Stop publishing my favorite authors in hardcover... PLEASE!!! - redux

I originally posted this in February, and am now reposting it, because Jazz had a post up over at Sanctuary's Finest about Natural Born Charmer, which is coming out next month (yay!), in hardcover (boo!).
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Can I say how annoyed I am at the trend of mass market authors suddenly coming out in a continuing series in Hardcover? Stephanie Laurens' latest Cynster novel, The Truth About Love, is finally being released in paperback. It was released in hardcover last year, but I couldn't buy it and had to wait. I'm happy for her that she has "made it" to the "big time", but I feel like it does a disservice to her readers, namely... me. Because... don't you know it's all about me?

I also understand that it isn't the author's decision, but the publisher's, yet still I find myself annoyed. It means that, because I have a crappy library, I have to wait for the paperback release of my beloved authors' books, so at least 6 months or longer after everyone else is already talking around the watercooler. Because as much as I love Stephanie's books, I cannot afford to feed my book habit if I buy hardcover. Imagine if you had to wait 6 months for the DVD release of Survivor or American Idol or The Amazing Race, or whatever reality show floats your boat, to find out who won and how they accomplished it, but so many of your better off friends already knew because they got to see the sneak previews.

It's happening to many of my favorite authors. While I guess that means I know quality when I read it (patting self on back), it also means that I am deprived of reading my favorite authors for months on end. Suzanne Brockmann, Carly Phillips, Cherry Adair, and now Stephanie Laurens and too many others to name. I am praying that some others don't fall prey, but I can see the beginning of the end of my release day purchases of Lori Foster, Lisa Kleypas, and Julia Quinn, too. Waaaaaaa *wallowing in the self pity of a woman married to an underpaid yet highly respected teacher*

I'll be interested to see if the rest of you feel the same way - torn between the desire to celebrate and contribute to an author's success, and the desire not to pay a fortune for an addiction. Now I understand how cigarette smokers feel about the incredibly high taxes suddenly charged on their next fix of lung-cancer producing, highly-addictive cigarettes. Damned resentful! I just can't afford to pay the high tax on my own addiction. No wonder many of my smoking friends are finding the strength to quit because they don't want to pay the exorbitant cost of a pack of Marlboros. Thank goodness there are other paperbacks out there to see me through until my faves are available for the monetarily challenged, or I might just have to quit smoking, too. Now, now, I don't smoke, but you get the point.

So please, oh please, Mr. Publisher on high, stop killing me with anticipation! Give me my release day release! Or at least, send a copy to the Simi Valley library!