1. Literary Critic, I am not
This means I'll only review stories I like, and it also means you'll never see a negative review on my site. If you send me your story and I don't like it, I'll tell you in private.
2. Genres I especially like
Genre distinctions are tricky, but they can be helpful, too. Here is a short list of genres I enjoy, in no particular order.
- Fantasy - All kinds. (e.g. high, low, epic, urban, contemporary, classic, paranormal, YA, comedic, mythic, and superhero)
- Science Fiction - All kinds. (e.g. hard, soft, space opera, cyberpunk, science fantasy and steampunk)
- Suspense/Thriller - I prefer military, but have read others including psychological, medical, legal, and corporate.
- Mystery - I'm a classic, investigator-mystery type guy. What can I say? Agatha Christie, amazing!
- Horror - I'm not into blood, guts and gore for their own sake, but I like psychological and paranormal stories.
- Romance - This is a huge, multifaceted genre. While I'm not one to read a straight-up romance, I do like the romance hybrids: Romantic Suspense, Romantic Mystery, etc. In other words, if the romance could fit into one of the other categories I like, that's cool. There is a line though: no spicy and definitely no erotica. To put it bluntly, if the bedroom door doesn't stay closed there better be a clear and unavoidable story reason for it.
3. Free Books. Free Books! FREE BOOKS!
Ooo, did I get your attention with that header? Did your perception sharpen? Did you start reading this section a little quicker than others? Are you annoyed with these questions and want to get to the free books already? Yeah, me too.
Reviewers often receive free copies of books to review. I won't pretend that won't affect me or my opinion. Scientist don't even understand all the psychological factors of Free. On the other hand, buying a book--investing my own money--affects my opinions too, as does knowing the author personally, liking (or disliking) other works by that author, a story set somewhere I know, characters who resonate with my life experiences, and so on.
In short, if you are looking for an objective review, see point #1.
However in an effort to appear objective, this is what I'll do. Any free, review copies I receive will be deleted or given away. Depending on my mood, that may mean a give-away on my blog or a donation to my local library. (See? I told you there'd be FREE BOOKS, didn't I?)
4. Posting reviews
I will post reviews on my blog, but if you ask I will try to post reviews on other sites as well.
5. Contact me
If I sound like your kind of reviewer, contact me on Twitter, Facebook or email. See the sidebar for contact information.
