BOOKMARKED is the name we gave to our paper.li journal, but since not everyone is on Twitter and not everyone on Twitter likes paper.li, I thought I’d run an adhoc omnibus of links on the blog to highlight links and news that might be of interest.
New Harlequin lines
Watch out for two new Harlequin lines, mentioned at last weekend’s RWA conference:
- Harlequin Kiss, featuring fun, flirty stories, to be launched in February
- Harlequin Heartwarming, featuring wholesome romance, to be launched in July
The Heartwarming line is interesting, because while most booksellers are trying to milk erotica and erotic romance for what it’s worth, I’m told that there’s also a boom in inspirational romances.
Author vodcasts
I’ve been remiss in posting videos featuring Australian authors, so here are some recent ones:
- Helene Young chat (ARRA)
- Gena Showalter chat (ARRA)
- Hangout with Eloisa James, Anne Gracie and Christina Brooke (Google)
- Hangout with Helene Young, Rachael Johns, Cathryn Hein, Karly Lane and Loretta Hill (Google)
- Anne Gracie in conversation with Elise Ackers (Destiny Romance)
Romance by the sea
If you can’t get to MWF or the events aren’t romancey enough (see below), there’s a new literary festival being held at Queenscliff, VIC on Saturday, September 8, featuring Stephanie Laurens, Keri Arthur, Anne Gracie, Marion Lennox, Fiona Lowe, Sarah Mayberry, Lilian Darcy, Carol Marinelli, M. J. Scott and Jennifer Kloester. If that’s not enough to tempt any romance reader, the event is being held as a fundraiser for a local children’s charity. Tickets are $100, but $70 will be considered a tax deductible donation. The authors will also be doing signings the day after the festival. You can find more information here. (Source: ARRA loop)
Romance at Melbourne Writers’ Festival
This year’s Melbourne Writers’ Festival will feature some romance-related panels, the most notable of which is Stephanie Laurens in conversation with Anne Gracie. The program says that they’ll be talking about Laurens’s new books ‘and why romance and eBook publishing are a match made in heaven.’ I wonder if Laurens’s speech at the RWA (US) convention will get a mention. It was a very writerly hurrah speech, but I’m not sure how it will go down with those in publishing.
Laurens is joined by rural lit author Rachael Treasure at a session called ‘A Fine Romance’. It’s billed as a panel on romance, but as Treasure writes romantic elements rather than romance genre books, I’m fairly confident this will be a broader discussion on love stories in fiction. Laurens is also holding a writing workshop on writing genre fiction, but that event is sold out.
- A Fine Romance ($21.50/19.50) — 10am, 26/8/2012, BMW Edge
- In Conversation: Stephanie Laurens ($21.50/19.50) — 11:30am, 24/8/2012, ACMI
- Workshop: The Essential Elements of Successful Genre Fiction (sold out) — 25/8/2012, 2pm, The Wheeler Centre
Supping With the Devil that is Romance Fiction
My ex-librarian, Vassiliki, is now a PhD Masters by research candidate, and she’s looking at romance collections in libraries. She presented a paper at the ALIA Biennial Discovery Conference, which she has reposted on her blog, Shallowreader. It’s an excellent piece and worth checking out. We don’t often hear about the relationship between libraries, romance authors and romance readers, yet for many, many years my local library was my source of romance book crack. Libraries have definitely played a role in my romance reading life, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this.
Romance fiction feature on The Project
If you missed it, Australian Mills & Boon authors Ally Blake and Melanie Milburne were featured on The Project. (Source: ARRA loop)
Borders changes to Bookworld
Borders has now become Bookworld, an online shop for books, CDs and DVDs. If you were subscribed to the Borders newsletter, you’ll need to re-register at the new site and opt to receive the new newsletter. I’m not sure how I feel about being asked to become a Bookworld ‘citizen’. Join before the end of September and you can get 20% off books.