It’s official. I’m a Kindle-ista. I received the latest generation of the e-reader for my birthday.

I’m still navigating my way through it. Initially, I was surprised to find the Kindle does not have a touch screen. However, my early impressions are definitely on the positive side.

It’s easy to use and does feel like you’re reading a regular book…only in a much cooler way! While it is strange not to have page numbers, there is a little bar at the bottom that tells me how far along I am in the book.  

I also got the saucy apple green leather cover with built-in book light, which works beautifully. I used it on the bus this morning and the entire “page” was nicely illuminated. (Yes, my commute starts so early even the sun hasn’t stirred yet.)  

I have to say the ebook prices are a surprise. I’ve just started shopping in the Kindle store but I can’t help wondering why the latest ebooks are about the same price as the paperbacks I usually pick up in the grocery store. It has got to be cheaper to sell books in e form –  without all the paper, printing and shipping costs.

But what do I know?

Prices on the older books aren’t bad, though. I just purchased Mary Jo Putney’s Carousel of Hearts in ebook form for just $4!

And a reminder…

Voting continues in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest. I am one of eight remaining finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published…who knows…maybe in ebook form!

But I can’t get there without lots of support because I am up against some very talented writers. (Hopefully, one day we’ll all be published!)

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!  

More and more people seem to be reading ebooks lately but do you ever wonder just how big a piece of the market they are?

Publishers Marketplace puts that figure at about eight percent for 2010. About $304.6 million worth of ebooks have been sold so far this year.

The latest monthly figures from 12 publishers show that ebooks made up about 7.5 percent of overall book sales in September. Total trade print sales for the month were at $489.5 million.

According to the American Association of Publishers, ebook sales continue to grow at what seems to be an astonishing rate, with a 158.1 percent increase over September 2009.

But the experts caution that we should not read too much into these figures. That’s because 12 companies report their ebook sales while about 20 companies report trade print sales so these final numbers could be somewhat skewed.
 
And a reminder…

Voting continues in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest. I am one of eight finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published…who knows…maybe in ebook form! But I can’t get there without lots of support because I am up against some very talented writers.

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!

First of all, I think the cover of Mary Wine’s Highland Hellcat is gorgeous and the pages in between don’t disappoint either.

The highly-engaging plot involves Connor, who arranges to marry Diedre for the strong political alliance it will bring him. However, when he discovers Diedre has slept with the enemy, he steals her sister, Brina, instead. The only problem (aside from the fact that he steals a human being) is that Brina is promised to the church. She’s been groomed for the life of a nun although it doesn’t take too long for Connor to arouse some unholy feelings in her.

The interplay between the two is so much fun and they have that ‘spark’. What I also enjoy about Mary’s writing is the little historical tidbits she slips in along the way. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a strong historical component in my historical romances.

I highly recommend this memorable read. It’s the most entertaining book I’ve read in a while.

And I’m not only saying that because Mary Wine is my mentor in Kensington Brava’s Writing with the Stars contest. While that is the reason I first picked up one of her books, I bought Highland Hellcat because I was really excited to read it.

Speaking of excited…I’m thrilled to have made it into the second round of the Writing with the Stars contest. Online voting is now open for the category of Best Hero and Heroine.

Initially, 10 finalists were selected by editors Alicia Condon and Megan Records at Kensington. Online voters whittled that number down to eight after the first round. The last writer standing wins a book deal!

Click here to read the passages and then scroll all the way down to the bottom for the menu of author names to vote.

I hope you’ll consider voting for me. It’s very quick and easy. You can click in, VOTE and be out in under a minute.

Thanks for your support!