Applause for Authors!

In the summer, in an attempt to get my name more recognizable among other authors, I decided to write reviews on the Christian Romance books that come out in 2019.

I read—and adored—Denise Hunter’s On Magnolia Lane and wrote a review. I tend to write too, too much, but I managed to cut it down to 1500 (still way too long). I posted it, announced the review everywhere and even Hunter herself replied to me!

Yay! I’m on my way!

Then I read Kim Vogel Sawyer’s newest book, A Silken Thread.

Immediately, I could appreciate the differences in my two favorite authors. Hunter: contemporary, brief descriptions. Sawyer: lots of lofty description (because it’s historical) but adds so much color to her story. In a word, I’d say Hunter writes dynamic and Sawyer writes lovely.

Love them both, and for different reasons.

I wrote half the review before I’d finished Sawyer’s book, since there was so much I was gushing over.

And then the last quarter of the book, something went drastically wrong.

Sawyer’s book plummeted from five stars to two stars. The romance toppled. The climax had nothing to do with the handsome protagonist and his love interest.

Oh my, my heart stopped. And not in a good way. The issue resolved… itself? The protagonist didn’t have to fight for his innocence or for the sweetheart?

Bummer.

No Review. Now What?

So, I finished the book… and couldn’t finish the review. I didn’t want to lie and say the book was amazing. But I couldn’t say Sawyer messed up.

I mean, Kim Vogel Sawyer is one of my five favorite authors in the whole world. I can’t publicly give her a review of two stars. And I can’t give a review that’s not honest.

I looked up other reviews on A Silken Thread. I noticed I wasn’t the only reader with disappointments.

But I also got a couple of eye-openers about the world of reviewing:

1. It was hard to find a review that didn’t give away spoilers. And I don’t think spoilers belong in a review which a reader would utilize to see if the book would be interesting to her. I only write about the style of writing and plot-based elements. If it’s hope-filled or suspenseful. If it’s wordy or snappy… But a review is supposed to include a synopsis. Well, that’s a problem.
2. All reviewers give a star-rating or something similar.
3. Reviewers read a lot and fast. To keep up a book review system, I would have to read through a book a week and post the review in the same week. Because the next week is another book. Whew!
4. I was currently reviewing books that were available at the library, typically months after the book released. But book reviews should come out much closer to the publication date. Which would mean I would have to purchase the books and cause two more problems: …. One being space. I live in a condo and storage is nil. And the second being $$$. At $15 a book, it’ll add up fast.

I went a step further and found a website that would give free books for reviews at BookLookBloggers.

But I would most probably get a free Kindle edition to review. That’s a problem too.

I have a tablet… which my kids didn’t know about. And I wanted it to stay that way, because if they knew I had a working tablet…

Let’s just say I homeschool and I already traded in my smartphone for a Blackberry to stop the fighting over the zillions of obsessive games available to them.

Around this time, I started reading a new book, from another favorite author, Susan May Warren, Knox. I intended to write a review on it, so I went ahead and bought the newest book on it’s release date.

Yowza!

But it was cheaper to buy the Kindle edition. My very first Kindle book!

And a trial to review with BookLookBloggers.

The Kindle Edition!

So, I tried to read it. Powered on the tablet each night, snuck in twenty minutes at a time, got caught a couple of times and lied, saying I borrowed the tablet from Grandma.

Wasn’t a pleasant experience.

And I realized, although I enjoyed Warren’s writing and there was plenty of great suspense and romance…

I wasn’t interested in spending hours writing a review on it. Plus, I wasn’t raving over it like I had with Denise Hunter’s book.

(Or I was plain exhausted over this review thing!)

I puttered over my still brand-new idea of book reviewing at all. Could I do this? is this worth the time and energy? And the mental drain?!

I found a blogger who’s rating are in the forms of teas and coffees : ) Find her at https://thecaffeinatedbibliophile.com/

Cute idea, huh?

This is the Caffeinated Bibliophile’s review on A Silken Thread. Absolutely Beautiful! https://thecaffeinatedbibliophile.com/blog/2019/4/11/book-review-a-silken-thread-by-kim-vogel-sawyer

But it’s still a rating.

Which leads to another problem entirely.

What if it’s just me. What if I didn’t like the topic the author wrote about. Or I didn’t care for her style… And I give a rating of two stars. But another reader loves the topic. Or the style. Or whatever. And rates it as a five-star.

And my review is biased… and gives a potential reader the wrong impression.

And meanwhile, I glean over what I did like. Where the author hits out of the park.

And then I read Erin Dydek’s book reviewing success.

Erin Dydek’s tweet: “… Working through my #summer #tbr list and leaving Amazon #reviews as I go…”

I was impressed that she keeps up with her reading list… and writing reviews on all of them! So, I told her so.

This was her response:

Erin Dydek: “Read a New York Bestseller. Those guys already have enough sales and reviews so you can take a break from writing a review and the author won’t suffer.”

Wait. Hold the phone.

She doesn’t write reviews on everything she reads. Only on self-published books. (Find her reviews here https://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-everydayadventure15.html )

And the thought started to germinate…

 I could review only debut authors.

And shout it from the rooftops! With exhausted, wonderful reviews of this awesome authors!

So I purchased (yeah, I did, cha-ching!) a debut book by an author. And hated it.

It was Christian Romance… but I wouldn’t recommend it to my fellow Christians. And something was wrong with the writing. Needed another revision or something. And I know how exhausting re-writing can be, but it’s necessary before publication.

Whoops.

Although I didn’t like the book, there were parts I could appreciate.

There were parts of the novel that I learned and appreciated, from a fellow author’s perspective.

Could I write a review…

1. Without a rating?
2. Applauding an author for what she did well, for her unique style and voice?
3. Ignore what I didn’t care for, style errors and plot problems?

And not long ago, I read a review by Grace Hitchcock and loved it! No spoilers!!!

Here’s the review I read that swept me away:

Book Review: Flights of Fancy by Jen Turano

Very brief, but brilliant! Excited me to read Jen Turano’s book, which is the point of a review (at least in my mind).

So…

I’m not writing reviews anymore.

Nope. No, sir. No way.

But I’m going to invest (as in $$$, paper-back version) in newly published books and support fellow authors by posting my thoughts.

I’ve already started. Although my focus will be on Christian Romance, I’m reading anything I can get my hands on.

It’s called Applauds for Authors and is coming soon!

My To-Be-Read List includes:

Mission: Hollywood by Michelle Keeler. I attended her Facebook-Live event. My first debut novelist purchase! Woohoo!

Grace and Lavender by Heather Norman Smith

The Waiting by Carol James (although I don’t think this is her debut novel… but beautiful cover! Ooh, la la!)

Call to Love by Mary A. Felkins. Release date is November 15!!!

And that’s not all!

I’m no longer limited to Christian Romance… because my goal is promote new authors. Because being an author is much more than writing these days! And I have more in common with new authors than with my fave New York Bestsellers.

And I’ve already started:

My first post will most probably be on “Shards of Light” by Susan Miura, the sequel to “Healer.” Get this. It’s YA.

But I love it!

Another book I’ve added to the list is MG “The Curse of Purgatory Cove” by Pete O’Donnell. That’s right. Middle Grade. And not Christian or romance. ; )

But…

Pete is a self-published author…

And he designed his own cover!

Now, that’s something to applaud!

Is there a book that you rave about? Let me know! I’d be glad to read it… and will certainly find a reason to applaud it!

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