The Book Bloggers

Blog Name: Ramya’s Bookshelf
Blog URL: http://ramyasbookshelf.blogspot.com
Blog Owner: Ramya

1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
I started this blog three years ago to keep tab of all the books I was reading. And I added a little snippet from each book I read, a little something to help me remember the book. But soon, I found other book lovers across the globe and became part of this wonderful book blogging community. Now, my blog’s become an addiction and I have so many new friends!

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
I love reading good books and I had a very tough time getting to know about interesting books (before I got into the book blogging world). So I enjoy it when people find good books on my blog and decide to read them and actually enjoy the experience. That to me is the most rewarding part of this.

3. What types of books do you review?
I love a good story. So I usually read anything that is an interesting story - memoirs, fiction novels, YA books, etc. I enjoy chick-lits every now and then. Chick-lits are my recharging mechanisms after reading something heavy. My favorite books are , however , books by international authors. Books based in different countries from around the world. I love getting to know the culture and traditions of people from around the world, and books are the best solutions!

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
I do not consider myself an expert reviewer. I love books and I love writing about books I have read. I tend to write honest reviews and I don not shy away from mentioning things I did not like about a book. I think that helps my readers to get a fair view of the book and helps them make a more informed decision. I read a wide range of books and don’t really concentrate on any one genre.

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
Self-help and religious propaganda books.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
Of course! I can imagine how tough it would be for self published authors to get the word across about their book. If I like the premise of the book, I would definitely read books by self published authors and do my share in spreading the word about the book!

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
Not frequently. I find it tough to read ebooks. My day job involves being stuck in front a computer all day and I don’t like to stare at the screen when I am back home as well.

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
Sure! I have authors guest-blogging for me frequently and I enjoy reading and posting what they have to say!

9. Do you host book giveaways?
Never hosted one until now but I am not averse to the idea.

10. Do you interview authors?
Yes. I am part of virtual book tours and I host about 3 to 4 authors each month on my blog. I interview a few of them and I allow a few to submit a guest post.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
Yes. I am part of TLC book tours, pump up your book promotion and Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours. I love the experience.

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
Usually a week (if that is the only book I receive that week). Some weeks are crazy and I receive more than 10 books. At that time, I read books in priority order. I try to complete all my reviews for books within a month of receiving the book (even if it is not part of a tour).

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
I post some reviews on LibraryThing. Never posted on Amazon but I plan to start doing it soon.

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
If the author has contacted me requesting a review, I usually let them know that the review is up. If the publicist contacts me, then my email is directed to the publicist.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
Hmm.. not exactly.

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
Authors can contact me - Ramya. My email address: ramyasbookshelf(at)gmail(dot)com

Blog Name: Write For a Reader
Blog URL: http://www.writeforareader.edublogs.org
RSS or Atom Feed Address: http://writeforareader.edublogs.org/feed/
Blog Owner: Shelly Burns

1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
I started reading other review blogs and thought to myself, “I love books; I can do this.” So, I did. It didn’t start out that way though. I wanted to blog about reading and writing in my classroom, but then I took a Reading Specialist position and things changed. I decided to do reviews instead.

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
I love being able to share the books I review with others.

3. What types of books do you review?
I review mostly books for kids: children’s books and young adult. Since I work in an elementary school, these are the books that I can use with and recommend to my students and other teachers in the building. I also review adult books: fiction - romance, historical, and fantasy mostly. I have done a few memiors and am looking at a few self-help titles as well.

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
My expertise would be in the genre of fiction, realistic and fantasy as that is mostly what children’s books are.

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
I am not a big Sci-Fi fan, so that is probably where I would draw the line. I have given one a try so I’m not saying no, it’s just not my favorite genre to read.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
No.

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
Yes, I actually have one now that I’m going to start for review. I won’t do this often as it has gotten pushed to the back of the books to review, and I don’t feel that is fair.

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
Yes, I would love that. I think it would give my readers a different perspective and let them see a different side of the author than they would through the review or an interview.

9. Do you host book giveaways?
Yes. I’ve done some on my own, and now I’m starting to do some through the publisher.

10. Do you interview authors?
Yes. I love this! It allows me to learn more about the author than just what the book blurb or website says. It also gives my readers a chance to get a more personal look at authors.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
Yes.

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
I try to read the book and post the review 2 weeks - a month after I get it. It all depends on what the publisher asks for and when the book is due out.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
Yes, I am a reviewer for 2 other sites(The Well Read Child and Paperback Frenzy).

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
I try to do this for every review I post.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
I prefer to get an email request asking if I would like to review the book. I don’t like to be told I have to review this or that, because if I don’t like the genre, or can’t get into the book, I don’t want to be held to a review. I don’t think it’s fair to the book or the author.

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
Review requests should be submitted to Shelly Burns, shelcows (at) gmail (dot) com.

Blog Name: S. Krishna’s Books
Blog URL: http://www.skrishnasbooks.com
RSS or Atom Feed Address: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SKrishnasBooks
Blog Owner: Swapna

1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
I read A LOT and I needed a way to keep track of the books I’ve read. Plus I had been reading a lot of book blogs and thought “Hey, I can do this! It might be fun!” Plus I don’t know many people who read in my “real life” so I have no one to discuss the books I’ve read with. Book blogging is a great way to do that.

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
Finding non-mainstream authors that I like and encouraging others to read their books. I love it when you find that gem of a book that few others have read and introduce it to an entire community. It’s nice to think that we actually can inspire someone to go out and buy a book and have an effect on sales.

3. What types of books do you review?
I review a lot of types. I’d say I primarily review chick lit/women’s fiction, but I’ve been reading less of that lately. I love historical fiction and contemporary fiction, especially multicultural books. I’ve also been getting into more YA fiction. I review some non-fiction as well (though it does take me longer to read than fiction).

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
Chick lit and historical fiction - I have read and reviewed a LOT of these.

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
Not really, but I’m very selective about what I review. I don’t feel like review books is a place to take chances in my reading, and I don’t want to waste an author’s or publicist’s time.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
Generally, no. I have made exceptions, but they are few and far between.

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
Generally, no.

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
It depends. I know some authors offer to guest blog in place of a review to ease burdens on the reviewer’s time, but I would only accept a guest blog if I had actually reviewed the book. I try to stick with my original blog premise, talking about books I read. So if I’ve read a book, I’d love to have an author guest blog, but not in place of a review! (I hope that makes sense).

9. Do you host book giveaways?
Definitely. I always have a book giveaway going on. I give away my own books and also partner with authors and publishers on giveaways.

10. Do you interview authors?
I’ve only done one author interview, but I’m hoping to do more.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
Yes - I really enjoy book tours!

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
It depends on the book - if it’s an ARC or prerelease copy, I will post the review on the release date. If that’s not possible, I’ll at least do it during the week of release. I try to review every book in a timely manner, but sometimes life and other review priorities get in the way.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
Yes, Amazon.com and LibraryThing.

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
Yes, an author and a publicist, if I have the contact info.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
Not really!

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
Swapna at skrishna AT skrishnasbooks DOT com

Blog Name: 52 Books and 52 Weeks
Blog URL: http://52booksand52weeks.blogspot.com
RSS or Atom Feed Address: feed://52booksand52weeks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Blog Owner: Ellie
1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
I have loved reading my whole life, and I also love blogging, and after I realized tons of people have book blogs, why not combine the two?

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
Being part of a community and finding out about all these awesome new books!

3. What types of books do you review?
* YA
* Adult
* Historical Fiction
* Romance
* Chick Lit
* Realistic Fiction
* Pretty much everything except non-fiction

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
YA/Teen

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
Horror or Harlequin Romance

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
Yes

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
I’ll consider it.

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
I haven’t yet, but I’m open to it!

9. Do you host book giveaways?
Again, I haven’t but am totally open to that and willing.

10. Do you interview authors?
Not yet but I would like to.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
I haven’t but I would.

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
Around 2 weeks to 6 weeks; if you need a review earlier and tell me, I will do my best to oblige.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
Sometimes.

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
If they ask me to.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
Please include a detailed description of the book including genre, intended age group, and the official release date..
Please also state what you are looking for, when you want the review by, previous books that you have written (if any) and anything else important.

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
Queries can be sent to Ellie at my52booksand52weeks AT yahoo DOT com, or you can comment/follow my blog at http://52booksand52weeks.blogspot.com and indicate that you are interested in sending me a copy of your book. Thanks!

Blog Name: OCD, vampires, and rants, oh my! (Also known as Genre Reviews.)
Blog URL: http://community.livejournal.com/genrereviews/
RSS or Atom Feed Address: http://community.livejournal.com/genrereviews/data/rss
Blog Owners: Anna and Sarah

1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
The love of reading and book discussion. We’re sick, sick people who enjoy dissecting what we’ve just read and spouting off opinions, so it just made sense to start a book blog.

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
Every so often, someone mentions how they found just the perfect book through one of our reviews, which is really what the book blog labour of love is all about, isn’t it?

3. What types of books do you review?
There are four genres we specialize in: fantasy, science fiction, horror, and romance. There tend to be a lot of line-blurring between the genres, so it just made sense to do the four of them together. (Think urban fantasy or paranormal romance, which both often have elements of all four genres.) We take YA fiction, erotica, alternate history, anthologies, LGBT, and some chick lit, as well as the standards in the genres.

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
Well, since there are two of us, there are two different answers to this one. Anna’s been reading fantasy forever, and the same could be said of Sarah and horror. Of course, the branching out happened back in high school, so we’ve got a pretty broad background in that reading thing.

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
We try to stick pretty close to genre fiction, hence the name. So anything outside of those genres isn’t something we’d put up on the blog.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
Yes, absolutely!

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
Yes, yes we do.

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
Sure! If any author is interested, just zip over an e-mail to let us know what you’d like to talk about.

9. Do you host book giveaways?
Yes! We love giving away books.

10. Do you interview authors?
We haven’t yet, but would be willing.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
It’s not something we’ve done, but it’s something we’d consider.

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
It varies, depending on how many books we have in queue and who’s doing the review. Most of the time we try to have a review up within two weeks of receiving the book.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
Shorter versions of reviews are cross-posted to appropriate livejournal communities with links to the full thing.

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
If the author has sent the book, yes. If the book is something we’ve picked up on our own, not usually.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
Just that it should fall into one (or more) of the genres: science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance. And, uh, if you’re contacting us through e-mail, please make sure your spam filters allow us to e-mail you back!

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
Queries can be sent to us through genrereviews AT gmail DOT com or through a livejournal private message, if you have an account.

Blog Name: Grasping for the Wind
Blog URL: http://otter.covblogs.com
RSS or Atom Feed Address: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GraspingForTheWind
Blog Owner: John Ottinger
1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
Nothing, actually. I had had a blog for some time, and been posting random things online, when I started writing mini-reviews. I was trundling along, posting reviews every so often when Tia of Fantasy Debut (http://fantasydebut.blogspot.com/) found me. She was so excited about my work that i got excited too, and started working hard on promoting myself and writing more in-depth, and valuable reviews. And the rest is history.

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
When someone tells me they added a book I recommended to their To-be-Read pile. I like seeing authors gain a potential reader they might not have otherwise had becasue of my review. It is also great to have the interactions with publishers, authors, and fans that I never had before the blog. I was a lonely child in a world where reading fantasy and science fiction was frowned upon, and none of my friends read in the genre, so I had no one to discuss my favorite books with. Now I do.

3. What types of books do you review?
Primarily science fiction and fantasy, in all its forms. However, most of my reviews have been sword=and-sorcery, epic/high fantasy, space opera, comic fantasy/sf, space opera, and various anthologies.

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
Science fiction and fantasy, also known as speculative fiction.

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
Horror or New Weird. I also do not read much from vanity presses or print-on-demand publishers anymore, as my review queue stretches rather long. But I will consider them, if the marketing is convincing enough.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
See above. Only on rare occasions anymore.

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
That depends. I have done so on occasion, but I usually turn down ebooks these days. I like the feel of a book in my hand, and I always end up printing out ebooks anyway, since I do not yet have an e-reader (though a gift of one would always be acceptable!)

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
Most certainly. In fact, I encourage it. This is where I will accept work from POD or self-published authors. Though I don’t have time to review their work, I would be happy to use an article they wrote at my blog, and be sure to mention their self-published work in their author blurb.

9. Do you host book giveaways?
I have done so in the past with some success, and would be happy to do so again, so long as shipping the work is done by the author or publisher, rather than me.

10. Do you interview authors?
Yes, but I have to have read their book first. I will also interview people in the writing profession such as publishers, marketers, editors.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
Once upon a time, I did. I plan to do so again for a couple in February, but these are few and far between. So I will, but I need advance notice. I am however, working on a sort of roundtable discussion that will work somewhat like a blog tour, so stay tuned!

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
That depends. Sometimes just a few weeks, sometimes several months. While I run this blog as a hobby, I also review semi-professionally, and those books take precedence, as they usually have due dates attached. But I will alwasy do my best to keep you in the loop about where I am on reviewing your book, and if I find I cannot ever get to your work, will return the volume to you at my own expense.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
Not at this time. Though I would be happy to let an author do so himself or herself, using my text and byline.

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
Yes, absolutely.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
See http://otter.covblogs.com/archives/2007/02/about-me.html for guidelines and contact info.

Please include a synopsis of your novel, any blurbs you have received, and a link to your website or blog in an email to me. I will respond within one to two business days.

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
I’d rather not post my email here, but if you follow the link above, you will find instructions for contacting me.

Blog Name: Worducopia
Blog URL: http://worducopia.blogspot.com
Blog Owner: Ali

1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
I was writing reviews on LibraryThing.com and I discovered the Early Reviewer program they have. From the message boards I started learning about other opportunities to get review copies of books and I was intrigued, but I felt like in order to request review copies, I wanted to have my own place to write the reviews. I had no idea what was in store for me!

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
The author interviews I’ve done have been so fun and I’ve learned so much from those authors. I really like to develop a relationship with an author whose book has impacted me, and the blog gives me the opportunity to do that.

3. What types of books do you review?
I mostly review mainstream fiction, young adult fiction, and books I can read with my kids (ages 8 and 12). Also books about writing craft, other nonfiction on topics that interest me, certain graphic novels, and memoir.

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
All of the above except graphic novels, which I’m still pretty new to.

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
I shy away from genre fiction: thrillers, romance, mysteries, science fiction, Christian fiction, and fantasy. I would give them a try if they came with a personal recommendation, but I’m unlikely to commit to reviewing them unless they look really special to me.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
I have reviewed one self-published book (Breakfast in Bridgetown, and I loved it. So, I’m willing to take a look, but I won’t commit to reviewing a self-published book until I’ve seen it.

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
Sorry, no.

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
Yes, I love working with authors.

9. Do you host book giveaways?
No.

10. Do you interview authors?
Yes, I’ve done some and they were great fun, but I’ll only request one if I loved the book.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
Haven’t at this point. I’m not against the idea, if it’s an author I already know of.

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
It varies depending on the type of book, the scheduled release date, and other factors. In some cases it’s two weeks, in other cases, 6 months because I normally wait for the release date before posting the review.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
I generally cross-post a shortened version on LibraryThing.com with a link to my blog. I will cross-post on Amazon as a favor to the author if I loved the book.

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
If I’ve had previous contact with the author, yes.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
No.

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
They should post a request in comments on my FAQ post, providing their email address so I can contact them.

Blog Name: Bent Bindings
Blog URL: http://www.bentbindings.com
RSS or Atom Feed Address: http://feedproxy.google.com/BentBindings
Blog Owner: Michael Lundin (me)

1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
Essentially, the book blog brings together my interests and talents. I’ve always been an avid reader and am crazy about books. My friends know this. Heck, even casual acquaintances know this. People are always asking me for good book recommendations.

My day job, though, is in software development. I develop web-based applications using HTML, JavaScript, Java, etc. So, my day is spent looking at code.

These two things came together when I created Bent Bindings. Once I did it, I had a bunch of people say, “Duh! Why didn’t you do that a long time ago?” I found myself saying that, too.

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
What I’m finding most rewarding right now (and I’m relatively new at is) it that there is a such a community out there. I never knew so many people wrote about books online. Slowly becoming part of that community has been really fun.

3. What types of books do you review?
I review books that I like to read. That covers a broad spectrum, but as I am male, it doesn’t often go into the “Chick Lit” books that are out there. Currently, I’m heavy on science fiction as well as popular literature, such as The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I reserve the right to review just about anything.

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
That’s an interesting question. I’m probably most well-read in the science fiction area, though I’m kind of picky in that area now, so real science fiction geeks would probably disagree with me on that one.

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
Dictionaries. Too dry.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
I have, though I’m thinking of changing that.

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
No, I only accept printed copies. I still haven’t got used to reading on a computer screen.

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
Most likely yes, but it would depend on the author and the subject.

9. Do you host book giveaways?
I haven’t yet, but I may very well do so in the future. I’ve been noticing that’s quite a frequent happening in the book review community.

10. Do you interview authors?
I haven’t yet, but I’m putting together a series of 5 or 10 questions, similar to those done on “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” So they won’t be too in-depth, just more fun.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
I haven’t before, no, but I’m up for anything once.

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
So far, about 1-2 weeks.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
I do not.

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
I notify whoever sent me the review copy when a review is posted. I haven’t just spammed the author of the book I reviewed with my review, though.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
Not real specific. It just needs to be something I, myself, am interested in reading.

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
All review queries should go to michael AT bentbindings DOT com.

Blog Name: Bitten by Books
Blog URL: http://bittenbybooks.com
RSS or Atom Feed Address: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BittenByBooks
Blog Owner: Rachel Smith - Mood Ring Media

1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
I was reading about 4-6 books per week, and really needed a way to get all the thoughts about the books out of my head to concentrate on more books.

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
The best thing about reviewing is when somebody can relate to a storyline or click with it and decide they want to purchase the book based on that review. The other really cool thing is that when this happens it supports authors of all levels in their genre.

3. What types of books do you review?
Anything in the paranormal fiction genre. This includes YA and kids, adult content, GLBT, romance, urban fantasy

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
Paranormal Fiction

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
Anything that promotes hatred, bigotry or intolerance of race, gender or religion.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
Yes

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
Yes

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
Yes

9. Do you host book giveaways?
Yes, every week

10. Do you interview authors?
Yes

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
Yes

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
Our site says to allow 8-12 weeks, but typically about 8 weeks is the max.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
Yes

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
Yes

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
Yes, authors can read our terms of review here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?page_id=3

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
After an author has read our terms of review and decides to move forward they can use our contact page
http://bittenbybooks.com/?page_id=20 to request a review of their book. We will then send them the required information for each submission.

Other information:
The focus of the Bitten by Books website is to provide book reviews for all types of paranormal fiction, urban fantasy and horror. Our team of over 30 reviewers share an avid love of all things paranormal and of course of books! You may see an occasional fantasy or Sci-fi review as well, as sometimes authors overlap genres or the genres incorporate one another. Bitten by Books prides itself on offering our readers honest book reviews, author interviews, interesting guest blog spots and fun contests. Whether you love paperback books or e-books, make http://bittenbybooks.com your only stop for all things in the paranormal fiction genre.

Blog Name: Savvy Verse & Wit
Blog URL: http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com
RSS or Atom Feed Address: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SavvyVerseWit
Blog Owner: Serena M. Agusto-Cox

1. What motivated you to create a book review blog?
There was no real motivation to create a book review blog; it simply evolved over time. I was reading a lot and decided to share my thoughts on those books I was reading after I checked out my friend’s book review blog, which has a lot of other things on it too. However, my site is not strictly book reviewing. I incorporate local events into the blog, writer’s tips, and writer’s conference information. I’m reviewing books with a writer’s eye, pointing out what works and what doesn’t. Not all of my reviews are positive, but I will point out what I thought worked well and what didn’t.

2. What do you find most rewarding about book reviewing?
I love the community of book reviewers; they are kind, generous, and above all honest in their reviews. I could never stand reading the reviews in the newspapers because they were stale and in some ways less-than-honest. I think each person has an opinion about a book, whether good or bad, and they should share that honest opinion with others, though professionalism must come into play to ensure authors do not feel singled out or bad-mouthed.

3. What types of books do you review?
I review a wide variety of books from mystery/suspense to paranormal and literary fiction. I review contemporary fiction, poetry, some romance (not Harlequin Romance), some chicklit, short story books, experimental, some nonfiction, travel guides, and historical novels. I’m really eclectic, but the storylines have to grab me as a reader and writer, or I won’t review it. I won’t accept any books to review that I’m not interested in. If the synopsis or other reviews have not piqued my interest, I pass on the book.

4. In what genre do you consider yourself to have the most expertise?
I’m not sure I have a particular expertise. I would love to say its poetry, but I haven’t really had a chance to review that many poetry books. It’s one of my missions to remedy that and to expose more people to the beauty and relevance of poetry today. I guess if I were to choose, I would say literary fiction, vampire fiction, and mystery/suspense.

5. Is there any type of book that you absolutely will not review?
I will not review cheesy romance novels, but I think that’s about it. I’m pretty open otherwise; see question #3 for more details.

6. Do you accept submissions from self-published authors?
I have accepted a self-published novel for review, but again, see question #3 for more detail about what prompts me to accept a book.

7. Do you accept PDF versions or e-books for review?
I don’t accept PDF versions or e-books for review currently. It takes me longer to read them because I hate staring at a computer after work hours, which is where I spend a lot of time staring at a computer screen. This could change if I purchase or receive a Kindle or like device for books in the future, but don’t count on it. I really love the feel of a book in my hands and I love the smell of the pages as I turn them while reading.

8. Can an author guest blog for you?
Naturally, though I prefer humorous anecdotes or writing/publishing related posts. But usually I’m pretty open if the author has another great suggestion.

9. Do you host book giveaways?
I do host giveaways, and I think it’s a fantastic way for authors to spread the word about their books. I prefer that the author or publisher send them out, but if they are not willing to ship internationally, I will generally foot the bill to send it out. I think reading is global and should be treated as such.

10. Do you interview authors?
I will interview authors if they are willing.

11. Do you ever host stops on an organized book tour?
I do host stops as part of organized book blog tours.

12. What is the average turnaround time for a review, from the time the book arrives in your mailbox until the review is posted?
That is dependent upon how many books I already have and how many I have obligated myself to do for a tour. It also depends upon the book, and how quickly I get involved in the plot and characters. I guess this is an evasive answer to the question. My goal would be about 2-3 months, but it could take longer.

13. Do you cross-post reviews to Amazon or other sites?
I will cross-post reviews to Amazon, Library Thing, and Good Reads; my Facebook page automatically refreshes with my latest book review posts as well.

14. Will you notify an author by email when a review is posted?
I will notify authors when their reviews are posted and include a link. The same goes for their reviews and guest posts.

15. Do you have any specific requirements for review submission?
Requirements are these:

1. Address the query to Serena or “Dear Reviewer,” something personalized; not dear editor or other nonsensical choices.
2. Provide me with a synopsis that pops and gets me interested in either the plot or characters
3. If there are review deadline requirements, provide those in the email query.
4. Let me know if you are interested in a guest post, interview, giveaway, or all three.
5. Do not expect a positive review; I only guarantee honest opinions about the writing style, characterization, plot, and other writing techniques and devices that keep readers reading.

16. Where can authors submit review queries and to whom should they be addressed?
Send queries to Savvy Verse and Wit

Address the query to Serena or Dear Reviewer