Friday Links: Happy Valentine’s Day Edition

Valentine’s Day puts me in a quandry. In my heart I consider it a retail holiday, designed to sell chocolates, flowers, cards, and fancy dinners. But I also represent quite a few romance writers, and I love a good love story. So there you have it. Whichever way your belief system lands, wishing you a lovely day. And hopefully some good chocolate and an even better book.

In light of the holiday, I did find some suitably romantic links. And a bunch of other stuff, too, for those of you frowning at me. I think it’s a good roundup with something for everyone, so I hope you get inspired to write something great. If you’re more in the mood to curl up with a good read this weekend, I’ve got you covered, as well.

Happy writing, happy reading, and a very happy Valentine’s Day to all. Enjoy!

This Week’s Links:

Celebrating Valentines with Our Favorite SFF Ships. – The folks at Tor/Forge share a few romances from SFF land.

17 Books that Will Make You Believe in Love. – BuzzFeed has you covered.

23 YA Romance Novels that Are Better than a Candlelit Dinner. – BuzzFeed again, but for the young adult crowd (and those who like to read about them).

Quiz: Find the Perfect Shakespeare Quote for Your Valentine. – What it says on the box. Fun for those of you who like to handwrite your cards.

Voices of Change. – A talk with authors Tomi Adeyemi, Akwaeke Emezi, Elizabeth Acevedo, Angie Thomas, and Nic Stone about the (slowly) diversifying landscape of young adult fiction.

RWA 2020: No Ending in Sight, Just Hollow Women. – A thorough update from the folks at Smart Bitches about the mess at Romance Writers of America.

Season of the Witch: The Rise of Queer Magic in YA SFF. – A look at how more diverse young adult fiction is queer without relying on coming-stories, particularly in the SFF realm.

How Obama’s Reading Shaped His Writing. – A bookseller looks at President Obama’s relationship to bookstores and writing.

Shelf Life: Anne Enright on the Five Books that Made Her. – The Booker Prize-winning author talks about the books she believes helped make her a writer.

Friday Links: Valentine’s Day Edition

valentines-day-clip-art-7Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I’m mostly of the opinion that it’s a Hallmark holiday, but at the same time I’m all for a little love and romance, so whatever makes your heart go pitter pat. Wishing you all a wonderful day, whether its spent with a significant other, family, friends, or in quiet enjoyment of your favorite activity.

And with that I bring you this week’s links. They’re pretty writer-centric today, but I hope that you all enjoy them regardless. Enjoy, and happy writing!

Style Sheet: A Conversation with My Copyeditor – Edan Lepucki tries to demystify the copyediting process. Great not just for the explanation of the copyediting shorthand, but for the interview that follows.

13 Writing Tips from Chuck Palahniuk – Originally posted around Christmas time, but I thought I’d adopt them for the hearts-and-flowers holiday instead. They work all year ’round.

How and Why to Use Whom in a Sentence – Fun little cartoon reference.

Why Writers Are the Worst Procrastinators – An interesting look at writerly habits.

TV and Film Boost Sales of Library of America Classics – A peek at how these volumes have gotten a hand from recent programming.

Valentines: Love Letters to the Best Poetry of 2013 – An appropriate set of mini essays.

 

 

A Little Bookish Love

WildInvitation_smallHappy Valentine’s Day, book lovers! I have a wonderful giveaway in honor of the day. For all you lovers of romance, I’m happy to announce I have two Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) of Nalini Singh‘s WILD INVITATION, her collection of Psy/Changeling novellas including TWO brand new stories, which does not hit bookstores until March.

Would you like the chance to win one of these ARCs? Simply leave a comment here on the thread between now and Monday, February 18th, 2013, at 12:00 noon PST. I’ll drop by then and choose two winners at random.

One comment per person, please. Also, if you have not commented on this site before, your comment will be held for approval. I’ll be at a conference through Sunday, and there may be a delay in my pushing through comments, so please rest assured that I will get to them as soon as I can.

ETA: This giveaway is now closed. Winners posted separately above. Thanks to everyone who entered!