It started with the release of Lauren Willig’s Garden Intrigue, an amazing book that switched back and forth between historical and contemporary—perhaps the very last place to find a Star Wars reference. But there was one.
It wasn’t something I really thought about again until June. After seeing Brad Paisley’s geektastic concert at Jones Beach, a country music show peppered with more references to science fiction movies and anime than a person could shake a stick at, I read Virginia Kantra’s Carolina Home. It was a lovely contemporary set in the Carolinas that created a firm foundation for a family series. And yet, for the second time in one month, for the third time that year, I came across an unexpected Star Wars reference. That made me think. The bottom line was that neither the Kantra nor the Willig were marketed to an audience that would be assumed to have the basis to understand Star Wars references. And yet there they remained, untouched.
It was food for thought until October. Because on a table in the middle of the Marvel booth at this years New York Comic Con, there were three different comics. One of them was a comic that was co-produced with Benefit, the cosmetics company. The content was discussed all over the universe, with strong voices on both sides of the debate. But it was there: Marketing comic books to people who up until that point, would never have been considered a target audience for comic books. And at the same time, marketing makeup to people who stereotypes insist wouldn’t be interested in it. Especially not to the degree that spending money on benefit cosmetics would require.
One of the ongoing debates in most romance reading circles is the specific answer to one question: What differentiates a romantic suspense from a romantic thriller? The answer is different depending on who you ask, but as far as I’m concerned, it boils down to the scope of the story. Romantic thrillers are filled with what happens as larger-than-life events take over the lives of people who mostly live their lives on or over the edge. Romantic suspense is personal, encompassing the trouble that happens in someone’s own backyard, whether it’s in their town or in their house.
When life gives you hockey lockouts—read books set on the rink! Two hockey-centric books releasing in October—
A hockey lockout is awful. As every other sports fandom gets revved up, hockey fans are in for a long haul of…nothing. Hoping that there will be progress in the talks that there hadn’t been before. Hoping something miraculous might happen, but somehow aware that that’s about as likely as Mike Eruzione scoring a hat trick against Henrik Lundquist.
Erin McCarthy
One of the things I love about the service/meal that serves as the spiritual center of Passover, the Seder, is the forum it provides for discussion. It’s very easy for Seder participants to get lost in a topic and continue discussing it, as it’s said one group of Rabbis did, until the early morning hours. In honor of those discussions, I give you some interesting Passover style food for thought.
When two different authors take on the same central plot line, the results are never the same, and sometimes, it’s important to examine the similarities as well as the differences. So when I discovered that RITA-winning Science Fiction Romance author 
I’d like to take the opportunity of this wonderful Chanukah holiday to honor those authors who have written about Jewish Characters in leading roles. Because despite pressure, market or otherwise, these brave, trailblazing authors have demonstrated that diversity shouldn’t be just skin deep.
The end of summer is approaching, which means the new releases for September will be at Posman Books.
So what’s bringing people down to New York City’s Posman books in the midst of this crazy August heat? Plenty of cool things to read:
