#RomancingTheVote, a genre romance authors-led effort that raised over US$750,000 for the 2020 and 2022 elections, mostly through silent auctions and funneling donations to Democratic candidates.
They're ramping up their efforts again, but since Xitter is, well, shitty, you can sign up for email notices here: https://forms.gle/h4yHf8VKQmsGaNQS8
Public libraries must remain public cultura infrastructure if they're to fulfill their mission at all, let alone survive.
Worth noting how little it costs to keep them functioning compared to what cities everywhere pay cops--who, lest we forget, have no constitutional obligation to save, serve, or protect the public; to know the laws they're "applying", or not to commit crimes themselves.
Via @tuphlos, I just found out that Oklahoma's Supreme Court blocked the right wing state from banning books from public schools and penalizing schools who refused to comply with the fascists.
@herhandsmyhands@romancelandia@bookstodon OK, but is it erotica or is it women's fiction? Because I'm really struggling with the idea that it's both. Maybe very steamy women's lit? I feel like they are casting way too wide a net here...
The vector illo style isn't helping this at all. If you told me this was NA hiking/college romance, with fade to black closed-door intimacy, I'd be more willing to believe it than if you handed this to me and said it's erotica. Oof.
You are reading a book by a new-to-you author, narrated from the point of view of a woman on a first date that's been set up through an online dating service. She's shown to be wary, as she's had prior bad experiences even with men she's known for years.
She's also a cop in her thirties.
And yet.
She lets him order her drink at the bar and bring it to her at their table.
This is how you can be sure the author is a straight cis man.
ICYMI: here's my review of Nick Louth's first in the Detective Jan Talantire series, The Two Deaths of Ruth Lyle, in which I call out a number of issues with the writing and editing.
Hey, fellow romance readers! Longtime romancelandia denize and author of historical romances Manda Collins is facing a mountain of medical bills after spending almost two weeks in hospital at the beginning of the month.
Anything you can do to help (donate, share, both), is much appreciated.
This novel felt like it was in the same genre/vein as Sorry to Bother You, which was even more over the top, but had similar themes. It is the kind of thing that has a very specific appeal, and if you aren't in the mood/prepared it is not going to work at all
makes sense-- i was very much IN that mood at the time, i was reading a ton of books in that general genre of creeping paranoia + home ownership battles/neighborhood battles & that's probably why it got recommended to me...
many are set in the burbs or else London, i loved the Brooklyn setting!!!
@herhandsmyhands@romancelandia@bookstodon Thanks for sharing. I left RWA in January 2020 and I knew this was coming and what they would give as the reason for their end.
ICYMI: the RWA is filing for bankruptcy, and because nice white ladies (TM) can't help themselves, they're implying it's Courtney Milan (and the push for progress and inclusivity in the organization) that ruined the organization.
I’ve got the tiebreaker, so let’s go for the indie author, AJ Demas.
The official pick is Sword Dance.
Technically the first in a trilogy, but stand-alone with a HFN ending. Damiskos is an absolute cinnamon roll of a lead character, and the book itself is down the cosy end of the spectrum (with more plot than some cosies I’ve encountered 😊), though there is discussion of severe injuries including castration (Varazda is a eunuch).
However, Honey and Pepper is currently free on various sites, and The House of the Red Balconies just released a few days ago.
So, officially we’re chatting about Sword Dance in July, but perhaps we can also have a general AJ Demas appreciation month, whichever of her books you happen to pick up. They’re all set in the same fictional classical Mediterranean-inspired ancient world (which does include era-appropriate slavery), and they all feature rather sweet and comforting relationships. You’ll find them on Kobo Plus, your library if it’s better than mine (mine only has Sword Dance), or they’re all reasonably priced.
QRC is open to all, read at your own pace over the month and post about it under #QueerRomanceClub and @queerromanceclub — CW for spoilers if you’re posting early and going into details. No rules: let’s hear reactions, theories, reviews, favourite quotes etc.
ICMI: I read Kelly Armstrong's A Rip Through Time; this is both my introduction to the author and the first in the eponymous series--and it is very, very good.