The International Giveaways Café (60)

Good morning all and welcome back to this chilly edition of our bookish giveaway collection. Can you feel it, that imminent moment when Autumn officially starts? According to the Almanac, it’ll hit North America at 10:49am today, though what that means for the rest of the world (and I did try to research it :p ), I’m not sure. But here’s hoping for all of us experiencing the change that we have a few extra weeks (months?) of warmer weather before the you-know-what starts to fly. In the mean time, the cooler temps mean cozy sweaters or blankets that we can curl up in with our books, right?

Remember to let us know if you’ve won anything recently; the Book Lovers would love to hear! At Book Lovers Inc., it’s our pleasure to share the bookish love! Good luck to everyone and hope you enjoy …

Around the Bookish World: Week-In-Review

Welcome to this week’s news post, and we have more news of Agency pricing settlements but in the EU territories, more book news and covers to watch out for!

The major news in the world of publishing and books, is the ongoing saga of the Agency pricing, like their US counterparts, the EU has reached an agreement with four of the big 6 Publishers. Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan as well as  Apple will drop the Agency agreement and will allow discounts and special offers and credit points from online vendors. At the moment, the settlement is open to comments and a public consultation over the terms which slightly differs from the US over the aggregate amount of discounts allowed. There is also no mention or an agreement of customers offered a compensation such as in the US.   For more details over the settlement, click here.

The spate …

Interview with Alex Hughes + Giveaway

Today I am excited to introduce you to science fiction and fantasy newcomer author Alex Hughes, whose debut novel Clean is a unique blend of urban fantasy, dystopian thriller and sci-fi, a sort of dark and gritty dystopian version of Castle if you will 😉 Alex was kind enough to answer all my questions so give Alex a warm welcome and read on to discover more about this new series and the inspiration behind it! (and you could also win a fantastic prize 😉 ) 

Atlanta

Stella: Hi Alex, welcome to Book Lovers Inc! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Alex: I was born in Savannah, GA and moved to the metro Atlanta area when I was eight. I’ve moved around within Atlanta since, but never left 🙂 – It’s home. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool foodie, and I love cooking, the Food Network, and eating out at amazing restaurants. …

Bookish Rant: A Feast for the Eyes…and Ears

Music affects on a visceral level. Sometimes, all it takes is a few notes of a song to be shaken to your emotional core, or struck by a long-lost memory. Of course, a reading book can have a profound effect, as well–albeit less immediately, perhaps. It may take several hours to read through a book, but that story can take a reader on an emotional roller coaster to rival many live-altering events. That’s why it’s rather natural to perceive a relationship between the two, whether or not it’s immediately obvious.

Some authors make the connection crystal clear for readers, supplying a list of songs that were playing whilst writing a certain story, or perhaps songs that inspired a later idea for a story. Some simply have to have music playing in the background when creating the threads of their characters and literary universes.

Such information, from authors, may make certain connections …

The Night Beat Blog Tour with Gini Koch + Giveaway

Are you ready for some action? Here is your chance to jump on  The Night Beat  Blog Tour bandwagon  and read a exclusive excerpt of Gini Koch’s new book! You can also win a copy of the Night Beat! Check it out! 

Thanks for stopping by on the Necropolis Enforcement Blog Tour of 2012! If you haven’t read the first chapter of The Night Beat, hit Deathless Prose over at my website  and check it out. Then, hit each stop along the way to get more of the story. Missed a stop? Check the website for the Tour Page and get caught up.
And don’t forget to get entered to win a copy of The Night Beat at EVERY blog tour stop along the way! Plus, follow the Tour ’til the end and get entered for a mega-prize! So, grab your badge — it’s time to …

Romance and Me: Historical Romances – The Foreign Edition

Hey Everyone!

We have discussed different aspects of historical romances: our favourite eras, what we like the most about this genre, why we read HR novels, we have even discussed gladiators, HR pet peeves and erotic historical romances but there is something we haven’t talked about yet, and that is foreign or exotic historical romances.

About 99% of historical romance novels are set in England, in smaller part France or Scotland, a couple are even set in North America (and one or two in Ancient Egypt), but historical romances set outside of these usual locations are few and far and between. Can you think of any which take place in South America? Africa? Asia? Australia? Oceania? Or we don’t even have to go that far, any historical romances set in other European countries …