Ava March!!! *squeal*
Ahem, excuse me. I got a little excited. Ms. March graciously accepted our invitation to celebrate our anniversary by writing a blog post!
Without further ado, may I present Ms. Ava March!
Does Length Matter?
First off, I must extend my congratulations to Boy Meets Boy Reviews on their first anniversary! And many thanks to the blog team for inviting me to the blog and to share in the anniversary fun.
Today, I’m chatting about length. When it comes to books, does length matter? Do you think there is a perfect length that leaves one satisfied, without leaving one overstuffed or craving more? Or do you believe it’s not about length, but about what a story does between the pages that matters?
As an author, I’ve written across the length spectrum. From free short stories that function more as epilogues to short novellas to longer novellas to novels. When I started writing male/male stories, I wrote almost exclusively shorter novellas. But as I got more books under my belt, the stories started getting longer and longer, and try as I might to contain them, the stories didn’t want to stay neat, compact little novellas. Then one day I decided to just let stories be as long or as short as they wanted to be. And it was quite freeing to not worry about length anymore. Whatever I ended up with, I was happy with because it was the length I felt best fit the story.
As a reader though, my take on length is different. Length matters, but I don’t have a preferred length, nor do I pick books based on the blurb and just accept whatever length the book ends up being. It’s more about my mood.
• Short stories—when I’m in the mood for something fun and snack-sized that I can read in thirty minutes or less. And if one short story doesn’t quite satisfy the book craving, I can always pick up another short story to read.
• Novels—when I want to lose myself in a story. Something thick and fat and long with subplots and a cast of secondary characters. Something that will leave me with a massive book-hangover—exhausted yet oh, so happy that I was run through the emotional wringer.
• Novellas – when I’m in a Goldilocks sort of mood. I don’t want the big bed or the little bed. I want something in between that I can read in an evening but that won’t leave me too hungry for more.
What about you? Does length matter when you are picking books to read? Do you have a decided preference for a specific length? Or are you more like reader-me, and pick based on your mood?
About the author:
Ava March is an author of sexy, emotionally intense M/M historical erotic romances. She loves writing in the Regency time period, where proper decorum is of the utmost importance, but where anything can happen behind closed doors. With over fifteen works to her credit, her books have been finalists in the Rainbow Awards and More Than Magic contest, and deemed ‘must-haves’ for Historical M/M romance by RT Book Reviews readers. Visit her website at www.AvaMarch.com to find out more about her books or to sign-up for her newsletter.Blog
Goodreads
Ms. March has agreed to give away a print copy of All in with the Duke!
Max Arrington, the Duke of Pelham, vows to never again let a handsome face blind him to a man's true intentions. But ten months of celibacy and lonely nights drive him to a decadent brothel, where a beautiful young man arouses his illicit passions as never before. Tristan Walsh has grown tired of being used for men's pleasure. But his latest client is different: commanding yet generous, Max makes him feel cared for as well as wanted. Yet Tristan knows he'll never have the choice to leave the brothel and submit only to Max. So when Max invites him to be his guest at his country estate, Tristan eagerly agrees to his terms—days to do as he pleases while Max tends to the dukedom, and nights spent together in wicked play. But when the "business arrangement" begins to deepen into something more, Tristan must face the fact that he has no true place in Max's life—or in Max's guarded heart…
To be entered to win leave a comment WITH your email address so we can contact you once a winner is determined for your physical address. Anywhere in the world, Ms. March has agreed to ship it! Awesome author is awesome. Giveaway ends November 21st at Midnight EST.
And, p.s., it's one of my favorite books. An excellent, EXCELLENT read.
A big unicorn thank you to Ms. March for stopping by and celebrating with us.
I so want this and Sharp Love (book 2). Read a lot of Ava March over the years and for some reason, she fell by the wayside. Need to pick her up again.
ReplyDeletel.lesar@sky.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post and in response I refer to one of my favourite quotes '...if a book is well written, I always find it too short' (Jane Austin).
ReplyDeleteI always have preferred reading novel length books, especially if I am enjoying the world and characters that have been created. Shorter stories can be frustrating if there is no character depth and if it feels rushed or incomplete, then again it is also frustrating when a book is pumped with up with unnecessary text to be longer and a reader looses interest. Before my ebook reader I would not have bought as many short stories as I now have done and I do often contact authors just see if they will ever write a longer version or maybe a story that includes characters, sometimes it works and then I enjoy a longer version of the story when its published.
Thank you for a chance to win a print copy of All in With The Duke by this awesome author slholland22 {at} hotmail {dot} com
A well written short can feel like a really long read, giving all the components needed. I have really enjoyed the Bound books by Ava
ReplyDeleteYes, I so pick books by my mood. I like all kinds of length of books. Thank you for putting something that I haven't been able to articulate well into words for me. Thank you also for the great chance to win All in With The Duke; it sound fabulous (adding it to my TBR now).
ReplyDeletejczlapin@gmail.com
Very interesting and so true! I have those time when I don't want a long novel but a short story will not satisfy me! Thanks for the chance at the copy of this story I have heard so many great things of!
ReplyDeleteaegger.echo(at)yahoo(dot)com
I tend to like my books longer rather than shorter, but if a short length is all that's need to tell a great story, I'm happy to read any length.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway.
alishead1@yahoo.com
I usually like a nice long read that takes me through a bit of time with the characters. I like to see them develop and interact. Would love a copy of this one dmdkindle at gmail dot com
ReplyDelete