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Friday, November 9, 2012

Death Brackets: Romance Division

So Stephen King beat out George R.R. Martin to make it out of the Speculative division alive.  King will do battle with the winner of today's division, Romance.

After today we will have a final four, who will battle it out tomorrow.  Then, I will post the final battle on Sunday.

On Sunday, I will also have a post about the planning and creation of this display and how we tried to bridge the physical virtual divide.  I will provide tips on how you can enhance your displays based on what we did here.

But now, here's the final division. And let me tell you, these romance writers fight dirty.

[Editors note: Today's final battle is in honor of BPL RA Dream Team Member Sharon.]


Welcome to the 2012 Author Death Brackets where some of the Berwyn Public Library’s most popular, living authors will participate in a virtual battle to see who comes out alive to claim the title as the favorite (and toughest) author among our patrons. There are 4 categories of 8 authors paired against each other, with the winner of each bracket squaring off in a final four battle.

The Death Brackets are to be taken with a sense of humor.  The library does not condone violence or wish bad things upon these authors.  We do, however, hope to lighten the tense election atmosphere by electing our own sole survivor.

[The idea of author death brackets and the graphic were originally conceived at http://www.criminalelement.com]

Romance

Round One: 4 Battles
Nora Roberts vs. Catherine Coulter
We open the Romance division with an epic battle between two long-time bestselling writers.  Coulter comes armed with her cadre of well trained FBI heroes and heroines who will not go down easily. Roberts counters with longer backlist of titles and legions of fans, including many who do not normally like romance. The battle is long and appears stuck in a stalemate until Roberts calls in her pseudonym, J.D. Robb and her tough as nails heroine Eve Dallas to attack from behind. Winner: Roberts/Robb

E.L. James vs. Christine Feehan
James’ Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy may be the hottest thing in romance (pun intended) but Feehan’s popular paranormal romances are filled with powerful supernatural creatures. When James send out Christian Grey to tie up some female witches, Feehan’s vampires swoop in, cut through the chain (Grey forgot to use silver) and send the erotic novelist running for her life. Winner: Feehan

Susan Elizabeth Phillips vs. Jennifer Crusie
In this battle the sassy, sexy heroines of these contemporary romances are evenly matched in both writing style and number of fans. But Phillips, a Naperville resident, knows the home turf and turns it to her advantage as one of her Chicago Stars football players tackles Cruisie for the knockout blow. Winner: Phillips

Eloisa James vs. Jayne Ann Krentz
James, a Shakespearean scholar, writes smart sexy historical romances. Krentz however is not afraid of James’ degrees and comes with the confidence befitting her immense popularity. James’ recent critically acclaimed forays into nonfiction keep her in the game, until Krentz pulls out her equally popular pseudonym Amanda Quick to make it two against one. It’s no contest. Winner: Krentz/Quick

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Round Two: 2 Battles
Roberts/Robb vs. Feehan
Feehan, knowing she is out numbered at the start, brings her vampires to the front lines as backup.  But Roberts has some paranormal series of her own, and her witches are able to neutralize the advantage Feehan has with her sexy, undead army.  This leaves Robb’s tough bounty hunter from a near future, dystopian NYC unguarded. She is tough, gritty, and unapologetic when her life is at stake.  Winner: Roberts/Robb

Phillips vs. Krentz/Quick
With home court advantage, razor sharp wit, and a professional football team as backup, Phillips is not afraid to take on two bestselling romance writers at once. But Krentz still has one more pen name up her sleeve, and when she unleashes her futuristic and science fiction romance writing pseudonym Jayne Castle into the mix, Phillips cannot hold back the charge and crumples under the weight of three opponents. Winner: Krentz/Quick/Castle 

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Round Three: 1 Battle
Roberts/Robb vs. Krentz/Quick/Castle
It’s three against two as Roberts and Krentz meet to decide who has captured the hearts of our patrons. This evenly matched battle will need to be decided by the patrons, but when checkout records are consulted, it is still too close to call.  While the five women continue flinging tougher heroines and sexier heroes at each other, the librarians intervene, calling a foul on Krentz for her insistence at using her different pen names within the same series, making it hard to catalog and shelve her series together. Roberts, who keeps her alter egos neatly separated, wins by TKO. Romance Winner: Roberts



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