I Guest-Posted and E-Reader Dissatisfaction

Hey! I’m a nut! Okay, maybe you already know that, but this time I’m a nut over at Cd Brennan’s blog. Every Sunday she features a different author on her “Sundae With Nuts” and I happen to be the author featured yesterday. So if you’re curious (and you are, aren’t you?), click HERE and check out my answers to her questions. Am I nutty or what?

Yesterday was Easter (duh!). It was supposed to be a fairly relaxing day. I thought I would get some editing done and finish the anthology I was reading before the kids came over for dinner and games. Well I guess I can wish in one hand and get you-know-what in the other.

I pulled out my Nook and noticed the screen had faded. Now, I turn that sucker off after I use it, so I knew it wasn’t the battery. I turned it on and everything seemed fine until a message popped up saying it was reformatting (or something to that affect) and to NOT turn off the Nook. After waiting 10 minutes (the 10 minutes it would have taken me to finish the darn anthology!!!), the reformatting finished but reset EVERYTHING! It was like having a brand new Nook. All my freebie books were gone. All my shelves were gone. All my settings were GONE!

This is why I hate e-readers. I wouldn’t have had this problem with paper books. Well, I would if a tornado came through the house or an earthquake struck, but the odds of either of those happening are waaaay less than my Nook reformatting.

At least I had my freebie books on my computer, so they weren’t totally gone. But going through my books and figuring out which ones I’d already read….what a pain! I can’t remember that crap. That’s why I created the shelves!! That’s why I have separate shelves for my paper books. Ones that hold books to be read and several that hold the books I have read (and they’re in different rooms, too!).

Okay. Rant over (until the next time, that is--haha!).

Other than that unfortunate incident, my Easter was pretty good. I got a nice message from someone who won a copy of MSV. She’s very excited about reading it. Now I am, too! Amazing what can please me, huh?

Easter dinner was nice. I actually cooked! Shocking, I know.

Gotta work like crazy this week to get my pre-edits finished for Ghostly Liaison, so it’s probably a good thing my daughter hasn’t finished reading J.R. Ward’s book yet. I’m not ready to read it!!

So…did you spend the holiday with family? Do anything fun? We sat around and played board games. I actually won one game. Yay!

Have a great Monday!!

Stacy

 

Wednesday Reads and a Rant

I don’t understand.

I was having trouble getting some books I wanted to read because so many publishers (mine included), have digital first or digital only. If I wanted to read the book, I needed an e-reader. So this past Christmas I broke down and told my husband if he wanted to get me an e-reader, the one I wanted was the Nook w/glow light (that one was the easiest on my eyes and I am a member of B&N). Being the smart man that he is (and knows easy when he sees it), got me the e-reader.

Okay, I’m ready now, right?

Wrong.

See…there’s this giant out there and a lot of self-pubbers apparently think that this giant is the ONLY way to make money (and of course their digital books won’t work on my e-reader). I’m sorry, maybe it’s my accounting degree, but I don’t believe using only one outlet is the way to reach more readers. Advertising is. If I don’t use the giant’s site, how am I learning about your book? And if I don’t have the giant’s reading device, how are you making it EASY for me to buy/download/read your book? (Reading my book on my laptop is far from EASY and I do NOT own a smart phone-not that I’d want to read a book on that small device).

I just don’t understand. Am I the only one who feels this way? I sure hope not.

Okay, rant over. This is what I finished reading in the past week:

Jun 4: “Deliver Me From Temptation” by Tes Hilaire. This is the second book in the Paladin Warriors series and is a paranormal romance (and I have the paperback, which I bought). Blurb on back: LOGAN SCREWED UP…BIG TIME. When things go bump in the night, Logan bumps back. Vampires, demons, succubi--you name it, he’s fought it. His job as a Paladin angel warrior is to protect humans. Not fall for one. SHE NEVER BELIEVED IN DIVINE INTERVENTION…UNTIL NOW. Detective Jessica Waters protects humans too--with her Glock and a good set of handcuffs. She doesn’t believe in fate. But if anyone looks like a gift from the gods, it’s Logan. And he clearly knows more about her case than he’s letting on… This is a series I’m coming to love. Just wish they were all written already, but no. #3 isn’t out yet (and hopefully it won’t be the last). Oh well, it’s not like I don’t have plenty to keep me busy until they are. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.  

Penguins aren’t doing so well in the series. I hope they get their sh*t together soon or they’ll be headed for home!

So, what’s your favorite way to read? I still pick paper over digital. So much easier to share.

Happy Reading!

 

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and Other Stuff

I didn’t get a lot of reading done this weekend - too darn busy! Anyway, this is what I finished in the past week:

May 25: “Perfectly Matched” by Heather Webber. This is book 4 of the Lucy Valentine series and I believe it falls under mystery (although it has paranormal and romantic elements). Blurb: When Boston psychic Lucy Valentine finds herself involved with a group of eccentric mediums trying to fine tune their abilities, she is convinced a rare spring heat wave has flushed all the local crazies out of hiding. Adding to her theory is her newest client in the Lost Loves division of Valentine, Inc., her family’s lucrative matchmaking firm. He’s an animal whisperer who hires Lucy to locate his soul mate--because his cat told him so. Finding his purrfect match, however, isn’t as easy as it seems. But craziest of all is the Beantown Burner, a serial arsonist who is targeting private eye Sam Donahue, brother of Lucy’s boyfriend, Sean. With the help of her kooky psychic group, Lucy must tap into hidden abilities to catch the firebug before the fires turn deadly. She never expected to discover that the motive behind the flames hits a little too close to home…and dangerously close to her heart. I realized as I was half-way through this book, that this is another series with a Lucy and Sean (see Allison Brennan Lucy Kincaid series). True, they are nothing alike, but I thought it was interesting. I like this series, but don’t care for the little cliffhanger at the end (setting up the next book no doubt). I think it would have been fine without that little bit, since I’m already hooked on the series and I have NO IDEA when the next book will be out. So I’m grumbling about that. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

May 28: “Nerves of Steel” by C.J. Lyons. This is book 1 in a 3 book series, a romantic medical thriller. Blurb (from Goodreads): Dr. Cassandra Hart is fighting a war. And losing. A deadly drug epidemic, a killer stalking her hospital…meet the ER doctor who never gives up. Cassie’s Pittsburgh ER has been deluged by patients who have overdosed on a new drug, FX. After Cassie discovers that the source of the FX is her own hospital, her best friend is killed, and Cassie’s life is threatened. She is forced to place her trust in Detective Mickey Drake. Drake’s irascible charm eventually penetrates the barriers Cassie has built around herself, and their relationship progresses from professional to passionate. After Cassie discovers the truth behind the thefts, she and Drake must confront a killer. In the end, their only weapons are their newfound love and the courage that it gives them. This book was pretty good, but dragged a bit in some scenes and it’s long (845 pages on my e-reader or around 400 in a paperback). I liked the couple though and will read the rest of the books, since I purchased the set. Although on my reader, it’s one huge file (2450 pages!!) and I have NO IDEA how close to the end I am on any but the last book. Ah, but that’s a gripe for the reader (or maybe the publisher - couldn’t they make it three separate files???), not the book. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Amazing what a travel holiday can do to a schedule (and yes, I have one, even unemployed as I am), not to mention having a relapse (I’m drowning in a sea of tissues!). I’ll tell you about Detroit on Friday and post some pictures then - I promise! Until then…

Happy Reading!

 

Stacy

Hodgepodge

I have recently (like, yesterday), revised my query - the letter I plan on sending out to more agents. I’m thinking about posting it on my blog and getting your opinion (and maybe spreading the news to the RWA chapters I belong to, to also check it out). Good idea? Bad? I’d like to know what you think about that.

Not that I blog everyday (I’m lucky to hit twice a week!), but next week I’ll be on vacation. We’re taking what I call a “car cruise”. Hitting cities we’ve never visited before. If I have access to the internet at night (and the odds are pretty much in our favor), I may post more often. That’s if I have any decent pictures or funny stories to share. Heck, I’m with my husband. I’m sure I’ll have at least one funny story to share. I’ll just have to remember to write it down when it happens or else I’ll forget.

Do you own an e-book reader? Do you want to? I’m still in the NO category on those things. Why mess with something that works? I just foresee problems with electronic gadgets in the future. AND the changes in formats (you know it’ll happen). I’ll stick with bound books.

In case I've never thanked you - I thank you for following my blog (or reading, if you’re here and don’t follow). It’s almost like writing a letter to a friend. That’s what I try to do here, anyway.