I always tell people — find something to do that connects with your passion in life and you’ll be successful! And the rule has proved itself over and over again. My passion is books and reading. My talent, if it can labeled, is remembering what I’ve read and making connections. I connect readers with books. If I know someone likes a certain type of book: say historical with lots of sexual tension but with emotion, I’ll say try Mary Balogh or Mary Jo Putney or Loretta Chase. Because those authors will make you weep, laugh and sigh. If someone likes gritty urban fantasy I point them to Kim Harrison or Kelley Armstrong because you’ll find a fast paced action packed adventure in a world that is familiar and yet, not. Well, you get my drift. I’m fortunate as I read fast and I’ve read steadily for a loooong time! Fun Books You Should Get! But I’ve also been able to meet authors, and authors are wonderful people, especially after you get them to open up about their work. Then you can see the passion in their eyes and the emotion in their voice as they tell me about the twists…

I picked up two sets of books last weekend at ArmadilloCon, both fantasies, one set by Scott Lynch about otherworldly thieves and Patrice Sarath‘s set in an alternate world of New York about an alternate world coexisting with ours. both have two books in their series and I bought all four books. I even surprise surprise started at book one of each set. Yeah, I’m one of those odd people who can pick up a book and as long as it’s interesting doesn’t matter if it’s book one, seven or three in a series. Started reading the Scott Lynch thieves books. First off let me say, these suckers are HUGE, as in 700 pages. Which makes for a heavy paperback with very thin paper. But they are also fascinating which makes me wish for days without anything else to do but read. Unfortunately that isn’t possible. I have other things crowding my life, such as work, family, even needy pets getting in the way. So I had to resort this past week to sneak reading. Ah, the mark of addiction. First I’d read at night until my eyes couldn’t focus anymore. Who cares about disrupting the house? A pillow over…

Some Con Books you should get!: “Why are you going to xxxCon?” Something I get asked each time I tell my book club I’m going to a con soon. And I’ve been going to these “things” for over 10 years. Before that I went to the media ones with my husband and son who loved the Creature cons with guest stars from all their favorite movies and television shows. I’ve been to Barbie Expos too. That’s where collectors of Barbie dolls get together and show off the dolls (some headless the way Gwen kept hers in the early days) and accessories. It’s always amazing to me what to one person is a collectable and to another is trash. The answer used to be simple, I’d go because I wanted to find people who liked the same books I did. Not necessarily to talk to them in depth about the books but to find ones I may have been missing. I’m always afraid there is an author out there and gasp, I’ve missed them! They are probably fantastic and will change my life for EVER and because I didn’t know their titles or name I’m missing out. Don’t other readers feel…

In August Fresh Fiction will celebrate its 5th anniversary. In the Internet world it’s a real milestone, as it is for a small business. Most go within a year, 18 months at the outside. But against all odds, Fresh Fiction has managed to stick, thrive and grow. We have a team of addicted book lovers to thank and the resilience of people who well, for lack of a better description, love to read! And love all things about reading: the books, the authors, fellow readers, expressing opinions and always thirsting for more. So this month — August — we’ll be exploring all the parts that make up Fresh Fiction and create our book world. From the publishers to the authors to the books to the reviewers to booksellers and all things associated with our love of books and reading. I hope you’ll join us several times this month and let us know what YOU think. We’ll also be celebrating with special blog posts, contests and give-a ways. So be sure to stop by and enter. First up is my little story, or the founding of Fresh Fiction. Well, curl up my friends and listen to the tale…ah, you see, I’m…

Recommended Reads One of the popular sayings and truths among romance readers is “everything I know I learned from a romance novel.” And it is very true. Well, maybe not everything but a great deal of information I obtained from novels has been helpful over the years and continues to be. This includes historical events, characters, geography, management skills, and lots of things not normally associated with “romance.” So it was slightly gratifying to see the same thing happen to one of my children. About eight years ago, Jemima J was published. It was one of the very early “chick-lit” books, in fact Jane Green and Helen Fielding are considered to be the “Queens of Chick-lit.” Both had books out within a few months that were blockbusters around the world and exemplified a new genre of popular fiction — young women searching for Mr. Right. My daughter got a copy of Jemima J from me…in those days I was trying to open her eyes to books past vampires and young love…what has changed? … into something a little more mature. Needless to say, Jane Green changed her life. Not only did Jemima J inspire her to take charge of her…

Recommended Reads Call me old or at least a long-time reader and you’ll be right. And as one I’ve got a few favorite authors that I’ll read anything they jot down including a grocery list which reminds me of a web site a few years ago that collected authors’ grocery lists, hmm, gotta check that one. For charity I think. Anyway, back to me and reading old favored authors. Have you ever noticed that you’ll be reading a book and need to pause, wondering, “Did I read that in _____?” or perhaps, “hmm, Lydia is just like Joceyln in ______” I’m referring to another book by the same author so don’t get all excited I’ve delving into plagiarism. I leave that to others to root out (don’t be alarmed, my Pennsylvania Dutch has a way of emerging now and again). No, talking about authors who, bless them, have a way of telling the same story over and over. Sometimes it’s because I’d assume, their publisher wants another hit or at least a known out of them for a ravenous market (that would me!), other times it’s become a job, like every night when I do the dishes, sometimes I forget…

Big confession time, shocker isn’t it? But I don’t make reading lists. Gasp! Yup, reading a book is a time of relaxation and to “get away from it all” not something associated with “work” and for me, lists are WORK. BIG CAPTIALS, WORK. What I MUST do, what I should have DONE, what I WILL DO. Get the point? Work. Yuck. Reading now is something entirely different. It’s where I leave everything and go into a different world, with its own set of rules, problems, solutions, characters. It’s definitely not work. So, here’s the problem, I said this weekend’s theme should be “reading lists or books for the summer.” All well and good, after all I can set the tone or theme for a weekend or week or month, but then it means I have to follow it too. SIGH. And I spent Friday thinking about “what am I going to read this summer?” It was dreary and depressing. It was planning it was, omg, WORK!!! So I figured it out, I’d just confess. I don’t do lists. Now, not to say I’m not ‘aware’ of book releases dates, oh dearie me, no! I am very aware because like airline…

Buy Your Copy today I was so excited this week, the latest Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire book went on sale, and I got my hands on a copy finally on Friday. So after a nice dinner with the family — no reading at the table, sigh — I was ready to drop all work and settle down for a nice couple of hours of reading enjoyment. Oh, yeah! Everyone knew to leave me alone, it was just me and Sookie, and Bill, maybe Quinn, definitely Eric. It was going to be great. Until… OMG, get Anna Paquin’s whiny voice out of my head! And while you’re at it take her stringy little ponytail and the gap between her teeth, too. She’s too perky for my Sookie. EEEEG. this is so-not-a-good thing! See, I’m one of those who after hearing someone (thing) read a story will forever hear the voice in my head when I read it myself. And mostly it is NOT A GOOD THING. Yeah, I’m shouting. The previous phrase is to be read with much emphasis. Seriously, I do not listen to any audio books I may later read, except for Jim Dale and Harry Potter. Other people…

And by artists I am referring to authors and film makers this time around. We’ll leave the musicians, painters, sculptors, and programmers out of the conversation. If you know me well, you’ll find I consider almost all producers of a “thing” including code as “creative artists” but I will not digress today. Back to the topic of “does meeting the artist make you like or appreciate the work better or less?” Lone Star Trilogy (May, June, July: Buy Your Copy today Pre-Order Your Copy today Pre-order Your Copy today Here’s the deal. Today we’re having a high tea with Susan Mallery. It’s a special private tea with just our book club and Susan. We’ve been looking forward and planning this event for months and no matter what happens it will be a day we’ll remember for a long time. Seriously, we still talk about dinners with authors from ten or twelve years ago, reminiscing over the time spent with them, their books we’ve read since and for those who didn’t attend, lamenting over their missed opportunity. In some way that private time spent with the author gives them a very special relationship with our reading group and individuals enduring long…

Books I read this week, all good for me: Buy Your Copy todayOrder Your Copy todayPre-order Your Copy today This week it seems everyone’s been talking about “series” or “trilogies” or “quartets” or something implying a bunch of books all taking place in a world created by an author. Not necessarily one in outer space, but it can be. Or it could be a historical world, as in Mary Balogh‘s Regency period, or it could be contemporary-historical-futuristic hybrid, as in Jayne Ann Krentz‘s “Arcane Society”. Or it could be international as in Karen Kendall‘s “Take Me” world. It could be contemporary with paranormal flavors such as Christine Feehan‘s “Drake Sisters. Or thrilling contemporary as in Alison Brennan‘s “Prison Break.” Each author manages to create a “universe,” populates it, makes a set of rules and then invites us in to enjoy. Recently some favorite authors seem to be forced into making a series instead of sticking to what they do best — write a self contained world for a single book. One of our topics of book club conversation is that some authors are very good at “world building” and others not-so-much. We are talking about really good and favorite authors…