Showing posts with label Jan's Paperbacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jan's Paperbacks. Show all posts

Saturday, August 12, 2023

August 19th Celebrate Indie Bookstore Romance Day

 Join Jan's for the 5th Annual Bookstore Romance Day! 

Bookstore Romance Day is a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate Romance fiction—its books, readers, and writers—and to strengthen the relationships between bookstores and the Romance community.


On August 19th bookstores around the country will celebrate the romance genre. 


At Jan's will be featuring a lineup of diverse romance authors to cover all your reading wishes. Of course, no celebration is complete without raffles and prizes! 


Make sure to mark your calendars for August 19th to visit Jan's at 12320 SW 1st St, Beaverton, OR 97005. Authors from 11am to 2pm, but raffles and prizes will go all day! 


If you aren’t local to Jan’s, make sure to check your area for a participating bookstore! Find a Bookstore | Bookstore Romance Day

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Indie Bookstore Romance Day with Jan's, Lori Carroll

Lori Carroll, Current Owner
Jan's Books

Well hello there. Nice to meet you. I’m Lori Carroll, current owner of Jan’s (a used and new bookstore in Beaverton, OR that turned 41 years old this year).  Jan’s started as a paperback exchange in 1981 and has stayed mostly fiction focused paperback for 41 years.  Mystery/Suspense is our number 1 seller at the store, with Romance being a very close second. Personally, I am a “only romance” reader, meaning that I don’t like anything that isn’t romance. Now that introductions are out of the way, here’s a little bit more about me! 

I’d love to say I have always been a voracious reader, but the truth is I wasn’t interested in reading as a kid. When I was a senior in high school I needed to do a book report. A friend said, “Why don’t you read the book I’m named after?” Sure, why not. She brought me in her mom’s copy of Shanna by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, and I fell in absolute love. 

Jan's, Beaverton, Oregon
At the time, being so new to reading, I devoured everything I read and loved every book I picked up.  Which, of course, meant I needed to find a bookstore. As luck would have it, there happened to be a used bookstore by my community college. I couldn’t help but start organizing and it wasn’t long before I was working there. Historicals, Contemporary, Paranormal, Westerns…you name it I read it. And didn’t have much bad to say about any of them.

I ended up choosing Women’s Studies as my major, which doesn’t pair well with most romances as you can imagine. Prior to starting WS classes, I couldn’t pick a book up and not love it… Everything was gold. That came to a screeching halt once I got into my major classes. I started seeing all the problematic storylines in the older books I was reading. But, the really cool part was that I was able to see the progression of romance books from the 70’s to the 2000’s. I also found Maggie Osborne, who had some of the most feminist storylines I’ve ever found in a romance book. Too bad she retired almost as soon as I found her. Some of the things my brain had a hard time reading while I was studying the systemic oppression on women was Westerns where the cowboys tended to be a little too bossy and Fated Mates in paranormal, where choice was taken away.


So Many Romance Genres!!!
Graduating and moving to Oregon where I knew no one, meant I was devouring books and movies alike.  I had a passing nod to the idea that I should be reading more than Romance, so I would try them… And they would be ok, but really if they don’t end up happy, why even bother. I stumbled into Borders one day and a lovely worker came over and asked if I needed help. I said no, of course, because no one at big box bookstores ever knows anything about romance, right?  She very politely said, “I do read romance if you are looking for any recommendations.”  I think my eyes about popped out of my head. No one, but no one admits they read romance. This started a beautiful decade long friendship with Marcy (who I now know was Borders best romance bookseller in the country, ran a romance bookclub since 1998 and won bookseller of the year from RWA in 2005.)  I joined Marcy’s Romance book club, I started going to RCRW luncheons, started reviewing for Rakehell, went to a few other romance events and just “joined the crew” as it were. And yes, the book club is still going to this day. 

After reviewing Regency romances exclusively for 2 years, I burnt out on historicals. It took several years before I would be able to read any more of them. And even now it’s pretty rare I just pick one up. 


10 years into reading I found myself needing more emotional impact from my stories than I was getting from most romances. I got pointed in the direction of M/M romances and found a whole new world.  At the time, gay relationships still had a lot of trauma surrounding them in real life, so the stories written had struggles to overcome that you didn’t see in mainstream books. 


At about the same time, Young Adult was exploding on to the publishing scene and I found another area where you could explore topics that weren’t seen in most romances. 


Along came Why Choose novels (aka Reverse Harem) and I found another world to dive into. 

Jan's in Beaverton, Oregon

Now here I sit, 22 years a romance reader, with a bookstore that provides an endless amount of choices coming in and I still find myself with nothing to read. I can’t wait to see what the romance community comes up with next for the new subgenre that gets us all excited!


Friday, August 6, 2021

Thankful For So Many Things

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights and choose love and light.

I’ve so many things for which I’m thankful including being a part of Romancing The Genres, a WindtreePress author and a great grandmama. I’m celebrating all three today and a little bit more by writing this post, spending time with my great grands (so post may be shorter than usual) and introducing you to my fellow authors at Windtree Press and sharing with you links to a couple of authors I really love to read. An added bonus is talking a bit about my favorite independent book store, Jan’s Paperbacks, Beaverton, OR.

My great grands are 6 and 4 years old. Unfortunately they live 5 hours away so I do not see them as often as I’d like. When I learned I was to be a great grandmother, I thought that a bit of a mouthful. I didn’t care for Nana (reminded me of the dog in Peter Pan). I know there are other monikers for grandma, etc. but I decided I’d be Grandmama (two ma’s instead of one). I’ve no idea what we’ll do when they come visit. That’s always a surprise.

I joined Windtree Press, an author cooperative, in 2014. We now have over 20 authors and 200 titles. Check out our website and learn more about the variety of authors that make up Windtree Press. One of my favorites is Paty Jager, who published her 50th title in May. Another one of my favorites is Maggie Lynch, one of the founders of WP. Maggie not only writes books that speak to life’s challenges, she does it in a variety of genres!

Jan’s Paperbacks has, as far as I know, always supported romance authors. Here is the link to see if an Indie Book Store in your area is involved in the Indie Bookstore Romance Day event. And those authors I love to read? While I am a longtime fan of both Paty Jager and Maggie Lynch, new on my list is Eleri Grace

Perhaps because I had an uncle who was a bombardier during WWII stationed in England so flying over Europe including Germany, I’ve found her books fascinating and thus another window into that part of my uncle’s life. Ms. Grace’s Red Cross Clubmobile Girls series is so well researched, I found myself slogging through the mud, ice, snow in Europe (Courage To Be Counted) and dealing with bugs, snakes and the tropical jungle in Carry a Crusading Spirit.  

I’ll be at Jan’s on Saturday, August 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. I’ll have copies of my The Sacred Women’s Circle series available as well as free gift to anyone who stops by whether they purchase a book or not. Authors involved in Romance Bookstore day are donating to at least one basket.

If you are in the area, I’d love to meet you. After this past year, I’m excited to be able to reconnect in person with people. We will be outdoors and appropriately spaced.

And if you can’t stop by and are not yet on my mailing list, you can sign up for Choices here. I’ve created a new free offering that includes the novella Sarah’s Ankh along with the first chapter of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl. I hope you enjoy them.

Look for my next non-fiction Yes, You Can Create The Life You Love this fall.

All of my books are available at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series on her website JudithAshley.net

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on Facebook!

© 2021 Judith Ashley


Saturday, May 9, 2015

Creating Community Through Books



By Judith Ashley

Jan’s Paperbacks is a supporter of romance authors. I know that because I've had the pleasure of signing my books there as well as attending other authors’ signings. Also, in November 2013, owner Debbie Burke was a featured speaker at a Kobo Event held in Beaverton, OR with a massive book signing (eighteen authors) in her store that evening. Not only was I impressed with how everything was set up at the mega-signing, I found the information she shared about how to approach book stores if authors wanted them to carry their books to be invaluable.  

Diana McCollum, Judith Ashley, Sarah Raplee 
One tip was to make an appointment. Another tip was to respect that the book store as a place of business. Therefore, when customers come in, the staff need to wait on them and we, the author, need to step aside. I took those tips to heart so I made an appointment to talk to Debbie at a time that worked best for her. Jan's Paperbacks does much more than support romance and other genre authors. 

One of Debbie’s passions is creating community: a community of authors and readers.


How do Debbie and her staff do this?

Mark this date: Saturday May 16th.

Jan’s is spinning off on the BOGO idea by promoting local authors. If you are in the area, stop by and meet local authors, purchase a book, and you’ll get a used book free. As you can see, there is something for everyone – definitely a win-win opportunity.

Want to self-publish a book? Want some ideas about marketing? Check out Jan’s educational programs for writers. Sign up for their newsletter so you can attend the next educational event. If you can’t make one of the seminars, you’ll find great books on self-publishing on the shelves.

National recognition for Debbie’s work supporting local romance authors came in the form of Jan’s Paperbacks being named a Romantic Times Book Review Magazine Bookseller in 2012.

While Jan’s Paperbacks has supported authors for many years, the other half of the equation is readers. Creating a community of young readers is one way Debbie supports readers. She works with schools, giving them discounts on books, problem solving to get new reading material into school libraries with minimal funding. She has a teachers’ “wish list” of books. Want to help? Contact Jan’s to see how you can put books into schools and make wishes come true.

Win-win is a fundamental piece of creating community. Jan’s Paperbacks has chosen to become part of the Kobo community of independent book stores. Readers can purchase digital books from Kobo through their website. Why would an independent bookstore who sells paper books promote Kobo e-readers and digital books?

“E-books are not going away,” Debbie said. “With Kobo, I’m able to educate my customers about e-books providing them with another service.” You can click on Jan’s Paperback’s website and order an e-book anytime. If you don’t have a Kobo e-reader, you can purchase one from Jan’s or just download the Kobo app to your tablet or cell phone.

Jan’s Paperbacks is located in Aloha, Oregon. If you aren't in the “greater Portland area” look for an independent book store near you. Ask about local authors, sign up for their newsletter. Supporting our local independent book store creates community and supports our local economy.

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Womens' Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nourish the soul. She is also a co-founder of Romancing The Genres.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

The Gift of Christmas

THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS
A book review by Collette Cameron

An eclectic assortment of twelve holiday stories, I spent two pleasant evenings reading The Gift of
Collette Cameron
Christmas.

Rather like a box of chocolates or an assortment of Christmas cookies, each story offered a tantalizing taste of holiday spirit.

From Susie Slanina’s, Metro’s Mountain Cabin, a simple tale of childhood chums seeking the perfect camping cabin, to Susan Lute’s, A Marine’s Christmas Proposal, a delightful sexy twist on an office romance,  the book kept me turning the pages.
I couldn’t wait to read the next story!

Melissa Yuan’s, The Cancer Christmas, brought tears to my eyes as she shared her personal experience as her father battled cancer. I cheered as the miracle needed to save the family farm came from a wholly unexpected source in Pamela Cowan’s, Christmas Miracles, and Courtney Pierce’s, The Nest, had me grinning at the antics of a ‘special’ guest who arrived for the holidays. 

Readers will sit on the edge of their seats trying to unravel the mystery in Paty Jager’s, Isabella’s Christmas Box, and they’ll shiver in suspense at the paranormal twist AnnaBrentwood weaves into The Mermaid’s Treasure.  I fell in love with the characters in Christy Carlyle’s tender love story, Don’t Forget the Mistletoe, and I sighed with satisfaction when I finished reading Judith Ashley’s, First Love.

Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly read anything new and unexpected about the Christmas season, Jane Killick had me reeling with a fabulous twist in Christmas With You, as did Jamie Brazil in Career Conundrum Christmas.

Lastly, Maggie Jaimeson takes the reader all the way to Scotland in The Hogmanay Stranger, for yet, another inspiring tale of selflessness.

The Gift of Christmas contains everything a holiday anthology ought to.  A bit of romance, compassion,  mystery, devotion to family, love surpassing time and physical restraints,  these authors’ talents should be enjoyed with your favorite hot beverage, maybe a tasty treat or two, and tucked beneath a favorite blanket before a blazing fire.

The Gift of Christmas is sure to have something for everyone seeking the Christmas spirit. 
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meet the authors at An Event on December 14th between 5 and 8 p.m. at Jan's Paperbacks, 18095 SW Tualatin Valley Hwy, Aloha, OR. In addition to meeting the authors, The Blenders will perform and light refreshments will be provided.

The Gift of Christmas is available through Windtree Press and other major e-retailers.