Policy, Purpose & FAQ

Policy

Alright, friends, I suppose it is good to state my review policy.

I love to participate in blog tours, author interviews, and reading ARCs and have done so several times in the past, and enjoyed it. I encourage you to contact me if you are interested in me participating in promotional activities for your novels, but before you do please read the following:

1. I like Y.A. and LDS Fiction, though I don’t mind reading something different every once in a while. The reason I like these areas of fiction is because I refuse to read graphic sex-scenes, extreme swearing (I don’t mind a few swear-words), and other offensive or graphic material.

2. Sorry to self-publishers, but in general I probably won’t be interested in your book. I may be interested in LDS themed books that couldn’t find a place in the market for some reason or the other. I like to champion obscure works when I feel they merit it. Please, heed the caution number one above, and keep in mind that I am a conservative reader.

3. I am open to e-book ARCs. Though, they won’t get reviewed as fast unless you give me a general time period within which you wish me to post the review. (Giving me a time period is perfectly acceptable, though please give me at least one week.)

4. In general, I don’t like romance novels. I do enjoy books with romance in them though. To be more specific I don’t like books that have the romance as the main plot. But I like many books that have romance as a sub or side plot. They must follow rule number one though.

5. Don’t send me books that have rape, sexual abuse, or child abuse in them. I really hate these themes, and feel they are seriously exploited and sensationalized in fiction and media today in insensitive and offensive ways.

Purpose:
Or why I decided to start this blog.

1. It is hard to find good LDS book reviews, though that is less true now than it once was. My links include some good sources to LDS book reviews. In addition, I hear the complaint all the time that LDS fiction sucks. I want to prove that wrong in some measure, and point out the good books in the market. I recognize that there are still a few bombs in LDS fiction, and if I read one I want to let readers know about it so there are less people picking up one book and calling the whole market a pile of trash, because it is simply not true.

2. I probably shouldn’t admit this, because it will open myself up to hate mail probably. I like to write, and would like to be published one day. I’ve participated in a writing group for a long time, and have attended writing conferences, and completed two novels. So, this blog gives me a way to look at writing critically, and thereby increase my own skill at the craft.
I really don’t want to come across as being a person who thinks they could have written the book better, or is superior and all that junk. My novels are not publishable, and really do stink in a lot of ways. I’m not an English Major, nor a grammar snob/nazi. I don’t pay attention that much to typos. I focus more on characterization, plot, and larger issues at play in a book.

3. I love love love books! The only thing better than reading a really great book is sharing a really great book with someone else. I get to know the people in my life and when I learn what they like to read offer up books. My husband has discovered lots of new series this way. (Mistborn, Temeraire Series, Pendragon, Percy Jackson)

FAQ

Where do you get your books?

90% or more of my books come from the library. The BYU HBLL has a huge collection of LDS fiction, and so I get most LDS books there. They also have an awesome children’s section, and so I get a lot of YA books there. I also buy a few, and a win a few in contests here and there on the web. I also get several from authors themselves. Sadly, I will move soon, and BYU library will no longer be available to me. Sniff.

How do you define LDS Fiction?

For the purposes of the blog I define an LDS novel as a book that is published by an LDS publisher intended for a Mormon audience. I know this isn’t a perfect formula, but it basically works. Lots of LDS authors publish with national publishers, and unless these books are overly LDS I don’t label them as LDS fiction.