I think Jingo is my favorite Pratchett, it's got almost perfect Vimes-Vetinari interaction.

I so adore Vimes, in all his righteous Vimesness.

Just fyi, I was over at Smart Bitches Trashy Books and they've discovered that Cassie Edwards lifted entire passages from older books (non-fiction, describing Native American life, customs, etc.) and incorporated them wholesale into her "books" (such gems as Savage Thunder, Savage Wind). One source was an article on ferrets (which has me completely boggled). They're screaming plagairism (in addition to their usual complaints of bad writing). If you want to watch a kerfuffle, without being actually involved, it might be entertaining. It's also been mentioned in fandom wank.

Really? Oh, ouch. I'm guessing it won't get the same kerfuffle that the Janet-Dailey-ripping-off-Nora-Roberts plagarism thing got several years ago, though.

Nora Roberts actually commented and supported the Smart Bitches, whereas Jennifer Crusie is handwringing at the "bashing," despite agreeing that Cassie Edwards should, indeed, go down for plagiarism.

It won't be quite as much of a fuss as the Dailey/Roberts thing because she lifted factual passages, with some minimal rephrasing, rather than pretty much an entire book.

And I think Jennifer Crusie's comment was more to the point of they have been bashing Edwards for quite some time for bad writing (it was something along the lines of "did Cassie Edwards run over your dog?").

Still ... ferrets?

Go P-C, keeping up with the Bitches!

I have no idea if Edwards truly plagiarized, although the evidence looks pretty damning, but the whole thing is just so sad and distasteful. It's like a junior high schooler who doesn't know she can't quote sources verbatim in her research paper.

She wrote a few books for Kensington under our Zebra imprint, and we used to shamelessly mock her, after the fact (i.e. when the editor who acquired her books was long gone). Desire's Blossom was the one we used to mock most -- the Smart Bitches review of it is here, and it's pricelessly snarky. Her books were everything that made romance mockable.

Amy - I haven't read any of her books ... are they the sort that make you wish for the quality and class of "Big Spankable Asses"?

Ooh, Kensington. Aren't they the ones who have shut Dara Joy down because she broke her contract and wrote an SF romance for another publisher?

And I think Jennifer Crusie's comment was more to the point of they have been bashing Edwards for quite some time for bad writing (it was something along the lines of "did Cassie Edwards run over your dog?")

Right, but then one of the Bitches did a search to show that they A) don't mention Cassie Edwards all that often (proportionally) and B) actually focus on her even less.

Here it is.

Go P-C, keeping up with the Bitches!

Or keeping up with Cleolinda and therefore F_W. Although I first saw it linked by 'Suela.

Amy - I haven't read any of her books ... are they the sort that make you wish for the quality and class of "Big Spankable Asses"?

Pretty much, IME. At any rate, I don't recall the raunch level, but general quality-wise, they really are bad. Or so I remember from a gazillion years ago - how long has she been putting these out?