Gardening, Danielle Steel, Emjai Colbert, And Rita Winners = A Long Effing Ramble…
Sunday, July 30, 2006Posted in: Uncategorized
I really should be sorting through invoices, receipts and bank statements for our accountant to do what we pay him to do, but I just can’t be arsed, so I’m finding ways to procrastinate instead.
I did some gardening earlier, I finally got round to trimming our overgrown hedge at the front of the house. I got stung a few times by some alien plants, and a couple of spiders decided to nest in my hair, but apart from that, I got it done without any fuss. The Tall Guy was busy putting down new flagstones at the back of the house.
I also managed to find time to watch-but-not-really, Danielle Steel’s Family Album. I used to inhale her books (yes I did, and I’m not ashamed to admit it) but I guess I outgrew her, or something. My fave DS book ever was Zoya.
I’m rather hot on books set during Imperial Russia, which is why I’ve always been fascinated by the story of The Grand Duchess Anastasia, who may or may not have been mudered by the Bolsheviks. Give me a Tzar Nicholas over a Lord Bumstead-Higginbottom anyday.
How about you guys? Any of you admit to reading Danielle Steel books? Confession is good for the soul, so spill your guts wenches!
Anyway, moving swiftly on, I was at Cerridwen Press earlier, and I went to check out Emjai Colbert’s author page, to see if she’d released anymore books. She hadn’t, so I tried the link to her website. Her website no longer exists. Can anybody shed any light on what she’s doing now? I certainly hope she didn’t let my less than complimentary review stop her from continuing with her career, after all she got a five star review from those Harriet Klausners gals at Cupids Library🙂 I’m kidding of course, I do remember seeing a bad review there in March 05.
Anyway, if anybody knows what’s happened to her, let me know wont you? Thanks in advance.
Is anybody else trying to forget that Lisa Valdez’s Patience was due out in August, or am I the only one? *Sniff*
Oh, By the way, the RITA winners are out, here they are in all their glory courtesy of rwanational.org: (Erm, they list the authors who finalled then tell ya who’s won)
Best First Book
Show Her The Money
by Stephanie Feagan
(0373513542) Silhouette Books (Bombshell) – Natashya Wilson, editor
Best Contemporary Single Title
Lakeside Cottage
by Susan Wiggs
(0778321908) MIRA Books – Margaret Marbury and Dianne Moggy, editors
Best Inspirational Romance
Heavens To Betsy
by Beth Pattillo
(1-4000-7044-9) WaterBrook Press – Dudley Delffs, editor
Best Long Contemporary Romance
Worth Every Risk
by Dianna Love Snell
(0-373-27426-2) Silhouette Books (Intimate Moments) – Allison Lyons, editor
Best Long Historical Romance
The Devil to Pay
by Liz Carlyle
(0743470044) Pocket Books – Lauren McKenna, editor
Best Novella
“The Naked Truth about Guys” in The Naked Truth
by Alesia Holliday
(0-425-206149) Berkley Books – Cindy Hwang, editor
Best Paranormal Romance
Gabriel’s Ghost
by Linnea Sinclair
(0553587978) Bantam Books – Anne Groell, editor
Best Regency Romance
A Reputable Rake
by Diane Gaston
(0263843912) Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited – Linda Fildew, editor
Best Romantic Suspense
Survivor in Death
by J.D. Robb
(0-399-15208-3) Penguin Putnam – Leslie Gelbman, editor
Best Short Contemporary Romance
The Marriage Miracle
by Liz Fielding
(0263 842754) Harlequin Mills & Boon – Emma Dunford, editor
Best Short Historical Romance
The Texan’s Reward
by Jodi Thomas
(0-425-20584-3) Berkley Books – Christine Zika, editor
Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
Lady Luck’s Map of Vegas
by Barbara Samuel
(0-345-46912-7) Ballantine Books – Linda Morrow, editor
Best Traditional Romance
Princess of Convenience
by Marion Lennox
(0263848795) Harlequin Books – Sheila Hodgson, editor
So, how many of these little puppies have you guys read? I’ve read exactly one: Survivor In Death. The only other author that I’m remotely familiar with is Liz Carlyle. I haven’t heard of any of the other authors, no surprise there then, it was more or less the same last year. How many of these books have generated buzz? How is it possible I’ve managed to miss some of these*ahem* ‘gems’? Beats the hell outta me.
BTW, is it churlish of me to be happy that a past Authors Behaving Badly candidate didn’t win the RITA for Best Contemporary Singles Title? It is? Ahh fuck it, I guess I’m churlish as hell then. (g)
UPDATE – Oh incidentally, I heard from Brenda Coulter’s latest audio, that when Nora Roberts (who was the MC) accepted the award for Survivor, she said that JD Robb couldn’t make it, but that had she been there, she’d have thanked Nora Roberts for everything. I thought this was rather cute…
katieM
July 30
8:47 pm
I’ve read books by Linnea Sinclair. She’s pretty good, and her world building is consistent.
Marg
July 30
9:06 pm
The only one I have read is the Liz Carlyle! And I have only previously had interest in the JD Robb and the Diane Gaston one!
Ann Wesley Hardin
July 30
9:41 pm
I first met Steph when “Show Her The Money” was a gleam in her eye. She kept us up all night in NYC talking about this great book she’d started writing. Look at her now! GO STEPH!!
I heven’t read it yet, though =:0
Jaye
July 31
1:23 am
I, too, am trying to forget Lisa Valdez should have had her next book out this month. :-/
I haven’t read any of the Rita winners, but a couple of them are sitting in my tbr pile.
nicoletterivers
July 31
1:33 am
Yes, I read a handful of Danielle Steele back in the day. I liked them quite a lot at the time.
ShelbyReed
July 31
2:14 am
Karen,
This is off-topic about the Ritas, but I wanted to comment on your interest in the Romanovs. When I was a kid I was obsessed with the story of that family. It absolutely fascinated me, the tragic beauty of it. In college, for an art assignment (“combine a series of drawings with a theme that means something to you”), I did a series of huuuuuge portraits of Nicholas and Alexandra, their children, and a separate one of the Anastasia legend that juxtaposes a royal portrait of Anastasia with “Anna,” the woman they fished out of a canal who claimed to be the Grand Duchess. I still have them somewhere.
LOVE that stuff!
Shelby
Rosie
July 31
6:14 am
I read Danielle Steel…nothing recently. I know I really liked them until I got to about the 3rd book and then got disappointed in the same basic formula. Years later I picked up NAM and really enjoyed it.
As I looked through the RITA winners I was thinking the very same thing as you said. Sheesh…I haven’t read any of these except Nora Roberts. There used to be a time when I had read most of the nominees and 2/3rds of the winners. I too feel like…where’s the buzz?
I’ve at least heard of some of these authors and read (previous) their books before, but none of these titles were familiar.
Can anyone shed any light?
Sam
July 31
9:42 am
My cousin read Danielle Steele books – and loved her so much she named her daughter Danielle! LOL – I liked herr books too -but not that much.
🙂
Tilly Greene
July 31
1:55 pm
Palamino was my favorite Steele book. When I was fresh in the romance genre I liked how she had someone who was paralyzed as the heroine. It was very similar to An Affair to Remember, but it still yanked me in.
Of the RITA list, not a shock that I’ve read 2 [Robb and Carlyle] and, unfortunately, have no interest in any of them either. If only they would do something to spark the selections up a bit.
Dance Chica
July 31
4:53 pm
Of the RITA winners, I’ve only read the J. D. Robb which was hella good. 😉
Milady Insanity
July 31
8:10 pm
I keep wondering if I’m the odd one out, or are those books really that good. Except I can’t be bothered to pick them up to find out.
I’ve read the Feagan book because it’s a Bombshell, and I honestly can’t believe she won–it wasn’t bad, I just don’t think it’s prize-winning material. *shrug* What can I say, it’s very subjective.
Lyn Cash
July 31
8:40 pm
Huge Romanov fan here – the parents’ romance, the kids, all of it just intrigues the hell out of me.
Rita winners…Linnea is getting some fantastic reviews. Picked up her latest book in Atlanta and can’t wait to dig into it. Have read Jodi off and on – she’s good if you like Texas/cowboy books. I haven’t read ANY of the novels nominated, though. ack.
My favorite Steele period was just about anything in the late 80’s through early 90’s. My interest fell off after her Hollywood-itis struck her.
Anonymous
July 31
8:53 pm
I read Danielle Steele when I was in my teens! After devouring many of her books it finally hit me that they were starting to sound the same!
KarenB
AngieZ
July 31
10:39 pm
I quit reading Danielle Steele years ago as they seemed too similar.
I have read and thoroughly enjoyed both Jodi Thomas’s book (part of a previous trilogy) and Diane Gaston’s story.
I also have Carlyle’s book in my TBR pile.
Not sure why but I just lost interest in the In Death series after the second book.
Dawn
August 1
8:22 am
Strangely enough, I was never attracted to Danielle Steel books. Dunno why. I was much more into hystericals back in the day.
At the moment, I’m reading lots of stuff from the library – been suckered right back into the Mills & Boons Secret Pregnancy Revenge of the Mediterranean Tycoon Sheik.