As some people might have noticed, I collect the Silhouette Nocturnes.
I usually preorder them months in advance, to make sure I get them when they come out.
Well.
Apparently Amazon "can't source" them anymore.
I've emailed Amazon — no reply.
I've emailed Harlequin — "We're looking into it", since then, nothing.
It annoys the crap out of me. I collect the series, have done since book #1, even the ones I know  I won't like. I have every single one of them, nearly 90 books so far.
Now Mills & Boon release them in their own covers, and I'm guessing this is the reason why I can't get the US covers anymore via Amazon.
The trouble is, the numbers differ, the covers are complete rubbish over here. Keep your icky covers. I haven't bought a single M&B release in years, because of those covers. I'd rather go and get the US version of the book. (Especially those disgusting pink things.)
So where does this leave me?
Up the creek in a wire mesh canoe.

Thank you so much, Amazon, M&B and Harlequin.
Sort it out, will ya?
I can't be the only UK customer who prefers the US releases!

Added the latest Nocturnes to the book list.
That's pretty much all for the moment.

I've been busy on my writing blog (http://www.evilauthor.com), and neglected this one a bit.
Bad bad me.

I've now updated some of the lists (Silhouette Nocturnes are up to date now), and will update the others soon, too.

I've stopped reading Christine Feehan's "Dark" series though and won't be adding to that one. Sorry, I just got bored with it.

Still reading Sherrilyn Kenyon, and adding a few new authors to my  list. G.A. Aiken being one of them, I totally adore the Dragon series.

Anyway… will update more soon!

I’ve never listened to an audiobook before.
However, a friend of mine gave me one, because she said she abandoned it about 20 minutes in and never loaded it again. (Not a good sign.)
Like me, she was an audiobook virgin.
Yes, I know we shouldn’t share this stuff, but it’s not like she actually listened to the whole thing. Sorry, Ms Author. She just figured I might like it more than she did.
I thought maybe I should give it a shot, and load it up to my walkman to listen while I walk to work. How bad could it be? I obviously had my own ideas about what an audiobook would be like, and quite frankly, I didn’t think it would be something for me.
I just have too much imagination.
Hmmm…
First of all, I’m not into first person, and the book is in first person.
It’s read by a woman, which is okay, until you get to any male dialogue.
I’m sorry, but that just yanked me right out of it. I did keep listening (after all, it’s about a half hour walk), but I’m leery about the rest of this thing. Oddly, this was about 15 mins in. About the same distance my friend got. Makes me wonder if she hit male dialogue and it was all over for her.
Maybe it’s the person reading it. Maybe it’s the fact it’s first person. Maybe it’s the story.
I don’t know, but I do know that I’m not really enjoying this experience at all. I find it offputting to have a woman try to convey a male voice by lowering her voice.
As in, so offputting, I don’t want to carry on listening.
When I read, the voices in my head are obviously different. My mind will compensate.
I can’t do that when I’m listening.
I’ve not heard one of those "Acted" ones, they may be better for me. I do know I would much prefer to have 2 readers. A male and a female one. For obvious reasons.
I’m guessing I’d react the same way to a man reading female dialogue, as I am to a woman reading male dialogue.
Maybe this just isn’t for me.
Annoying, because I want to go walking (hey, some of us need to shed a pound or five) and having someone read a book to me would be a nice distraction and pass the time.

So are you into audio books?
Any recommendations?
Do you prefer one voice, or many?

I ordered a bunch more… and fixed the existing pages (in Booklists, above) to contain the actual book number, to show the order of the release.

Those darn book releases are confusing, to say the least.

Okay, it had to be done.

I giggled.

A lot.

Enjoy!

C.D. Yates, who writes witty and funny and just all around feelgood romances, is having a contest.

Hop on over to her site and take a look (I promise you won’t regret it!)

I have really enjoyed Dog-gone But Not Forgotten, and I’m sure you will too.

The story is about a journalist, Carrie Moore, who inherits all her grandmother’s possessions.
They come in the form of a house, furniture — and Ellie, the devil dog from hell.
Not enough with Ellie leaving a path of destruction in her wake, the beast also runs into Jack Radigan, the highschool love Carrie had once intended to marry. Until he’d taken her best friend home after senior prom, and married her, instead.

I won’t give the plot away, go on over and check it out for yourself. Not only is it a great book, it’s also for a great cause. The proceeds go to It’s Meow or Never, an Animal Rescue and Sanctuary Charity.

So if you want to win a copy of the book, head on over to C.D. Yates’ blog, and enter the competion.

All you need to do, is tell her a story about a "Bad Dog", to be in with a chance.

Go on!

I thought I’d mention this for any Silhouette Nocturne fans:

I have the entire list, with covers, author, title, ISBN, up on my blog here.

Silhouette Nocturne 2006 – 2009

The list currently has all info up until November 2009, so hopefully it will be of use to someone.

One of my fellow Critters, Jennifer Shirk, has made the news!

For all the right reasons, I might add.

Her friends threw her a book release party and the local newspaper reported on it.

Three cheers for Jennifer! 

I only wish I coulda been there.

Random House Word Menu
Stephen Glazier
ISBN 978-0345414410

Blurb:

The critically acclaimed Random House Word Menu is the ultimate language reference: a reverse dictionary, thesaurus, almanac, and compendious glossary, all in one. Only the Word Menu organizes language the subject matter, the way we understand and use it, and from the general to the specific, so it’s easy to use.

For example: you’re can’t come up with the right word for the part of the wall you’re about to paint. A regular dictionary won’t help; your thesaurus isn’t specialized enough. Look in the Word Menu, first under "The Home," then under "Interior Structure," and then under "Structural and Decorative Element." There it is: dado, the lower part of wall separated from upper part by rail, moulding, or border.

Review:

What can I say about this book, other than… what a fantastic way to organize a dictionary of sorts!
It is laid out easily and aids finding the right word quickly. You start off by going to the section you need, then the sub section — and before you know it, you find the word you were after. Well, most of them, anyway.

I was looking for a word describing the loose gravel you get on mountainsides. It wasn’t under landscapes and seascapes. So I looked under geology. Materials, formations and substances. Did I find it? You betcha. Right there it was: Scree. Loose rock debris, talus.
Finding this word would have been next to impossible without the Word Menu book.

I can’t stress enough how every writer should have a copy of this on their shelf. It’s an invaluable resource.

However, if you get the paperback edition… a magnifying glass is another invaluable resource. The type of the paperback edition is tiny.
I’m not kidding. It’s minute and very hard to read, because it is so small.
4 stars from me, because of the type setting. I’m sure the hardback with it’s larger typeface would have been a resounding 5 stars.

I’m told the hardback has bigger type, so if you want to save your eyes — get the hardback copy of this.