A New Interactive Game Featuring Some Familiar Characters!

Posted December 10, 2010 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Avon Romance sure has been busy lately. With all of the fantastic Avon books that they’ve been putting out lately, it’s a wonder they have time to put out even more awesome but that’s exactly what they’ve done. They’re latest bit of awesome includes Stephanie Lauren’s latest series, The Black Cobra Quartet.

Thanks to the success that was Marjorie Liu’s successful online game, Passion Fruit, which was based on her series, Tiger Eye, Avon Romance has decided to try their hand at putting together an online game based on the Black Cobra Quartet by Stephanie Laurens.

Now, I’ve read and enjoyed the series as you can see from all of my reviews:

The Untamed Bride||The Elusive Bride||The Brazen Bride||The Reckless Bride

..so I was pretty stoked to see that they’re turning these characters into a game that I can play while I’m at work (and even better? I’M NOT BLOCKED, woot!), wiling the hours away. Here’s what the folks over at Avon had to say about the game:

On the heels of the phenomenal success of Stephanie Laurens’ Black Cobra quartet (all four were high-ranking USA Today bestsellers), we’ve rolled out an interactive online ‘game’ (Crazy Cobras) that utilizes the characters and the setting from the four historical romance novels.

I’ve taken a look for myself and found myself trying to hurry up and collect all of the jewels before the evil cobra gobbled me up. You can check it out for youself by visiting Avon Romance:

Crazy Cobra
A Black Cobra Quartet Game

If you’re looking for another time suck, this is definitely the game for you…especially since there aren’t very many interactive games based on our favorite romance novels!

Along with the kick start of the Black Cobra Quartet game, Avon’s got some more exciting news with the launch of eBook originals. You can get your favorite romance novels in ebooks and ebook bundles at some really great prices, like Eloisa James eBook original that goes on-sale 12/21 for $1.99; as well as specially-priced eBook bundles of the Stephanie Laurens Black Cobra Quartet and a bundle of Lynsay Sands. Lots of stuff to look forward to, so be sure to visit the Avon Romance website for more Avon goodness!

Happy Gaming and Reading y’all!

-Rowena

2 Comments

Tagged: Avon, News, Reviews, Stephanie Laurens, The Black Cobra Quartet

RWA on theToday Show

Posted August 1, 2008 by Holly in Discussions | 10 Comments

The other day a couple romance bloggers were interviewed for a piece on the Today Show about romance novels and RWA (SBSarah and Jane from Dear Author), but only SBSarah’s clip was used). It aired this morning, and I’m glad to see it really cast romance in a positive light for once. Well, if you ignore that part about “Now we know what we should be doing in our spare time”. Not that I think she really meant it that way…

Video embedded, but here’s the link in case you can’t see it.

If you look closely you can spot some of our fellow bloggers.

*thanks to Marianne Mancusi for the link, via Twitter

10 Comments

Tagged: Holly Says, Holly Says, News, Romance Related Stuff

Harlequin launches Enriched Edition eBooks

Posted July 10, 2008 by Casee in News | 0 Comments

Harlequin is the first publisher to release entirely enriched eBooks

Toronto, ON (July 9, 2008) – Harlequin Enterprises Limited, the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of women’s fiction, announced today the launch of their Enriched Edition eBooks. With this launch, Harlequin becomes the first publisher to offer entire eBooks that are enriched with interactive buttons that hyperlink to Web sites with more information about the content.

The launch title, UNMASKED by Nicola Cornick, a Regency-set historical available from www.eBooks.eHarlequin.com, has been enriched with interactive buttons that hyperlink to Web sites containing photos, historical commentaries, illustrations, sound effects, maps, articles and more, bringing the world of the novel to life without the reader having to leave the computer or the current screen page. The interactive buttons have been designed to be unobtrusive, so if one prefers not to access the bonus material, the reading experience remains uninterrupted.

By exploiting the interactive possibilities inherent with eBooks, Harlequin is recognizing the opportunity for online reading to enhance the reading experience, evolving it above and beyond the replication of print books.

Harlequin will release select Enriched Edition titles from its many series and imprints, but chose to launch with a historical release since the period setting particularly lends itself to the enriched experience. Obscure period details, customs, terms and references become instantly accessible should the reader wish to learn more about the story’s context.

Enriched Edition eBooks are available at www.eBooks.eHarlequin.com and are being sold at the same price as regular eBooks.

0 Comments

Tagged: eBooks, eBooks, Harlequin, News

Harlequin launches Enriched Edition eBooks

Posted July 10, 2008 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Harlequin is the first publisher to release entirely enriched eBooks

Toronto, ON (July 9, 2008) – Harlequin Enterprises Limited, the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of women’s fiction, announced today the launch of their Enriched Edition eBooks. With this launch, Harlequin becomes the first publisher to offer entire eBooks that are enriched with interactive buttons that hyperlink to Web sites with more information about the content.

The launch title, UNMASKED by Nicola Cornick, a Regency-set historical available from www.eBooks.eHarlequin.com, has been enriched with interactive buttons that hyperlink to Web sites containing photos, historical commentaries, illustrations, sound effects, maps, articles and more, bringing the world of the novel to life without the reader having to leave the computer or the current screen page. The interactive buttons have been designed to be unobtrusive, so if one prefers not to access the bonus material, the reading experience remains uninterrupted.

By exploiting the interactive possibilities inherent with eBooks, Harlequin is recognizing the opportunity for online reading to enhance the reading experience, evolving it above and beyond the replication of print books.

Harlequin will release select Enriched Edition titles from its many series and imprints, but chose to launch with a historical release since the period setting particularly lends itself to the enriched experience. Obscure period details, customs, terms and references become instantly accessible should the reader wish to learn more about the story’s context.

Enriched Edition eBooks are available at www.eBooks.eHarlequin.com and are being sold at the same price as regular eBooks.

0 Comments

Tagged: eBooks, Harlequin, News, Reviews

Calling All Aspiring Writers Out There!

Posted May 12, 2008 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The 2008 Heart To Heart Contest sponsored by the San Francisco Area Romance Writers is open for entries.

WHAT’S NEW for 2008

This year, entries will be accepted electronically ONLY. Save on paper and postage!
All entries will be judged by at least 2 published authors!
Scoring based on 20 keys areas guaranteed to make your entry shine!
All entries will receive 4 scores. The lowest score will be dropped and the average of the remaining 3 scores will constitute the final score!
Contest entry fees will be accepted by Paypal or check!
CONTEST CATEGORIES: Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, Single Title and Historical

WHAT TO ENTER:

The magical scene in which your hero and heroine meet for the first time, maximum 15 pages (optional one-page set-up, unjudged)

ENTRY DEADLINE: June 6, 2008

FIRST ROUND JUDGES:

All first-round judges are trained, experienced critiquers and published authors. For contest overview, official rules, entry form, and score sheets go to: http://www.sfarwa.com/.

FINAL ROUND JUDGES