• 788 and counting …

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    Finished It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas this weekend. It’s the second book in her popular “Wallflower” series about a group of four husband-hunting friends in England.

    It was a good read, and, if you like historical romance, then I definitely recommend this series to you.

    But what caught my attention most about this book were the last three pages. Instead of focusing on the happy couple, the last few pages set up the couple for the next book — and ended in a cliffhanger.

    Will the handsome, yet broke, lord accept the fair, and extremely wealthy, maiden’s proposal of marriage? That was what Kleypas left readers with. I loved and hated it.

    I loved it because it made me want to read the next book in the series, The Devil in Winter. But I hated it because if I had been reading this book when it first came out and the sequel wasn’t available yet, I would have screamed in frustration.

    I like to wait until a series has gotten a good start (i.e. there are several books out) before I start reading it. The reason? Cliffhangers like Kleypas’. I don’t want to have to wait six months or a year or longer to find out what happens next. I want to know right now.

    What about you? Do you like cliffhangers in books? Or do you prefer a nice, tidy ending? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • As requested … Veronica Mars!

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    I’ve been asked to blog about Veronica Mars, so here goes.

    I still enjoy the show, but I’m not feeling the level of insane love like I have the past two seasons for one reason – Logan. They’ve given him nothing to do this year. He hasn’t even had that much dialogue. All he does is sort of look sad and quiet and mopey.

    His mom committed suicide, his good-for-nothing, abusive dad was murdered after murdering his girlfriend, the other girlfriend was raped – he has plenty to be depressed about. But I still miss the Logan of yesteryear. The smart-ass bad boy that you just can’t help but like. Who always had a snappy comeback for every situation. They need to bring that Logan back. That Logan and his relationship with Veronica is the main reason that I love the show so much.

    Wallace has been light on the scenes too, although watching him and Logan go toe-to-toe as guard/prisoner was good. And whatever happened to Wallace’s mom? And the subplot with his dad? They’ve both just sort of disappeared off the face of the earth …

    Also, the subplot with Keith and Kendall and the Fitzpatricks was kind of out there, too. I never got the whole Fitzpatrick subplot last year. I thought it was one too many red herrings about the bus crash.

    But Weevil returns this week, which is reason to celebrate. 🙂 Now, if they can just give him some scenes with Logan and Wallace …

    Honestly, I don’t want to get too attached to the show this year. It’s only been given a 13-episode commitment, and Veronica and Logan are going to break up at some point around episode 6. If it ends with Veronica and Logan on the outs, well, I don’t know what I’ll do.

    I just have to hope that the ratings are good and that Rob Thomas, the creator/producer, is as smart as his characters about where he ends things.

    What about you? Are you still loving the show? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • Used vs. new

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    I have a confession to make — I love used bookstores.

    I know, I know. Used bookstores are the devil. They’re downright evil, according to some published authors. You see, authors don’t get any royalties on sales at used bookstores. Even if a certain book is bought and sold 10 times at the same store, the author will never see a dime of that money. Not a penny.

    Authors would much rather you buy their book brand-spanking new at Barnes & Noble so they can get their $1 in royalties and have the sale register with their publishers. I’ll probably feel the same way when my books come out next year. Gotta keep those sales numbers up and make the bean counters happy. 😉

    If I ever see someone selling (gasp!) one of my beloved books or see it on the shelf in a used bookstore, I’ll probably sit down in the middle of the floor, have a good cry, beat my breasts, and wail why didn’t they like me???

    But for now, I’m totally digging used bookstores. In fact, I went to one of my favorite ones today — Mr. K’s — and picked up some stuff to read. I got five books for $15 — a steal at twice the price.

    But it’s not just the cheap prices I like at used bookstores — it’s the atmosphere. The slightly musty odor in the air, the tinkle of the bell over the front door, the low murmur of conversation, finding a hidden treasure among the towering stacks.

    It’s a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

    What about you? Which do you prefer — new or used? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • Heroes, Part Three

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    Watched Heroes again this week.

    Still loving it, particularly Hiro, who managed to convince his friend that he wasn’t nuts and can actually teleport himself through time and space. Using the comic book as a guide was really cool, too. Whoever does the art for the show deserves a big thumbs-up.

    The two of them are so going to meet up with the split-personality stripper. I can’t wait. 🙂

    The telepathic cop had a little more to do this week, which was cool, and we finally got a glimpse of Sylar, the baddie. Well, not much of a glimpse, but we know that dude is powerful. It’ll be interesting to see how the heroes come together to defeat him. If that, in fact is the plot hook this season.

    I sort of hope they do it like Buffy and have one major villain a season. That’s the best way to do a show like this. Have the heroes beat the baddie in May as a reward to the fans and then start fresh again in September. I’m so over shows like Lost that haven’t answered questions they started with two years ago.

    And the ending with the cheerleader … I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen it, but yikes! It was a total, total shock. Just when I think TV can’t surprise me anymore something like that happens.

    Until next week …

  • Blurb trail, part three

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    So, my agent called me today and said that we had gotten another awesome blurb from a fellow writer. Huzzah! Everything seems to be coming along nicely for Karma Girl. 😉

    I’ll be posting the blurbs just as soon as I know which ones we’re officially going to go with. More to come soon …