My Favorite Authors

Back in the day I charted the authors who'd written multiple Desert Isle Keepers. I thought it might be fun to change it slightly. This new chart includes all authors with at least one DIK, and if they have [only] one DIK, they must also have two B+ reads. I may also do another chart of the next rung "down"—one DIK and [just] one B+/multiple B's (think Madeline Hunter), or authors with lots of B range grades (such as MaryJanice Davidson or Calvin Trillin), mostly at the upper end (like Anne Rivers Siddons). I'm also considering a chart of authors with the widest variation of grades, like Catherine Coulter, who has lots of DIKs, but also many D's/F's.

In the chart that follows, if you see this color, it refers to an addition over the original chart, and includes individual books, authors, and the entire "B+" column.

My Favorite Authors (if only one DIK, than also two B+s) Author DIKs B+ Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb Born in Fire Chesapeake Blue Jewels of the Sun Sea Swept Ceremony in Death Naked in Death Portrait in Death Promises in Death Rapture in Death Seduction in Death Survivor in Death Betrayal in Death Born in Ice Creation in Death Divided in Death Glory in Death Imitation in Death Inner Harbor Judgment in Death A Little Magic One Man's Art Origin in Death Playing the Odds Purity in Death The Pride of Jared McKade Reunion in Death Rising Tides Julie Garwood The Bride Castles The Gift Honor's Splendour Lion's Lady The Prize Rebellious Desire Saving Grace The Secret Gentle Warrior Catherine Coulter Calypso Magic Midsummer Magic Moonspun Magic Night Fire The Sherbrooke Bride The Courtship Anne Rice Interview with the Vampire The Queen of the Damned Taltos The Witching Hour Blackwood Farm Lasher Pandora The Vampire Lestat Anne Stuart Breathless Ice Storm A Rose at Midnight To Love a Dark Lord Black Ice Cold as Ice Kathryn Lynn Davis All We Hold Dear Somewhere Lies the Moon Too Deep for Tears Mary Alice Monroe The Beach House Sweetgrass Swimming Lessons Time Is a River Deborah Simmons The Last Rogue The Vicar's Daughter The Devil Earl The Gentleman Thief Jillian Hunter Fairy Tale Indiscretion The Seduction of an English Scoundrel Julia Quinn How To Marry a Marquis Splendid It's in His Kiss Katherine Sutcliffe Dream Fever A Fire in the Heart My Only Love Connie Brockway All Through the Night My Dearest Enemy Christina Dodd My Favorite Bride A Well-Pleasured Lady Mary Balogh A Secret Affair The Ideal Wife The Obedient Bride The Temporary Wife Ann Brasheres Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Forever in Blue Girls in Pants The Second Summer Elizabeth Lowell Too Hot to Handle Chain Lightning Only Mine Winter Fire Gail Carriger Soulless Changeless Heartless Linda Howard To Die For Drop Dead Gorgeous Duncan's Bride Johanna Lindsey Prisoner of My Desire Man of My Dreams Once a Princess Christopher Moore A Dirty Job Bloodsucking Fiends Lamb

Whaddya think?

BTW, Goodreads and my tags at Goodreads made this an easy task as I have a tag for Desert Isle Keepers, and separate my B+'s from other B's by star (4=B+, 3=B/B-)

My Favorite Authors

New at H&H: Interfering Relatives

Online today from me at Heroes & Heartbreakers: Interfering Relatives, which I kick off with a video clip from Auntie Mame, featuring Rosalind Russell as my favorite cinematic Interfering Relative Of All Time.

The idea came to me while recently trying—but ultimately giving up on—a soon to be released historical romance, in which an Interfering Relative played a strong role. But the book didn't compare with other, better romances with far more memorable Interfering Relatives, so I chose my two favorites—one from a contemporary series and another from a Trad Regency—and used them to open up a discussion on other Interfering Relative stand-outs. I'd love to know which fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, siblings, or cousins you remember fondly for sticking their noses into the private lives of friends and relatives, so be sure add your two cents to the comments after you read my piece.

New at H&H: Interfering Relatives

Historical Romance Hiatus

Yesterday I tried to read an upcoming historical romance release. I gave up fairly early on, realizing that unless such books are written by specific authors, I've totally lost interest in reading them. Last night at dinner I told my husband and he was shocked. Historical romance occupied a good deal of my life for several years to the exclusion of other reading, and though I slowly began adding other genres of books to my reading repertoire, the idea of [mostly] going on a Historical Romance Hiatus for the foreseeable future is for me a Big Deal.

I still plan to read a select group of releases from authors like Mary Balogh—who wrote a DIK historical last year—and Anne Stuart, who wrote another, but for now, unless an author passes the DIK litmus test, I'm going to pass. Wow...I really said it.

That Mary Balogh is one of these authors kinda surprises me as for years I was in the I only read her trads camp. Then came A Secret Affair, which blew me away, all the more so because it was the end of a series I'd never begun. The Secret Mistress, which comes out early this summer, is actually a prequel to More than a Mistress and No Man's Mistress, and I've never read those either, but look forward to it regardless. As for the Anne Stuart, I can't wait to read the fourth full-length House of Rohan book. I don't expect her to top Breathless, but after having enjoyed the entire series to date...and because she's, well, awesome...I'm hoping for a good one.

Speaking of which, I won't be doing a Fresh Meat on Shameless because I've already declared Anne Stuart to be awesome on H&H, but will probably write about it here, openly declaring my fealty to her altar of awesome-ality.

Historical Romance Hiatus

Voices in My Head

Evan Fallenberg's When We Danced on Water, my favorite book so far in 2011—and my first Desert Isle Keeper in more than half a year, will be published later this month. It's terrific for a lot of reasons, chief among them its elegant prose.

Those of you who've known me online for long know that I often point out bad prose—hence a decade of the Purple Prose Parody Contest. It's less often that I talk about prose in a positive sense. When I do, it's generally to compliment spare prose, as I've done with other DIKs, such as Paulo Coelho's The Fifth Mountain, or overall spareness, both in prose and plot, as with Mary Balogh. Fallenberg's writing isn't so much spare as it is precise. Coelho's writing packs an emotional punch because the prose itself is so spare. Balogh's emotional success comes from the all-round spareness. It is Fallenberg's precision that works so well in this book because it allows him a tremendous fluidity, like Baryshnikov flying across a stage.

The book features an 85-year-old choreographer, so indulge my using that as a metaphor for Fallenberg's writing. Just as a choreographer can capture the fluidity and emotionality of a piece of music and dance, so does this author. Just as a dance features moments of different tempos and varies in boldness and strength, so does Fallenberg write with a pin-point focus, creating a similar fluidity and elegance.

In a couple of scenes his lead character explains how he sees and feels music in his head. While a beautiful concept, it did not fit my experience of music. I wanted needed to understand it better because it was conveyed with such beauty. As music is so integral to his being, I read those passages aloud to my husband, who seemed surprised when I asked if he understood what Fallenberg's character was trying to explain. "Of course," he said matter-of-factly, as though everybody experienced music in that way.

It's been quite awhile since we had that conversation, but it wasn't until recently that I realized he sees music...and when I'm reading, I hear dialog. I hear dialect, voice inflection, even timbre. I don't listen to audiobooks because hearing someone else voice characters interferes with my experience of hearing them in my head.

Among the reasons I so love Eve Dallas' Roarke is that his voice is so clear in my head, particularly when he jokes with Eve or croons sweet nothing to her in that yummy Irish brogue. And when he speaks Gaelic in moments of pure passion, I'm a goner. When a poster to yesterday's piece for H&H objected to a similar speech cadence in Roberts/Robb's writing, I had to sit back and think about whether I'd ever noticed that. I haven't, but I'll start paying attention. That said, though, some of her most vibrant characters are those with accents, so perhaps there's something to her criticism.

What about you? Do you experience music, art, or books in an unusual way?

Voices in My Head

Changing Tastes

The other day while working at B&N, I hand-sold the entire House of Rohan print trilogy to a customer, and noticed that when I was telling her about its heroes, all of whom go over the "heroes on the edge" boundaries, mentioned that had I read the books ten years ago, I would not have liked/loved them as I do now. The customer was intrigued enough by that to buy the series.

Just now, while putting making sure all my AAR reviews were entered onto my Goodreads page, my review for Jayne Castle's Zinnia caught my attention because I remembered this snippet from 1997 (I may not remember having met you last week, but I remember just about all the books I've read, and most of my reviews): "I didn't care for the author's reference to proud nipples or to the use of such clinical terms as the c-word that rhymes with Lavoris or "vagina" when describing a love scene." That may have been true thirteen years ago, and while "clitoris" still doesn't do much for me, "clit" does. Sex at its best is a raunchy proposition, and while "clit" isn't romantic, it's definitely raunchy.

So it seems my tastes have gotten darker over the years. Is it my age, the number of romances I've read, or something else? My two favorite romances for the year - A Secret Affair and Breathless - are light years away from each other in terms of sexuality (Balogh's Regency in Disguise is mild in comparison to Stuart's book, which is based in large part on sex, though it dials back the love-making in comparison to the earlier books in the series). As far as tone, Balogh's book isn't light, and it's not as dark as some of her others, while Stuart's is on a par with my beloved Ice series...or perhaps a tinge darker. As for my third DIK of the year - which was published in 2007 - Jonathan Tropper's How to Talk to a Widower is both dark and a comedy.

Very few of you respond to the questions I pose on this blog, but I'll try again: Have your tastes changed over the last decade or so, and if so, how?

Changing Tastes

Still Reading After All These Years

When I finished reading Anne Stuart's The Wicked House of Rohan and Ruthless, it occurred to me that she is one of a very select group of authors I've continued reading since discovering the joys of romance novels in 1993. Of the select group of others, most fell by the wayside immediately or almost immediately. I read 23 books by 13 authors the first year I read romance, and Anne Stuart is the only one I continue to follow oh-so-closely. I don't read all of her romantic suspense, but have read every one of her Ice books and nearly all of her historicals (and have TBR some of her very old category titles). Lisa Kleypas and Teresa Medeiros are nearly auto-buys, but much less read.

Rather than going year by year, let me list my most frequent romance DIK authors (from most to fewest multiple DIKs), whether or not I continue to buy and/or read them, and if not, how long they lasted. It's not a tremendously large list, so it shouldn't take that long.

Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, with 11 DIKs, the 11th added just last year with 2009's Promises in Death: I discovered Roberts in 1997 but didn't read her as J.D. Robb until 2006. I continue to read her as the latter, not so much the former.

Julie Garwood, with 9 DIKs: I read Garwood's 1993-published Castles in 1994, beginning a string of DIK reads. Sorry to say, but I gave her up when she moved into romantic suspense in 2000. She wrote another historical a couple of years ago, and though I bought it, it remains unread.

Catherine Coulter, with 5 DIKs: Coulter was among the thirteen authors I read in 1993. While her quality varied from terrific to horrendous - and some sub-genres went off-limits quickly - I continued to read her Regency-set historicals long after most, stopping after Pendragon, with 25 books by her under my belt..

Kathryn Lynn Davis and Anne Stuart, both with 3 DIKs: If Kathryn Lynn Davis hadn't stopped publishing with Somewhere Lies the Moon, no doubt I'd have continued to read her. As for Stuart, she continues to amaze me.

Connie Brockway, Christina Dodd, Jillian Hunter, Mary Alice Monroe, Julia Quinn, Deborah Simmons, and Katherine Sutcliffe, all with 2 DIKs: I have several of Brockway's books TBR and will probably buy her again. As for Dodd, I continued to read her long after she and her closest attacked my integrity, and that of AAR, but at some point I realized I could no longer give any author business if she actively tried to destroy my website. Eventually that extended to Julia Quinn, whose behavior was more subversive. She was the only author contacted in 2007 to participate in AAR's 10th anniversary who refused, and unless she hears of this, she probably has no idea that I know why. (Hey, as a private citizen, I'm no longer obligated to take the high road.)

I continue to buy and read Jillian Hunter, even though it's been two years since reading Wicked as Sin, which I thought was only slightly better than average. I only fell in love with Mary Alice Monroe in 2002, and until last year's Last Light Over Carolina, she'd consistently blown me away. I look forward to her next book.

Deborah Simmons only recently returned to publishing after a hiatus, and I continue to buy her books, though it's been a while since I've read one. Finally...Katherine Sutcliffe, who stopped publishing in 2005. I stopped reading her after My Only Love, which I liked, mainly because her books' premises stopped interesting me and I knew she was capable of some real clinkers. Then too, she became the poster child for Bad Author Behavior. I felt she was misunderstood and tried to help her navigate what was at the time uncharted territory, and it exhausted me.

What other authors have been published for a very long time whom I continue to read today? The first who comes to mind is Mary Balogh. I didn't "get" Balogh until 2001, but my favorite book by her to date was just published this summer: A Secret Affair. She's been published since 1985, so...wow. Linda Howard is another long-published author to have thrilled me fairly recently - with her Blair Mallory books. Though I only first read her in 1999, she was first published in 1982, so again...wow.

Other authors published way back when whom I read for quite a while, even if none of their books ever earned DIK status: Let's start with Loretta Chase, whose 1995 "classic," Lord of Scoundrels I only first read in 2006. More than a decade after publishing LOS, she published Your Scandalous Ways, which I truly enjoyed, and I happily look forward to reading both back-list and subsequent releases as time permits. Chase's first book, btw, was published in 1987. Next up: Patricia Oliver, who died several years ago. She's the only Trad Regency author I "got" for many years, and deserves mention simply for that reason. Also, Lorraine Heath and Leanne Banks - both of whom I continue to buy if only rarely read - and Elizabeth Lowell, Ruth Langan, and Jill Barnett, all for whom I have multiple books TBR, even though I stopped buying them some time ago.

I'm sure I've left out many authors I'll later wish I'd included, buts it's time for the flip side, and a few long-time authors I eventually gave up on. Obviously there are many, many, oh-so many I can't possibly list them all, but these three came to mind for three different reasons, so I'm listing them: JAK/Amanda Quick, Marilyn Pappano, and Elizabeth Bevarly. I read many books by each of these authors, and gave up on Krentz/Quick when she eventually became derivative of heself. As for Pappano, while I have many from her backlist, and even am a fan of books following Season for Miracles in her Bethlehem series, once I subsequently read SFM, I was turned off so strongly that I never bought another of her books. With Bevarly the reasons are many, and not all are book-related. Apparently I do hold a grudge. 'Nuff said.

After writing all this, it amazes me that Anne Stuart, Mary Balogh, and J.D. Robb continue to thrill after so many years in print. I look forward to additional greatness from them, others on my list, such as Loretta Chase, Linda Howard, Lisa Kleypas, and Terersa Medeiros, and still others - from Madeline Hunter (whose first book came out a full decade ago!), to Elizabeth Hoyt to Rhyannon Byrd to Cherise Sinclair - whose careers are not yet as long-lived. And if Sinclair's name comes out of thin air, know that I rarely write about the erotic romance I read, although that will likely change in the very near future.

Still Reading After All These Years

Blogging Barnes and Noble & Ants in My Pants for Chaos Bites

The first thing I did last night when I got to work was checked to see if Lori Handeland's Chaos Bites had come in. It had not. Next I checked to see if we had Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim. We did...it came in Thursday and was shelved Friday, without any promos, meaning copies were simply shelved in the section. Tonight I must rectify that and will local-store-list it to New in SF/F.

Ten copies of each book been ordered, and for the past two weeks every Jim Butcher customer I waited on got a slip of paper with "Richard Kadrey - Sandman Slim" written on it, accompanied by this verbal pitch: "It's a very dark, sarcastic, and violent urban fantasy novel. This guy gets sent to hell and escapes 11 years later...and he's pretty angry about it. It's awesome."

I grabbed two copies, among other books I thought I'd try to sell, and went up to Cash/Wrap. Jeff, another bookseller, was there, and a few minutes later, as he checked out a customer with Patricia Briggs books, he sort of opened his body language up so I could see what he was doing. I came over with the Kadrey book and my little spiel, and the woman took the book out of my hands, gave it to Jeff, and asked him to ring it up. Before she walked away, she had an entire list of authors and books to try, and I'm guessing she'll try some of them. Hopefully we have another happy customer.

I sold the other copy of Kadrey's book later in the evening. It wasn't my greatest ever hand-sell night ever (though I did well with new memberships), but historical romance readers did hear about the upcoming Mary Balogh release - A Secret Affair - which is my first Desert Isle Keeper in ten months (that link is to my review at Amazon Vine). I also managed to hand-sell a book I'd not even taken up to the counter with me. It was about ten in the evening and a very nice couple came up with several books. Both were clearly serious readers, and as a result of what I saw, I gave them my The Fifth Mountain (Paulo Coelho) talk, which goes something like this:

"You've probably heard about The Alchemist, but this book is much less well-known. It's incredibly beautifully written, very spare...every word counts...and is a fictional re-telling of the prophet Elijah. I don't usually read books like this, but it's amazing. Whenever we have a copy in the store, I try and remember to bring it up with me to hand-sell. You'll love it."

Although I didn't have the book with me, the husband was interested, so I called the Info desk. Jamie, the store manager, actually picked up, and when she brought me the book, the man indicated I should add it to their other purchases. As soon as I handed the bag to him, he removed the book. He had that look in his eye - I knew he planned to start reading Coelho's book immediately, but I cautioned him to wait. If he started tonight, he wouldn't be going to sleep until he'd finished, at some point in the middle of the night. He said it would be a struggle, but promised he wouldn't start it until today.

All that aside, I've got ants in my pants for Chaos Bites. Both it and the Kadrey book share the same sale date (April 27)...so where the hell is it? As I write this I've got to finish a book for a PW review tomorrow, and then there are two Amazon Vine books that arrived a few days ago. But the Kindle version of Handeland's book will be available for download on Tuesday, and it'll get moved to the top of the pile. Honestly, I can't wait.

What makes the Phoenix Chronicles so fantastic is that Handeland goes beyond the usual vampires, werewolves, and the fae. To be sure they exist in the series, but they're not just random monsters. She uses biblical lore and Native American mythology, among other religious and ancient motifs, for an incredibly rich and vibrant world. The excitement and action of great urban fantasy is there, but it's better for the world-building and because of Handeland's romance background. Say what you will about romance authors, but good ones know how to craft three-dimensional characters. Handeland accomplished what L.A. Banks tried to do in her Vampire Huntress series, but she did it oh, so much better. Even the final book in Banks' series, which was chock full of action, bored me in comparison to what Handeland has accomplished so far in her series, particularly in the first and third books. Each left me wanting the next entry immediately.

Here is the PW review I wrote for book one in the series, Any Given Doomsday:

Handeland (Thunder Moon) launches the intriguing Phoenix Chronicles urban fantasy series with a strong story that's only missing one thing: a glossary of the multitude of paranormal creatures tied to biblical lore. Psychic ex-cop Elizabeth Phoenix reluctantly takes the case after her foster mother, Ruthie, is murdered by monsters. Soon she's pointing out demons to her ex-boyfriend Jimmy, a half-vampire battling an army of Nephilim who plan to enslave and destroy humanity. They fight their way from Wisconsin to the southwest, where Jimmy leaves Elizabeth with Sawyer, a powerful Navajo shape-changer who awakens her libido as well as her psychic powers. Elizabeth's wry demeanor and complex relationships with Sawyer and Jimmy share center stage with the dramatic story line. The biblical component, while often confusing, adds dramatic dimension, and the demons' evil plans and vividly described handiwork create immense suspense for the final battle.

I wish now that my review had been even stronger, but at the time I wrote it, I'd not yet become as immersed in urban fantasy as I am today. So I hadn't read all the books now under my belt and didn't know just how much better the Phoenix Chronicles are in comparison to most. Had I written a stronger review, perhaps more readers would have discovered the series.

I tell those I've sold the first three books together that book two - Doomsday Can Wait - isn't quite as strong as books one and three, but it's still a good read. Here's the blurb:

"It took the near annihilation of humanity for Liz Phoenix to understand the true meaning of her premonitions. Liz is one of the sacred few on earth who has the psychic powers to fight the malevolent forces that have tried to wipe out the human race since the beginning of time. She battled these beings once, thwarting Doomsday but losing most of her soldiers in the massacre. Now she must replenish her troops quickly—because the supernatural war isn't over yet.

"As the new leader of the federation, Liz is marked for death by a Navajo witch with a link to her past. To survive, she must rely on her few remaining allies—her mentor, a shaman with too many secrets, as well as ex-lover, Jimmy Sanducci. Bringing Jimmy into the mix is a dangerous move, for Liz's darkest desires are razor-sharp—and her longing for Jimmy is at a fever pitch. But can Liz afford to give into the cravings that burn inside her, with the next shot at Doomsday just around the corner? This time, if evil wins, chaos will reign—and the world as we know it will be lost forever..."

The third book in the series, Apocalypse Happens, is as good, if not slightly better, than book one, and part of the reason why is that Handeland goes balls-to-the-wall in terms of what she's willing to do to propel the series' arc. Not that she does anything simply for dramatic effect - no - yet this is anything but a safe ride. To say more would give spoilers, but what happens near the end of this book is something I might have expected in a much later entry in the series...if at all...because no doubt a sub-set of readers will have a difficult time accepting the outcome. While I was shocked out of my seat, I'm totally in for the remainder of the ride, and can only hope it'll be a lengthy one. That said, there's only one additional title listed (Demons at the Gate) on Handeland's website.

Before ending this blog entry, here's the blurb for book three:

"Elizabeth Phoenix is one of a select few with the power to battle those who have escaped from the darkest level of hell—demons bent on destroying humanity and reclaiming earth once and for all. Liz is determined to stop yet another Doomsday. But this time, it's going to be more difficult than ever because someone she thought was dead isn't dead anymore...and is bound and determined to destroy Liz and everyone she loves in the upcoming Apocalypse.

"Liz has arrived in Los Angeles to ferret out a nest of varcolacs: half human, half dragon creatures who crave the destruction of the sun and moon. But before she can prevent the kind of eclipse that would bring the world to an end, Liz must mine the depths of her own heart. She and her former lover Jimmy Sanducci have some personal demons to battle—and there's always her mentor, the Navajo shaman Sawyer. Is he on their side or isn't he? In the end, the three of them must find a way to fight together...or perish alone."

Again, for all those urban fantasy readers out there, if you've not yet picked up Lori Handeland's Phoenix Chronicles, please do. She can only continue to write them if enough people buy them.

Because this blog entry is so lengthy, and because I have a review to write tomorrow, I won't write here again until Tuesday Wednesday, after I've had a chance to read Chaos Bites (that link is for an excerpt at the author's site).

Blogging Barnes and Noble & Ants in My Pants for Chaos Bites

A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh

A Secret Affair

Mary Balogh

Grade: A-

European Historical Romance

Amazon Vine just posted my review of this book, which begins...

Nearly a decade ago I finally "got" traditional Regency Romances, and fell in love with Mary Balogh. Not her single title historicals, but trad Regencies such as The Ideal Wife, The Obedient Bride, The Plumed Bonnet, and The Temporary Wife. Before "getting" trads, I'd tried one of her early single title historicals - it left a bad taste in my mouth. While I have bought the earlier entries in her Huxtable series because a good friend called them great examples of Regencies in Disguise, I've not yet read any of them. After being enthralled by A Secret Affair, I'll be moving them closer to the top of my massive TBR pile...

Click here to read the rest of my review for Amazon

A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh