Writers are always looking for places to get their book reviewed, right? Well, here’s a source you might want to check out.

Enjoy this interview.

How did your blog get started? What was the thing that made you think, “It’s time to do this”?

I first learned how to write reviews in the “professional” sense when I was taking a Children’s Materials and Services class in the Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alabama. Normally when someone thinks of a book review, it might be a review on Amazon.com where someone writes, “Amazing book!!!!!” or “I hated this book!!!!!” and simply leave it at that. In the Children’s Services class, we were taught to analyze juvenile books as children’s librarians. Why is this a good book for children? Does it teach a lesson? Is it entertaining? Is it biased or outdated?

Technically there are four blogs, all hyperlinked to each other. One is devoted to adult fiction/nonfiction, one to children’s literature, one to young adult literature, and one to graphic novels. I was surprised at how much fun these reviews are to write. Reviews start with a “teaser” of sorts, like something you would read on the back of a book to get you interested. Then you analyze the book’s merits, and give suggestions as to what age range is appropriate, or who would be interested.

How often do you update the blog?

I try to post a review on each blog at least once a month.

What kind of posts do you write and accept?

For the adult blog, I have decided to set “themes” for myself for each month. January’s theme is Doomsday Literature (the world’s supposed to end this year, so why not embrace it through fiction?). I accept any and all comments from readers.

Let’s switch gears to books. What’s the most interesting book you’ve ever read?

Duneby Frank Herbert. It’s a classic science fiction novel that’s laden with wonderful world-building details. It’s not just a book you can read, but a place you can live in while you read it.

Favorite authors?

Too many to count! But just to name a few: Stephen King, Alison Weir, Antonia Frasier, Anne Rice, Mercedes Lackey, Neil Gaiman.

Where can we learn more about you?

I have a Facebook page where I’m listed as Elizabeth.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m entertaining myself with the book reviews while working on a novel entitled Pathos Fair, and searching for a method of publishing it.

More on Book Reviews and Promotion:

• The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing
• Faint Praise: The Plight of Book Reviewing in America
• Virtual Book Tours

Reviewed by Debbie Archer

Anita Higman has done it again! Every word tapped out on this woman’s computer is a treasure. In Another Stab at Life (The Volstead Manor Series), she weaves together an engaging young protagonist (Bailey) and a cast of off-beat, quirky characters. If I were to list my favorite elements in the book, it would have to be the humor, the fast pace and the endearing people who appear throughout the text. They refuse to leave your thoughts when you finish.

From the time that Bailey arrives at the pitiful (and creepy) mansion left to her by her sweet Minna, until the end of the book, I was pulled into the mystique of each character and loved the relationship between the Bailey and her deceased grandmother. The book is full of wonderful reminders of how precious family is. One of the most poignant examples of that was when Bailey was listing the things that Minna had left her … which included her Bible and seeds from her garden (I LOVED that)!

The romance was sweamy! Sweet and steamy. It reminded me of vintage movies when the viewer had the delightful privilege of conjuring up her own ideas. Loved it! Can’t wait to read Another Hour to Kill. Diving into it tonight.

Do you have a guest post or review you’d like to share? Feel free to contact me and let me know.

More books by Anita Higman:

• Love Finds You in Humble, Texas
• Love Finds You Under the Mistletoe
• Tribute To Early Texas: Through the Lens of Master Photographer John R. Blocker
• and more!

As a blogger, I get asked to review books quite a lot from authors and publishers. I enjoy doing it most of the time, but every once in a blue moon I come across a book I really don’t like. What then?

I don’t always believe in writing negative reviews just because you couldn’t get into a book. Sometimes I think a book is totally wrong for me, and I don’t know it until I get it. Just because it’s not my bag doesn’t mean it won’t be a good read for someone else. The problem, of course, is how to proceed. Do you just post a bad review? No review?

Since I get books from authors I know personally, this can become difficult. I like to remain positive, and therefore recommend books to you guys that I sincerely love. If I don’t love it, I’m not going to recommend it. So when I get a book I don’t dig, I usually tell the author I just couldn’t get into it. I know, can you imagine someone telling you that? My opinion is that it’s better to do that than just post a negative review that won’t help readers.

That’s what I do if I can’t get into the book. If I do read it, give it a chance, and it just never gets any better? And I read it right to the end? I do post a negative review. I try and make it as nice as possible (because again it’s all a measure of taste) but I will tell readers why I didn’t like it. I usually leave reviews like this for the major book sites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. If I list a book here, I want it to be one that I loved and feel very comfortable recommending it to you.

What’s your take? What do you do when you’re asked to review a book you just absolutely hate?

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Did you ever (as a writer) read a book and then feel depressed that you’ll never be as good a writer? LOL! That’s the feeling I always get when I read Jenny B. Jones’ writing. She is so good, and I hope one day my books affect people the way her books do me.

Do need I say it? There You’ll Find Me is another fabulous book by Jenny Jones! Jones has the ability to make you giggle throughout a book, and yet still have a good cry in places as well. There You’ll Find Me is the “sequel” of sorts to Save the Date, except that this book is told from Will and Alex’s younger sister Finley’s perspective. I loved this twist to the story, and enjoyed reading about how Will’s death affected the teenage Finley since Save the Date explored it from Alex’s perspective. Alex and Lucy make a very brief appearance in There You’ll Find Me in the form of texts to Finley, but Finley holds her own in telling this story.

Finley deals with all kinds of teenage pressure, in addition to the grief she feels for the death of her brother Will. She is in Ireland on an exchange program, using her brother Will’s old notebook from when he was her age in the same land. She tries to see the country through his eyes, and uses his inspiration to finish a piece of music she is writing as an audition for the New York Conservatory.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and once again it made me marvel at Jones’ talent. She is a fabulous storyteller, and creates characters that stay with you long after you read about them.

Books by Jenny. B. Jones:

• Just Between You and Me: A Novel of Losing Fear and Finding God (Women of Faith (Thomas Nelson))
• In Between: A Katie Parker Production (Act I)
• So Not Happening (The Charmed Life)
• and more! Check out Jenny Jones’ Amazon author page for more info.

Remember Michelle Moran? We interviewed her a while back, when she had just released her book, Cleopatra’s Daughter: A Novel. So many of you wrote that you loved that book, and I’m about to tell you why it’s important to get to know writers you like reading.

Normally I wouldn’t have picked up Michelle’s latest novel, Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution. Madame Tussaud? It’s not a topic that would have normally interested me. If you’re thinking the same thing, then let me tell you that you HAVE to read this novel. Since I was familiar with Michelle’s writing, I gave her new book a chance. I am so glad I did! This novel has to be one of the BEST I have ever read.

First of all, I didn’t know very much about Madame Tussaud. And you know me, I love historical fiction but usually go for Tudor-related stories or those that are post-revolution. I had no idea what Madame Tussaud’s story was like, who she was in contact with, or how she built her famous business.

One of the wonderful things about this novel was how well Moran created the setting of the revolution and how it affected people on a personal level. More than that, Madame Tussaud danced a fine line between the royals and revolutionists, which made her life story all the more fascinating. I found myself looking forward to this book at the end of each night because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. When was the last time you experienced that with a book?

Bottom line: read it! You’ve love it.

Books by Michelle Moran:

• Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution
• Cleopatra’s Daughter: A Novel
• Nefertiti: A Novel
• The Heretic Queen: A Novel

I had so many people recommend The Paris Wife: A Novel to me, and now I know why. Wow! It was great. I really enjoy reading about writers, and this one is like going through a time machine back to the early days of Hemingway’s career. Just like in the Salinger book I recently read, I was struck by the living he was able to make so (seemingly) easily before he “hit it big” writing novels. That just doesn’t happen today.

I so enjoyed the author’s take on his first marriage and his writing life in Paris. It really makes me wish I could go back in time and sit at a café with him and watch him work. And the key takeaway here is that he did work. He kept at it. (Yet another tip for all of us that in order to be a writer you really do need to write. All the time. Regularly. Daily. Got it?)

I was horrified at the scene where Hemingway’s wife Hadley leaves all his manuscripts and writing and notes on a train by mistake. Poof. Gone. Can you imagine? We all freak out now when our computer goes down, so I cannot imagine losing everything you painstakingly wrote in notebooks. But who knows – it might have been a blessing in disguise because it made him a better writer. Sometimes you need to start over in order to truly get your best work.

The Paris Wife is one that every writer needs to read!

Books by Ernest Hemingway:

• The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition
• The Sun Also Rises
• For Whom the Bell Tolls (Scribner Classics)
• A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition

Review submitted by Carol M. Upton (Do you have a review or guest post you’d like to share? Contact me or check our guidelines.)

• Made That Way
• Susan Ketchen
• Oolichan Books
• Soft Cover, 2010, $12.95
• ISBN: 978-0-88982-270-2

Reviewed by Carol M. Upton

Usually it makes me feel better to wear my riding clothes. But today nothing helps, even when I buckle on my riding helmet and hop on my bike. Somehow I know I’m doomed. ~ Susan Ketchen

In this family fiction sequel to Born that Way, Susan Ketchen reunites readers with the intrepid young Sylvia, who is challenged by a genetic disorder, wild about horses, and determined to find solutions to the obstacles presented by her life in general. Sylvia wants to be a real horsewoman and she’s excited about getting her own horse, even if the horse is arriving at a less-than-perfect time. Brooklyn is, well, not quite a regular horse. He has big ears, makes strange sounds, and he’s already bitten the transport driver.

Ketchen captures, with humour and pathos, the developing personality and growing pains of a not quite fifteen-year-old girl who would just like to be normal. Sylvia also wants to be treated as an adult, but sometimes, no one seems to listen very closely, and she must puzzle things out on her own.

The strength of this book lies in Ketchen’s examination of some topics that parents and children may find difficult to discuss. What does it mean to be normal or disordered anyhow? Where does a young person turn when her parents don’t listen, when she is tormented at school, and is now faced, not with her dream horse, but one who appears to be complicating her life even further.

Ketchen’s writing is fast-paced, compelling and full of surprises. Made That Way can be read in one sitting, but Sylvia’s persistence and creativity in overcoming her life’s challenges will inspire the reader for a lifetime.

Susan Ketchen was born in Nanaimo, B.C. and had a successful Family counseling practice for many years. She now resides on a small Vancouver Island hobby farm with her husband, two horses, two cats and a flock of chickens. Grows That Way, the third book in this series will be published in fall 2011. Visit Susan at: www.susanketchen.ca

I’ve read a lot of Tudor fiction books but haven’t so far come across one where Bessie Blount was the central character. I enjoyed Diane Haeger’s book about Henry VIII’s sister Mary, The Secret Bride: In The Court of Henry VIII, and so I was anxious to see how she pulled off a story about Blount’s affair with Henry. (Note: I also interviewed Diane here at Working Writers. She was delightful!)

Blount has never been portrayed as an innocent from what I’ve read, or a true love for Henry. Still, Haeger makes both these cases in her fictional account, The Queen’s Rival: In the Court of Henry VIII. The rivalry refers to Blount giving birth to a son when Henry’s then wife, Katherine of Aragon, had not. Henry is so overjoyed that he basically makes their son, Harry, the second most powerful person (boy) in all of England.

While I enjoyed Haeger’s writing immensely, I didn’t totally buy that Blount and Henry genuinely cared for each other. What I did find believable was that Henry basically “moved on” from Blount when she got pregnant. While he did give their son a lot of honor, he also discounted Blount’s feelings about how her son should be raised. But he was Henry VIII and we would expect no less!

I also liked Haeger’s take on Henry’s possible feelings for Anne Boleyn. Overall, I think Tudor fiction fans will enjoy it.

More books by Diane Haeger:

• Courtesan: A Novel
• The Perfect Royal Mistress: A Novel
• The Queen’s Mistake: In the Court of Henry VIII

and more!

by Irene Watson (If you’d like to do a guest post here, check out our guidelines.)

Back in the twentieth century, books were generally reviewed for free in print publications. Today, the majority of reviews are online and many authors find they need to pay at least a small fee for them. Because the Internet makes it possible for anyone to set up a website or blog and offer book reviews, authors should be a bit wary about to whom they submit their books, whether or not they are paying. Below are a few guidelines for determining whether such services are really qualified or legitimate. Remember that these are only guidelines and while one service may be a good fit for one book, it may not work so well for another.

1. Find out who are the service’s team members. In some cases, the service may just be one person. In other cases, you might be contracting with a company that has a team of associates. Check the service’s “About Us” web page to see whether there actually is a team and whether the names are disclosed. If names are not disclosed, be leery. You’re better off having John Smith from Good Books Service read your book than just Good Books Service, and chances are that if names are not revealed, no one is actually reading the books.

2. Check to see where the reviews are posted. Look on the service’s website to see whether they post there. Also check other websites where the company says it will post. If the sites aren’t disclosed, chances are they are not posting anywhere else. If the company promises to post to 100 sites, ask for a list of the sites so you can double check for old postings to those sites. Sending an article to another site and actually having it posted are two different things. In addition, the company’s own website should include links to examples it has posted to other sites.

3. Check the service’s past reviews. Be sure to look at multiple examples, and preferably ones for books you may have read, to determine whether it looks like the book has been read or whether the service is merely regurgitating the back cover’s text-you can look at the book’s back cover yourself at online book stores to compare the back covers against the reviews. Even if there is an additional line saying how wonderful the book is, that doesn’t mean the book was read. Details about character plots or other items not obvious from the book cover are needed to verify the book was actually read. Also check to see whether there is an actual name attached and not just the company name; if there isn’t, it’s probably a regurgitation.

4. Check whether books are receiving only 5-star ratings. All 5-star ratings are a good sign the books are not read, or the writers are simply being paid to please the authors. If some books do have lower ratings, what are the reasons? Do they mention that the books have grammatical or typographical errors, or plot issues? Or are they nitpicking and unfairly slamming the books? You want to make sure your book is read and also judged fairly. To find out if a review is legitimate, compare it against others for the same book. A 5-star rating on one site might mean the book was not read if another service gives 2-stars due to editing issues, but a 5-star rating by one person who really liked the book compared to a 2-star by another who simply did not care for the book’s topic may reflect just a difference in readers’ opinions, making both legitimate.

5. Double-check additional services offered to determine their legitimacy or value. Many sites will offer additional services, such as written, radio, and TV interviews. If these services are offered and you are interested, ask for links to the interviews. Listen to the interviews and decide whether the interviewer sounds knowledgeable or interested in the books and authors to determine whether an interview is worth the price of the service for you.

6. Get references. Ask for references from other authors who have worked with this company. If the service does not provide references, you may want to think twice about using them. You may also decide to contact other authors on your own to see whether they have been happy with the service and feel the contract was fulfilled. If authors are unhappy, discern the real reasons-is it because they didn’t get 5-star ratings for their books, and if so, why didn’t they? Or is it because postings were not made to all the sites promised or were there other failures to fulfill the contract?

7. Decide whether or not you want to pay for the service. Many companies charge to cover their overhead, while several others offer free services but recoup their expenses by selling the books. There is no getting away from expenses incurred, and just like you, people who read books for a living want to be paid for their time and work. Only you can determine whether the work they do for you is worth the price. Don’t forget to factor in both how many hours it will take a person to read the book, write about it, and post to various sites, as well as how likely you feel the resulting comments about your book will increase the number of copies you sell and how many you will have to sell to recoup the cost of the services.

8. Find out who is the book reviewer’s audience. Who reads the postings put out by this company? Knowing the audience is vital for determining whether the end result will be of value to you in selling your book. If you’re sending your book about physics to a mommy blogger, her comments about it, even if highly positive, will probably not get you many sales, but if you submit it to someone who specializes in science-based books, with an audience of scientists and science enthusiasts, you may sell numerous copies. However, even if the company’s audience may not be a good fit for your book, if the service posts to multiple sites, and especially to online bookstores, it is likely that numerous readers beyond the primary audience will read it and be persuaded to buy the book.

9. Ask about the service’s correction policy. Ask what happens if you receive a negative critique and you would prefer not to have it posted. Is a refund offered? (In my opinion it shouldn’t be since the work is already done). What about if a character’s name or even the author’s name is spelled wrong or there are other errors in describing the plot? Will mistakes be corrected? Will you be allowed to approve the final write-up before it is posted online to make sure it doesn’t contain typos or misinformation such as referring to your book as the second rather than fourth in your fantasy series?

10. Get permission to use the review to market your book. The end result should help readers determine whether or not to read a book, so find out upfront whether you are allowed to reproduce it on your website or print it and mail it with your marketing materials. If you are only allowed to quote a portion of it, how much can you use? Does the service mind if you quote from it on your website or on the back of future editions of your book? A review is not of much value if you can’t use it to help you sell your book.

A lot of book reviewers are out there. By following these guidelines, authors should be able to narrow down their list to those who are legitimate and will help them get their book out to the reading public in a positive and effective manner.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Irene_Watson

More resources on book reviewing:

• The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing
• Faint Praise: The Plight of Book Reviewing in America
• From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books

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How’s your week been, writers? Mine started off with a lovely review for my latest poetry book, New and Selected Poems. The review is from fellow writer Tel Asiado, who runs a wonderful set of blogs, including Inspired Pen. The site offers good insight for writers, so I encourage you to check it.

As if that wasn’t enough, I got another review from Feathered Quill. The review was a positive one, but what I appreciated about it was that it was really well written. Check it out and see for yourself.

Here are some links and news items I found interesting this week.

Over at the Smart Passive Income Blog, there was a smart post on “A Blogger’s Guide to Getting Your Freq. On – Defining the Importance of Consistency.”

I like this post a lot: “The Writer’s A-Z Challenge by L. Diane Wolfe” over at the Marketing Tips for Authors blog.

LOVE this post from About Guide Wendy Boswell on Finding the Right Search Engine for you. Very relevant today.

Jenn at All Freelance Writing ponders: “When It Makes Sense to Have Multiple Blogs.” This is a good point, especially for someone like me.

Writing resources:

• Freelance Writing Jobs
• Create an iPad Game
• Make Money Blogging

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