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You are in for a treat this month with what we think is our best RT Book Reviews cover yet! Karen Marie Moning's photo is stunning, and she is on the cover promoting book four of her Fever series, Dreamfever. But there's a catch. NO ONE will get a sneak peek at the new book before it hits bookstores on Aug. 18 -- not even RT! In the cover story, Karen explains why she and her publisher felt so strongly about preventing any pre-publication spoilers by not giving out review copies of the novel. We do, however, have a tiny excerpt to whet your appetite for this much-anticipated new novel.
The verdict is in, as RT staffers took on the challenge of evaluating the hottest e-book readers -- the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle
. We received the latest versions of the devices for review, and everyone on staff got a chance to "experience" the e-readers as first-time users. Most publishers -- small press and mainstream -- are offering their books in e-book format now so the timing is right to learn the pros and cons of each device. RT's report is thorough, and will help you make an informed decision if you are in the market for this technology.
Which brings me to some exciting news! We are getting closer to launching an RT Book Reviews E-Book Store in the next few months. Every book we review -- as long as the publisher offers it as an e-book -- will be available on our website for purchase. Soon you will be able to read the review and click to purchase the e-book immediately. We will offer every downloadable format the publisher has available, so finding the one best for you will be easy. Details are in the works so stay tuned!
The social networking tool Twitter seems to be in the news every day, and for the August issue we turned to author and Twitter expert Kathy Kulig to explain how it's being used in the book community and why we should care. Kathy will also lead a workshop on Twitter at the next RT Booklovers Convention
in Columbus, Ohio, from April 28-May 2, 2010. In addition to our myriad of reader and writer workshops, we will have a three-day program on social networking that will answer all of your questions about this evolving phenomenon, and how and why it impacts the publishing industry. This will be cool stuff that old timers like myself as well as the new generation of readers and writers want to know about!
We've always wondered why certain books show up at airport bookstores, so we went to the experts to find out. For this article in the August issue, the buyers for Hudson Booksellers and Borders graciously answered our questions and revealed the process behind their picks. Readers also chimed in with books and authors they've stumbled upon in their travels; naming titles that have become keepers and authors who've become auto buys. Plus, we could not resist the headline "The Mile-High Book Club." :)
Who hasn't heard of the Academy-Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire? But have you heard of Vikas Swarup, the author of Q&A, the novel on which the film was based? We recently spoke with Swarup, who serves as a diplomat for his native country of India, and present a look at this fascinating man who captured the world's imagination with his novels, the latest of which is the July release Six Suspects.
It's been a while since we heard from the Mistress of Mysteries, Mary Higgins Clark, in RT, so we caught up with her to talk about her illustrious career, family and life. There are also lots of fun facts about Mary, some of which you may not have heard anywhere else.
I've got a couple of neat "happenings" to report on this month. For starters, I attended Brenda Jackson's pre-cruise gala, which was so much fun. Brenda has been organizing an annual MADARIS/WESTMORELAND FAMILY REUNION CRUISE for her readers since 2005, and I finally got to meet some of her amazing fans who simply adore her. This year, I believe there were some 250 fans who joined her. Brenda is a very special person, author and a friend to her readers. It was heartwarming to hear how her books have touched the lives and hearts of her fans.
For the bon voyage party, I was seated with Harlequin editors Kelli Martin, Mavis Allen and Glenda Howard. Brenda's agent Pattie Steele-Perkins was also there, as were several of Brenda's family members including her handsome husband, Gerald. It was so nice to finally meet Brenda's guy!!
And speaking of handsome guys, Brenda invited six gorgeous models to join the ladies on the cruise and be a part of the Bachelor Auction, which will raise money for a scholarship fund, a cause that is very dear to Brenda.
We got a call the other day that RT's 2009 Mr. Romance winner, Charles Paz, was in town to collect on his prize -- a cover shoot for Dorchester Publishing, which sponsors the competition. Our web guy Rob and editors Liz French and Stephanie Klose hopped on the subway to witness the action at a Manhattan studio, where Dorchester rep Erin Galloway was on hand to oversee the photography session. Photos of the shoot are on our blog
and will appear in an upcoming issue. On an amusing note, photos from the shoot found their way to the popular media gossip site Gawker.com.
On a sad note, we bid a farewell to veteran historical romance author Edith Layton who lost her battle with cancer early this month. We will have a tribute to her from her friends and colleagues in the September issue.
The September issue is well under way and once again we appeal to you, the experts, to help us with one our features that explores how and why many colleges are using popular fiction in university courses. We are looking for recommendations, based on the criteria we have come up with, of books you think would make a perfect study or at the very least should be on their reading lists. Click here to contribute to the list.
Another feature we are working on started out as a "Trend Watch" piece but quickly turned into a not-so-trendy piece because it seems authors and publishers don't believe books set in the 1920s and 30s sell well. We are still investigating this topic, and the results will be reported in the September issue. If you have any insight into this topic, please contact Liz French at Liz@RTBookReviews.com. Your comments are welcome! This is your opportunity to tell authors and publishers that you want books set in the 1920s and 30s.
Our cover story will be on rising star Erin Grady who is reinventing herself as Erin Quinn with the August release of Haunting Beauty, the launch title of a new series for Berkley Sensation. All the books will be set in Ireland, and since they are very different in tone from her previous releases, Erin's adopted a new pen name.
We have two powerhouse author interviews lined up for September. One is with young adult writing sensation Suzanne Collins who has captured the attention of the entire RT staff with last year's release The Hunger Games. Her new book, Catching Fire, book two in the trilogy, will be out in September and the buzz has already started. Also profiled this month is Patricia Briggs
, who has made her mark in the urban fantasy genre and is quickly capturing comic book fans as well with her move into this format. There's lots to catch up with, so be sure to read all about it.
Next month I will report on the ThrillerFest and Romance Writers of America conferences. RT Book Reviews will have a major presence at both events, so if you are attending either conference please stop by our table to say hi.
 Happy Summer and Happy Reading,
Carol Stacy
Publisher
RT Book Reviews Magazine
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