Interview with M.K. Hobson + Giveaway

Today we are happy to welcome to Book Lovers Inc. M.K. Hobson, author of the acclaimed and beloved The Native Star, a unique mix of western, fantasy, steampunk, as some called it a thrilling “witchpunk” novel! Book #2 The Hidden Goddess is to be released in May and Mary kindly agreed to indulge our curiosity and answer our questions.  Please give a warm welcome to M.K. Hobson!

BLI: Mary can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Well, I’m a mom (to both a beautiful 13 year old daughter and a beautiful yellow lab), a wife, and a marketing manager for a large corporation (not necessarily in that order). I love to sew and am particularly fond of historical costuming. And sometimes, in between all that other stuff, I write books and even short stories.

BLI: Describe a typical …

Easter winners!

Hey Everyone!

I hope everyone’s weekend is nice and peaceful (though unfortunately today it is gray and rainy here, so no reading in the sunny garden for me *sighs*), but before the Easter egg hunt begins I wanted to announce last week’s winners!

So congratulations to … *drumroll*

The lucky winner of a copy of My One and Only by Kristan Higgins is: Mona

The lucky winner of the 20 USD giftcard to the online bookstore of their choice offered by Laura Wright is: Karla Vollkopf 

Congratulations winners, you have been e-mailed, you have 72 hours to get back to us, or we’ll have to draw new winners.

That’s it for today, Happy Easter and lots of chcolate eggs and bunnies to all of you! 🙂

Copyright 2010-11 Book Lovers Inc.

Around the Bookish World: News Week-in-Review

Welcome to this week’s newsy post which is a bit brief because its been a bit quiet this week but we do have some interesting tidbits and goodies for y’all!

First up – some interesting new developments from Amazon which may help the Kindle to become the prominent format/reader in the DRM and format wars.
Amazon has announced that it will team up with Overdrive who hosts and offers e-books to libraries. Previously epub was the only format that was available for library ebook lending. I think this will herald the Kindle/Mobi as the winning format since one of the main reasons for getting an epub book was borrowing ebooks from libraries and it looks like Amazon has offered another arrow in their quill for choosing a Kindle!

It looks like the rumours about a tablet is gaining …

Review: Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar

Format read: paperbackNumber of pages: 444 pages Publisher: TouchstoneFormats available: paperback, ebookRelease Date: 1 February 2011 Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Kindle store, Book Depository

Blurb:

While selling oranges in the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, sweet and sprightly Ellen “Nell” Gwyn impresses the theater’s proprietors with a wit and sparkle that belie her youth and poverty. She quickly earns a place in the company, narrowly avoiding the life of prostitution to which her sister has already succumbed. As her roles evolve from supporting to starring, the scope of her life broadens as well. Soon Ellen is dressed in the finest fashions, charming the theatrical, literary, and royal luminaries of Restoration England. Ellen grows up on the stage, experiencing first love and heartbreak and eventually becoming the mistress of Charles II. Despite his reputation as …

Guestpost "What if" by Marcella Burnard + Giveaway

We are very happy to welcome science fiction romance author Marcella Burnard here at Book Lovers Inc today. I discovered her books this year while trying to achieve my goal to read more scifi in 2011 and her first novel, Enemy Within blew me away. So no wonder I jumped at the chance to get her over to our little place of the internet. Today she will tell us about What If’s and what they have to do with writing. Please give her a warm welcome and be sure to answer her question at the end for you chance to get an ARC of her next book Enemy Games.

Do you ever play ‘what if’ games? You know, silly stuff, like what if the Mayans were right and the world ends in December 2012? What would that …

Review: "Stolen Dreams", by Stacey Kennedy

Format Read: eBook submitted Author for reviewLength: 158 PagesGenre: Romance, Fantasy, MysterySeries: Lingering Spirits Book #1Release Date: February 19, 2011Formats Available: eBook, Kindle, NookPurchasing Info: Author’s Website, Smashwords, Goodreads, All Romance Ebooks, Kindle, Nook

Book Blurb:

Lives have been lost―dreams stolen, but love carves a path to hope.

Tess Jennings has the ability to see and talk to spirits. On a daily basis, they harass and annoy her to save their souls. Sometimes she helps, other times she ignores them, but one ghost will give her no choice. Kipp McGowan, a cop with the Memphis Police Department, uses his ghostly charms to gain her attention and forces her to expose herself to his partner.

As she’s pulled into the five year old cold case of Hannah Reid she wants no part of, she finds herself in …

Bookish Rants or Raves: Queer is NOT Weird!

I just want to get one thing off my chest, I am a proud supporter of the gay community. I avidly hate any and every type of prejudice and won’t stand for it, in any instance. 

I felt I needed to say that to get to my point LOL. we’re talking about books, so i wanted to talk about gay characters in UF and PNR and how much I love them!

They can be the gay best friend or the gay secondary character that steals the show, these people usually just make a story pop and give a much brighter realism to the fantastic worlds we get to read about constantly.

Who is is not dying to read Qhauy’s HEA? 

A sub genre that showed up more recently that rocks, is the M/M PNR. There …

Romance and Me: Unconventional Heroes and Heroines

Hey Everyone!

I have been pondering this matter for a while now and decided to make a post to get your opinion on the issue.Namely, that in most romance novels (in about 99.9% of them) the hero and heroine are always extremely attractive. The hero is tall, muscular, with lush hair, strong facial features and an overall pleasant physique, while the heroine is usually willowy and beautiful.

We never encounter a hero who is bald or has pot-belly. Or one who is short and puny. Sure, there are the regency heroes who sometimes have scars, but these are usually described as adding some charm to their roguish features and if it wasn’t for the scar they would be too perfect and called beautiful, so the scar only helps to make them manly.

And as far as the heroines go, we never find one who is overweight, or who looks masculine or whose hair …

Review: Cinderella: Ninja Warrior by Maureen McGowan

Format read: eARCNumber of pages: 320 pages Publisher: Silver Dolphin BooksFormats available: paperbackRelease Date: 1 April 2011 Series: Book #1 in the Twisted Tales seriesSource: review copy provided by publisher through NetGalleyPurchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Book Depository

Blurb:

In this fast-paced story full of adventure and romance, Cinderella is more than just a servant girl waiting for her prince—she’s a tough, fearless girl who is capable of taking charge of a dangerous situation. Seeking to escape the clutches of her evil stepmother, Cinderella perfects her ninja skills and magic talents in secret, waiting for the day when she can break free and live happily ever after. In a special twist, readers have the opportunity to make key decisions for Cinderella and decide where she goes next—but no matter the choice; the result is a story …

New Releases: April 18 – 24

Eona – Alison Goodman (Eon #2)

Where there is power, there is betrayal…

Once she was Eon, a girl disguised as a boy, risking her life for the chance to become a Dragoneye apprentice. Now she is is Eona, the Mirror Dragoneye, her country’s savior—but she has an even more dangerous secret.

She cannot control her power.

Each time she tries to bond with her Mirror Dragon, she becomes a conduit for the ten spirit dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered by Lord Ido. Their anguish floods through her, twisting her ability into a killing force, destroying the land and its people.

And another force of destruction is on her trail.

Along with Ryko and Lady Dela, Eona is on the run from High Lord Sethon’s army. The renegades must find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona’s power if he is …