Humorous book titles

This prompt from Long and Short Reviews made me smile, because as an erotic romance writer I know we can get away with some comic titles. I can still remember the freebie I did for Totally Bound called “I Can’t Believe You Used My Butter”. And then there are three that I bought and read based solely on the name...

In Appreciation of their Cox. A classic Janine Ashbless novel about the female cox of an all-male rowing team, with plenty of heat in the sex.

Hot Buttered Strumpet. I reviewed this one for Totally Bound – a historical short with two brothers sharing a prostitute. I loved every minute of this one.

Stacy’s Dad Has Got It Going On. Well, with a title like that, I had to see what it was about. I was a little disappointed in the ending, but going from the description, I would also have slipped into Stacy’s dad’s bedroom and probably been kicked out of my roommate arrangement.

So what are your favourite humorous titles?

Favourite things to do in the summer

I write this prompt for Long and Short Reviews while looking out of the window at driving rain. Good old British weather. For this reason, top of my list of favourite things to do in the summer is:

Watching the rain with a cocktail. More likely a can of cider when I’m at home, but I have had many holidays in which walks in the sun have unexpectedly turned into afternoons with cocktails as we watch the hammering rain from inside a bar.

Visiting the seaside, or areas of beauty. Okay, Scarborough may not be the most beautiful place in the world – for natural beauty I’m more likely to go to the Lakes or the Peak District. But there is something about walking down the seafront with an icecream watching the galleon go past.

Barbecues. Now that we’ve moved into a new house we’re planning to invite family over for a barbecue or two. My husband is looking forward to rolling his sleeves up and trying not to burn the sausages.

So what do you like to do in summer?

Favourite book covers and why

This prompt by Long and Short Reviews made me think, because it’s been a long time since I’ve really noticed a book cover. O had to go back over my collection and refresh my memory. However, there were a couple I found that definitely stuck out.

Before I Fall – Lauren Oliver. This was the first Lauren Oliver book I read and really drew my attention the first time I saw it. For me it perfectly captures the dreamy teenage beauty of the novel.

Nemesis – Isaac Asimov. The blurb on this was terrible, talking about a red dwarf “as red as the colour of blood”, but the image of the churning star terrified me as a child.

And I couldn’t resist using one of my own. Ready For Him is about a tattooed, pierced, Mohawk-wearing martial artist who meets a dominant billionaire in Las Vegas, and the image Totally Bound used to represent her is stunning.

So what are your favourite covers?

Books that need a sequel

My first thought on reading this prompt for Long and Short Reviews was “They don’t.” I have often read or watched sequels and wished they didn’t exist – “Glass” leaps to mind. However, I did manage to think of a couple of possibilities.

A Return to Sanditon (Anne Toledo). This was a completion of the original Austen fragment and manages to develop and introduce so many characters that I would happily follow them into a sequel.

Airframe/Prey (Michael Crichton). Both of these novels created worlds which interested me and had potential for more, especially Prey which was deliberately left open-ended. Airframe was tied off more neatly but I enjoyed the aviation so much I would willingly read more.

Requiem (Lauren Oliver). This was a sequel in itself, but one which left a lot of loose ends which I would have liked tying off. The world of deliria and the characters’ relationships still had a lot of work to be done.

And I would always like more Sherlock Holmes sequels, as long as they’re done well.

So what would you like to see?

Lessons I learned from a book character

I’m not sure I’ve ever been a person to learn lessons from books. I always hated trying to draw things from texts in my English literature class. So what I’m about to say I learned may well be the complete opposite of what the author wanted, but here we go.

Anne Shirley – I loved all the “Anne of Green Gables” series, but what I particularly liked about Anne was her ability to find beauty in all things, starting with the Avenue (or the White Way of Delight) and continuing up into her adulthood. I also try to find beauty wherever I can.

Ian Malcolm – I’m not going to pretend I understood all the chaos theory in the “Jurassic Park” novels, but if there was one thing it did demonstrate, it is that when people claim they know exactly what will happen they probably don’t. Which is always helpful, as there are lots of people who think they do.

Dr John Watson – Possibly an unusual lesson in this instance, as it refers to the writing rather than the character. One thing I always have hated in books and films is “insta-love”, the ability of a character to fall in love at first sight with absolutely no reason for it. Dr Watson proved that it is possible to write love at first sight and be convincing, which has inspired me to use that trope once or twice and attempt to do so in a convincing way.

So what lessons have you learned from book characters?

Favourite TV shows and why

I’m not ashamed to admit I like junk TV. I wish I could claim to watch something with some merit to it like Game of Thrones. But apart from nature documentaries (I do love David Attenborough) my tastes, I have to say, run a little lower-level.

·         Dragon’s Den. Apart from the vicarious cringe I get when someone forgets all their figures in the face of the Dragons, what I particularly like is finding new small businesses I can use. I still get my yearly advent calendar from Snaffling Pig, a company which sells flavoured pork scratchings.

·         Judge Rinder. Yeah, I know, it’s only one step up from Jeremy Kyle, but it’s a good way to relax after a long day at the office. And a reminder to always get a contract when lending money to family.

·         My Cat From Hell. I would love to see what Jackson Galaxy would make of my two cats, who have no idea how to play and who like to leave socks all over the house.

·         Great British Bake Off. And all its spin-offs. I can’t bake, but I love to watch the complicated concoctions the contestants have to come up with.

So what do you like to watch?

Books I want youth to discover

Now this was an interesting one from Long and Short Reviews. I’m not sure I’m seasoned enough to be telling youth what to read (and slightly depressed that I no longer count as youth). However,  I can think of a few books that could potentially go overlooked...

·         The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – Anne Bronte. Anne is my favourite Bronte sister but often gets forgotten in favour of Charlotte and Emily, even though this book was a bestseller in its day and considered shocking for its views on religion and marriage. I was very proud to work on adapting this one for the Clandestine Classics line, although I would certainly recommend reading the original first.

·         Emma – Jane Austen. Again “Pride and Prejudice” tends to be the one people think of first, but I have always preferred “Emma” for its wit, wordplay and narrative style. And frankly, while I love Mr Darcy, I’d still take Mr Knightley any day.

·         The Sherlock Holmes series – Arthur Conan Doyle. Okay, not just one book, but having met a teenager recently who had no idea that Sherlock Holmes existed outside of Benedict Cumberbatch, I think these deserve mentioning. I’ve read a lot of continuations of the series by various writers, but nothing tops the original stories.

So what do you think the youth of today should discover?