Archive for the ‘Interviews’ Category
Friday, April 19th, 2013
Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series is already much-beloved among readers and when news broke that she planned to release a standalone work of historical fiction set in another time period, readers really started buzzing. Ranging from Edwardian England to 1920s Kenya to modern-day (or at least 1999/2000) New York, The Ashford Affair tells an engrossing story of romance and family secrets that spans generations. The novel got a DIK review here and when we got a chance to interview the author, we jumped right on it.
And we also have three(3) copies to give away! If you would like to be entered to win a copy of The Ashford Affair, please comment below by 11:59 pm on Monday, April 22, 2013. And without further ado, here is Lauren!
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Tags: All About Romance, Books with Buzz, Lauren Willig
Posted in Books with Buzz, Interviews, LinnieGayl AAR, Lynn AAR | 44 Comments »
Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
Just this month, Harlequin officially launched their new KISS line of books promising readers modern stories that are fresh and fun. Sometimes when I read contemporary romance, the characters seem very old-fashioned so I was curious to see what I would find in the new line. I ended up having The One That Got Away as a review book and I picked up the other three to read on my own. While the tone and stories varied, they did all feel believably modern. I was able to interview two of the launch authors, Kelly Hunter and Kimberly Lang, and this is what they had to say about the new line: (more…)
Tags: All About Romance, Harlequin KISS, Jessica Hart, Kelly Hunter, Kimberly Lang, Nikki Logan
Posted in Interviews, Lynn AAR, Publishing | 43 Comments »
Wednesday, February 6th, 2013
Not quite two years ago, I emailed Jennifer Lohmann (we share a mutual friend and live in the same area), introduced myself, and asked if I could interview her about being chosen as the 2010 RWA Librarian of the Year.
It’s clear Jennifer’s not one to rest on her laurels. In 2011, Jennifer entered a manuscript in Harlequin’s “So You Think You Can Write” contest and was offered a contract for her first book, Reservations for Two. The book came out yesterday.
I asked Jennifer if I could interview her again and she, graciously, said yes.
Jennifer, I understand you were “discovered” by Harlequin after you entered their 2011 “So You Think You Can Write” contest.
I don’t remember where I saw Harlequin’s “So You Think You Can Write” contest posted—Twitter probably—but I remember reading about it and thinking, “I don’t have to win, to win.” Author Kat Cantrell won my year, but I got offered a contract. (more…)
Tags: All About Romance, Interviews, Jennifer Lohmann
Posted in Dabney AAR, Interviews | 6 Comments »
Friday, January 4th, 2013
Followers of the Loveswept line – and fans of contemporary romance in general – have kept Ruthie Knox’s name buzzing in romance circles for the past year since Ride With Me came out. Her latest project, the Camelot series, is being eagerly anticipated by many readers. The first novella, How to Misbehave, comes out January 28, 2013, and the second, Along Came Trouble, will be available on March 11. The final Camelot story, Flirting With Disaster, isn’t out until June 10, 2013, but we’re very happy to be revealing the cover for this one today. Something about seeing the cover of an anticipated book makes it seem more real, no? (more…)
Tags: All About Romance, cover art, Loveswept, Ruthie Knox
Posted in Authors, Dabney AAR, Interviews | 4 Comments »
Monday, October 15th, 2012
A new release by Robyn Carr is a fabulous reason to celebrate. When you add into the equation that her latest is a new Christmas release plus it features hunky Patrick Riordan, then it is triple the delight as far as I’m concerned. I had the opportunity to interview one of my favorite authors about her writing career, and her very successful Virgin River series. In addition to some great insights into Ms. Carr’s varied writing history, her publisher Harlequin MIRA is providing copies of Carr’s November 2012 release, My Kind of Christmas for some lucky winners. The details on that are listed at the end of the interview. But enough from me. Let’s get to the good stuff.
Leigh: I am very excited to have you here today, as I’ve been reading your books since the late 1990s. You have been writing a long time, first starting out with historicals like Chelynne published in 1980. Was it the change in the industry that made you switch from historicals to contemporary books or just your own internal voice?
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Tags: All About Romance, robyn carr, Virgin River
Posted in Books with Buzz, Interviews, Leigh AAR | 96 Comments »
Monday, June 25th, 2012
The 2012 Favorite Romance Audiobooks Poll is up and running. It’s your chance to tell the audio industry what you like best about romance audio. It’s a different type of poll this year and you will find few of the same categories as our 2011 Poll. The poll ends Monday, July 2nd at midnight. So go cast your ballot!
We’re continuing to celebrate June Is Audiobook Month with our fourth special event – an interview with Tavia Gilbert. Tavia was a finalist for an Audie Award this year and attended the ceremony earlier this month. She’s giving us an inside look at the Audies and the Audio Publishers Association and sharing a little about her career. There’s another event that has Tavia’s name on it this month and that is the release of Jeaniene Frost’s Once Burned. Tavia is once again in the narrator’s seat with Vlad’s book – something that Night Huntress fans have been waiting for.
We also have our New Releases for July and a number of reviews. Up for review today are Kristan Higgins’ Catch of the Day, J.R. Ward’s The Player, Shiloh Walker’s Ash trilogy, and Nora Roberts’ The Last Boyfriend.
Talking with Tavia Gilbert
Welcome to Speaking of Audiobooks Tavia and thanks for joining us today in this last of our special events celebrating June Is Audiobook Month (JIAM). It’s been exciting to watch all that is going on in the audio industry this month as well as looking from the outside in at the 2012 Audio Publishers Association (APA) Conference and the Audie Awards. I see that you have been an Audie finalist three times including the 2012 Audies for your narration of The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball. Can you tell us about the Audie Awards and what being a finalist means to a narrator?
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Tags: Audiobooks, romance audiobooks, speaking of audiobooks, tavia gilbert
Posted in audio books, Interviews, Lea Hensley | 15 Comments »
Wednesday, June 6th, 2012
The minute I read Nalini Singh’s Slave of Sensation, I knew we had something special in our hands. In the intervening six, short years, Nalini has published fifteen stories in her thought-provoking Psy/Changeling series, each of them gritty, passionate, and loads of fun.
With this month’s release of Tangle of Need, we took the opportunity to ask Nalini a few questions, and she’s coming along with some free books in tow. Five lucky readers will have their pick of any one book from the previous 10 books in the Psy/Changeling series (not including Tangle of Need – sorry), and all you have to do to enter is comment on this post by Friday, June 8, 11:59 p.m. EST. We will notify winners by email on Saturday morning, and they will have 24 hours to respond. If we don’t hear from a winner within that time, a new winner will be selected. If you review for another Web site or blog, please don’t enter. Unfortunately, only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible to enter.
Now, on to Nalini!
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Tags: contest, Giveaway, Nalini Singh, tangle of need
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, Books with Buzz, Characters, giveaways, Heroes, Heroines, Interviews, Jean AAR | 38 Comments »
Monday, March 19th, 2012
When I discovered that Tantor was set to release Jennifer Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie on March 26th, I enthusiastically shared the news far and wide. Published in 2009, it’s a favorite among romance readers winning Best Romance of 2009 in AAR’s Annual Reader Poll and ranking #10 in AAR’s 2010 Top 100 Romance Poll. In print, we were mesmerized by hero Ian Mackenzie and, in audio, we hope to move the entire experience up a notch by actually hearing him interact in his matter-of-fact manner as he determinedly pursues Beth.
Today, we are celebrating the release of this much loved book with a giveaway and interviews with both author Jennifer Ashley and narrator Angela Dawe.
The Giveaway
We are giving away FIVE MP3 CD copies of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie courtesy of Tantor Audio. Place your name in the hat by commenting on this column by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Thursday, March 22nd. Due to the cost of postage, the giveaway is open only to listeners in the U.S. and Canada. We encourage multiple comments in our discussion, but you will only be entered in the contest once. If you review for another Web site or blog, please don’t enter. The winner will be notified by email on Friday morning and will have 24 hours to respond. Another winner will be selected on Saturday morning if the winner has not responded. Audiobooks will be mailed to the winners upon release of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie.
Talking with Jennifer Ashley
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Tags: angela dawe, Jennifer Ashley, the madness of lord ian mackenzie
Posted in audio books, Authors, Books, Characters, Contests, giveaways, Heroes, Heroines, Interviews, Lea Hensley | 82 Comments »
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
At long, long last after a draught of one solid year without a book from Lisa Kleypas, her loyal readers catch a break at last when Rainshadow Road is finally released on Tuesday, February 28th. To celebrate, we’ve got Lisa herself to answer a few questions and she doesn’t come empty handed. Lisa has 10 books donated by her publisher to give away to 10 lucky winners. To enter, all you need to do is comment to this blog by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 24th. Winners will be notified by email on Saturday morning and will have 24 hours to respond. If we don’t hear from a winner within that time, a new winner will be selected. This contest is designed for readers, so please don’t enter if you review for another Web site or blog. Due to the high cost of international postage, entries are open only to those from the U.S. and Canada.
Now, let’s hear from Lisa!
Lisa, thanks so much for joining us today. Could you please tell our readers a bit about Rainshadow Road?
Sandy, thank you so much for inviting me! Rainshadow Road is the first in a series of contemporary romances set in Friday Harbor, Washington. It’s about a young glass artist, Lucy Marinn, who is dumped by her boyfriend at the beginning of the story–and if that’s not bad enough, she discovers that he’s dumped her for her younger sister! So about fifteen minutes after this happens, she sees this handsome stranger on the beach, who happens to be Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner.
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Tags: Lisa Kleypas, Rainshadow Road
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, Books with Buzz, Contests, giveaways, Interviews, Sandy AAR | 258 Comments »
Friday, January 13th, 2012
I’m busy planning ahead in this month of January. (Yes, actually planning. Not flying by the seat of my pants or anything.) I’d like to deliver some of the interviews you’re looking for this year.
In the past, we’ve focused on established authors and would like to stay primarily in that vein. Newbies or debut author interviews are extremely rare. I’ve been rebuffed only once in all the years I’ve been doing interviews for AAR – Kresley Cole had her assistant turn me down and I won’t ask again – so most everyone will respond favorably to an AAR interview request. The sky is (almost) the limit.
We’ve got an interview with Lisa Kleypas coming shortly, but that’s all I’ve got formally scheduled for the year. So, here’s my question: Who would you like to see interviewed at AAR?
- Sandy AAR
Tags: Authors, Interviews
Posted in Authors, Interviews, Sandy AAR | 52 Comments »
Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series is already much-beloved among readers and when news broke that she planned to release a standalone work of historical fiction set in another time period, readers really started buzzing. Ranging from Edwardian England to 1920s Kenya to modern-day (or at least 1999/2000) New York, The Ashford Affair tells an engrossing story of romance and family secrets that spans generations. The novel got a DIK review here and when we got a chance to interview the author, we jumped right on it.
