A really good romance....

All of us here at Minx Central and the awesome people who visit us here, I can safely say, have one thing in common. We all love books and especially, we LOVE a good romance story..

I love and read romance in all the sub genres but nothing makes me sigh happily in bliss more than one that purely and completely focuses on well-developed 3 dimensional characters...

And the last one that made do the above along with making me laugh was Julie Anne Long's What I Did For A Duke.

At first sight at the blurb, the book has common tropes like Older Hero vs, Younger Heroine, Revenge etc.

But what lifts the book from any other book and makes it a delight to read is I think, the character and the dialogue, the descriptive language...There was a subtlety to everything that I can't even put in proper words...

What I can say vouch for is the pure joy I got out from reading it well into the night...

What about you? What was the last book you read that put a smile on your face, that made you go WOW?

Today's inside tip on how to get published

Do you want to be a better writer? Do you want to be published?

Then READ.

The editors at Harlequin / Mills & Boon frequently suggest that aspiring writers read the books they publish. The cynical might believe this is so they can sell more books. But think about it.

Would you trust a tax lawyer to defend you in a criminal case? Would you want the world's top cardiac specialist operating on your foot? So why would anyone buy romance novels written by someone who doesn’t like to read romance? Will this writer understand the conventions, and know how to keep them interesting?

Only when you’ve read enough vampire/angel/witch stories will you understand what makes some merge together into obscurity, and makes others stand out. Only when you’ve read enough ‘secret baby’ stories will you be able to put your unique spin on it. When you know what has already been done, you know what hasn’t yet been done. And that is what you need to do: write the story that hasn’t yet been written.

And that’s today’s inside tip on how to get published:
Read, read, and read some more.

If you don't believe me, check out Scott Eagen's recent blog post on what you can learn from reading.

So what are you reading today?

Read or Write?

I haven't finished reading a single book yet in the new year and we're almost through January. This is because I've been concentrating on getting some writing done and I haven't yet figured out how to do both in a given day.

 Reading is a bit of a weakness for me..or a big one actually...I start reading, and if turns out to be engrossing...I can't put it down...I've slept only a couple of hours countless times and got up to go to work because I'd spent yet another night unable to stop reading....and faced the day looking like a ghoul...
And since I want to make a head start into the year and get some much needed writing done, I've been kinda scared to start reading something that I know will suck me in...

And time's really limited, so at the end of the day- it's coming down to read or write? and I've been picking write over the past three weeks..But I have no doubt the long clutches of my TBR pile will suck me in and will surrender to the reading one of these nights and pull an all nighter...

How about you? Do you read when you're in the midst of a writing binge? Or is  reading a good book your reward once you've achieved your writing goals?

PS - Don't forget you have up to Friday 27 January to win a copy of Once A Ferrara Wife by Sarah Morgan. Just leave a comment in the reivew post telling us the best book you read in 2011. Good luck!

Did you get books for Christmas?

I did. They are my favourite kind of gift, next to pretty notebooks or stationery - I am a self confessed stationery whore.

In my stocking this year I had:

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society by MaryAnn Shaffer
Miracle on Regent Street by Ali Harris
It started with a Kiss by Miranda Dickinson
A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French
Pip by Freya North

From them, i've read 'It started with a Kiss' - I chose this one first as it has the 'curl up by the fire at Christmas and enjoy' factor right from the start of the sparkly cover. It didn't disappoint, was a real cockle warmer, can recommend.

Pip. Have to say the husband got this one wrong as i've already got it - I love Freya's books, so he'd find it hard to find one I haven't read. My fave of all of hers is 'Cat' - it's based around the Tour de France, which in itself is an unusual setting for women's fiction. Have to confess an interest in it, as my other hlaf is a huge fan and it's become a fixture of our summers.

I've just started on Dawn French's book, and the jury is out right now. I always enjoy Dawn's sense of humour on screen, and you can really hear her voice in the book. I don't know if i'd enjoy it as much if it was from an unknown author. Hmm. Will read on and report back.

The others on my list are sitting on my bedside table waiting to be read. I love having them there, and not knowing what lies beneath their covers yet. Tempting, like unopened boxes of chocolates.

My other massive reading discovery of late has been Jenny Crusie. I read 'Bet Me' and she had me hook, line and sinker. Honestly, I adore her writing so much. It half makes me want to try harder with my own writing, and it half makes me want to stop altogether because I have so far to go. Am reading 'Tell Me Lies' in tiny chunks right now so I don't get to the end too quickly.

How about you? Did Santa bring you any books to recommend?

Addicted to Series

My name is Sri and I’m a series ho. Give me a set of three dimensional characters, a dangerous paranormal world, or a memorable setting, whatever the time period, whatever the genre, I will return again and again to that set of characters.

Here are a few of the series I love, and wait on for the next installment.

1. The Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward
2. Thomas Pitt series and William Monk series by Anne Perry
3. Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny
4. Immortals after Dark by Kresley Cole
5. The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith
6. Lords of the Underworlds by Gena Showalter
7. Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh
8.  The Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson
9. The Elder Races novels by Thea Harrison
10. Royal Spyness Series by Rhys Bowen
11. The Amelia Peabody Series by Elizabeth Peters

Anytime a book comes out in the above series, and the first few of some of them were even written before I was born, I will pick it up ,glad to visit the same world, and in some cases, again the same characters, knowing that the author will deliver and surprise me.

How about you? Which authors or series are automatic buys for you? Do you like series novels where you can return again to that setting/fictional town/or world?