Ninette Swann's Blog, page 7
July 26, 2012
Feature Follow Friday (6)
Hey there, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read post a weekly blog hop for book blogs, and you should get involved!
Today's question is which book was your favorite summer reading book that you were required to read.
Hands down: The Great Gatsby. I love the characters, and I love the author, and I love the way he writes and thinks. I often consider myself the Fitzgerald to my husband's Hemingway.
If you want to link up (which you do, trust me), just go ahead and sign in! Make sure to follow the hosts and the featured blogs at the top, then follow anyone else who catches your interest!
Today's question is which book was your favorite summer reading book that you were required to read.
Hands down: The Great Gatsby. I love the characters, and I love the author, and I love the way he writes and thinks. I often consider myself the Fitzgerald to my husband's Hemingway.
If you want to link up (which you do, trust me), just go ahead and sign in! Make sure to follow the hosts and the featured blogs at the top, then follow anyone else who catches your interest!
July 25, 2012
Book Review - The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
I loved The Night Circus, not only for its swirling plot lines and unique characters, but also for the stylistic interweaving of story and structure to form a complete and mysterious shroud that becomes not only the book you are reading, but the content you are reading about. When you open The Night Circus, you don't get a book. You get a night circus.
It's magical.
The mixed use of second and third person gives the reader a sense of what those who enter the circus must feel like: involved yet apart, understanding yet confused. The present tense seems at first an odd choice for a book bound by dates and fictitious history, but it further proves the point that time is not what it seems to be. Reading about past events in present tense was a thrill ride, as much as any of the descriptive tents were. To nail this theory home, the telling of the story in bits and pieces, markedly not in chronological order was brilliance.
The Night Circus forces you to pay attention to all details in the style, structure and content, lest you miss out on this enigmatic world of intrigue.
July 24, 2012
Guest Post on Heroes and Book GIVEAWAY
Today I am fortunate enough to have been able to guest blog for Crystal at Reading Between the Wines. I talk a little bit about what makes a good hero (they're harder to come up with than you think.)
More importantly, I'm giving away a free copy of Hit and Stay if you want to head over there and put your name in the rafflecopter!
GO WIN!
More importantly, I'm giving away a free copy of Hit and Stay if you want to head over there and put your name in the rafflecopter!
GO WIN!
July 18, 2012
Book Review - Nidus by Sebastian Gray
A great book has just gone up for free on Amazon! I suggest you download the freebie because it's an amazing contemplation of the darker sources of life and lust. It explores hidden desires in frank spirit, with no trussing or dressing up in the typical romantic fairy-tale fashion. It's a gritty and sordid look at the underside of human nature. Definitely worth your time.
Sebastian Gray doesn't mince words or shy away from difficult ethical questions in his book, Nidus. The perfect mix between a romance and a twisted noir, Nidus is a Cinderella story of the most evocative kind.
Here...read for yourself.
"A smoothly compelling tale of speculative eroticism, NIDUS is set in the summertime playground of Newport, Rhode Island, depicted here as a sensuously intoxicating place where the lascivious comes as if coated in tangerine-flavored candy, where titillation floats everywhere in the pink air of summer evenings.
It is a Newport where it seems natural for just about every alluring person to be caught up in blithe if mysterious debaucheries. Among them are Helana, the sleek, hitherto serene, mature trophy wife of an aging yacht owner, and Terry, a poor, loose and often ill-used unwed young mother.
Though ostensibly from opposite sides of the tracks, Helana and Terry come to be erotically manipulated by the same man, Lathian Kometes. A journalist who specializes in society exposés for glossy magazines, Lathian is in town to cover the wedding of the season.
With what idle time he has on his hands, Lathian seems casually intent on a more intimate and experimental form of exposé, using one woman to expose to the other what she would keep concealed from herself.
Is he doing this merely for the sake of a Pan-like amusement? Is he what he appears to portray himself as, some wry apostle of eros? Or is he more sinister, a modern slave-hunter of sorts?"
The relationships are sordid and surreal but strike a closer chord with real-life strife than one would like to admit. The use of sexual exploration brings the reader to new heights, but underneath those tones lie struggles with identity, personality and control in all aspects of life. The subtle themes reach out to all audiences, hidden well within the fantastical and imaginative.
You'll be engrossed from start to finish. Plus, I know the author, and they're brilliant!
Go. Download. Read.
Sebastian Gray doesn't mince words or shy away from difficult ethical questions in his book, Nidus. The perfect mix between a romance and a twisted noir, Nidus is a Cinderella story of the most evocative kind.
Here...read for yourself.
"A smoothly compelling tale of speculative eroticism, NIDUS is set in the summertime playground of Newport, Rhode Island, depicted here as a sensuously intoxicating place where the lascivious comes as if coated in tangerine-flavored candy, where titillation floats everywhere in the pink air of summer evenings.
It is a Newport where it seems natural for just about every alluring person to be caught up in blithe if mysterious debaucheries. Among them are Helana, the sleek, hitherto serene, mature trophy wife of an aging yacht owner, and Terry, a poor, loose and often ill-used unwed young mother.
Though ostensibly from opposite sides of the tracks, Helana and Terry come to be erotically manipulated by the same man, Lathian Kometes. A journalist who specializes in society exposés for glossy magazines, Lathian is in town to cover the wedding of the season.
With what idle time he has on his hands, Lathian seems casually intent on a more intimate and experimental form of exposé, using one woman to expose to the other what she would keep concealed from herself.
Is he doing this merely for the sake of a Pan-like amusement? Is he what he appears to portray himself as, some wry apostle of eros? Or is he more sinister, a modern slave-hunter of sorts?"
The relationships are sordid and surreal but strike a closer chord with real-life strife than one would like to admit. The use of sexual exploration brings the reader to new heights, but underneath those tones lie struggles with identity, personality and control in all aspects of life. The subtle themes reach out to all audiences, hidden well within the fantastical and imaginative.
You'll be engrossed from start to finish. Plus, I know the author, and they're brilliant!
Go. Download. Read.
July 11, 2012
Review - The Chaperone, Laura Moriarty
The Chaperone, by Laura Moriarty, is a fabulous book on every level. The surprising story of a middle-aged matriarch leaves no twist in society unexplored, leaves no comment on morality, success or life itself unsaid. And it's all said in brilliant story-telling prose meant to make a reader think about the ideas behind the themes without even realizing it.
As you turn the pages wondering what will happen to the chaperone, Cora, and her 15-year-old charge, you are actually thinking about the human constructs of acceptance and loss, wondering about the human definitions of success and failure, and contemplating where morality really lies in the span of our own lives.
It starts slowly, but the descriptions carry you through the first few chapters, and these are necessary to set the melodious and normal backdrop that the adventures and ideas take root against. It provides the necessary context of a mid-western life, and the stunning contrast of modernity, momentum and gumption that even the most normal people show over the passage of time.
It made me cry.
And yet the storyline disputes set the resolutions up so wonderously soundly that not only are you gladdened at the end--for life, for people, for ideas--you're also aware that beneath the surface of these words, these stories, is a lingering message, a message about how we define our own little worlds, about how short-sighted people can see. We see how our mundane-seeming lives and thoughts are all pieces of a bigger, interlocking puzzle.
It was brilliant. Truly.
I think the biggest testament to this book, though, is not what I think of it, but how it made me feel. And not about the specific thoughts within the book, but about me. About my family. About life.
I felt good; I feel good.
It allowed me to open my view of life, even if just momentarily. I saw my life not as a 30-year-old mother of twins, but as I was as a child, and as I will be as an older adult. It reminded me that even though each day seems tediously the same, so many changes are subtly occurring inside and out that every moment is driving to the next, and every action can make a difference.
In the book, Cora lives through horse-drawn buggies, Prohibition, two world wars, the Depression, the civil rights era, all the way up to the 1980s. She goes from wearing corsets to watching gay pride rallies. Life can be long and it is always beautiful.
And after reading her complicated tale, I look at my own simple life with my loving husband and kids and I am grateful to be me, living in the era in which I live. Yes, things can be bad, in the immediate, but long-term, life is beautiful.
This is the best book I've read in a long time.
I realize I've told you absolutely nothing about the content of this book, so here's the blurb:
Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six year old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip. She has no idea what she's in for: Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous blunt bangs and black bob, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will change their lives forever.
For Cora, New York holds the promise of discovery that might prove an answer to the question at the center of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in a strange and bustling city, she embarks on her own mission. And while what she finds isn't what she anticipated, it liberates her in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of the summer, Cora's eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.
As you turn the pages wondering what will happen to the chaperone, Cora, and her 15-year-old charge, you are actually thinking about the human constructs of acceptance and loss, wondering about the human definitions of success and failure, and contemplating where morality really lies in the span of our own lives.
It starts slowly, but the descriptions carry you through the first few chapters, and these are necessary to set the melodious and normal backdrop that the adventures and ideas take root against. It provides the necessary context of a mid-western life, and the stunning contrast of modernity, momentum and gumption that even the most normal people show over the passage of time.
It made me cry.
And yet the storyline disputes set the resolutions up so wonderously soundly that not only are you gladdened at the end--for life, for people, for ideas--you're also aware that beneath the surface of these words, these stories, is a lingering message, a message about how we define our own little worlds, about how short-sighted people can see. We see how our mundane-seeming lives and thoughts are all pieces of a bigger, interlocking puzzle.
It was brilliant. Truly.
I think the biggest testament to this book, though, is not what I think of it, but how it made me feel. And not about the specific thoughts within the book, but about me. About my family. About life.
I felt good; I feel good.
It allowed me to open my view of life, even if just momentarily. I saw my life not as a 30-year-old mother of twins, but as I was as a child, and as I will be as an older adult. It reminded me that even though each day seems tediously the same, so many changes are subtly occurring inside and out that every moment is driving to the next, and every action can make a difference.
In the book, Cora lives through horse-drawn buggies, Prohibition, two world wars, the Depression, the civil rights era, all the way up to the 1980s. She goes from wearing corsets to watching gay pride rallies. Life can be long and it is always beautiful.
And after reading her complicated tale, I look at my own simple life with my loving husband and kids and I am grateful to be me, living in the era in which I live. Yes, things can be bad, in the immediate, but long-term, life is beautiful.
This is the best book I've read in a long time.
I realize I've told you absolutely nothing about the content of this book, so here's the blurb:
Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six year old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip. She has no idea what she's in for: Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous blunt bangs and black bob, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will change their lives forever.
For Cora, New York holds the promise of discovery that might prove an answer to the question at the center of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in a strange and bustling city, she embarks on her own mission. And while what she finds isn't what she anticipated, it liberates her in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of the summer, Cora's eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.
July 6, 2012
Who Is the Romance Audience?
Is there such a thing as too intelligent?
Signs point to yes, at least when it comes to romance.
I recently got a work back, and the editor mentioned that my writing bent toward literary and the piece may be too intelligent for readers. Romance readers are looking for more fun, more fluff, she says.
First, have you read me? I am no Proust, that's for sure. It won't take much for me to 'dumb down' a manuscript. Change a word here, lift the mood there, take out the some of the anger and true-to-life emotion, and you've got a ready-to-read romance.
But does it need to be this way? Romance readers and writers face a huge stigma in our society. They're looked at as less than, sometimes, and for what? Because they like to read or write as an escape? Because they prefer topics that are fun for them? Because they don't trouble themselves by dealing with heavy topics all the time? Is that so bad?
No, it's not, and that's what the editor was getting at. Her message wasn't, 'dumb it down for the stupid readers,' it was 'readers in this genre are looking for fun, why not give it to them?'
It's the societal perception that skews statements like hers. The perception that people who enjoy romance novels, or even young adult literature, cannot handle the literary classics, the contemporary works of written art. And that's not true. When someone picks up a romance or YA book, it's not because they can't read Kafka. It's because they don't want to at that moment. At that moment, they want to read a piece with simple story and narrative that compels them along on a journey of feeling, adventure, and fun.
Personally, I enjoy literary fiction more than any other type of work. But teasing ideas out of text can get tedious after a while. They call some books "beach reads" for a reason. When you're relaxing and just want to get away from yourself for a while, perhaps you'll pick up a simpler piece. That doesn't make you dumb, and it doesn't make the book you're reading trash. The book is doing it's job and you're getting away from yours.
Nothing wrong with that.
So, to those who say the romance audience is a group of unintelligent, base, unthinking plebeians out for raunch and sex and love stories, I say no.
They're bankers, and lawyers, and waitresses and stay at home moms. They're business people, management, and cashiers.
What I'm trying to say is, they're everybody. We all need a break sometimes, and that's what genre fiction (any genre, really) is about. Why not let them do their jobs instead of being so busy looking down on them that you forget to have any fun yourself?
To each reader his own, I say. Why don't we stop judging, and start reading?
Signs point to yes, at least when it comes to romance.
I recently got a work back, and the editor mentioned that my writing bent toward literary and the piece may be too intelligent for readers. Romance readers are looking for more fun, more fluff, she says.
First, have you read me? I am no Proust, that's for sure. It won't take much for me to 'dumb down' a manuscript. Change a word here, lift the mood there, take out the some of the anger and true-to-life emotion, and you've got a ready-to-read romance.
But does it need to be this way? Romance readers and writers face a huge stigma in our society. They're looked at as less than, sometimes, and for what? Because they like to read or write as an escape? Because they prefer topics that are fun for them? Because they don't trouble themselves by dealing with heavy topics all the time? Is that so bad?
No, it's not, and that's what the editor was getting at. Her message wasn't, 'dumb it down for the stupid readers,' it was 'readers in this genre are looking for fun, why not give it to them?'
It's the societal perception that skews statements like hers. The perception that people who enjoy romance novels, or even young adult literature, cannot handle the literary classics, the contemporary works of written art. And that's not true. When someone picks up a romance or YA book, it's not because they can't read Kafka. It's because they don't want to at that moment. At that moment, they want to read a piece with simple story and narrative that compels them along on a journey of feeling, adventure, and fun.
Personally, I enjoy literary fiction more than any other type of work. But teasing ideas out of text can get tedious after a while. They call some books "beach reads" for a reason. When you're relaxing and just want to get away from yourself for a while, perhaps you'll pick up a simpler piece. That doesn't make you dumb, and it doesn't make the book you're reading trash. The book is doing it's job and you're getting away from yours.
Nothing wrong with that.
So, to those who say the romance audience is a group of unintelligent, base, unthinking plebeians out for raunch and sex and love stories, I say no.
They're bankers, and lawyers, and waitresses and stay at home moms. They're business people, management, and cashiers.
What I'm trying to say is, they're everybody. We all need a break sometimes, and that's what genre fiction (any genre, really) is about. Why not let them do their jobs instead of being so busy looking down on them that you forget to have any fun yourself?
To each reader his own, I say. Why don't we stop judging, and start reading?
July 2, 2012
Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion
I gave it three out of five stars...
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book had a great idea and could have been amazing. Unfortunately, the author lost sight of it somewhere in the latter third of the novel, and the climax was boring, depleted of energy and lackluster. I had a bunch of questions swirling in my mind about the wonderful characters he'd concocted, only to have them go unanswered. I love a good love story as much as the next guy, but there was so much more to work with here. We needed a fight scene, an ending, a moral. Something.
The idea behind the novel though, fantastic.
View all my reviews
Warm Bodies by Isaac MarionMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book had a great idea and could have been amazing. Unfortunately, the author lost sight of it somewhere in the latter third of the novel, and the climax was boring, depleted of energy and lackluster. I had a bunch of questions swirling in my mind about the wonderful characters he'd concocted, only to have them go unanswered. I love a good love story as much as the next guy, but there was so much more to work with here. We needed a fight scene, an ending, a moral. Something.
The idea behind the novel though, fantastic.
View all my reviews
June 29, 2012
Liebster Blog Award
Beach Bum Reads gave me a blog award! Thank you!
The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers and Liebster is a German word which means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.
The Rules:
1. Each person must post 10 facts about themselves2. Answer 10 questions the tagger has given you and give 10 questions for the people you’ve tagged.3. Choose 10 people and link them in your post.4. Tell them you’ve tagged them.5. Remember, no tag backs.
T en Random Facts About Me:
1. I am the mother of twin girls who will be four in August.
2. My father lives on the Big Island, Hawaii.
3. I don't know my right from my left.
4. I go to Body Combat three times a week.
5. Most heels put me at or above six feet tall.
6. I'll turn 30 next week.
7. I used to be a television news producer.
8. My favorite Disney character is Triton.
9. I read Jane Eyre at 13, and it remains my favorite book.
10. In addition to writing romance novels, I edit them.
My Questions from Beach Bum Reads:
1. If you could slap one character out of a book who would it be? (sorry for the violence.. but I mean... there are some of those characters that just aaahhh aggravate you!)
Mr. Darcy. Come on, man! Make it happen!
2. How long have you been blogging?
I have been blogging as a writer / editor for just a few months. I have been blogging as a mommy blogger for two or three years.
3. If you could giveaway an entire series, what series would it be and why?
The Fletch series by Gregory MacDonald. They're so under-rated and buried under a pile of Chevy Chase movies! The first book was meant to be a stand alone, and it was so good, the author wrote a bunch more. And they all (okay, most of them) are amazing! Fletch is the reason I became a journalist. Best character ever.
4. What author would you like to spend a whole day with and why?
Probably Neil Gaiman. I like his take on life.
5. Make an estimate of how many books you've read throughout your entire life
I can't. Thousands upon thousands.
6. What was the book that got you into reading?
Pride and Prejudice.
7. Where is the best place for you to read?
I no longer have a best place. But the best time is nap time.
8. Who is your favorite character and why?
Jane Eyre. I always loved her grit, determination, and mix of confidence/insecurity. And her love.
9. What book could you reread over and over again without ever getting bored with it?
The Incredible Lightness of Being, or Lolita. The depth and intricacies of these novels require more than one reading and even after multiple times, I'm sure there are things I've missed.
10. What do you like most about blogging?
I like talking to people and seeing their points of view. I like making friends.
Blogs I Tagged:
1. A Bibliophile's Thoughts on Books
2. Vicariously!
3. Tea and Book
4. The Galavanting Girl
5. Reading Between Classes
6. Rally the Readers
7. Nerdette Reviews
8. Musings on Fantasia
9. Have You Heard My Book Review?
10. Concise Book Reviews by Michelle
Here Are My Questions to You:
1. What is your favorite opening line of a book?
2. What is your favorite blog post of your own and why?
3. If you couldn't read for a week, what would you do with your time?
4. Who is your least favorite author?
5. What elements does a story need to have to keep you interested?
6. Have you ever not finished a book? Which ones?
7. What book do you consider your best kept secret (something you love, but no one else has heard of)?
8. You're at a dinner party with three book characters. Who are they?
9. You're at a dinner party with three authors. Who are they?
10. Has a book ever changed your life?
June 21, 2012
Feature and Follow 4
I wasn't going to do this hop this week, but I had to because of the question. So, here's the button!
The question is: What book would you unread.
I have two.
The Bridges of Madison County. Yech. I'm pretty sure it must have been that era's 50 Shades of Grey or something, and I can only hope our 50 Shades doesn't go down in history with a name as a great. What a waste of my time. That woman never appealed to me as a heroine. I never felt her side of the story even though it was written in her perspective. I could only think the whole time, you cowardly dolt. You...cowardly...dolt.
And
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Hundreds of pages of...shut UP! I think I fell asleep four different times to the lull of the pretentious bullshit I was getting line by line.
Here's the linky list! Enjoy!
The question is: What book would you unread.
I have two.
The Bridges of Madison County. Yech. I'm pretty sure it must have been that era's 50 Shades of Grey or something, and I can only hope our 50 Shades doesn't go down in history with a name as a great. What a waste of my time. That woman never appealed to me as a heroine. I never felt her side of the story even though it was written in her perspective. I could only think the whole time, you cowardly dolt. You...cowardly...dolt.
And
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Hundreds of pages of...shut UP! I think I fell asleep four different times to the lull of the pretentious bullshit I was getting line by line.
Here's the linky list! Enjoy!
June 19, 2012
How to Get Your Book Reviewed
Once your book is out, you need to spread the word as far and high as you can. You can reach your network, but unless the book goes viral through word of mouth, that network will run dry after a few hundred (or thousand, if you're really popular) mentions. And of those mentions, only a very few people will buy the book at first. It takes time, patience and perserverence to see the book to even moderate success.
One way to boost sales, and to at least remind people that your book exists, is to get reviews. Space them out. This way, when you get a new review, you can post it for your network to read, and they won't be spammed with 30 reviews in a day, then hear nothing about it again. You'll effectively remind your friends without bothering them. Amazon and Goodreads reviews can make or break a new author, so make sure to keep checking for them.
Search out review blogs. When someone who doesn't know you reviews the book, they open you up to their network, adding it to your own. This is so important.
There is a certain protocol when asking another person to take time out of their life to read your book and write about it. Remember, they're doing you a favor, whether they like the book or not.
Here's how to get reviews from book bloggers, and what to do when you get them.
1) Finding the blogs: Use twitter, and book hops to find book bloggers. They're everywhere, and they're popular. You could even do a google search to find them. Finding book blogs isn't the problem. Finding book blogs that will be interested in your particular book is a bit more challenging.
2) Once you have a list of blogs you think on first glance might give your piece a favorable review, read their review policy. I cannot stress this enough. You'll easily see if they're not taking your genre at the moment, or if they're only accepting free submissions from publishers. You'll see what format they prefer. They may have specific questions they want you to answer in your email. It will be clear if you don't read their policy. They took time writing it, they expect you to read it.
When you do, look for the pertinent information. Are they interested in your genre? Even if they accept it, if it is not one of their favored types of literature, you may want to look elsewhere. Why waste time for both of you? Do they have a long waiting list? How many followers do they have? These two questions go together because a following is not necessarily a good indicator of how popular a book blogger is. You'll want good, thorough reviews from people who have actually taken the time to read your work, not a mill that pumps out 20 reviews a day. Don't fret about a wait time, if there is one. You've got the rest of your life to sell this book.
If you contain all the qualities they ask for in their policy, send them an email or fill out the form they give you before you send the book. Give them a chance to accept it or say no before foisting it on them. It's only polite. Plus, you'll get the people who really might like the book replying to you because they've taken an interest.
When you send that email, don't form-feed it. Give each reviewer a personal note that shows you're familiar with their blog and the hard work they do. It will help you bridge a relationship early on. It will help both you and the reviewer form personalities beyond the impersonal messaging. Always remember, you're essentially asking a favor of a stranger.
3) Check to see where the review will be posted. Some reviewers only post to their blogs. Others will give you a Goodreads and Amazon review as well.
Good luck!
One way to boost sales, and to at least remind people that your book exists, is to get reviews. Space them out. This way, when you get a new review, you can post it for your network to read, and they won't be spammed with 30 reviews in a day, then hear nothing about it again. You'll effectively remind your friends without bothering them. Amazon and Goodreads reviews can make or break a new author, so make sure to keep checking for them.
Search out review blogs. When someone who doesn't know you reviews the book, they open you up to their network, adding it to your own. This is so important.
There is a certain protocol when asking another person to take time out of their life to read your book and write about it. Remember, they're doing you a favor, whether they like the book or not.
Here's how to get reviews from book bloggers, and what to do when you get them.
1) Finding the blogs: Use twitter, and book hops to find book bloggers. They're everywhere, and they're popular. You could even do a google search to find them. Finding book blogs isn't the problem. Finding book blogs that will be interested in your particular book is a bit more challenging.
2) Once you have a list of blogs you think on first glance might give your piece a favorable review, read their review policy. I cannot stress this enough. You'll easily see if they're not taking your genre at the moment, or if they're only accepting free submissions from publishers. You'll see what format they prefer. They may have specific questions they want you to answer in your email. It will be clear if you don't read their policy. They took time writing it, they expect you to read it.
When you do, look for the pertinent information. Are they interested in your genre? Even if they accept it, if it is not one of their favored types of literature, you may want to look elsewhere. Why waste time for both of you? Do they have a long waiting list? How many followers do they have? These two questions go together because a following is not necessarily a good indicator of how popular a book blogger is. You'll want good, thorough reviews from people who have actually taken the time to read your work, not a mill that pumps out 20 reviews a day. Don't fret about a wait time, if there is one. You've got the rest of your life to sell this book.
If you contain all the qualities they ask for in their policy, send them an email or fill out the form they give you before you send the book. Give them a chance to accept it or say no before foisting it on them. It's only polite. Plus, you'll get the people who really might like the book replying to you because they've taken an interest.
When you send that email, don't form-feed it. Give each reviewer a personal note that shows you're familiar with their blog and the hard work they do. It will help you bridge a relationship early on. It will help both you and the reviewer form personalities beyond the impersonal messaging. Always remember, you're essentially asking a favor of a stranger.
3) Check to see where the review will be posted. Some reviewers only post to their blogs. Others will give you a Goodreads and Amazon review as well.
Good luck!
