Heavenly - Profile of Online Bookseller Mostly Romance

  Masterson Twins bundle (2 books)

Romance is THE most popular genre of fiction. Many online booksellers have romances for sale but one seller, Mostly Romance, has a unique format and presentation. We have chosen Mostly Romance and owner Sandi Morris for our inaugural profile of unique and superb online booksellers.

Sandi tells us that Mostly Romance has been online for just over ten years. As many booksellers, Sandi started as a reader and collector.

During her junior high years, she discovered traditional Romance in Gone with the Wind and the gothic stories of authors Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney.  Always a voracious reader, Sandi was introduced to the modern Romance genre in 1973 when a co-worker recommended The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss.  Followed by Jude Devereaux and Johanna Lindsey which led to Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Suzanne Brockmann and J.D Robb / Nora Roberts.  Traditional became non-traditional as Romances included time travel, outer space, vampires and werewolves.

Sandi tells us that as authors started writing connected books she found that she "had" to read all the books in a series and that she "needed" to read them in order.

Casual selling online of part of her collection caused her to recognize that she wasn't alone in this need and also that she had a knowledge of the authors, publishers and series she could share with other readers.   MostlyRomance.com was born.

Mostly Romance specializes in sets, or Sandi's preferred term, bundles, of connected books. This unique method of offering books for sale sets Mostly Romance apart from most booksellers.

 

  Faery Tale Romance bundle (12 books)

The bundle may be a publisher/author defined set connected by characters, locale, occupation, etc. or it may be an author backlist bundle, or it may be a bundle of books with a similar theme.Bundles may be as small as two books about sisters or as large as the seventy-one book Montana Mavericks set that was recently sold.

Mostly Romance doesn't use stock photos but illustrates each listing with scans of the actual books being offered. This is very important in this niche market because the books Mostly Romance sells have been previously owned. Each listing includes an accurate description of the physical condition of the book(s) as well as publisher description (blurb) when available.

  36 Hours bundle (17 books)

With over 6000 listings online and a back stock of 1000s, Mostly Romance has a lot to offer.

And, since it is "Mostly" Romance, you can also find Science Fiction or Mystery sets.

Fall is in the Air

Fall is in the Air (at least in New York)

Still getting used to the idea that the people who read this may, even if reading it the same day I write it, be in a completely different season than I am.

Anyway, here in New York, where I am, it has felt like early fall the past week or so, with temperatures in the 70s (Fahrenheit, low 20s Celcius), mild breezes, and a nice sun with puffy cumulus clouds. It has been very pleasant, with cool mornings and evenings and no rain to speak of. The leaves on the trees are still green, so summer isn’t really over but the hint is there.

Just around the corner are the bright colors of full autumn foliage, crisp morning air, where the frost is a short distance away, kids are busy with school and the myriad of activities that seem to be the modern schoolkid’s life, and the animals in constant motion, either preparing for the coming winter or preparing for a trip to warmer climes. In short, it’s a time of heightened activity and constant change compared to the summer where the heat and humidity can cause a lethargy and the number of “required” activities feels smaller, even if it may really not be.

 Once school starts one becomes instantly aware of the upcoming holidays. Here, in metropolitan New York, they parade at a pace to ease the kids along the school calendar – Rosh Hoshannah, Columbus Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas; enough for the children to have something to look forward to, outside the normal routine.

From a bookseller perspective it provides both opportunities and headaches. Opportunities because the holiday-themed books sell much better near the holiday and headaches because you need to try to adjust things quickly and constantly, hopefully when the customers are looking for it.

For example, as Halloween approaches, you want to make sure the back titles of the likes of Stephen King and Peter Straub (for adults) and R. L. Stine (Goosebumps) and all the series themed Halloween books (Arthur, Franklin, Sesame Street, etc.) for kids are up and, if possible, prominently featured. But as soon as one holiday is done you need to get the next holiday’s themed books up in rotation.

And, of course, if you are also holding down a full time "real" job and getting into the holidays yourself...

All that being said it is an exciting time and one filled with plenty of projects and opportunities. My best wishes to everyone to enjoy the holidays as they roll in one after the next. I knwo I am going to enjoy the ride.

Paper books in the age of Kindle, Nook and the rest

I do not have an e-reader, so far by choice, though I do see the utility. Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth is much more convenient to lug around on an e-reader than its massive paper form.  My reason, so far valid, is that I still own so many paper books that I want to read that I don’t need to buy any, in any form. That said, I am sure I will eventually break down.

But that does not mean I will abandon paper books, ever. I am one of those people who enjoy the smell of the ink and paper and the heft of the paper in my hands and even the changing distribution of the weight as I read; the weight shifting from the right to the left. One other big reason – I am an eclectic reader. I like old stories as well as new ones. Many of the books I am interested in are not available in electronic format, and may not be in my lifetime.

And therein lies the rub for any reader. You find a new, to you, author and you want to read their earlier works. Or you want to re-read a book from your past. Or you get a recommendation from a friend for a book published before the advent of the e-reader. In all these cases the paper is often the only choice.

In this increasingly digital marketplace this means that used (“pre-read” or “pre-owned”) books take on a greater importance as they become the only option as even libraries reduce the amount of old paper books on their shelves.

I hope that many new horizons will open to you and that paper books will continue to be a part as I know they will for me.