There’s no denying that I get addicted to certain authors.  Looking at my archive of book reviews, there are certain authors that I’ve blogged about many times.  The books by these authors are consistently enjoyable.  Perhaps you may like these authors as well.  If you’re looking for new authors to read, I highly suggest this addictive author.

FEATURED AUTHOR: Jaci Burton 

I’d like to say I always wanted to be a writer, but that’s not the case. First I wanted to be a teacher. When I was a kid I used to play school in my friend’s basement. She had actual school desks—and index cards. I’m a list maker, so those index cards rocked my world. Then later on, I wanted to be a nurse. My other friend had a stethoscope and a medical book. I had a thing for props, okay?

But during my early teen years my cousin and I—back in the day before the internet—would exchange scripts we’d written of a popular TV show. No, I won’t tell you which TV show because then you’d know how old I really am. But it was a western with two gorgeous cowboy heroes and we were each in love with one of the main characters. I’d say that was my first foray into writing, and it got me hooked.

As an adult, marriage, work and raising two sons took priority. And while I fell madly in love with reading romance, there wasn’t much time to write it. It’s amazing how much corporate life, soccer games, high school musicals, dinner and laundry can suck out of the average day. But I would occasionally dabble in writing, then put it aside when I got busy. Unfortunately, I was always busy.

Eventually my kids grew up and I was on my second marriage when Biker Dude (what I call my husband because of his love for his Harley Davidson) found out I used to dabble in writing and encouraged me to try again. So I did.

I sat down and wrote a romance novel, start to finish. I was so proud of it, but I didn’t sell that romance. Not right away, anyway. I didn’t sell the one after that, either. Or the one after that. Suffice it to say I wasn’t an overnight success. But eventually I did sell a book, then another, and then another. I have an exceptionally smart agent and write for amazing editors. I’m a USA Today and New York Timesbestselling author, and I have you wonderful readers to thank for that.

This has been a dream come true for me, one I wanted for so many years. Writing is my full time career and something I love so much. I can’t imagine a day that isn’t filled with hot, sexy heroes who save the day, strong, capable heroines who don’t need a man to save them, and the happily ever afters in every book.

Sometimes I even write about teachers and nurses. And hot cowboys.

I live in northeast Oklahoma with Biker Dude and our wonderful, crazy dogs. Between us we have three kids who are all grown up and living out in the wild. When I’m not writing I can usually be found in the garden, coaxing the tomatoes to grow, heading out to our local casino trying to become a millionaire (so far, no luck there), or riding on the back of Biker Dude’s Harley. And when I want to relax I read other authors’ masterpieces or I’m parked in front of the television watching sports, reality TV or crime shows. And maybe a drama or a comedy. Okay, I really watch way too much television.

Welcome to my world.

Website: http://jaciburton.com

LINKS TO RELATED POSTS

Jaci Burton – All Wound Up

Jaci Burton – Changing the Game

Jaci Burton – The Kent Brothers Series

Jaci Burton – Play by Play Series

Jaci Burton – Taking a Shot

Jaci Burton – Quarterback Draw

Jaci Burton – Unexpected Rush

Jaci Burton – Unwrapped

 to Jaci Burton for hours of enjoyment!

As per usual, I added a few books to my TBR list on Goodreads. What is this list of books that seemingly keeps growing day by day? It’s not like a To Do List where most of the items must be accomplished. If you don’t finish the items on a to do list, there’re usually inconvenient consequences.

What does it mean to put something on a TBR?

Thrilled

I get truly excited every time I push that Want to Read button because I anticipate that I’ll enjoy every book on my list. I feel the same way about books as others feel about going to see a movie. Sometimes, I just want to read a popular book so I feel like I’m in the know.  When I fall in love with an author’s writing, I instinctively want to read every book they write. Other times, I fall in love with titles, book covers, book blurbs, or book reviews.

Balance

Instinctually I want to push that Want To Read button. I try and control my impulse to add too many books to my TBR. Let’s face it, even for the fastest of readers (which I’m not) there is a limit to the number of books that a person can consume in a lifetime. Also, my book budget isn’t bottomless.

Resigned

The rational side of my brain knows that the reality is that I will never be able to read every book on my TBR even though my heart burns to read them all. On the good side, a large TBR means I’ll never be left without any suggestions for what to read next.

Should there be a difference between a Must Read list and a TBR?

As a book reviewer, I keep a running spreadsheet of the books I plan to read for the upcoming months.  This list is what I whittle down as my Must Read list.  I tend to accept a predetermined number of books from indie authors and a limited number of books from promoters and publishers.  I purposely leave openings in my list for last minute books that I absolutely Must Read. Also, as one of my reading goals for the year was to read books outside my usual romance genre, I try to leave the occasional space for one these types. When I get ahead of schedule, I pick a book from my TBR.

HAPPY READING!

Five Star Books that I’ve reviewed in the past week

(click on book to read the review)

September 30, 2016

Angel in the Shadows by Amy Deason

A Gift to Remember by Diane Thorne

Another Gift to Remember by Diane Thorne

September 16, 2016

Under the Lights by Abbi Glines

September 2, 2016

Her Confession by S. Valentine

August 19

Tickle His Fancy by Samantha A. Cole

August 5

Rule by Jay Crownover

July 22

Bet Me Something by Aubrey Bondurant

July 15

Bound Beneath His Pain by Stacey Kennedy

June 24

Raw Redemption by Tessa Bailey

June 17

Let the Waves Come In by J.L. Leslie

That Girl by Rachel Strong

June 10

Colleen Hoover – November 9

June 3

Take the Money and Run by Samantha A. Cole

Legend by Katy Evans

May 27 

Stripped and Bound by Rebecca Moon

Love in a Small Town by Zoe York

May 20

Scandal Never Sleeps by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake

Roomhate by Penelope Ward 

April 29

Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton

April 22

One With You by Sylvia Day

April 15

Sincerely, Carter by Whitney G.

April 8

Bound to You by Skylar Nightingale

Jason by Laurell K. Hamilton

April 1

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

March 18

Debt by Rachel Dunning

March 4

Helena Hunting – Pucked

Dani René – Broken By Desire

February 26

The Master by Tara Sue Me

February 19

Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren

February 12

Boiling Point by Tessa Bailey

Wild Aces by Marni Mann

A Sudden Crush by Camilla Isley

January 29

Brave Enough by M. Leighton

January 22

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines

Prince Hudson by Lily Cahill

January 1

Blood Kiss by JR Ward

She Whom I Love by Tess Bowery

What Five Star Books have you read lately?

I can’t bite my tongue any longer.  It really bothers me when cover images are used again and again.  I have heard the reasoning: there’re limited number of available images, everybody does it, excuses related to expenses, it’s no big deal, and it is unintentional.

I’m not necessarily convinced that reusing images is always such an innocent act.  I’m sure I’m not the only one that notices the same images being used over and over again. I think that there is a marketing strategy that makes it effective to the re-use images.  The more a consumer sees an image the more likely they’ll actually purchase a product.  That’s what mass advertising is all about.

This time I’m appalled.  Check out the image below.

Notice the image on the cover of Wallbanger, published November 2012.  The same image is on the cover of Bastard Boss, published September 2016.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t be up in arms over this issue, but let’s now look take a look at the titles.

In February 2013 Beautiful Bastard was published followed by Beautiful Boss in February 2016.  Then Bastard Boss is published in September 2016.  I’m not accusing the author or publisher of purposely stealing the title from the Beautiful Series.  But again, notice even the font is remarkably similar.

Let’s look back on the images again.  The cover of Beautiful Bastard is of a man (black and white) on a white background with the title boldly  imprinted on top.  The cover on Bastard Boss is of a man (black and white) on a pale background with the title boldly imprinted on top.

Were all these similarities intentional or not?

I don’t know.

I’M NOT ACCUSING ANYONE OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.

But, let’s look at this from a slightly different perspective.

In cases of trademark infringement, the key element that is considered is the LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION.  In those cases, similarity is tested on: strength of trademark (Wallbanger and Beautiful Series were best sellers); proximity of goods (all are romance books); similarity of mark (cover and title discussed above); intent to benefit (don’t know); and others.

THIS IS NOT A TRADEMARK CASE! I just wanted to point out the similarities.  

I DON’T MEAN TO INSINUATE THAT BASTARD BOSS is like the stories in Beautiful Bastard or Beautiful Boss.  Nor am I insinuating the story in Bastard Boss is anything short of excellent (I have not read it yet).  In fact, I have read reviews that state that Bastard Boss is excellent, which is how I first saw and heard of the book.

As a book consumer, I am extremely irritated.

I feel like the publisher is trying to manipulate me through use of similarity.  I take great issue with this approach.

I should admit that I’m a huge fan of the Beautiful Series and truly enjoyed Wallbanger.  This fact certainly has influenced my outrage.  See my posts for these books:

Christina Lauren – Beautiful Beloved

Christina Lauren – Beautiful Secret 

Alice Clayton – Nuts

Alice Clayton – Rusty Nailed

Alice Clayton – Wallbanger

HAPPY READING!

I remember being a pre-teen and loved reading.  John Irving was one of my favorite writers at the time.  Then, life got in the way and I couldn’t find the time to read things of my own choosing – you know the things that you want to read as opposed those that you are forced to read.  I absolutely loathed every book that I read for school during high school.  Then during undergrad and law school, my academic schedule precluded any time for enjoyable reading.  As soon as I had kids, my time was filled with lots of reading with them.  Of course the books progressed from baby books to things that interested them (not necessarily my tastes).

About 8 years ago, I finally picked up a book of my own choosing.  Everyone was talking about this Twilight movie.  So, I picked up a copy and read it.  I liked it and choose to read New Moon.  As soon as I got through that one, I literally raced to the book store to get Eclipse.  I was suddenly hooked.  Reading was a new found source of pleasure, release, and relaxation.

Perhaps, it is a bit embarrassing to admit that a young adult book and teen sensation was what got me hooked on reading.  But since, I’ve read over 600 books.  Most I’ve liked, some I’ve loved, and a few I really disliked.  I also, decided to start this blog to share my enthusiasm for books.

So, thank you to Stephenie Meyer for helping me find my new passion.

It doesn’t matter what type of books you like – JUST READ.

Do you have a book or author that got you hooked on reading?

Do you think that $7.99 for an 117 page book that has a large font and loads of spacing between lines is overpriced?

I won’t mention the actual book or author I’m referring to, but the book was written by a Best Selling Author and the book was the third volume in a trilogy.  As I fell in love with the series in book one, I was frantically eager to read the second in the series, which didn’t compare to the first.  I still loved the characters and knowing that there was another book in the series made me compelled to read volume three.

Being on a budget, I was thrilled to get a copy from the local library.  When I stood at the counter checking out the book, my first reaction was “Wow – that’s a short book.”  When I quickly flipped open the book, I was further disappointed to see that not only was the book thin, but the font was huge and the spacing ridiculous.

I read the novella.  Essentially it was a long epilogue that didn’t offer any twists or any extra perspective on the characters.  Very Disheartening!

Even though I didn’t actually purchase the book myself, it made me think about how irritated I would be if I had shelled out cash for the book.

I’m not naive enough to be ignorant of all the publishing costs involved in selling a book.  There is obviously a minimum cost to producing books.  But was this book overpriced simply based on the author’s past sales?  That seems very short sited on the side of the publisher.  This publisher is in the process of publishing a spin off to this series.  Before I read this book, I was very much looking forward to reading the spin off.  I feel like the publisher has cheated the readers by over charging for this book.  Honestly, I’m less likely to purchase the books in the spin off.

Do you consider the length and pricing when choosing books to purchase?

I apologize for the tone of this post.  I love to read and I usually try and stay positive on my blog, but I can’t help but rant today.

See Related Post:

How to end a book series?

Five Star Books that I’ve reviewed in the past week

(click on book to read the review)

February 26

The Master by Tara Sue Me

February 19

Wicked Sexy Liar by Christina Lauren

February 12

Boiling Point by Tessa Bailey

Wild Aces by Marni Mann

A Sudden Crush by Camilla Isley

January 29

Brave Enough by M. Leighton

January 22

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines

Prince Hudson by Lily Cahill

January 1

Blood Kiss by JR Ward

She Whom I Love by Tess Bowery

What Five Star Books have you read lately?