Today, I’m pleased to welcome author and blogger Sarah Wedell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I’m always surfing over to the blog to see what’s new, and when I saw that Sarah had a new book coming out, I asked her if she’d guest blog. She was nice enough to say yes and agreed to answer a few questions:

Question: Tell us about your new release, Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels.

Sarah: IT IS SO AWESOME. How’s that? Seriously, I’m so proud of this book, because at its heart, this book is about the romance reading and writing community talking about the genre we love, and how valuable and valid it is in our lives.

Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels celebrates what romance readers already know: that romances can be a road map of what to do (and what not to do) in real life relationships. Instead of giving us (OH NOES) unrealistic expectations of ourselves and our partners and spouses, in reality romances provide models of overcoming conflict, recognizing heroism, and, most of all, being the heroine of your own life.

Question: What was the inspiration for this book?

Sarah: I have run an advice column on SBTB for a few years now wherein I use the wisdom of romances to answer people’s letters about their problems. Part of the inspiration for the book comes from that — there’s a great wealth of knowledge about human interaction coded into romances. Other inspiration came from recognizing over the years that the community of women who read and write romance are terribly wise and generous people.

Question: What do you love most about the romance genre? Any pet peeves?

Sarah: I love the happy ending, the reassurance that no matter how bad it is, it will all work out. I love how far I’ve traveled and how many people I’ve met within the books I love, and how many other readers I’ve met through discussing how much I love the genre. When we started SBTB, I had no idea there were so many romance readers around the world who were eager to talk with one another.

As for pet peeves? OH LORDY. My top two: stilted, unrealistic dialogue and plot contrivances that are wooden and unlikely. I don’t want to read a book and say to myself, or to the characters, “OH COME ON NOW.”

Question: You run a popular romance site called Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Tell us a little about what the site does and what the inspiration for it was.

Sarah: I do! The site reviews romance, discusses the genre, and helps connect readers with books to read, re-read, and discover again after years apart. The site began when Candy Tan and I “met” online, had a relatively random email conversation and somehow ended up discussing romances – how much we both loved them, how wonderful the best of them were, and how annoying it was that so few people took them seriously. One of us said, “We should start a blog and review them, working the power of our English degrees and our love of cursing,” and the other one said, “Uh, ok!” And Smart Bitches, Trashy Books was born. Really, the inspiration was to discuss everything readers love and despair about the genre — and the site is still going 6-plus years later.

Question: What do you think are some trends on the romance horizon? What would you like to see more of in romance books? What would you like to see less of?

Sarah: I think with the many options and opportunities available to authors, more distinct niche sub genres will emerge, because it will be easier for authors to connect directly with those readers who are demonstrably interested in that specific setting or trope or character type. I myself am not picky as far as what I want: I love contemporary and historical romance, and some light paranormal now that I’ve gotten my mental taste buds re-interested in paranormals. I love characters who seem real, who struggle with their attraction or feelings of determination for someone else, and who emerge at the end of the story as better and stronger people.

Question: What are some of your favorite books and authors?

Sarah: The books that are falling apart on my bookshelf: Perfect by Judith McNaught; Bitten by Kelley Armstrong; and Born in Ice by Nora Roberts. Oh — and Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens. Among my new favorites: the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs is something that I can’t remove from my phone or reading device in my purse. I keep re-reading parts of it.

Question: What’s next for you and Smart Bitches?

Sarah: Let’s see: more reading time! I always want to connect with new or newly curious romance readers, and those who love the genre and are searching for something new to read. So I’ve restarted the podcast (link one, link two) with Jane Litte from DearAuthor.com. I’m hoping to expand on that in the future. My goal is always to find new books, and new readers of romance to talk to.

ARC GIVEAWAY

Thanks so much for being here, Sarah! As part of her guest blog, Sarah is giving away an ARC of Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels. To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post talking about a romance you’ve enjoyed, what you like about the romance genre, or some books you are looking forward to.

The giveaway is open to folks 18 and older. The contest will run through noon, EST, Thursday, Sept. 15, and the winner will be randomly drawn and announced here on the blog on Friday, Sept. 16. Happy commenting!

Finished Sweet Justice by Christy Reece. This is the first book in one of her romantic suspense series and features Last Chance Rescue, an organization mentioned in her other books.

Seth Cavanaugh pretended to be a bad guy to catch a drug dealer. That meant cutting ties with his family — and FBI agent Honor Stone, who he was involved with at the time. Seth broke Honor’s heart when he dumped her, and she had no intention of ever seeing him again. Now, several years later, Honor works for Last Chance Rescue, an organization that focuses on rescuing innocent folks from all sorts of bad situations. When Seth’s niece goes missing from a college campus, and he comes to LCR for help, Honor is forced to work side by side with him — and come to terms with her feelings for him. Soon, the two of them are on the trail of a very bad man — one who just might make Honor his next victim …

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Reece’s books, and I like the setup — the slightly mysterious organization that stays in the background and helps good, decent folks during terrible situations. There was a lot to like in this book. There’s a good balance between the romance and the suspense, some nice action scenes, and the bad guy and his family are chillingly evil. Seriously, he was really, really creepy.

I thought Honor was a great heroine — smart, strong, and sassy. She’s good at her job and proud of how she helps other people. She came across as very capable, compassionate, and professional. Yes, she’s upset with Seth for how he treated her (and rightly so), but she doesn’t let it get in the way of finding his niece.

However, I didn’t like Seth nearly as much. I know he had to lie to his friends, family, and Honor to protect them, but he was cruel to Honor in the beginning of the book when he breaks things off with her. Plus, there’s one scene later on in the book where Seth insists on being by Honor’s side, and he does it in a very loud, vocal fashion front of the other LCR operatives that Honor is in charge of. I understand that Seth wants to protect Honor. However, all along he says how brave and capable she is, and then he basically undermines Honor’s authority while she’s leading the search for his niece. That didn’t make me like him any better.

Also, there’s a pretty big coincidence at the end of the book. I know it had to happen for the story’s sake, but it did seem a little convenient. However, it leads up to an action-packed finale when Honor and Seth finally face down the bad guy.

Overall, this is a solid romantic suspense, and I’m looking forward to reading more books by Reece.

My grade: B-

Would I read this author again: Yes. I liked a lot of things about this book and want to read more about the folks from Last Chance Rescue.

Memorable quote: “The last time Seth had seen her, she’d acted like a weak, broken-hearted imbecile — an embarrassment to generations of stoic, unemotional Stones. With the exception of losing her father, that had been the last time she’d shed tears over anyone or anything. Emotional outbursts, wearing her heart on her sleeve — all in the past.”

Finished Baby, Drive South by Stephanie Bond. This is the first book in her Southern Roads contemporary romance trilogy.

Porter Armstrong and his two brothers are trying to rebuild their hometown of Sweetness, Georgia, years after a tornado ripped through the area. So the brothers place a newspaper ad in hopes of attracting single women to the town to help with the rebuilding process. Dr. Nikki Salinger is one of the women who answers the ad. Nikki is trying to get over a bad breakup, but she’s not sure that she wants to stay in Sweetness, especially since many of the male workers don’t want to be treated by a female doctor. Porter knows that the town needs a doctor, so he decides to get Nikki to stay by any means necessary, even sabotaging her vehicle. What he doesn’t count on is how hard he falls for her — and what she’ll do when she discovers what he’s been up to …

I have to admit that the cover suckered me in on this one. I think the blue is really eye-catching, and I like the scenery in the background. I also think the publisher, Mira (Harlequin), is really good at doing attractive, real-looking guys on covers (see Linda Lael Miller’s cowboy covers). Also, I thought the premise sounded interesting — although the tornado angle made it eerily timely as well, given all the tornadoes there were earlier this year, including those in the South.

For the most part, this is a cute book. Porter schemes to get Nikki to stay in Sweetness and finds himself getting into trouble along the way, including a disastrous lunch with another woman that involves chicken salad and food poisoning. This very much reads like a romantic comedy movie, and I’m a sucker for a good rom-com movie.

The book is a little cliche in places, though. A few of Porter’s schemes are a little too over-the-top, and I wondered if every single one of the men working on rebuilding the town would refuse to see a female doctor in this day and time. (I really hope not.) Also, I thought the ending was a little abrupt and would have liked a few more pages there of Porter and Nikki’s reconciliation.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read, especially if you like light-hearted contemporary romances.

My grade: C

Would I read this author again: Yes. This book was a lot of fun in places, and I’m interested to read the rest of the trilogy.

Note: There’s also a prequel short story to the series available called Baby, I’m Yours. Currently, the story is available for free download.

Memorable quote: “As he plummeted through the air, Porter released a strangled curse. Just his rotten luck that carloads of women were finally here … and he’d be lying at the bottom of the water tower with a broken neck.”

So I have something cool (and economical) to share today: the Spider’s Bite e-book is now available for $1.99 through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers.

You read that right — $1.99.

Spider’s Bite is the first book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. So if you ever wanted to try the series or add it to your e-book collection, now’s the time to do it — on the cheap.

Normally, the e-book would be $7.99, so why is it now $1.99? Well, my publisher, Pocket Books, thought this would be a nice promotion to lead up to the release of Spider’s Revenge, the fifth book in the series that will be out on Sept. 27.

I think offering backlist titles at a discount is a smart marketing tool. Money is tight these days, and paying $1.99 for a book is a pretty good bargain. I look at book blogs like Dear Author that do posts about discounted reads to see what’s available, and I’m more likely to take a chance on a new-to-me author if the book is less than $5.

Plus, I know many people are hesitant to start a series that already has several books in it, but I think the $1.99 price will tempt some folks to check out Gin and the rest of the gang. Fingers crossed anyway.

I’ve been told that the Spider’s Bite e-book will be $1.99 through Monday, Sept. 19. So go forth and purchase if you wish. Happy downloading and reading!

Some of you have probably seen this already, but here is the cover for By a Thread, the sixth book in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series.

I really like the colors on this one. I think the pops of blue will print nicely with the green. Plus, the whole cover image and the colors tie in with the story. I also like the little touches, like the spider on Gin’s tank top. I’ve been very pleased with all the covers in the series, which have all been done by artist Tony Mauro. My thanks goes out to Tony for another excellent cover.

Fun fact: According to my editor, this is an actual woman/cover model, and they’ve used her on all the Elemental Assassin covers so far.

Also, here are some other things that will be happening with the Elemental Assassin series in 2012:

1) By a Thread will be released in March 2012. The on-sale date will be Feb. 28, 2012.

2) I’ll be getting bookmarks made for By A Thread later this fall, probably after my blog tour for Spider’s Revenge winds down in October, and I have time to work on the bookmarks. I’ll post here on the blog when I have the bookmarks.

3) Also, By a Thread is up for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Please note that the back cover copy is up at B&N and that it does contain some spoilers for what happens in Spider’s Revenge. So if you don’t like spoilers, don’t look at the cover copy.

4) The seventh book is tentatively scheduled for an August 2012 release, which means that the on-sale date will be July 31, 2012.

Those are all the updates I have right now for the Elemental Assassin books. I’ll post more info as it becomes available.