From the Chicago Tribune, a quote from Garrison Keillor on the future of publishing:

Call me a pessimist, call me Ishmael, but I think that book publishing is about to slide into the sea. We live in a literate time, and our children are writing up a storm, often combining letters and numerals (U R 2 1derful), blogging like crazy, reading for hours off their little screens, surfing around from Henry James to Jesse James to the epistle of James to pajamas to Obama to Alabama to Al-Anon to non-sequiturs, sequins, penguins, penal institutions, and it’s all free, and you read freely, you’re not committed to anything the way you are when you shell out $30 for a book, you’re like a hummingbird in an endless meadow of flowers.

And if you want to write, you just write and publish yourself. No need to ask permission, just open a Web site. And if you want to write a book, you just write it, send it to Lulu.com or BookSurge at Amazon or PubIt or ExLibris and you’ve got yourself an e-book. No problem. And that is the future of publishing: 18 million authors in America, each with an average of 14 readers, eight of whom are blood relatives. Average annual earnings: $1.75.

From Kathleen O’Reilly, quoted to nowhere in particular:

It should be noted that publishing is not going to slide into Lake Wobegone, where all authors are above average.

I couldn’t resist.

Right after Thanksgiving, I had just started blogging over at the WhineSisters, a group of lively, lovely ladies who have been friends and partners in crime for many years. But this past week, one of the Whinesisters, Kathleen Givens, passed away. She was too young, too full of life and laughter, and she will be missed. If you knew Kathleen, you loved her, and I’m not just saying that because she’s named Kathleen.

Lest you have not heard the girly screams coming from New York, Smart Bitches, and Dear Author have joined together to pimp out two category books: Bronwyn Jameson’s, Magnate’s Make-Believe Mistress, and Hot Under Pressure by *taking a humble bow* moi.

Lots of giveaways all week, and here’s how to win:

First: at 9pm EST, 8pm CST, today (4 August) Jane and Sarah will select 10 winners from the comments to this entry on each of their sites. Those lucky winners will receive a copy of both Hot Under Pressure by Kathleen O’Reilly and The Magnate’s Make Believe Mistress by Bronwyn Jameson.

Second: every day this week at 9pm EST, two winners a day will be chosen from those who Twitter about the Save the Contemporary campaign (#stc) and from those who blog about or email the contest entry. To email, simply forward the details to a friend using the “Email This Page” link at Save the Contemporary.com , or or email us at sbj.contests@gmail.com with a link to your blog entry. The more times you forward the details of this giveaway, the greater chance you have of winning. For the Tweet campaign, use the “Share This”  button and twitter the contest link, along with whatever you want to say about contemporary category romances — but don’t forget the #stc tag!

Lots of chances to win!!

Check out the full Barbara Vey link on Lady Jane.

The authors of the Harlequin Blaze line have put together a blog, and for the big celebration, today’s entry is senior editor, sportswoman extraordinaire, and grand poobahess in chief, Brenda Chin.

Also, a Blaze trivia contest, and first prize is the Jan, Feb, and March 2009 Blazes delivered to your door.

No foolin’

I share a great love with Dee Davis and Barbara Vey.  Jack Bauer, and 24.  I was not pleased with last season, nearly ready to abandon my 24-ness, but then….  Tony’s undead (and not in the zombified, but in the soap opera sort of manner) and they found the groove of Jack Bauer, one man fighting to save the country from terror, no matter the price to his soul.

In homage to this rebel patriot with a cause, from whom no terrorists knee-caps or private organs or safe, I submit:  The Jack Bauer peep.  Credit must also be given (I promised) to my daughter as the creative consultant on the project.

Okay, so it looks like Wicked Burn is taking Round 1, and Mine to Possess, narrowly eeking out over Flat out Sexy by Erin McCarthy.  Paranormal is def looking strong this year, against what in any other time would be a powerful string of contemporaries….  Pleasure Unbound has won against Just One of the Guys, an early favorite before the brackets were actually sabotaged created.  And in a surprise to no one, Dark Desires After Dusk has slit the throat of Scream for Me.  I heard an early squee from KC fan girls everywhere….

Round two is underway.  Historical vs. Category, GLBT vs. Erotic.  We’re holding our breath to see if the underdog series books can miraculously pull off the upset of the century….

Don’t leave your seats.  There’s more action to come.

During the day-ful month of March, as men and bars glom onto basketball like it’s the second coming of Michael Jordan, the more discerning romance readership lift their elegant pince-nez, peruse their meticulously organized 2008 reading lists, and in hushed, twittering voices consider….

DABWAHA!!!!!  

Dear Author Bitchery Writing Award for Hellagood Authors.

“ARE YOU READY TO RUM-BULLLLLL!!!!!!”

Tap.  Tap.  Tap.  Ahem. 

“Ladies, please.”

“As we were saying, the contest is a list of 64 books, going in head-to-heat match-ups to find the best of the best, the most awsomest trifle in the delectable feast that is romance. “

“SPYMASTER’S LADY IS GOING TO KICK-ASS”

“Down, Ms. Bourne.  Down.”

“You think you’ve got the stuff?  Do you?  DO YOU?  When you’ve been in this biz for a quarter of the century and John Grisham quakes, *quakes* when you’re out in the same month, then you can talk about ass-kicking.  Until then, little girl, unless you want me to unleash my ultra-Rourke-2000 taser-stun on those pristine little pink knickers—“

BAM.  BAM.  “Ms. Roberts.  I think we have the idea.  You may sit…..  Sit!”

“I think the series books should be handicapped.”

“In this contest, all books with disabilities are welcomed.”

“No.  I mean, the series books.  They don’t have a shot.  Look at the brackets!  It’s David. And the historical Goliath – on steroids.  Mark McGuire doesn’t have a neck that thick.”

“Are we speaking about the paranormals, Ms. O’Reilly?  I’m not following this conversation.”

“We’re going to get pulverized.”

“There will be no pulverization in this contest.  We have a firm set of rules to keep the contest happy and conflict-free.  In the romance community, there are no Neanderthals…”

“Unless it’s the Hunger Games.  Then we’ll be EATING the dead contestants.   For snack.  You getting this — Bitch.”

“I’m shutting up.” Burying head in hands, Lori Borrill provides a comforting pat.

“Now, isn’t this nice.  I knew we’d have a cheery afternoon.  Tea will be served in the great hall and the knitting group will organize in the solarium.  We have some lovely, lovely yarn to work with.  I picked it out myself.  Our project is a….*giggle* cap.”

“Ms. Hart, please pull apart Ms. Cole and Ms. Showalter.  We will have no hair-pulling in this venture.”

****

Another fun-filled day in the DABWAHA.  If you want to join in the book-picking smackdown, go and register from now until March 16^th.  Go to “TOURNAMENT,” “ENTER YOUR PICKS,” and if you haven’t registered yet, create an OnlineID, enter your email address, click “New,” and then start picking the winners of each match.  The generous ladies of DearAuthor and Smart Bitches will be giving away loads of prizes to the ones who have the winningest predictions.    Voting in the head-to-head match-ups start on March 19^th, and ahem, when series-nominated, Kathleen O’Reilly’s Shaken and Stirred is up to battle, you will be notified accordingly.

Nothing completely coherent to say, only minor ramblings:

• Jennifer Weiner’s whine (I’ve always wanted to say that) on the fem-literati’s snobbery to other female writers
• “Like butter” Barbara Vey from Publishers weekly is having a great-guns anniversary bash with prizes aplenty!  One of the prizes for tomorrow (Friday’s bash-day), you may ask?  An ARC for HOT UNDER PRESSURE, my August release from Blaze.  
• Madoff in jail, stocks rocket onward and upward

Will post more tomorrow….

One of my most favorite things about the romance community is that readers and writers are often there to lend a hand.  Dee Tenorio, who some of you may know from the eharlequin Blaze boards got struck by family tragedy and is looking for some financial assistance.  If you can do anything, it’s appreciated.