In Memory of Essie Summers

Essie Summers wrote 55 romance novels, selling more than 19 million copies in 105 countries and published in 25 languages. Her novels focused on romance and family life with touches of adventure and humour and her winning formula earned her the loyalty of millions of readers.

Essie was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, to Edwin and Ethel Summers on July 24, 1912. She died in Taradale, Hawkes Bay on the August 27, 1998, at the age of 86.

Her travels around New Zealand, and later the world, provided Essie with settings and plot ideas and many of her readers have travelled to New Zealand to see for themselves the places she describes. In the tourist season it was a regular occurrence that someone would turn up wanting to meet her and this could put great demands on her time. Nevertheless she loved that her books brought people to her homeland and enjoyed meeting her readers.

Essie usually wrote two books a year - her publisher would have taken three but she felt that both her work and marriage would suffer. She wrote fifty two novels for Mills and Boon until High Country Governess in 1987. Mills and Boon were beginning to look for steamier stories and Essie had long wanted to write down her family’s stories.

Essie believed in romance, but she didn't like mushiness. She used humour to lighten her romances. It was her style to leave her heroines at the bedroom door: her novels are not as steamy as more modern romances and they tend to be longer with more characters than is currently the trend. Her heroines usually have careers of some sort, either by choice or necessity, and the stories often involve adventure.

To read more:

http://rosaromance.splinder.com/post/18183388/ 

In Memory of Essie Summers

Essie Summers wrote 55 romance novels, selling more than 19 million copies in 105 countries and published in 25 languages. Her novels focused on romance and family life with touches of adventure and humour and her winning formula earned her the loyalty of millions of readers.

Essie was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, to Edwin and Ethel Summers on July 24, 1912. She died in Taradale, Hawkes Bay on the August 27, 1998, at the age of 86.

Her travels around New Zealand, and later the world, provided Essie with settings and plot ideas and many of her readers have travelled to New Zealand to see for themselves the places she describes. In the tourist season it was a regular occurrence that someone would turn up wanting to meet her and this could put great demands on her time. Nevertheless she loved that her books brought people to her homeland and enjoyed meeting her readers.

Essie usually wrote two books a year - her publisher would have taken three but she felt that both her work and marriage would suffer. She wrote fifty two novels for Mills and Boon until High Country Governess in 1987. Mills and Boon were beginning to look for steamier stories and Essie had long wanted to write down her family’s stories.

Essie believed in romance, but she didn't like mushiness. She used humour to lighten her romances. It was her style to leave her heroines at the bedroom door: her novels are not as steamy as more modern romances and they tend to be longer with more characters than is currently the trend. Her heroines usually have careers of some sort, either by choice or necessity, and the stories often involve adventure.

To read more:

http://rosaromance.splinder.com/post/18183388/ 

I've been interviewed by Dark Diva Reviews

A.J. Llewellyn on behalf of Dark Diva Reviews interviewed me some weeks ago. If you want to read some insight on me here is the link to the interview:

http://darkdivareviews.blogspot.com/2008/08/elisa-rolle-of-yaoi-and-men.html

Truth be told the interview is a bit old, since when I made it, almost all the ebooks I read were bought by me. Now some epubs have kinded listed me on their official reviewers list.

I've been interviewed by Dark Diva Reviews

A.J. Llewellyn on behalf of Dark Diva Reviews interviewed me some weeks ago. If you want to read some insight on me here is the link to the interview:

http://darkdivareviews.blogspot.com/2008/08/elisa-rolle-of-yaoi-and-men.html

Truth be told the interview is a bit old, since when I made it, almost all the ebooks I read were bought by me. Now some epubs have kinded listed me on their official reviewers list.

Peck of Pickles by Lena Austin

Peck of Pickles is a little story of seduction. Linc is a true farm boy in deep North Dakota. Not a place to be gay like him. And so Linc mostly dreams and sometime goes to the near town to scratch an itch. His dreamlover is Pol, blond hair and blue eyes like him, but where Linc is big and clumsy, Pol is lean and handsome.

And today he has the chance to be with Pol alone, using the tools in Pol's office to turn the cucumbers in pickles. But Pol has other idea, and like him his college friend, and lover, Marc: they want to include Linc in their game, and Marc will be the middle in a sandwich of blond farm boy.

A short story in the Hot Flashes series, a serial of little erotic scenes. Like this one, where all turn around the final sex scene, and the plot is only a supporting tool for it.

The most interesting thing in these 27 pages is the funny tone of all the story with the slow seduction of Pol and Marc of big Linc, like he was a virgin waiting for his beau.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Waiting Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Peck of Pickles by Lena Austin

Peck of Pickles is a little story of seduction. Linc is a true farm boy in deep North Dakota. Not a place to be gay like him. And so Linc mostly dreams and sometime goes to the near town to scratch an itch. His dreamlover is Pol, blond hair and blue eyes like him, but where Linc is big and clumsy, Pol is lean and handsome.

And today he has the chance to be with Pol alone, using the tools in Pol's office to turn the cucumbers in pickles. But Pol has other idea, and like him his college friend, and lover, Marc: they want to include Linc in their game, and Marc will be the middle in a sandwich of blond farm boy.

A short story in the Hot Flashes series, a serial of little erotic scenes. Like this one, where all turn around the final sex scene, and the plot is only a supporting tool for it.

The most interesting thing in these 27 pages is the funny tone of all the story with the slow seduction of Pol and Marc of big Linc, like he was a virgin waiting for his beau.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Waiting Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Coverboy by Dan Skinner

This is quite a strange book that I still have trouble to classify. First of all the main hero, Brock, was straight for two/third of the book and then he didn't fall in love physically for the other hero Carey, but rather he decided that Carey is a good man, better than all the other people around, and so he wanted to stay with him. On the other hand, Carey was the same, he didn't fall for Brock as a man, but rather as the image the man is for him.

Brock is a poster boy of the past; in his early twenties his career is just finished, burnt like thousands of others in the modeling world. He is broken and without a place to stay, and he has no friend to turn for help... and maybe he doesn't want to neither. Then he meets Carey, a 32 years old independent wealthy man; Carey is strange, but he is gentle and caring, and he offers to help Brock for nothing. Neither Brock or Carey are gay, and Carey's offer raises not from a sexual interested, but more from an esthetically point of view: Carey is a wanna-be photographer, and he really likes Brock's easiness in front of the camera. So from their bargain, both of them will have what they want, Brock a place to stay and Carey a free model.

When I say that I found strange this book, is due to the fact that for most of the book, Brock is regretting his lost sweetheart from high school or remembering his sexual experiences with women; never he lusts for Carey in a sexual way, if not with a light comment on Carey's muscular body after their exercised together, like a buddy friend could do in a gym.

Also Carey is not easy to understand. I believe he helped Brock out of a need for company, he is lonely and without a real interest in life, and play the role of the Good Samaritan with Brock could give him a sense for his life.

The book is rather short, less than 80 pages, in fact it's a novella, not a novel. But as I said I find it puzzling but not without interest. So puzzling that pushes me to browse the net to find info on the author, Dan Skinner, and I found a Dan Skinner who is a romance cover artist (like Carey) and who started his career helping a buddy friend with his modeling career (like Brock)... 

https://dreamspinnerpress.3dcartstores.com/search.asp?keyword=Coverboy&search=GO

Amazon Kindle: Coverboy
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; first edition (August 1, 2008)

Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Coverboy by Dan Skinner

This is quite a strange book that I still have trouble to classify. First of all the main hero, Brock, was straight for two/third of the book and then he didn't fall in love physically for the other hero Carey, but rather he decided that Carey is a good man, better than all the other people around, and so he wanted to stay with him. On the other hand, Carey was the same, he didn't fall for Brock as a man, but rather as the image the man is for him.

Brock is a poster boy of the past; in his early twenties his career is just finished, burnt like thousands of others in the modeling world. He is broken and without a place to stay, and he has no friend to turn for help... and maybe he doesn't want to neither. Then he meets Carey, a 32 years old independent wealthy man; Carey is strange, but he is gentle and caring, and he offers to help Brock for nothing. Neither Brock or Carey are gay, and Carey's offer raises not from a sexual interested, but more from an esthetically point of view: Carey is a wanna-be photographer, and he really likes Brock's easiness in front of the camera. So from their bargain, both of them will have what they want, Brock a place to stay and Carey a free model.

When I say that I found strange this book, is due to the fact that for most of the book, Brock is regretting his lost sweetheart from high school or remembering his sexual experiences with women; never he lusts for Carey in a sexual way, if not with a light comment on Carey's muscular body after their exercised together, like a buddy friend could do in a gym.

Also Carey is not easy to understand. I believe he helped Brock out of a need for company, he is lonely and without a real interest in life, and play the role of the Good Samaritan with Brock could give him a sense for his life.

The book is rather short, less than 80 pages, in fact it's a novella, not a novel. But as I said I find it puzzling but not without interest. So puzzling that pushes me to browse the net to find info on the author, Dan Skinner, and I found a Dan Skinner who is a romance cover artist (like Carey) and who started his career helping a buddy friend with his modeling career (like Brock)... 

https://dreamspinnerpress.3dcartstores.com/search.asp?keyword=Coverboy&search=GO

Amazon Kindle: Coverboy

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Behind the Cover: Ali Smith

Ali Smith works extensively in the publishing field, shooting book covers for clients including HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, Random House, Scholastic, Little Brown and many more. She's also shot advertising jobs for A&E Television, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Blue Man Group, Easy Spirit Shoes and Jordache Jeans.

Her first book of photography, Laws of the Bandit Queens, was released by Random House and has been referred to as "..this generation's quintessential homage to the numerous strong, smart, groundbreaking women whose actions have helped bring about positive change and a revolution in thought." A second book of portraiture is currently in the works, and Sophie's Bar, a self published chronicle of her years as a bartender on New York's Lower East Side, is available at various art bookstores in New York City and through this website

In the summer of 2007, Bust Magazine published an article that Ali wrote and photographed on the Bedford Hills maximum security prison for women.



( more pics )

http://www.alismith.com/alismith/index.htm

Behind the Cover: Ali Smith

Ali Smith works extensively in the publishing field, shooting book covers for clients including HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, Random House, Scholastic, Little Brown and many more. She's also shot advertising jobs for A&E Television, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Blue Man Group, Easy Spirit Shoes and Jordache Jeans.

Her first book of photography, Laws of the Bandit Queens, was released by Random House and has been referred to as "..this generation's quintessential homage to the numerous strong, smart, groundbreaking women whose actions have helped bring about positive change and a revolution in thought." A second book of portraiture is currently in the works, and Sophie's Bar, a self published chronicle of her years as a bartender on New York's Lower East Side, is available at various art bookstores in New York City and through this website

In the summer of 2007, Bust Magazine published an article that Ali wrote and photographed on the Bedford Hills maximum security prison for women.



( more pics )

http://www.alismith.com/alismith/index.htm