I downloaded “Fall, Falling, Fallen,” by Karalynn Lee because it was offered as a freebie from Samhain Publishers, knowing absolutely nothing about the it. I’ve been stocking my new e-reader with as many free short stories and novellas as I can get my hands on, the bulk of which have failed to move me. “Fall, Falling, Fallen,” however, caught my attention right from the beginning and held it firmly straight through to the end of the story.

The heroine is Melea, one of the daughters of the lord of Jenne, who spends her time breeding and working with hunting hounds, even though it’s considered an unsuitable pastime for a woman of her status. She prefers to chase after a missing dog rather than stay in Jenne to greet visiting Prince Kaen and, in true romance fashion, winds up running into him alone in the wilderness. The attraction and flirtation proceed from there just as any fan of romance might expect.

Though the basic plot outline is conventional, “Fall, Falling, Fallen” has plenty of interesting and unexpected details of character and setting which keep the story fresh. Instead of a typical, vaguely European setting for a story featuring royalty and magic, the characters are dark-skinned, and the hunting hounds pursue gazelles through a landscape dotted with baobabs. Lee also manages to pack a lot of personality into just a few pages, and Melea and Kaen are so appealing that I wished the story would turn out to be the first chapter of a novel.

Lucky me! Karalynn Lee has a novella available from Samhain right now, Summer-set, featuring the same setting, though it focuses on Kaen’s companion, the wolf-born Ryuan, and his own romance. I’ll be purchasing my copy today, and if it’s anything like as engaging as “Fall, Falling, Fallen,” I’m sure I’ll be recommending it here soon!

Wow, it has been way too long since my last post! But I am happy to report that I was given an e-reader for my birthday by my extremely wonderful parents (who support my career even though I tell them they’re not allowed to read my sexy stuff), and I’ve been busily loading it up with titles that will help inspire me and also give me some things to recommend in this space.

In the meantime, it turns out that if you’re interested in “Lunacy,” my short story in the Like an Animal anthology from Circlet Press, you can read part of it as the preview for that book at Scribd. Just click through to Like an Animal’s listing, and scroll on down in the preview window.

I think it’s only fair to warn you, though, that the sample cuts off right in the middle of a sex scene. You’re probably better off getting your own copy of the book.

I’m right in the middle of a long writing project, and to give myself something fun to look forward to in breaks (and a place to vent, of course!), I’ve finally given in and signed up on Twitter. If you want to follow me, you can see my profile here: http://twitter.com/elizareeve

I’ve also put a widget in the sidebar that – if it works! – should show my latest several tweets here.

The Like an Animal anthology from Circlet Press is now available at All Romance Ebooks and for the Kindle at Amazon.com.

Personally, I’m not super-comfortable about purchasing anything from Amazon after the recent “Amazonfail” stuff. (Wikipedia has a bit of information here, for those of you who missed it) But I’m interested in learning more about All Romance Ebooks. Sales from publishers and a free book for every ten purchased sound like awesome things to me!

Candy Tan, of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, has done a couple of guest posts at Powell’sBooks.BLOG recently, including one titled “The Genre Ghetto’s Genre Ghetto: How I Got Here, and Why I Love It.” The whole blog post tickled me pink (I can actually hear my mother’s voice in my head as I type that phrase, and it’s creeping me out a little bit. But now that I’ve written it down, it’s too funny not to use. Sorry. End digression!), but I particularly liked Tan’s reasons for why she keeps reading romances even though the publication rate for the genre ensures that “the total amount of pure crap pumped out is higher than it tends to be in other genres, and they tend to be more shoddily edited.”

So why the hell do I still read them, and why am I so passionate about them?

Part of it’s because when they’re good — or when I find one that I enjoy; these two sets don’t always intersect — they’re incredible. They’re smart, they’re moving, they’re subversive, and they speak to the deepest bonding urges we have. Humans are social beasties, and romance novels, more than any other genre, explore the human experience of building intimate connections with each other.

There’s also no other genre I can think of in which female protagonists are so consistently victorious, and so consistently happy by the end. I’m not saying that this in and of itself makes romance novels good, but it’s certainly part of what makes them attractive, and it definitely sets them apart from any other genre out there.

And romance novels are where a lot of interesting, tangled issues about societal expectations and gender norms and heteronormativity and sex roles are not just elements of the story, they’re centerpieces to the conflict.

Tan’s reasons for liking romance are closely in line with my own, both as a reader and a writer. I like to write – and read! – romance and erotica because it’s sexy and it’s fun and there’s a frothy sort of pleasure in it that goes along nicely with hot bubble baths or staying in bed all morning, sure, but there are also richer, more subversive pleasures. There are fantastic challenges waiting for writers who want to really dig deep into our cultural notions about relationships and love and sex, and there’s a lot out there to love in the genre for readers who want to try out new ideas while remaining within a familiar framework.

Anyway, check out Tan’s blog post, and then you might like to read a later post where she recommends some specific titles. I’m jotting down a list of titles to look for next time I’m at the bookstore right now.

My friend Marie Carlson has just started up a website/blog! Marie and I met through a writers’ workshop, where we discovered that we work very well together as critique partners. She and I are interested in the same basic genres of writing, but we have different approaches and processes which are very complementary when we’re helping each other through story drafts.

Marie was one of the first readers for “Lunacy,” and I’ve had the pleasure of reading several of her stories, which I hope to see in print soon! In the meantime, you should definitely check out her site.

Like an Animal, the Circlet Press collection of werewolf tales containing my story, “Lunacy,” is now available for purchase at Fictionwise eBooks in a MultiFormat edition.

My short story “Lunacy” is available now in Circlet Press’s themed ebook, Like An Animal: Erotic Tales of Werewolves. You can purchase a PDF copy, or a copy in eReader format through Circlet’s online catalog. A Kindle version should be available at Amazon in January.

“Lunacy” is about Janet, a young werewolf who is having trouble reconciling her human and animal impulses. With the help of her therapist – who believes that Janet is bipolar – and a former one-night stand, she just might start to figure herself out.

Welcome to ElizabethReeve.com! I’m just moving in, so there isn’t very much to see here yet. I’ll be doing regular updates, so there should be more content soon.