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April 20, 2009

I Want My Book Fix Now

My special guest today is friend and fellow New Zealander, Tessa Radley. Tessa and I were aspiring authors together. In fact, Tessa and I had a competition where the person with the least rejections by the end of the year had to buy the other lunch. It was a contest to make sure we both sent lots of submissions to editors and agents. I won. I forget how many rejections I received, but it was a lot! The lunch was very tasty. :grin:

Over to Tessa…

Tessa RadleyShelley, thanks for inviting me to guest blog today!

I’m Tessa—and I write for Silhouette Desire. I’m going to confess that I’m a bit of a dinosaur. I don’t have an e-reader…but I’m thinking of getting one. But there are so many choices…it’s enough to do my head in. So if any of you have any advice, feel free to tell me which e-reader you prefer.

Part of the reason I’ve procrastinated about getting an ereader is the fact that I ADORE going to a real bookstore and browsing around. Last Saturday night we went to the city center and I persuaded my long-suffering family to indulge me…much eyerolling…and I visited Borders. Heaven! My family—very sweetly—scanned the shelves for my April release, The Untamed Sheik (if any of you have read my Saxon Brides series, this is Megan’s story). The Untamed Sheik

Yet I have to admit that my fetish for bookstores is probably more costly than buying on line—so often I go to buy a book that I want NOW. I want instant gratification. But when I get there it turns out that the one copy they had in stock actually can’t be found. And my eye alights on another title…oh, must have that! By this time a copy of the original book that I’m after has been sourced—at another bookstore. Sigh. But because I really, really want that book…now, today…I’m off. By the end of my spree it’s cost me the book I originally came to buy, the impulse buy, plus two books out the specials bin and half-a-tank of gas!

So why do I do it when online ordering is so much less stressful, less time consuming…and usually much cheaper? I honestly don’t know. Maybe it’s the outing. It’s certainly an event. And there’s still something about going to a brick-and-mortar store. Seeing the piles of books…and paging through them. I love it. And if there’s a coffee shop, then that’s even better!

So what’s your favorite way of getting your hands onto books…or your eyes onto print? Bookstores? Online stores? Ebooks? And if you read ebooks…let me know which ereader you prefer—and why.

Mistaken MistressI’m giving away 10 copies of Mistaken Mistress, Joshua Saxon’s story. So if there are 10 comments are less everyone gets a copy. Otherwise I’ll draw ten random names from the commenters.

Tessa
www.tessaradley.com

60 Comments

  1. Suzanne

    Okay, so don’t blame me because I’m late as I was locked in writing land. It is a necessity, a blood thirst that drips in my dreams.

    Loved the interview, actually throughly enjoyed it. I didn’t know Shelly that you knew Tessa. What a small world. Anyhow, I’d love a copy. But I guess so would the other 50 comments on here.

    Nevertheless… Unmistaken Mistress sounds like the twists in a novel I’d enjoy.

    All the best Tessa with this novel. :)

    Suz :)

  2. Julie Robinson

    Tessa,

    You have just validated my stance with the DH.
    I have the same problem. I have some writing that I’d done on an old word processor about 20 years ago. It’s lost to me now. Whereas as the scribble scratch I have on old pieces of paper and old parts of a notebook are still here.
    Thanks!
    Julie

  3. Tessa Radley

    Eeek…just lost a comment!

    Cynthya, interesting to hear that you find an eReader easier to hold than a book. That’s good to know. And I’m wildly envious of your library of 350 books in such a small space!

    Hi Suz, lovely to see you here. And keep writing!

    LOL, Julia. I might just go back to notebooks for research…

    Now onto the winners…

  4. Tessa Radley

    ::drumroll::

    10 winners are:
    Amy w
    Joye
    Julie
    Julia
    J K Coi
    Lucinda
    Mel
    Roberta
    Sunnymay
    Theresa

    Please email your postal details to Shelley.

    Happy reading everyone…and thanks for chatting…Shelley, thanks for the invite!

    Tessa

  5. Julie Robinson

    Woohoo, Tessa. thank you. And thanks to Shelley for having you. YOu had a really good blog topic with interesting feedback.
    Julie

  6. Mel K.

    THANK YOU, TESSA! :grin:

  7. Debbie

    I love your interview and love trying new authors. Please include me in your giveaway.
    Thanks
    Debbie
    [email protected]

  8. julia

    Yay!

  9. Julie Robinson

    Hi Tessa and Shelley,

    THANK YOU!! I received my personally autographed copy of Tessa’s book in the mail. The DH was incredulous, “You got something from New Zealand???!!” Thanks for mailing it out. I look forward to reading it.

    :grin:
    Julie

  10. Jackie

    I have an eBookman but never use it…I am a reader who likes her books new, never used and ones I can hold in my hands to read. I never dog-ear my books or break the spines….they look new even after I rad them. I love books!