Fictional Candy: Nobody Asked Me! Giveaway/Confession

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Nobody Asked Me! Giveaway/Confession

I started my blog in Septemer, 2011. I didn’t have a CLUE. My first review was a book that I checked out from the library, Deadly Harvest by Heather Graham. BTW, that turned out to be an awesome series, despite my pitiful review. Oh, you want to see it? Here it is! My Review Of Deadly Harvest

And this is where I have a confession to make. My name is Liz, and before I began blogging, I knew nearly nothing about the books I am now obsessed with. For shame!!! But it’s true! Here’s the story. I read the Twilight series, out of boredom more than anything else. But surprise surprise, I loved it! And it ignited a hunger. I began searching out other books similar, but I had a hell of a time. My friend Liz (seriously, her name is Liz, too!) suggested the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Ok, I thought. I looked it up on Amazon and got a boxed set of the first 5 or 6, or whatever. Then it was like an anvil dropped on my head. I loaned my books to my friend, April. Then my mom. Then I bought more of them. Then I was all caught up with that series. Now what??

I went to my library. Another confession: It’d been decades since I’d been to a library. I used to spend hours in the library, so it’s not like I was a stranger. But to find this new genre that I didn’t even know had a name, whether it was Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy (ok, I still get sketchy on those distinctions, but that’s for another post) or something else entirely – I didn’t know. The selection was scarce, and that’s when I picked up Heather Graham’s books (and I now buy every book I find of hers, btw). I reviewed them.

Then I got a Kindle. AND THE WORLD CHANGED.

Then I reviewed a book called Jigsaw by Ted Brogden, which was fantastic – but not the genre I was looking for. My friend, Marc, also had just got a Kindle. We were swapping book suggestions back and forth, and he suggested Girl On A Laptop, by Russ Cooper. It was horror, and snarky, and all things wonderful.

But I still sucked at writing reviews.

I tried to review a couple others. And one day I received an email from author Ashley Lynn Willis, who wrote The Calling THIS is the type of book I had been in search of. (That means I want you to read it, and you won’t regret it) She and I went back and forth, talking about ways to promote her book. We did a giveaway on a hop, even. We were both feeling our way around. I still sucked at reviews. In fact, my review of her book left out a major point in the story about the leading lady, Mandy, being a breast cancer survivor. I left out a lot. But then Ashley did something amazing, she started passing my name around.

And the requests began coming in. And more, and more. And then it got to be such a long list that I had to start turning authors away. And I still turn a lot away, but not because I want to, but because I have to.

Little by little, I think I am getting better. I don’t think I am perfect by any means. I can’t tell you how many times I edit some of my reviews before they go live. I give myself permission to edit all the way until my newsletter goes out. After that, it stays. I’ve even had awesome authors like Keta Diablo spotlight me, saying I know how to write reviews. But honestly, I don’t. It’s the books that make me feel something and that gives me the urge to write something about them in return.

Blogging has changed my life in so many ways. I’ve been a reader since I was a child (and I have a post about those books coming up in the next few weeks, a throwback to the 80s). But there were many years where I didn’t pick up a book. I got into other things (read: dating…and some other stuff) and my beloved books fell to the wayside. But nowadays I read nearly every day. I lose myself in these worlds with angels, demons, vampires, weres, and more romance and sex than I could ever even hope to have in my own life. And I am so entirely grateful. And on top of it, I get to write about it and interact with other readers who are just as passionate as I am. I can’t tell you how completely awesome that is!

So, to celebrate that, this is my post. A confession of sorts. And a giveaway, cause I love to give things…well, away. :) Thanks for listening to my story!