Dear Book Lovers,

As we get ready for the 2012 RT Convention in Chicago (April 11-15) things are wonderfully hectic. Authors are signing up daily and we have a new list of authors who will be signing at the Book Fair posted on our convention website. There is also a new list of authors signing at the E-Book, Indie Publisher and Graphic Novel Expo.

Our expanded agenda for readers is also very exciting! Authors and publishers leading these workshops are going above and beyond to to make the program fun and informative for fans — solidifying that this is truly “The Year of the Reader” at the 2012 RT Convention in Chicago!

J.R. Ward is looking forward to presenting her No-Holds-Barred workshop with author-buddy Jessica Andersen. There are four Author Chats this year in various genres: one with Charlaine Harris and Nalini Singh for paranormal lovers; one with Gregg Hurwitz, James Rollins and Kevin O’Brien for mystery buffs; Loretta Chase, Mary Balogh, Jennifer Blake and Sarah MacLean will lead the Author Chat for historical romance fans and Susan Elizabeth Phillips will captivate the audience with her contemporary romance Author Chat.

If you live in the area and want to attend just for a day, we have several options on our electronic registration form. You can also sign up exclusively for the Giant Book Fair on Saturday, April 14, or combine it with FAN-tastic Day or Teen Day, both of which follow the Book Fair. All of these options are available on the registration form, so be sure to take a look. And be sure to sign up early because goody bags (with lots of FREE BOOKS!) will be given out to the first 500 fans who register for FAN-tastic Day and the first 250 TEENS who register for Teen Day.

Even though we have a fantastic program for readers, writers — both aspiring and published — should take note of our cutting-edge programs designed to help you navigate through the changing publishing industry. Newly added to the writer program is a Hands-On workshop called American "Idol" — The Writer Edition Competition. This workshop is led by agent Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency and she is currently accepting submissions for the competition. All the details are here. It’s a great opportunity for one lucky author to win representation and mentoring from the agency for one year. But do attend even if you do not enter the competition because the entries will be discussed throughout the three-hour workshop and there will be a lot to be learned from the discussion.

Published authors who are not able attend this year have an abundance of promotional opportunities available to them to spotlight your name and your books at this fan-filled event. Some are paid and some are FREE, so be sure to take a look.

Now on to the new issue, which shipped on Friday with a lovely new author on a lovely spring-like the cover. Kristina McMorris made her debut last year with LETTERS FROM HOME, a beautiful romance sprinkled with fabulous historical detail of the WWII era. Her second book, BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES, stays in the same era with “a refreshingly different point of view." Her personal story is as interesting as it is intriguing and fans of this era will find it fascinating.

With Amazon’s reported sale of one million Kindles sold every week in December and Barnes and Noble having gangbuster sales figures for the Nook, our main feature this month is on which one is right for you. We went to actual readers who own one or more of the eight we discuss (some own multiple devices) to get the pros and cons for each. It’s a unique perspective from a group of people who are sharing their real experiences with you.

Historical romance fans will love our feature on Eleanor of Aquitaine as we delve into the life of this most powerful woman of the Middle Ages and discuss why she continues to fascinate fans today. Her life story is quite extraordinary with an abundance of fodder for fiction.

We caught up with the incomparable Robyn Carr to find out what her Virgin River series has in store for us in 2012. The prolific author also reveals a new series in the works for 2013 that she is very excited about.

Since it is our March issue, we couldn’t resist paying homage to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations with a feature listing all the fabulous books from many genres that are set in Ireland. It will definitely get you in the spirit of the green! It’s a list worth investigating no matter what the month, because it chock-full of great books to put in your TBR piles.

Authors can look for the second installment of our author branding series presented by Carina Press Executive Editor Angela James. This month we added an adjunct piece written by author-branding maven Zoë Archer, who shares her personal experience following James’ tips. This worked out so well that for the future installments we will include an author companion piece in which writers will put James’ advice to the test.

If you are a fan of superheroes, then you'll enjoy RT's interview with Stan Lee, creator of heroes like Spider-Man,The Hulk, Iron Man, X-men and several others. A legend himself, Lee talks about his new project, which takes Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet into the future. Lee is a self-professed romantic who believes that anything that matters begins with romance. Sigh!

These are just some of the highlights in the new issue.

Our April issue is shaping up nicely and will have paranormal and romantic suspense author Elisabeth Naughton on the cover promoting her latest paranormal, Enraptured. Can’t wait to read about this up-and-coming superstar.

Our feature for April is a compilation of various military-themed articles that begins with a pitch from Susan Mallery, She wanted to report on what kinds of book the military are reading on the frontlines. Then, as it often happens at RT, we started hearing about other military-related stories and thought, why not give our readers a cross-section of articles from various sources? For instance writer Andrew Peterson went on a USO tour with several thriller bestselling authors and gives us a fabulous report with photos. Anne Elizabeth, whose husband is a retired Navy SEAL, mentioned that the SEALS are celebrating their 50th anniversary, so we have a piece on what she is doing to support the wives and family members at their event. We, of course, reached out to Lindsay McKenna, who started military romance in 1983 to contribute to the feature and have a bevy of other stories in the works that not only honor the military but also celebrate women in the armed forces. 

There is also an interview with J.R. Ward and a feature on how authors are straddling traditional and self-publishing.

As we went to press last month, we found out that series romance icon Penny Jordan passed away after losing her courageous battle with cancer. We will have a loving and moving tribute to Penny from friends, colleagues and fellow authors in the next issue.

Keep warm and happy reading,

Carol Stacy
Publisher & Internet Director
RT Book Reviews Magazine
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March ISSUE (# 337)

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