Welcome to this week’s news post! For this edition we have news on Stephen King’s 99c Kindle short essay on guns, Lance Armstrong’s lawsuit due to his biography and  more YA books being picked for greenlit for pilot season as well as more book news.

Stephen King has published a 99c Kindle short essay due to the recent shootings in the US and  approaches on what can be done to tackle these issues. He also goes on to explain the reason why he pulled his novel Rage, which was penned under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. He explains in his essay that ‘My book did not break [these teenagers], or turn them into killers; they found something in my book that spoke to them because they were already broken. Yet I did see Rage as a possible accelerant, which is why I pulled it from sale.’  And he felt that this is why the book should have been pulled but it is an interesting commentary that adds to the debate on surrounding issues and factors on what is happening right now on this subject.

Is the tide turning for publishers becoming more open to digital lending in libraries? Well it sure looks like Macmillan is approaching that view, (especially since they’ve been reluctant in the past to offer books in the past)  they recently announce that their Minotaur digital imprint will be available to Overdrive which stores and distributes ebooks for libraries for lending. Over 1200 books will be available for libraries and this may hint for more to come in the future.
And more on the publishing front, it  looks like Simon and Schuster might be ready for the sale, the favoured buyer is HarperCollins, which is rumoured to be eyeing the company. It is also not surprising because in the recent climate for mergers and buyouts with several of the Big 6 publishers it does look like consolidation is seen as a way to weather the major upheavals of publishing and the changes it is facing.

It seems TV’s love affair is not diminishing its love for YA adaption and in this case, it seems to be dystopian in tone, which is not surprising with the recent success of The Hunger Games and the upcoming movie Divergent which is also based on a YA dystopian trilogy.  The CW has once again picked The Selection for a pilot, it was made into one last year also but failed to get picked up and was treated again with a new script and cast changes. While in a surprising choice, Fox has picked up Lauren Oliver’s dystopian, Delirium which is based on a world where emotions like love and hate are outlawed but the heroine finds herself falling in love. 

Despite trying to apologise on Oprah this week and admitting to doping  which didn’t help much on his PR case – cyclist Lance Armstrong week is getting worse because he is now facing lawsuits by two readers who bought his biographies – they claim that they were not based on truth and were fiction and therefore fraudulent. Because they were marketed as being honest and truthful. They are seeking damages from his publishers, Penguin and Random House who have both declined to comment on this. However this pans out – I doubt Armstrong’s legacy will be forever tainted.

News in Brief:

Book cover artist Michael Whelan has described what his process of creating a Fantasy cover for A Memory of Light which was released a few weeks ago.

Popular Children’s author R.L. Stein has sat down with Mediabistro about his first break and how he became an author.

Sylvia Day has posted another snippet for Entwined with You.

On the heels of the release of The Hobbit here is a fun infograph chronicling J.RR Tolkien’s epic fantasy saga for the Ring’s journey over its course of the 4806 years.

And now for books to watch out for!

I really enjoy this series and I think Gini Koch has been blessed by the book cover fairies although they are created by the fabulous Dan Dos Santos. But here is the cover and blurb for the upcoming 7th Kitty Katt book – Alien in the House)

 

Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini have learned the ins and outs of Washington politics, not to mention how to prevail in intergalactic war and foil dangerous plots. But, in the aftermath of Operation Destruction, the Gower girls’ powers are burned out, the entire A-C population has been “outed” as the aliens living on Earth that they are, and, worst of all, ACE is nowhere to be found.

Then murder and mayhem are served up at an important dinner party at the American Centaurion Embassy, and when the dust settles Alpha Team and the Diplomatic Corps have more problems than just a dead Congressman.

Is there a single criminal mastermind—or multiple enemies—behind all the conspiracies that want Kitty dead and the A-Cs gone or co-opted to become the War Division?

The return of the best assassins in the business, the reappearance of two individuals long-presumed dead, Agent Malcolm Buchanan felled by something no one can identify or cure, and new technology that can block even the most powerful empath on Earth … all of this means the game’s officially afoot.

Then Vance Beaumont comes to Kitty with a wild theory that someone is systematically killing off the House of Representatives…

It’s up to Kitty and the rest of the gang to find out what’s really going on and why. But will they be able to stop the killer or killers before the rest of the U.S. House of Representatives become casualties? And will the replacement Representative for New Mexico’s 2nd District, who happens to be Jeff Martini, be the next to die?

 

Assassin’s Gambi by Amy Raby has pinged my radar and I really like the premise.

Vitala Salonius, champion of the warlike game of Caturanga, is as deadly as she is beautiful. She’s a trained assassin for the resistance, and her true play is for ultimate power. Using her charm and wit, she plans to seduce her way into the emperor’s bed and deal him one final, fatal blow, sparking a battle of succession that could change the face of the empire.

As the ruler of a country on the brink of war and the son of a deposed emperor, Lucien must constantly be wary of an attempt on his life. But he’s drawn to the stunning Caturanga player visiting the palace. Vitala may be able to distract him from his woes for a while—and fulfill other needs, as well.

Lucien’s quick mind and considerable skills awaken unexpected desires in Vitala, weakening her resolve to finish her mission. An assassin cannot fall for her prey, but Vitala’s gut is telling her to protect this sexy, sensitive man. Now she must decide where her heart and loyalties lie and navigate the dangerous war of politics before her gambit causes her to lose both Lucien and her heart for good.

 

And finally the 9th Elemental Assassin book, Heart of Venom was unveiled this week!

 

The hotly anticipated ninth novel in the hugely popular Elemental Assassin series finds Gin Blanco on a dangerous mission to rescue a friend. 

When a terror from the past threatens Gin’s friend and body-disposer, Sophia, Gin will stop at nothing to protect her, even if it means walking straight into a killer’s trap. Meanwhile, the rocky romance between Gin and Owen reaches a turning point—can they reunite and rekindle their love? Or will the things Gin has been forced to do in her line of work as the deadly assassin the Spider keep them apart forever? Assuming, that is, she survives long enough to find out…

 

So what do you think of the lawsuits by the readers of Lance Armstrong’s biographies? Do you think they have a point or it will be dismissed? 

About Has

Has is a bookaholic and feeds her addiction whenever she can. She usually can be found lost in a Romance or an Urban Fantasy novel. Her favourite sub genres are Paranormal, Fantasy and some Scifi. Her most treasured authors are, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Ann Aguirre, Lisa Kleypas and Tamora Pierce. She loves that discovery of finding a brand new author and falling in love with their books. Has also blogs a The Book Pushers - Book chatter and reviews

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