, but he is still married.  And where exactly is Elena?  Will they find her?  Dead or alive?

This is a solid, well-written Viking story.  The author does a nice job with the time period, and it's got all the necessary grit you would expect in a book set during this era.  It's dark and passionate, with plenty of angst to keep the romance humming along to it's final conclusion.

The problem is, of course, that initial choice the author makes.  Yes, it's evident very early on that Styr's marriage is not good.  That both he, and Elena, are not happy people together.  You also know, going in, that this is a romance - so the author is going to right the ship and make sure these two people find the right partners, for them.  They'll make a good husband and a good wife - just not for each other. That still doesn't negate the fact though that Styr IS married.  And for readers, like me, who throw up a big ol' mental road block over such a state - this is an issue.  It's not the author's "fault" or even the way she writes it.  It's just the simple fact that I, as an individual reader, would very likely have a block to this sort of plot development no matter who was doing the writing.

Which makes this a very hard book to assign a grade to.  I initially thought of slapping it with a C - which is my catch-all for "average" or "it didn't work for me but I recognize that may be because of my personal reader baggage etc."  But this story is better than average.  And hell, it does what all good first books in a series should do - and that is make a reader desperately hungry for the next book. I want Elena's story, due out in January, like yesterday.  Or, you know, right now would be good.  So while it made me uncomfortable at times, and I found myself saying, "But, but, but - he's married!" in my own head?  Yeah....

Final Grade = B-

P.S.: For those of you who are interested in trying this book - it's currently available for $1.99 in digital.

Romance & RWA: It Really Has Changed

Sometimes I get asked why I like to attend the annual Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference.  After all, it's not a conference geared towards readers and other than the half-assed ramblings I post on the Internet, I'm not working on writing towards publication.  My stock answer is, that as a librarian, I tend to get something out of the conference every year from a "professional" standpoint.  Also, I'll be honest, I've been kicking around long enough that over the years I have built up casual, as well as, genuine friendships with other readers and authors.  I like going to RWA every year (when it's possible) to hook-up and see these folks.  To hang out.  To get my yearly book-fix.  Because while it's fun as hell to talk books online?  To connect with people online?  It's a jillion times cooler to be able to do that sort of thing live, and in person.

Two people I always love seeing at conference are Blythe and Lynn from All About Romance.  I always admired what Laurie built at AAR, pre-social media days, and I do think the online romance community as we know it owes quite a bit to AAR's existence.  Blogging is, I think, an extension of that "at the back fence" vibe that AAR was built on.  Also, I'll be honest, Blythe and Lynn are as "old" as I am in terms of Internet years.  Collectively, I think, the three of us can truly appreciate and understand the changes that have gone through the genre (and the RWA organization as a whole) because dude - we remember what it used to be like.

RWA gets knocked down a lot for its rigidity, lack of change, and inflexibility.  And, you know, I can see that.  Their decision to do away with "strong romantic elements" at the RITAs is not one I embrace.  There's also a lot of discussion about RWA's lack of inclusiveness, its unwillingness to support diversity (LGBT, characters/writers of color etc.), it's inability to get with the times and see the writing on the wall (digital, self-publishing etc.).  Have these criticisms been fair?  Yes, in many instances they have been.  And I do think RWA and its membership still have work to do.  But the fact is, just chatting with Blythe and Lynn again in Atlanta last month, I was reminded of how much RWA has changed.  No really, it has.  Maybe not as fast as some of us would like, but it has happened.

I attended my first conference in 2002 (and then it was just for Librarians Day and the Literacy Signing).  I went back in 2005 (Reno), and I have attended every single year since 2007 (Dallas).  You know what has changed?  The reception I get.  Back in the early days (even as recently as 2008 in San Francisco), I wouldn't voluntarily tell a soul that I was a "reviewer" (back when I was with TRR and/or at my own blog).  My name badge said my name, and my real-life job title.  Why?  I'll be frank, I got way more love as a librarian.  TRR and AAR were "the enemy" for a long, long time - and while not all authors had their panties in a bunch over us - you just never knew what sort of reception you were going to get.  Most authors were, at least to me, cool about my reviewing when/if it came up (to my face anyway, I obviously don't know what was said behind closed doors).  But it's hard to know that going in blind, so yeah - it wasn't something I was actively broadcasting from the on-set.

I'm not sure when the shift happened for me, but maybe around 2009?  By that point I had been online for ten years and blogging for six.  I think that might have been the year that "Super Librarian Blog" appeared on my name badge for the first time.  It took a long (oh Lord did it ever!) time, but I think what happened is that the longer you're around, the more people get used to you being there.  After a while you become furniture. Wendy, Super Librarian and potted plant.  Also, there were a new breed of debut authors coming up through the ranks, authors who were readers first and who "grew up" with TRR, AAR, Mrs. Giggles, blogs, the online romance community in general. These days my blog is usually the first thing authors latch on to when they meet me in person, and this year was the first time I was recipient of a couple of squee'ing incidents (for the record, I paid those people to say things like "OMG, you're SuperWendy!").

And the fact that RWA collectively lost their minds and named me Librarian Of The Year in 2011?  Would have been inconceivable ten years prior to that.  I guess it's hard to explain unless you were around in "the early days" of the online community.  That someone (yes, I am a librarian but....) who reviewed for TRR ("the enemy") for 8 years would somehow worm her way into RWA's good graces enough to get that award.  It was mind-blowing.  Yes, it was a huge honor for me, but I also felt like it was a huge honor for everybody who has been kicking around online since "the early days."  It was a validation that we mattered.  That we built something.  That the tide had changed and we were no longer "the enemy."  That we loved romance too and we were OK.

There were several "big deals" that happened at the Atlanta conference this year that I want to highlight.  Were some of these changes long overdue?  Yes.  But like all things when it comes to change - it either doesn't happen fast enough to our liking, or it happens way too fast for our liking.  Totally depends on what side of the fence you're standing on.  These were all changes I saw that were most welcome and I hope a sign towards more awesome things to come:

1) Erotic romance will now have it's own category in the RITA.  I've been wanting to see this for years, mostly because while erotic romance is still romance?  Yeah, writing it well is not as easy as some may think. Trust me on this.  I've been reading erotic romance for well over ten years.  I've read books so achingly beautiful that words fail to adequately describe how those books made me feel.  I've also read more than my fair share of utter and complete crap.  It needs it's own category in the RITA.  Period.

2) Self-published works can now be entered in the RITA.  This is how fast things are changing, while it took erotic romance a good 10+ years to crack the RITA nut, self-publishing didn't have as long of a slog.  Why?  The big reason, I think, is that so many authors who have (and maybe still are) traditionally publishing, are also exploring self-publishing and finding success.  Plus, let's be honest, an author who has published traditionally is a "known commodity."  As a reader I'm going to be more willing to take a chance on a self-published work if the writer has also published via traditional routes.  And, you know, is obviously open to the editing process.

Side note: I find it interesting that both of these changes were implemented under the watch of current RWA President Sylvia Day - a writer who built her career writing erotic romance and who also found a lot of success in self-publishing before taking her Crossfire series over to Penguin.  But, you know what?  I think we probably should all thank E.L. James as well.  Money talks, and it will not be ignored.  An erotic romance RITA category has been talked to death for many years, Fifty Shades is a ginormous success, and now guess what?  We have an erotic romance RITA category!  Coincidence?  Yeah, probably not so much.

3) Self-publishing as a presence, in general, at the conference this year.  Holy cow - it basically had it's own "track" in the workshop schedule.  You could have been at the conference and attended nothing but self-publishing panels.  This is a huge step from previous years, when digital (let alone self-publishing) was either not mentioned at all, or there was maybe one workshop tucked away somewhere.  This year also marked the first time there was an "indie" booksigning.  Many recognizable names (Claire Delacroix, Barbara Freethy, Courtney Milan....) alongside not-so-known names.  It was a very well-attended signing and a great bit of networking for all involved.

4) eBooks.  Certainly one of the cool things about book conferences are the freebies, and RWA is no exception.  This year saw the first time where there was an increased presence of ebooks.  Samhain, for the last several years, has been beating this drum loudly by making available, at their free booksigning, both coupon codes for free downloads alongside print books.  It's typically about half-and-half for them.  Half the authors are just signing download cards, the other half are just signing print books.  This year though, juggernaut "old school" publisher Avon got in on the act.  Many of the authors at that signing were offering both print and digital copies, giving the attendee a choice.  Then they had a digital-only signing a day or so later - where authors used the software program Autography.  The attendee punched in their e-mail address, the author then made out an inscription, and viola!  Book, complete with autograph, was delivered right to your e-mail to download in various formats of your choosing. 

Yeah, publishers?  More of this.  I do still read print.  I love print.  But holy heck on a cracker, Atlanta is a long ways away from where I live and the less I have to ship home?  The more of your books I'm going to take.  The more of your books I will try.  The more of your books I can share with other readers not lucky enough to attend the conference.  At the end of the day it's about your books finding readers.  If I lived closer to Atlanta and had driven?  Yeah, I would have taken more print books - but you know what?  I don't.  So yeah, the ebook option was brilliant.

5) An increased presence of LGBT authors and publishers.  In years past I could count on seeing L.B. Gregg and K.A. Mitchell and?  That was pretty much it.  This year I met several more authors, many of whom were excited to talk to me about library purchasing, and Sarah Frantz from Riptide Publishing may have been the busiest woman at the conference.   But I also want to talk about something I overheard this year.  An LGBT author (who I won't name because I didn't ask them for permission) mentioned that some of the best connections she makes at RWA are with inspirational authors.  Yeah, inspirational authors.  Which you would think would make for strange bedfellows, but this author mentioned that the inspy folks she has met are all about "love is love" and tend to be very open and accepting people.  So yeah, pretty damn awesome if you ask me.  Certainly I cannot imagine that these communities mesh too much in the online sphere, but these authors getting together and networking at conference?  That equals a big ol' WIN in my book.

Like any large organization, I do think RWA has room for improvement.  But I also realize that as a large organization, change is often a slow-moving process.  It takes time, with a fair amount of agitation, and frankly it's up to the members of any organization to support and work towards change.  However I also do not subscribe to the school of thought that RWA is the devil incarnate.  From an organization standpoint, RWA either gives you something you need/want/desire - or it doesn't.  Membership is an individual choice.  What I do think RWA has always done exceedingly well is offer a sense of community.  It connects writers with other writers.  With other people who think like them, or heck - who even don't think like them (because there is benefit in that as well).  Is it a Polly Perfect organization?  Uh, no.  That many people, with that many opinions, under the same umbrella is never going to make for smooth sailing.  But that also doesn't mean it's not vital, that it doesn't serve a function for its members.  And ultimately, that's why I like RWA.  Not because I don't recognize the faults, but because for me the good outweighs any of the not-so-good.