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Some mild swearing:
In an earlier thread that got locked -- probably for the best -- I'd complained about how some writers behave, but I didn't type the word "some." I thought it was implied, I thought people knew me well enough to know that, but it was sloppy of me not to phrase it better. I'm am wearied by the antagonism between reviewers and writers, and the last thing I want to do is add to it.
What I would like to do is say I love reviewing, and I love reviewing indies in particular. Which would have been news to me a little over a year ago.
I feel like I'm helping people find books and perhaps take a leap to try someone new. And, while I don't review for writers, I love that sometimes I can say really nice things and help someone out. When that happens it's icing on the cake, and I get to see them around and get that warm feeling remembering the enjoyment I had in reading their books.
In the short time I've been reviewing for Red Adept, I've accumulated a list of writers I'd rate with the names everyone knows. Among them, Grady Hendricks, James Everington, Jeff Menapace, and Barry Napier. Although my list is a bit of a "sausage party." (I'd include Courtney Milan, but I've been a fan since back when she worked for "The Man," if the people who bring you Harlequin romances can be called "The Man.") The list is also really horror-centric! Oh, Mary Anna Evans, which wasn't a discovery through Red Adept, but through Kindle Boards.
And, let me discuss my greatest act of charity. I believe it was in April last year that I offered a month of reviewing indies and did a struggling young author a huge favor by reading her little vampire story. I don't know where this Amanda Hocking kid is today, but whatever little success she might have found is probably due in no small part to my review. (There aren't enough winky emoticons in the world.)
My wish for this thread is that people talk about the interesting or helpful, the new authors they've discovered through reviewing or reading reviews -- or just because a cover looked great -- the shared community. I'd be giddy if a writer shared how they read a critical review and knew it was right -- but that might be a pipe dream.
In an earlier thread that got locked -- probably for the best -- I'd complained about how some writers behave, but I didn't type the word "some." I thought it was implied, I thought people knew me well enough to know that, but it was sloppy of me not to phrase it better. I'm am wearied by the antagonism between reviewers and writers, and the last thing I want to do is add to it.
What I would like to do is say I love reviewing, and I love reviewing indies in particular. Which would have been news to me a little over a year ago.

In the short time I've been reviewing for Red Adept, I've accumulated a list of writers I'd rate with the names everyone knows. Among them, Grady Hendricks, James Everington, Jeff Menapace, and Barry Napier. Although my list is a bit of a "sausage party." (I'd include Courtney Milan, but I've been a fan since back when she worked for "The Man," if the people who bring you Harlequin romances can be called "The Man.") The list is also really horror-centric! Oh, Mary Anna Evans, which wasn't a discovery through Red Adept, but through Kindle Boards.
And, let me discuss my greatest act of charity. I believe it was in April last year that I offered a month of reviewing indies and did a struggling young author a huge favor by reading her little vampire story. I don't know where this Amanda Hocking kid is today, but whatever little success she might have found is probably due in no small part to my review. (There aren't enough winky emoticons in the world.)
My wish for this thread is that people talk about the interesting or helpful, the new authors they've discovered through reviewing or reading reviews -- or just because a cover looked great -- the shared community. I'd be giddy if a writer shared how they read a critical review and knew it was right -- but that might be a pipe dream.