A book shop often fulfills similar functions, including author events (Iryna Varanovich / Pexels.com) A recent trend I’ve noticed is the sudden abundance of “author” or “reader retreats”—events designed to put authors and readers in close contact. Many of these are cropping up in the romance space, where readers might be fanatical about an author’s work. Authors, certainly, are always looking for...
Ahoy, matey! The Jolly Roger ready to set sail with a boatload of booty– I mean, books. (Mike Bird / Pexels.com) At this stage in the game, we all know book piracy is pretty rampant. Whether it’s someone in a country where the major stores don’t operate, or it’s someone who is tight on cash who still really wants to read a book, or someone is trying to stick it to “the man,” or it’s someone...
Romance novels get a lot of flak. Sometimes, there are good reasons—a lot of them are run-of-the-mill or even bad smut. I’ve seen books with cardboard characters and even flimsier plots. Does a rose by any other name truly smell as sweet? (Dario Fernandez Ruz / Pexels.com) Some of the criticisms levied against romance novels stem from other, less magnanimous areas. Romance novels as a whole are...
A friend and I were discussing this topic a little while ago. I’d seen a recent social media exchange about it. Some folks expressed disdain. They couldn’t understand why people would want to read “predictable” romance novels. Stop me if you’ve heard this one … (Summer Stock / Pexels.com) And that’s a fairly understandable stance. I mean, I roll my eyes at a lot of Harlequin-type...
Some say it's censorship. Others want to leave the past in the past. The point stands: there are plenty of reasons not to edit old books.
AI is all the rage right now, owing largely to ChatGPT and Midjourney. While enthusiasts laud the capabilities of these new tools and call artists and authors “Luddites” for not adopting it, I think there are some very good reasons to steer clear of them right now. (Tara Winstead / Pexels.com) Here’s why I, as an author, won’t be using artificial intelligence to help me “write faster”—and why I...
Some folks like to go around threatening to sue over copyright when people "steal" ideas. So, how does copyright work? (Hint: not like that.)
Content warnings are a topic of serious debate. Are they spoilers? Do they coddle our readers? I think they show that we care.
Coming January 28! Get set for more intergalactic hijinks when a monk inherits a HOST CLUB ON THE PLEASURE PLANET!