A few concerned readers emailed to ask how I’m doing, and the answer is “just fine, thank you”. I had a little freakout Saturday, which I generously allowed the entire online community to share, but, realizing there isn’t much I can do at the moment except to look on the bright side, I have decided to take positive steps to restoring my good cheer.

The first was to turn on my Kindle wireless and watch Jill Shalvis’ Slow Heat and Wendy the Super Librarian’s Blogger Bundle of Jill St. John titles magically appear. (And also a third book I swear I don’t remember buying, called How To Write a Lot, for academics. Erm. Moving right along…).

And the second step to taking my mind off my worries is, naturally, surfing the web for inconsequential things to get annoyed about.

I blogged a while back about how best to immediately ratchet up my status from romance fan to irretrievably obsessed fangirl meet some fellow readers and authors in person this year, and that post and ensuing dicusssion included mention of the Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention, the Lori Forster Reader Get Together, the RWA Annual Conference, and a new one, RomCon™. (Every single mention of RomCon on the RomCon website has a “TM” after it. I’m too lazy to replicate that, but be aware someone has claimed rights.)

The gist I got at the time, was that RWA is really not for readers or bloggers, but we can have fun there anyway, that RT is pretty geared towards the cavemen/party/sexy games side of romance fandom, and that RomCon would be a new kind of conference, explicitly for readers (unlike RWA) yet a more comfortable place for those, like me, who want to meet their favorite authors and get together with other bloggers without having to play musical chairs on the laps of well oiled cover models.

Looking at RomCon program recently, I noticed the event seems … a lot like like RT after all. It offers a lot of games and scavenger hunts, such as  “Midnight Sexcapades: a naughty late night romp”.  Many other events promise to help attendees fulflll their “obsessions” with various kinds of heroes, such as “Be Still My Heart: Does your favorite hero’s heart beat?”, or “Anti-Heroes You Hate to Love: Do you love the Dark, Desirable and Deadly heroes?”, or “Build a Hero” where attendees work in teams to …. well, you get the idea. Probably the most bizarre event is the “Weapons Gallery”, so we can “see what the heroes we love to read about take into battle!”

Other events that seem a bit more serious nevertheless have sexy titles. For example “Strip the Heroine” is actually an event with Jo Beverley about how historical heroines dressed. Don’t worry that you will actually see nakedness, though. We are told this event will be “oh-so-delicately handled by leading historical authors who know exactly what women wore . . . or didn’t!”. “Speed Date an Author” is just a chance to meet new authors, not, alas, a way to hook up. And “Shock the Queen” focuses on etiquette in Victorian England.

Now, what kind of icon do you suppose fits this fun, sexcapadey event?

This one?

On the plus side, it’s great that the organizers did not defer to traditional norms of beauty, and kudos for choosing an image of a woman with political power. But I have to wonder who decided that a queen who is either very stoned, very confused, very nearsighted, very annoyed, or all of the above (perhaps because she’s having a very bad hair day — she seems to have overdone the gel on her left side) was an inviting choice?

There are a lot of events that sound really interesting, including some of those I’ve mentioned. And as a romance reader, I know all too well not to take marketing as a 100% accurate picture of content (covers and titles, anyone?). Finally, it’s the attendees that will set the tone, something no one can predict in advance.

But I confess, I was a little surprised at how much of the event focuses on the fantasy aspect of romance, the desire of readers to have a hero for themselves, to live as heroines did, and the sexy side of things (or rather the “naughty” side. For all the innuendo in the advertising, there is no panel on sexuality of any kind as far as I can see). I’m guessing this is no different than sci fi cons with their costumes and parades (although I doubt Dragon Con promo materials promise that its attendees will be “giddy teenagers” when they pose for pictures with authors). And I know many will really enjoy the games and scavenger hunts — after all, why spend the money and attend a conference if it isn’t going to be fun? But, after looking at the program, it honestly doesn’t sound like my kind of thing. It may only be in cyberspace that I feel like an average romance reader after all.

This is just a goofy autobiographical meditation. I’m sure it has no applicability to any of you.

10. “I’m just going to stop at the bookstore to pick up that book I ordered. That’s it.”

Online version: “I’ll just click over to Amazon/Borders/Sony to browse, maybe add a few books to my wish list. Not buying anything.”

9. One day I will read every book in my TBR pile.

8. I never blog when I am supposed to be (a) parenting, (b) working, or (c) sleeping. See, like someone else’s chocolate cake, which has no calories (even when you’ve eaten half of it), blogging minutes, because they are virtual, don’t actually take up any time.

7. “This book didn’t work so well for me. Other readers might really enjoy it” (Translation: “This absolutely sucked donkey balls, but if you have shit taste, you might love it.”)

6. I feel nothing but sisterly affection and joy when a newbie blogger comes on the scene and generates more buzz and traffic than me.

5. That book was just too sexy for me. [Alternate: I skip the sex scenes.]

4. I no longer care – at all – about: (pick one) JR Ward/Laurell K. Hamilton/Linda Howard

3. Getting books from the library helps reduce my spending on new books.

2. I don’t notice blog traffic, especially not my own.

And the Number One Lie of the Romance blogger…

1. I am on a self-imposed book buying ban.

Version B: This purchase doesn’t count against my self-imposed book buying ban, because I pre-ordered the book weeks ago.
Version C: My self-imposed book buying ban doesn’t include novellas or shorts.
Version D: Oh, I meant that my self-imposed book buying ban will begin on the first of the month. Which month? Er….

*this post is dedicated to Pearl, who tweeted #1 and thus inspired this post.

No, I don’t read every post, and yes, I hit “mark all as read” on a regular basis. Doubting others will be interested, but this is just to give me a saved snapshot of what I was reading online at the end of 2009.

Suggestions always welcome…

AAR After Hours

http://www.likesbooks.com/aarafterhours/?feed=rss2

AccessRomance

All A-Blog http://www.accessromance.com/blog/feed/

AccessRomance – Readers Gab

http://accessromance.com/gab/feed/

Alison Kent’s Blah Blog

http://www.alisonkent.com/blog/feed

All About Romance’s News & Commentary Blog

http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?feed=rss2

All I want and more…

http://alliwantandmore.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Alpha Heroes

http://feeds.feedburner.com/AlphaHeroes

Angieville

http://angieville.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Ann Somerville’s Journal

http://annsomerville.logophilos.net/?feed=rss2

Ann Somerville’s Journal

Anna’s Book Blog

http://annavivian.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Ariachne’s broken woof: Sarah Annes Brown’s weblog

http://www.adjb.net/sab/rss.php

avidbookreader

http://avidbookreader.com/feed/

BABBLING ABOUT BOOKS, AND MORE!

http://kbgbabbles.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Bev’s Books

http://feeds.feedburner.com/BevsBooks

Bitten by Books

http://bittenbybooks.com/?feed=rss2

Book Binge

http://thebookbinge.com/feeds/posts/default

Book Bound

http://b00kbound.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

BOOK JUNKIE

http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Book Thingo

http://feeds.feedburner.com/bookthingo

BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Books on The Knob

http://booksontheknob.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Books, Books and more Books

http://natuschan.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Booksquare

http://feeds.feedburner.com/booksquare

Breezing Through

http://breezingthroughbooks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Caffey’s Reads

http://caffeys-reads.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Cheeky Reads

http://feeds.feedburner.com/CheekyReads

ClitLit – Women, Romance Fiction and Patriarchal Discourse

http://clitlit.wordpress.com/feed/

Clockwork Storybook

http://clockworkstorybook.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

closetwriter

http://lea-closetwriter.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Confessions of a Bibliophile

http://feeds.feedburner.com/bookconfessions

Conversational Reading

http://www.conversationalreading.com/atom.xml

Courtney Milan’s Blog

http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/feed/

Cubie’s Confections

http://cubiesconfections.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Deadline Dames

http://www.deadlinedames.com/?feed=rss2

Dear Author

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/feed/

Den of the Ogress

http://mrsgiggles00.livejournal.com/data/rss

DIK (Desert Island Keepers)

http://dikladiesrule.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Dirty Sexy Books

http://www.dirtysexybooks.com/Dirty_Sexy_Books/Home/rss.xml

Editorial Ass

http://editorialass.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Enduring Romance Kimber An

http://enduringromance.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

EROTIC HORIZON

http://erotichorizon.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Even Redheads Get the Blues

http://blue-succubus.livejournal.com/data/rss

Experimental Philosophy

http://experimentalphilosophy.typepad.com/experimental_philosophy/atom.xml

Fangs, Fur, & Fey

http://community.livejournal.com/fangs_fur_fey/data/rss

FANTASTIC BOOK REVIEW

http://fantasticbookreview.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Fantasy Cafe

http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/fantasycafe

Fantasy Dreamer’s Ramblings

http://fantasydreamersramblings.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Feminist Philosophers

http://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/feed/

Feministe

http://www.feministe.us/blog/feed/

Fiction Vixen

http://www.fictionvixen.com/feeds/posts/default

Finally, A Feminism 101 Blog

http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/feed/

Five Borough Book Review

http://feeds.feedburner.com/FiveBoroughBookReview

Google Alerts – “Racy Romance Reviews”

http://www.google.com/reader/public/atom/user/15730110078375390203/state/com.google/alerts/8123353416411186952

Gossamer Obsessions

http://gossamerobsessions.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Happily Forever After

http://booklover125.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Heather’s Reading Romance

http://heathersreadingromance.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I Blame The Patriarchy

http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/feed/

I Just Finished Reading…

http://donttalkjustread.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Isn’t it Romance?

http://tumperkin.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

J. Kaye’s Book Blog

http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Janet Reid, Literary Agent

http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Janicu’s Book Blog

http://janicu.wordpress.com/feed/

Just Janga

http://justjanga.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Karen Knows Best

http://karenknowsbest.com/feed/

Katidom

http://www.katidom.com/feeds/posts/default

kindlevixen.com

http://www.kindlevixen.com/feed

Kiss and Tell

http://kissandtellgirls.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Kiss Me Goodnight

http://katie-mack.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Knowledge and Experience

http://knowledgeandexperience.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf

http://laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/atom.xml

Leontine’s Book Realm

http://leontine1976.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Love Romance Passion

http://feeds.feedburner.com/ReviewRomanceNovel

Lovin’ Me Some Romance

http://lovinmesomeromance.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Lurv a la Mode

http://feeds.feedburner.com/LurvLaMode

Mark Athitakis’ American Fiction Notes

http://americanfiction.wordpress.com/feed/

Me and My Books

http://bookdaze.wordpress.com/feed/

Monkey Bear Reviews

http://www.monkeybearreviews.com/feed/

Moonlight To Twilight Blog

http://moonlighttotwilightblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

My Blog 2.0

http://myblog2point0.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Nalini Singh’s Weblog

http://nalinisingh.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Nathan Bransford – Literary Agent

http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Naughty and Spice Blog

http://www.naughty-and-spice.com/feed/

Nocturnal Wonderings

http://cindyl.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Nose In A Book

http://lisabea.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Odd Shots

http://www.theoddshots.com/feed/

OnFiction

http://feeds.feedburner.com/onfiction

Pansy Poetics

http://pansypoetics.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Philosophers Anonymous

http://philosophersanon.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Phyl’s quilts & books

http://phylsquiltsbooks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Plot Monkeys

http://www.plotmonkeys.com/feed/

Promantica

: http://www.promantica.com/feeds/posts/default

Pub Rants

http://feeds.feedburner.com/PubRants

Ramblings on Romance Etcetera, Etcetera

http://kristiej.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Rape and Adverbs

http://rapeandadverbs.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Read for Pleasure

http://feeds.feedburner.com/readforpleasure

Reading (mostly) romance books down under – Book Thingo

http://bookthingo.com.au/feed/

ReadingAdventures: Let’s Celebrate Book Bloggers!

http://readingadventures.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Realms on our Bookshelves ENG – Index

http://www.realmsonourbookshelves.com/ROOB_English/index.php?type=rss;action=.xml

Redlines and Deadlines

http://redlinesanddeadlines.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Renee’s Book Addiction

http://reneesbookaddiction.wordpress.com/feed/

Renée Reads Romance

http://reneereads.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

ripmybodice.com

http://www.ripmybodice.com/feed/

Risky Regencies

http://riskyregencies.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Romance Bandits

http://romancebandits.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Romance Book Wyrm

http://romancebookwyrm.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Romance University

http://romanceuniversity.org/feed/

Romance Writer’s Revenge

http://romancewritersrevenge.com/feed/

Romance: B(u)y the Book

http://romancebytheblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Romancing the Blog | Romance Authors and Readers Who Blog

http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/feed/

Romantic Reads

http://romanticreads.net/feed/

Rosario’s Reading Journal

http://rosario.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Royal Reviews

http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk

http://novelthoughts.wordpress.com/feed/

Running With Quills

http://www.runningwithquills.com/atom.xml

Sapphire Romance Realm

http://sapphireromance.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Scooper Speaks

http://scooper.wordpress.com/feed/

Seductive Musings

http://seductivemusings.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Shaymless Aymless’s Thoughts on Books and Life

http://shaymlessaymless.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

http://feeds.feedburner.com/smartbitchestrashybooks/wRgd

Smexy Books – paranormal romance and urban fantasy reviews

http://smexybooks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

~ Stacy’s Place on Earth ~

http://trelainastarblazer.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Stumbling Over Chaos

http://feeds.feedburner.com/stumblingoverchaos/gSFR

Tartitude

http://cherrytart.wordpress.com/feed/

Teach Me Tonight

http://teachmetonight.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

THE BOOK BUTTERFLY

http://butterflybookreviews.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The Book Smugglers

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheBookSmugglers

The Eclectic Reader

http://teddyree-theeclecticreader.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The F-Word Blog

http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/feeds/atom.xml

The Geeky Bookworm

http://thegeekybookworm.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The Goddess Blogs

http://thegoddessblogs.com/index.php/feed/

The Good, The Bad and The Unread

http://goodbadandunread.com/feed/

The happily ever after . . .

http://theromanticlife.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The Knight Agency Blog

http://knightagency.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

the league of reluctant adults

http://reluctantadults.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The Misadventures Of Super Librarian

http://wendythesuperlibrarian.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The Naughty Bits

http://www.teddypig.com/feed/

The Philosophy Smoker

http://philosophysmoker.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The Pursuit of Harpyness

http://www.harpyness.com/feed/

The Rejectionist

http://www.therejectionist.com/feeds/posts/default

The Romance Dish

http://www.theromancedish.com/feeds/posts/default

The Season Blog

http://historicalromancereleases.com/wordpress/feed/

The Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills

http://jauntyquills.com/feed/

The Story Siren

http://www.thestorysiren.com/feeds/posts/default

The Swivet [Colleen Lindsay]

http://theswivet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The THRILLIONTH page

http://thethrillionthpage.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The tyranny of reading

http://thetyrannyofreading.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

There’s No Such Thing As Too Many Books

http://nosuchthingas2manybooks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Thrifty Reader

http://thriftyreader.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

(title unknown)

http://smokinhotbooks.com/blog/feed/

trueromance

http://bordersblog.com/trueromance/feed/

Vauxhall Vixens

http://vauxhallvixens.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Victoria Janssen

http://victoriajanssen.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Welcome to

http://loveromancesandmore.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Well Read

http://jenre-wellread.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

What Kate’s Reading

http://whatkatesreading.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

What Women Read

http://whatwomenread.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Witchy Chicks

http://witchychicks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Womanist Musings

http://www.womanist-musings.com/feeds/posts/default

WriteMinded

http://www.writemindedblog.com/

If you are like me, when you heard about Harlequin contacting bloggers to issue e-bundles of Harlequin titles not available in electronic format, you gnashed your teeth and railed at the fates for unfairly excluding you were so pleased for them and immediately unsubscribed from their blog feeds and blocked them on twitter sent congratulatory emails. You may even have sent Harlequin a note, reminding them of your email address, because surely they had overlooked you in error, thanking them for being so creative and blogger friendly.

But after all that’s done, what next? Instead of starting a whisper campaign against those annoying bloggers, and then burning all of your Harlequins in your backyard of waiting for others to ask, simply go to your local pre-read bookstore and make your own bundle!

Other bloggers have chosen certain authors to bundle, but I in my infinitely superior wisdom which Harlequin is too ignorant to detect decided to pick a theme. And I am ready with my first bundle!

The theme is: these are the books my fingers touched when I closed my eyes and reached out to the stack of Harlequins

Look, I’m very pleased to be doing this. Here’s proof of my joy:

So, my lucky readers … what does this bundle include?

Of course, since it’s my bundle, I get to reimagine their titles, like so…

1. “Gee, I Wonder if That Hero is Really Smart? I see the Glasses, Beaker, Computer and Big Brain, but I’m Still Not Convinced.”

2. “Beware of Men Crushing Silk Scarves in Close Proximity to Your Jugular. Especially When they Sport Porn Staches”**

3. “Sheena Easton Takes a Pool Boy”

4. “What? The Pool Boy Traveled Back in Time and Became a Laird!”

** alt. title for #2: “See That Santa with the Head Beard and Eyebrows of Rage? I’m Pretty Sure He is Trying to Kill You.”

Happy Weekend!

*with apologies to Carolyn Crane, whose summer post on her absence at RWA 2009 inspired this one

I really like talking about blogging, so I thought it might be interesting to try an occasional blogging advice/support/pimp/whine thread.

What’s happening with your romance blog? Want to share any news? Upcoming events? Contests?

Got a new blog? Give us the link and tell us what it’s all about.

Facing any vexing issues with your blog? Something technical? Annoying commenters? Funny spam? Fresh out of ideas? Blogging taking over your life?

If you’re a blog reader, let us know what blogs you have been enjoying lately. What you would like to see more of? Less of?

Contest: Enter to win a gift certificate of $15 to the online bookstore of your choice if you leave a comment by 7:00am EST Monday (that would be 12:00 GMT, I think).

I’ll cheat by starting with my own comment:

Images: my web host just informed me that I had used up all my disk space because I had so many hi res pictures. So I went and basically nuked all the images from all my 2008 posts, which made me very sad (I shed a few tears over the loss of the the orgasming lions from the Come for Me, Baby post). What was my alternative? Any advice?

Also, many of those images (I assume) were copyrighted, and I did not pay for permission. Here’s my rationalization: (1) no one who reads this blog could possibly think they are mine, and (2) I am not profiting from them in any way, (3) I would take them down if I got a takedown notice, (4) my readership is so small, what harm can it do. The problem with this argument is that it would likely justify stealing a lot of things.

How do you handle the question of images?