I've introduced a new feature to the site (I should say, I think of it as a new feature)—categorization by subjects.

I haven't implemented this on every book page yet, but on those that I have put it on, I'm very happy with it.

What I hope this does is offer a way to find related books, by subject. Say you like vampire books. You can go there to find erotic romance books with vampires in them.

I hope you find this useful! Let me know what you think of it.

I've been making some changes to the website. I'm upgrading the pages to XHTML 1.0 Strict, and while I'm at it, I'm completing the makeover of the menu and the organization of theeroticreader.com.

The thing is, unlike many designers who work on a redesign, complete it, and then put it all online and tweak anything that needs tweaking, I don't do that. I prefer to get my stuff up as I fix it, one page or group of pages at a time. Sometimes that means I get freaky pages because I've changed the style sheet reference of pages that weren't really ready for that. However, if I waited until I finished all the pages before uploading, I'd be waiting for a very long time.

I work on this website when I have time, when I can, and when I'm in the mood!

I have lots of updates in the works, and I don't see the sense in updating old pages when I'm actively working on the pages…so updates would be unnecessarily delayed—as if they weren't delayed often enough. :-)

So, there's my reasoning and my excuse for the freaky pages, and no, I hope they don't last more than a few days as I tidy up all the pages I'm changing.
Later!

Here's an interesting press release I came across today about Avon's new “Red” imprint.

Avon Red will feature a diverse array of editorial content, such as historical erotic fiction, contemporary erotic fiction, paranormal erotic fiction and ethnic erotic fiction. “We're positioning this as smart, sexy literature for women of all ages,” says Morrow/Avon editor May Chen, “It's not your mother's romance novel—or maybe it is.” She notes that Avon Red novels are not just about sex; they focus on desire, and each novel/novella features powerful plot lines, apart from the more explicit content. These books are not traditional romances—there may not be a happily ever after; the stories may not focus on solely two romantic protagonists.

INTRODUCING AVON RED New Line from Leading Women's Fiction Publisher Offers the Pinnacle of Sexy Fiction

I haven't decided if I'll feature these books on this website except on a case-by-case basis (my focus is romance after all). On the other hand, I've been showcasing the Black Lace books for years and their claim to romance is tenuous at best. :)

The May books from Blaze have been added to the site.

Included are new additions to a lot of the recent Blaze miniseries.

• Miniseries: Dangerous Liaisons
• Miniseries: Men To Do
• Miniseries: It's All About Attitude
• Miniseries: After Hours
• Miniseries: Forbidden Fantasies
• Miniseries: The White Star

If you're following any of these miniseries, don't miss the new additions.

I'm making some minor changes to The Erotic Reader website, mostly for usability reasons. I'm moving the menu to the left but leaving the newsletter sign-up form on the right. I might also make some changes to the page layouts soon, but first I have to figure out what it is I want to do with this site.

I'm revisiting the idea of creating individual pages for the books, since all the information I can offer is really just a regurgitation of what's available on Amazon (which I link to most often).

I'm expanding my miniseries pages though, because I really think it's neat to have minilists of Blaze and Brava books based on what miniseries or series they are a part of. Let me know if you like ‘em.

And about the layout changes, what do you think is more usable? A left side menu or a right side menu?

I'd really like to know if my visitors (YOU) prefer the lists of books with links directly to Amazon or the links to the book pages that keep you on The Erotic Reader website?

I've done updates to the Harlequin Blaze 2006 book list for the new books for March and April. You can find the list here: Blaze 2006 books.

I've noticed several new installments in some of the Blaze miniseries, so if you're following any miniseries in particular, you'll want to check them out.

There are new books in these miniseries:

• Miniseries: 24 Hours: Island Fling
• Miniseries: The Wrong Bed
• Miniseries: It's All About Attitude
• Miniseries: The White Star
• Miniseries: After Hours

As mentioned in this blog post, Harlequin is changing the word count lengths for some of their lines, including Harlequin Blaze. Blaze used to ask that manuscripts be 70,000 to 75,000 words long (and the Blaze guidelines on the eHarlequin website still show this number).

Does this mean our Blaze books are going to get shorter?

I find it interesting to see that Blaze may soon be near the same length as the former Temptation line.

I've always thought Blaze killed Tempation. Is Harlequin now trying to pull in some of the readers who preferred the shorter Temptations over the Blaze books?

It's funny to note that the readers' complaints about the too small print have translated not into bigger print and more pages, but to less story. Ah, how lovely it is to see someone address our complaints….

Incorporating a blog on The Erotic Reader is my effort to bring up-to-date erotic romance news to the site! I hope you enjoy it and visit often.