Liz is still off at a writer’s conference, but here’s a chance to catch up on some of her posts that you may have missed. –Enjoy!
Liz talks about honey and researching bees for her upcoming culinary romance.
Liz praises men in kilts.
Liz reviews Amanda Usens’ hawt culinary romance.
On sexy desserts.
Need more of Liz? She’ll be back on Saturday with Sexy Saturday Round Up.
Photo by Dollen
Hello, sexy! We’ve got a fascinating group of blogs lined up for your weekend reading. Once again, we bring you a group of diverse and lively topics. Yep, we’ve got posts on penises, vampire facials, and the psychology of love. Where else are you going to see Kim Kardashian’s name in the same post with Brain Pickings? Hmmm? Kick back and enjoy!
From Liz:
Do you still need an agent?
Bella Andre and her story.
Why you might choose NOT to self-publish.
Great post from Misty Dietz on seeing and loving yourself.
Science proves women want men with bigger penises?
Growing a mid-list author. Robyn Carr.
From Elizabeth:
In the wake of the Boston Marathon tragedy, a beautiful article by Time Magazine’s Jeffrey Kluger on why heroes risk it all for strangers.
Need a little comic relief? The annual results from the Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest are out.
Lighten your hair the natural way, using cinnamon.
Say it isn’t so! Death of the cupcake.
From Madeline:
I was definitely saddened and even felt anxious after the horrible news from Boston this week. If you find it hard to get out of that anxious/sad mode once you’re in it–here are 16 ways to feel not so sad.
Still worried about what photos you can use on your blog without getting sued? Not to fear, the answer is here.
I love guest blogging–here are 9 tips for being a good guest.
No she didn’t–did you hear about Kim Kardashian’s vampire facial?
From C. Margery:
The best muse EVAH! She’s fierce.
Frida Kahlo: not just a great artist, but turning everything around her into art.
I reviewed a gorgeous book of fairy tales aimed at YA but totally satisfying for grown-ups too; this is why print books will not disappear. We want beautiful books!
From Brain Pickings: 5 Must Read Books on the Psychology of Love
Stay hungry,
Liz
The Lady Smut bloggers are taking a day of blog silence in honor of the good people in Boston. Our hearts and thoughts are with you.
Photo by Todd Morris.
I’m away in DC at one of my favorite academic conferences; partly because it’s chock full of friends that I only get to see these days at the conference, but also because it’s always a lot of fun! Here are some of the panels (thanks to Teach Me Tonight) that will be of interest to you folks, but see the whole program here.
Romance I: Fifty Shades of Scholarship
Romance II: Authors, Characters, Readers: What’s Changed? What’s Changing? What’s Stuck?
Romance III: Publishing, Texts, and Authorship
Romance IV: Across the Media: Iconic Moments, Cultural Narratives, and Real-Life Love
Romance V – Special Session: A Natural History of the Romance Novel Tenth Anniversary Roundtable: Pamela Regis and the Rebooting of Popular Romance Studies
Pamela Regis – In this presentation I will reconsider our shared work—to understand the genre itself and the texts that comprise it—from the temporal vantage point provided by the decade that has passed since the publication of my account of the genre in A Natural History of the Romance Novel. My focus will be on the state of our work on the American romance novel, and the challenges that face us.
Romance VI: Paranormal Romance
Romance VII: Problem Texts and Questions of Ethics
Romance VIII: Homosociality, Homoeroticism, and Bisexual Desire
Romance IX: African American / Black Romance
Romance X: Romance at the Boundaries: Race, Place and Translation
Romance XI: Romance Pedagogy: Teaching, Learning, Critique
Romance XII: Open Forum: Where are We, Now, in Popular
Romance Studies?
Romance XIV: Vampire / Romance Joint Round Table
Romance XVI: After Fifty Shades of Grey: Kink and Romance
Perspectives
Vampire in Literature, Culture, and Film VIII: Paranormal and Romance
Vampire ROUNDTABLE V: Walking the Line Between Paranormal and Romance: A Roundtable Inquiry into the Heart of Paranormal Romance
Fan Culture and Theory: Uneasy Pleasures: Ethics of Studies/Fan Studies Scholarship
Romance I: Fifty Shades of Scholarship
Romance II: Authors, Characters, Readers: What’s Changed? What’s Changing? What’s Stuck?
Romance III: Publishing, Texts, and Authorship
Romance IV: Across the Media: Iconic Moments, Cultural Narratives, and Real-Life Love
Romance V – Special Session: A Natural History of the Romance Novel Tenth Anniversary Roundtable: Pamela Regis and the Rebooting of Popular Romance Studies
Pamela Regis – In this presentation I will reconsider our shared work—to understand the genre itself and the texts that comprise it—from the temporal vantage point provided by the decade that has passed since the publication of my account of the genre in A Natural History of the Romance Novel. My focus will be on the state of our work on the American romance novel, and the challenges that face us.
Romance VI: Paranormal Romance
Romance VII: Problem Texts and Questions of Ethics
Romance VIII: Homosociality, Homoeroticism, and Bisexual Desire
Romance IX: African American / Black Romance
Romance X: Romance at the Boundaries: Race, Place and Translation
Romance XI: Romance Pedagogy: Teaching, Learning, Critique
Romance XII: Open Forum: Where are We, Now, in Popular
Romance Studies?
Romance XIV: Vampire / Romance Joint Round Table
Romance XVI: After Fifty Shades of Grey: Kink and Romance
Perspectives
Vampire in Literature, Culture, and Film VIII: Paranormal and Romance
Vampire ROUNDTABLE V: Walking the Line Between Paranormal and Romance: A Roundtable Inquiry into the Heart of Paranormal Romance
Fan Culture and Theory: Uneasy Pleasures: Ethics of Studies/Fan Studies Scholarship
And mine:
BDSM/Kink/Fetish studies (Frantz) BdsM/kink in film, Pornography, and Japanese Culture
Virginia suite C 8:15pm-9:45pm WED 27 March
“from now on, i will do the things i like:” Ito Seiu, Minomura Ko, and the emergence of kinbaku (erotic rope Bondage) in Japanese Popular Culture
Douglas Thomas
Pornography as the New tool of the intellectual historian
Joseph Wright
Masochistic desire in luis Bunuel’s Belle de Jour
Julia Smith
Knocking from inside: Forging Strength through Pain in V for Vendetta and The Story of O
K.A. Laity [AKA C. Margery Kempe]
Hello chick-a-dees! What a fabulous weekend we had at Love Fest–the day of romance panels at Virginia Festival of the Book.
I learned a lot. I shall be posting all about the “secrets” I learned on Thursday now that I’m finally back home and settled in.
We had amazing, stunning writers speak to us about their books, their writing, their world. Authors like Jeaniene Frost, Kim Harrison, Mary Jo Putney, Grace Burrowes, Pamela Palmer, Deanna Raybourne, Lauren Willig, Kristen Callihan, Vicki Pettersson, Joanna Bourne, Jehanne Wake, Kathryn Johnson/Mary Hart Perry, Joshilyn Jackson, Lydia Netzer, Joyce Lamb, Mary Burton and our very own Liz Everly learned us a thing or two. The authors were bedazzling. The crowds were happy. We left the day tired, but wise, and uplifted with inspiration to write, write, write.
I got a lot of help organizing this day of romantic mayhem from amazing writers like Leah St. James, Sophie Couch, Tina Glasneck, Denise Golinowski, Lucy Balch, Alexa Day (who has a new book out from Ellora’s Cave btw), Sapphire Phellan (who interviewed me here), Carolyn Esau, Allyson Johns, and Nara Malone.
Over 250 folks came out to see everybody, and a great time was had by all.
Today, alas, I am in bed with a very bad case of bronchitis. The good news is Mary Jo Putney gave me a copy of her latest book NO LONGER A GENTLEMAN. Love the cover. Love the book. Love Mary Jo!
There is something so special about the world of romance. I’ve found it to be a warm, accepting, joyous world. If you’ve ever wanted to try writing romance, plunge on in and get to know this world of really strong glorious women.
On top of that getting to listen to Mary Jo, Joanna Bourne, Grace Burrowes, and Jehanne Wake have pithy, intellectual conversations the night before was bliss. Successful romance writers aren’t just about the love–they are acute analysts of the human condition, the state of women, and they are delightful thought provoking mentors for the aspiring writers who come into contact with them. I’m in a state of history-geek bliss.
Hope you’ll leave a comment if you like these authors and/or if you were around this weekend — did you get something out of the day yourself?
XO, Madeline
Hey my lovelies!
I’m in Charlottesville, VA today prepping for Love Fest–a Day of Romance Panels at Virginia Festival of the Book on Saturday March 23rd. We’ve got amazing line-up of authors who will glamour us all with their wit and pizazz. Expect lots of laughs and lots of fun. There are a ba-jillion gift baskets that they’re giving away for free as well. FREE, I tell you!
If you happen to live in Charlottesville head on over to the downtown pedestrian mall. The romance panels are from 10am to 4pm at City Space. You can find out all about the fabulous romance programs by clicking here.
If you’re a member of Virginia Romance Writers then you’re really in luck, because they’re getting a special private reception at 9am where they can meet the panelists and schmooze.
Ciao!
P.S. here’s a list of this year’s authors at Love Fest:
Grace Burrowes, Joanna Bourne, Mary Jo Putney, Jehanne Wake, Tasha Alexander, Lauren Willig, Deanna Raybourne, Kristen Callihan, Liz Everly, Joshilyn Jackson, Joyce Lamb, Mary Burton, Lydia Netzer, Kathryn Johnson, Madeline Iva, Pamela Palmer, Vicki Pettersson, Jeaniene Frost and Kim Harrison.
This year, for the first time in its history, the Virginia Festival of the Book is holding a Love Fest, a kind of gathering and celebration of the romance genre. The book festival takes place March 20-24, with much of the Love Fest events taking place the March 22 and 23. And much of the reason is because of
our own Madeline Iva, who is the organizer of event. This is big. This is exciting. This has never happened before in Charlottesville. Kudos to Madeline and all who helped make this event happen.
I asked her several questions about the festival and how this event came to be.
Liz: Last year, you organized several successful panels. How did you get involved?
Madeline: Jo Bourne is my mentor. There used to be romance panels at the festival but that they hadn’t had any in a few years and I knew the timing was right to propose a panel, so I mentioned it to Jo. She came up with the idea, and since she was off to RWA Nationals that week, she said she’d ask Deanna Raybourne if she wanted to be on a panel as well, since they shared an agent and would be hanging out. She also gave me Cathy Maxwell contact info, since she knew Cathy is an excellent panelist. The festival said ‘yes’ to the panel we proposed in about three minutes flat. ;> The response to the panel was outstanding. The space was overflowing with people and it was a great crowd. Their enthusiastic comment cards convinced the people in charge of the Festival to expand the amount of panels and thus was Love Fest born.
Liz: When it comes to organizing panels, do you reach out among your friends for ideas, search online? What did you do?
Madeline: In addition to Joanna Bourne, Cathy Maxwell, Deanna Raybourne, and Lauren Willig have all been incredibly helpful with sending wonderful authors my way–especially Cathy. Now that we’re doing Love Fest and there’s a day of panels, I’m starting to spread the word at conferences as well. Barbara Vey from the Publishers Weekly romance blog mentioned us as well on her blog after her visit to Virginia. (Kisses to you, Barbara!)
Liz: What have been some of the other duties you’ve tackled as the organizer?
Madeline: What have you got? I organize anything and everything–from arts events to kitchen drawers. I’ve always found it to be a deeply satisfying task and it just comes naturally. What’s fun about organizing romance panels is that everyone’s very cheery and incredibly competent. Really, it almost organizes itself.
Liz: What are some of the biggest things you’ve learned about organizing an event like this?
Madeline: I went to this talk on marketing strategies by Brenda Novak. Her talk could be summed up this way: “Ask not what people can do to help your career, ask what you can do to help others.” She’s 100% correct. I started organizing romance panels as a way of repaying Joanna Bourne for all the help she’s given me. I also wanted to help the other romance writers who were frustrated that the Virginia Festival of the Book wasn’t representing romance genre at the time. Yet this fall when I was pitching my own work, I had an incredibly positive reaction from agents and editors because of my involvement with the fest. That was a major unexpected bonus. The other bonus is that I’ve gotten to build friendships with some the authors who are on panels–the rewards keep on coming.
Liz: How many romance panels are there? And who will be on them?
Madeline: There are four romance panels–two historical, one paranormal, and one romantic suspense. We have the following authors: Joanna Bourne, Mary Jo Putney, Grace Burrowes, Jehanne Wake, Kristen Callihan, Deanna Raybourne, Lauren Willig, Tasha Alexander, Joshilyn Jackson, Mary Burton, Joyce Lamb, Kim Harrison, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, Pamela Palmer — and you!
Liz: What’s the most exciting thing about this event?
Madeline: Well, for authors who belong to the Virginia Romance Writers (VRW), there’s a breakfast reception where they can talk to these authors in a relaxed social setting. They can ask authors questions and eyeball them up close. I don’t know about you, but as an aspiring author, I’m always super-amped up after I’ve seen someone really successful up close and personal. For some reason the task that seems so daunting before (write an amazing book that sells like crazy) seems more possible when I meet people who’ve done just that.
For readers it’s a chance to see these witting, charming ladies get into some deep discussion about their passions. Also, they can get their books signed right after each panel. Finally, we’ve got so many books to give away–it’s going to be a gift basket extravaganza! The panels are free, the food is free, there are huge authors at this event, and we’ll have gift baskets coming out our ears. If you love romance, you’ll probably be in heaven.
Photo by Dollen
Hello Sexy! We have another group of fascinating blog posts for your weekend reading. Also, I am running a special. If you buy a copy of SAFFRON NIGHTS this weekend only and Tweet about it, your entered to win a $10 gift card from Amazon. (Just think how many juicy reads you can get for $10.) Enjoy!
From Liz:
The Virginia Quarterly Review on book formatting. Hard cover books used to be preferred. Not so anymore?
Lovely post from Janet Boyer on being powerful women.
I follow this blog and love it. Here’s an interesting new post on experiencing an orgy from The Sex Experiment.
From Madeline:
Should you go with a contract or self-pub? Courtney Milan explains how to weigh the two against each other by making a Profit & Loss sheet.
What do those Amazon sales ranking charts mean? Theresa Ragan has the answer.
Misha crews gives some tips on how to write sex scenes if you’re a prude
Stay Hungry,
Liz
Photo by Dollen
Hello, Sexy. Whew. What a week. I’ve squeezed in a few delicious nuggets for you to peruse.
Lexi Ryan on choosing beta readers.
Rachel Kramer Bussel on erotic romance, what else?
Jody Hedlund writes about what makes a romance novel truly romantic.
And I’d like to take this moment to pause and say where else are you going to Rachel and Jody’s name together, but on Lady Smut? Hmmm?
Elizabeth Staab on the need for speed in your books.
Six ways to stand out at a writer’s conference.
Two just for fun:
Where are the most terrible places to have sex?
Health science/lore on aphrodisiacs. Ya know how I feel about this one.
Stay hungry,
Liz
Photo by Dollen
Hello, sexy! I’ve gotten some lovely posts gather for your reading pleasure. Some are geared for writers and some are just for pure fun.
Enjoy!
Molly Green on the mystery of Amazon book tags. And Molly Green’s How to Succeed on Twitter.
Jane Friedman on the future of fiction. I have to say this is one of the best posts I’ve read on the subject ever.
Agent Sara Megibow answers questions. The questions and her answers are extremely insightful.
Regina Jeffers on courtship during the regency period.
Interested in “Domestic Discipline” ? Here’s a primer.
If a heroine cries, does that make her weak? Mistress Suzie wants to know in this well-thought out blog post.
Liz Castlebury wants to know who doesn’t love a good paranormal f–k?
The Frisky tells us why we women should be talking about penis size. Yep.
From Regency courtship to penis size, we at Lady Smut strive to cover it all.
Stay Hungry,
Liz
