- confused
- mystified
- perplexed
- puzzled
- bewildered
All of those apply. Once upon a time, back in July of 2005 a book came out - a rather controversial book of the time; Passion by Lisa Valdez. I read it, I enjoyed it, Ron, without realizing I'd read it, reaped the benefits from it. But while I enjoyed it, there were parts that certainly made me go ouch and want to close my legs!!! Big time. Because of big size, big time big size. There was also a scene at the end that squicked a lot of readers out at the time. There was to be a sequel to the book and if it had come out not long after, I probably would have purchased it, hoping I didn't think OUCH during the second book.
But time passed and we readers kept hearing that due to one reason or another, the next book was delayed. Eventually, I moved on from that author and probably would have forgotten about her altogether, being the fickle type I can be. But her name kept popping up when other readers wondered when her next book was coming out - one year after Passion, two years after, three years after, four years after. The longer it took, the more confused I became as to the - well - passion that some readers had for her next book. Well, you've probably heard by now that there is finally a release date set - either at Dear Author or All About Romance. I've made my thoughts known at both places so no need to repeat them here again.
Being a long time romance reader, I remember when Loretta Chase took an extended break from writing. The previous book I read by her, The Last Hellion was published in 1998 and it wasn't until 2004 that her next book, Miss Wonderful came out. While I checked the shelves monthly for a while, hoping for her next book, gradually I got over looking and found other authors to replace her. And THIS was the author who wrote possibly one of the premier romance books in recent history, Lord of Scoundrels. I had also read other excellent books by her, Lion's Daughter and Captives of the Night. So for me, she had a track record.
Another author who just disappeared was Elizabeth Elliot. And she wrote some fine books too, The Warlord, Betrothed and Scoundrel. Now while her name kept popping up in the 'whatever happened to' questions, there still didn't seem to be the fervor, associated with Lisa Valdez. And it seemed Ms. Elliott definitely had a third story to tell. Anyone who has read The Warlord and Betrothed knows what I'm talking about. Word is though that Ms. Elliott will be coming out with the third book in this trilogy soon. Now this one I'm excited about!But I still can't figure it out why there is this much buzz on the Valdez book as opposed to other authors who have gone missing. She just wrote the one book so it's not like she had a long track record. Is it because during the lull in Ms. Chase' books, the internet was fairly new and we didn't have the sites and message boards etc that we do now? I think that is a big part of the reason. I have noticed that Lord of Scoundrels in particular is still being read and enjoyed by newer romance fans. So if she were to 'disappear' again, would she be missed even more than Ms. Valdez?
Did Elizabeth Elliott's books come out before this 'younger' generation of romance readers meaning that many haven't read her books and therefore don't know what they are missing?
If you are one of those who has waited so long for Patience, what has kept you going? What is it about this book that was so good? I liked it but not as much as some it seems. Or are you like me - you've moved on in the past five years? If you are one of those who has waited the entire five years, do you think the anticipation might be a bit too high?
Are there any other authors who went 'missing' whose books that you are waiting for more?
