What a terrific speech:

“If you’re someone who only reads the editorial page of The New York Times, try glancing at the page of The Wall Street Journal once in awhile. If you’re a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns on the Huffington Post website. It may make your blood boil; your mind may not often be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship. So too is the practice of engaging in different experiences with different kinds of people.

For four years at Michigan, you have been exposed to diverse thinkers and scholars; professors and students. Do not narrow that broad intellectual exposure just because you’re leaving here. Instead, seek to expand it. If you grew up in a big city, spend some time with some who grew up in a rural town. If you find yourself only hanging around with people of your race or your ethnicity or your religion, broaden your circle to include people who’ve had different backgrounds and life experiences. You’ll learn what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes, and in the process, you’ll help make this democracy work,” – President Obama.

Via Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish

By the way, IT’S ELECTION DAY IN BRITAIN TODAY!!!

After reading Sharon Cullar’s latest post, I was very tempted to send her an email, urging her to get a new name, and to start writing romances featuring just white characters, because her books are obviously just not selling well.

It seems a bit drastic, but the fact is, money is an issue for her right now, so the question I think she needs to ask herself, is, is she happy writing the books of her heart, and not selling, or is she prepared to go the mercenary route and write where the money is.

I know that there are no guarantees, but the fact is, books featuring black or even inter-racial couples do not sell as well as books featuring all white couples.

Her ability to write is not in question here, I’ve read Sharon Cullar’s books, and she’s a fantastic author, however, with the way that books featuring black protags are constantly ignored by Jane Average Reader in RomLand, I think she’d be better off writing Carol Lynne-type books where the all-white protags shag at every given opportunity.

I think that we here in RomLand like to think that good plot development and good editing are essential to every reader, but if that were true, how do you account for people like Jamaica Layne apparently still selling? There are obviously people out there reading and enjoying what she writes.

I also considered perhaps advising Sharon to start writing ménage erotic romance, seeing as they seem to be as popular as ever.

I know that authors should really write what they love, but what if what they love doesn’t sell? It’s ok if money isn’t an issue for said author, but what if, as in Sharon’s case, it is? Should she really be expected to stick to her principles, and keep churning out inter-racial romances, that have a limited audience in the market place?

So after giving up on the steaming pile of shit that was Laura Kinsale’s Lessons In French, the postman did me a favour and delivered Laura Leone’s Fallen From Grace through my door a few weeks ago. It was very timely indeed.

I first heard about this book via Keishon’s (Avidbookreader) blog quite a few years ago, and I’ve been looking for it ever since. They had a copy at Amazon a while back, but I wasn’t prepared to pay £50 for it at the time.

The last book that I read and loved that featured a prostitute hero was Shelby Reed’s The Fifth Favor, and in fact I felt that there were quite a few similarities in terms of tone and overall feel of the book. As with TFF, the hero was the shining beacon in the book, ably assisted by a fine heroine.

Blurb:

While trying to save her spiralling career, writer Sara Diamond befriends her new next-door neighbour, Ryan Kinsmore. A soft-spoken younger man with charm and good looks, Ryan leads a mysterious double life which becomes increasingly hard for him to conceal from Sara as their intimacy grows.

Even after Ryan falls in love with her and stops pretending to himself that this isn’t wrong, that Sara wont be hurt by their relationship, he can’t give her up or walk away.

As Sara learns the truth about him, trapped in a world of lies, danger and sex-for-hire, Ryan becomes determined to find a way out of the life he was drawn into as a runaway minor, and equally determined to rescue a street kid whom he finds falling into the same traps which once caught him. But Ryan’s secret life is lived in a ruthless world which wont easily let him go. Having fallen so far from grace, can he find his way back?

(more…)

My Google Reader has been out of control of late, and I’ve been pretending that the posts on there will just read themselves. Not happening. Anyway here are some of the more noteworthy blog posts.

First off, Stacy has a really touching post on her blog entitled: We Are Our Own Worst Enemy:

She starts:

I have to rant a little here, about how frustrating it is to see beautiful, successful women like Kate Hudson having plastic surgery. Kate is a little bit of the kind of woman I wish I was (only a little, mind you). I was always envious of her vivacious personality, her cute looks, her ability to attract people to her. I’m so the opposite, so people who are so alive and full of energy intrigue me. I was disappointed when I saw these pictures because I really thought she was happier with herself. I guess that’s what Hollywood can do to you. Give the most well-adjusted person low self-esteem.

The part that really touched me was this bit: (more…)

These are public documents, but they do make for interesting reading:

Motion for Reconsideration
Plaintiff’s Response

After the initial court appearances, it seems that EC have failed over and over again to show up to court, but they seem to be arguing that default judgements shouldn’t have been made without giving them time to respond, despite their lack of attendance.

Christina Brashear is also trying to claim money for Tina Engler not paying her the “value of her shares of stock, her pro rata shareholder distributions or her personal income tax liability attributable to her percentage interest in Elloras Cave reported in tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service.”

According to EC however, she “relinquished her “rights” to salary distributions from EC when she engaged in conduct that was detrimental to Elloras Cave“, conduct for which she was sacked.

Brashear is also trying to claim for breach of fiduciary duty against EC for depriving her of all EC related income. EC of course dispute this, by claiming that Brashear had no interest in any of the companies, such as Lady Jaided, Jasmine Jade etc, and was in fact putting all her efforts into Samhain Publishing.

It’s all very complicated, but it seems to me that the only people who are getting anything out of this are the lawyers.

Thanks to you-know-who for sending over the docs.

As a devoted Whedon fan and as someone who watches all DVD extras with as much–if not more–attention as the actual movie/tv show… I’m tickled to have seen this:

“on sale now”

I received my copy of J.R. Ward’s Lover Mine yesterday, and as of yet, I haven’t started it, even though I’ve been anxiously waiting for it to arrive for months.

The problem is, I’m afraid it’s gonna suck Great Big Hairy Balls.

The last book that I really looked forward to reading this much was Sarah McCarty’s Promises Reveal and that story didn’t have a happy ending. In fact I never even got to the end because the book sucked. A lot. Sigh.

Am I the only person who feels like this about the last book in a series?

Which Last Book are you guys afraid wont live up to the build-up and the hype?

I couldn’t let this pass without a mention.

Earlier this weeks, there were smallish headlines on msnbc.com about an insurance company which deliberately cancelled the policies of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Of course, the company covers its ass by using secondary reasons as justification, a practice that “will soon be illegal” but has always been unethical and is definitely inhumane.

It is also a well known phenomenon:

That tens of thousands of Americans lost their health insurance shortly after being diagnosed with life-threatening, expensive medical conditions has been well documented by law enforcement agencies, state regulators and a congressional committee. Insurance companies have used the practice, known as “rescission,” for years.

People who are gravely ill are forced to choose–to fight to live, and often incur debt in amounts larger than all their lives’ earnings, or… let themselves die, often without dignity, always without hope.

I do not believe, for a moment, that the health care law recently signed by Obama will solve all issues. It will probably solve only a minor percentage, and it will face challenges that will, in all likelihood, try to reduce whatever good it accomplishes.

It is, however, a step in the right direction–however much public opinion and politicians dragged their feet to take it.

As Ann Aguirre so eloquently said, “Running health care for money is beyond immoral. If it’s for profit, it’s not for people.”

How the wheel turns!

Way back when, after the SBTB exposed Cassie Edwards’ plagiarism, they got called all sorts of names. Hey, someone even wondered if Ms Edwards had run over the Bitches’ puppy (I don’t have the link, but I’m sure someone will provide it at some point).

If memory serves, months later there were some folks still bemoaning the mean girls who had almost killed Ms Edwards by making public something that was “a private matter” (I kid you not, this was said, word by word).

Now it seems that some enterprising thief has been lifting reviews pretty much verbatim from AAR–as well as copying their ratings and rating system. (Mind, this kid also lifted Kristie(J)’s blog name–no, no linkage for the thief–so color me not much surprised by the news).

The funny thing is that there are some who wonder why the blogosphere is not as incensed over the theft of reviews from AAR as it was over Ms Edwards’ 20+ years of plagiarism. (more…)

Back in 2005, I wrote a post entitled Step-Siblings Falling In Love – Is It Yucky For You? This seems to be one of the most popular pages that random Googlers come across here at KKB.

Basically, I was asking whether or not romance readers were comfortable with plot devices featuring step-siblings who fall in love. Every now and then somebody actually posts a comment on this thread – check out the latest one by a reader called Dezz:

…While I agree with everyone — I find nothing wrong with step-siblings get together, I myself could not see myself with my stepbrother. I have 3, all older than me, and 2 more ex- step brothers, both older than me as well. I can honestly say I view them as my brother’s and the ick factor is quite high when thinking about them as anything else.

However I have (somewhat) of a similar situation. One of my brother’s best friends recently came back after being away for 3 years. He is now 23 while I’m 17 and since we haven’t seen each other in so long feelings have somewhat changed. However, he is like my family. He practically grew up at our house and eventually moved in with us when he was older. Now he lives with my brother and I still see him constantly. He works for my step-father and is eventually buying the company… therefore putting him in my life forever. When I say I’ve known him forever it’s true. I should view him as a brother but I don’t.

A few months after he came back we told each other our feelings. However I’m to young and he doesn’t want to ruin anything. Basically we can never be together because of the family. So in a sense it’s slightly the same. And let me just say, it sucks.

I think her situation is probably different, seeing as it’s her brother’s best friend, rather than a step-sibling, but it did strike me as rather sad. Mind you, she’s only seventeen, so it may just be infatuation on her part.

Dezz’s story was in response to this question that I posed at the time:

…what if the step-brother and step-sister featured in the romance story, were actually brought up together? Does that make for a higher ewww factor, or would it not bother you either way?

Step-siblings who’d grown up together and happened to fall in love wouldn’t bother me too much, my biggest problem would be sexual relationships between blood brothers and sisters.

What say you? Is there a higher ick factor when the two protags are step-siblings who grew up together, or not? Would you be interested in reading such books?