Here's why...

I do the things I do...

You may (or may not) have noticed that I haven't been around much lately. Starting with the stomach flu that ravaged the family a few weeks back, ending with the pipe that broke and flooded the entire rental property just two days before our renters were set to move in, and working some crazy hours in between all that other drama, it's been a heck of a few weeks.

I was so totally counting on having that wonderful weekend in South Carolina, where I got to actually share a meal and some really cool chat time with the amazingly FABulous Joshilyn Jackson, be a time for me to re-charge, re-group, and re-LAX! And it was lovely. Really, totally lovely. But alas, as with all weekends-away, I had to come home, back to the reality that is my at-times-insanely-crazy-but-always-wonderful life. Straight back to the stomach flu. And my General Manager moving to Florida. And the rental flooding. So much fun being home, right?

So yeah, when things in the real life get crazy, time on the computer is the first thing that has to go. What? You didn't think I'd sacrifice time with my kids, did you?

Now, I've actually got the weekend off, and I wanted the chance to share a few things with you, before I go forward and start a few new things in April. We'll just chalk the month of March up to one long hiatus. I mean, those other writers in tv land got to take some time off, didn't they?

Here's the deal. I love books. I love reading them. I love writing them. I love walking in to the bookstore and seeing them. I love the smell of them. Pretty much anything that has to do with books is something that I enjoy being involved in.

I read all the time. I have books stashed everywhere you can imagine - next to the bed, in the office, in every bag I carry, in the car for reading at stoplights, piles of them next to the bathtub. You get the picture? I know what I like, and I know what I don't really like all that much. I also know how hard it is to write, since I'm plugging along at my own book.

I like to share my feelings about the books that I read, and that's why I started this blog. It wasn't supposed to be a big thing, with lots of people. It started off as a place to put my thoughts on books, instead of my personal blog. A few friends knew about it and read it, and that was cool. Then I had a partner in crime, as it were, and that was really nice too. Then we started doing contests, and more people started showing up, and that was pretty interesting. I found it all a bit strange that people really listened to what I had to say about books, and more than a bit flattering, if you want to know the truth. Then the partner in crime left, and I was back to doing things on my own. Except, now I had regular readers. Hmmm. Interesting place to be, yes?

But seriously, I'm not a very good reviewer. You knew that already, didn't you? I mean, I'm not snarky, I'm not rude, I can't really be mean. And I have this stupid thing where if I can't say at least three nice things about a book, then I won't even talk about it. Why? Well, because I think that authors work hard, really REALLY hard, to write those stories. And it's wrong, and mean, and just crappy, of me to come in and rip their work to shreds. I just don't see the humor, or the fun, or anything in that. I can't read review sites that seem to enjoy trashing not just a book, but an author as well. They make me kind of queasy. I don't find it entertaining, I find it cruel.

I also don't think that reviews should tell you anything major about the book. I don't think that any plot points should be revealed, and secrets told. I don't think they should be like mini- book reports. Nor do I think that you should get any more information from a review about the book than you get from the Back (or Inside) Cover Copy of a book. Reviews that tell you everything that happens in the book basically take away your reason to buy the book. I enjoy telling the general things that I liked about the book, a small bit about the main characters, any MAJOR thing that might have bothered me, and whether or not it will make my Keeper shelf, be passed on to a friend, be given away, or be sent out into the wild.

Also, because of the fact that I have a full time job outside the home, we homeschool all six of our amazing children, I'm very involved in my church, and I read like a fiend, I don't have the time to 'review' every single book that I read. And frankly, I doubt you'd like it if I did that anyhow. I want you to know that the books that I choose to 'feature' here are books that have somehow touched me. They have shifted the way I think about something, or look at something, or feel about something. They have made me pause and reconsider my views and opinions. They have made me cry or laugh. Basically, I'm only going to tell you about the ones that move me. Because really? Who the heck has time to read books that don't move you?

So if you're looking for mean-spirited reviews that tell you every last thing about a book, you're in the wrong place. If you want someone that's willing to trash an author, or the book that they wrote, you've got the wrong girl.

But if what you want is honest, positive thoughts about really special books, then maybe you're in the right place.

Going forward, here's the deal.
- I'll be putting a list of the books that I'm planning on reading every week/month up in the sidebar. It'll be like a TBR pile. When I finish with a book, if it's made any kind of an impact on me at all, I'll tell you about it. If you don't hear about it, then that means that I either really didn't like it, or it didn't make a really big splash in my pond.

- I will still feature a Fabulous Author/Book every month. And there will be a free book given away in a contest. Sometimes those books will even be signed. Sometimes they won't be. I'll try to have the FAB be a week-long event. And I'll try to include an interview. But I'm not making any promises.

- If you want me to tell you my thoughts on a book, ANY book, drop me a line, or leave me a comment. I'm always looking for new books or authors to check out. Keep in mind, I'll read almost anything, but I especially enjoy Southern fiction, mystery/suspense, 'chick lit', and straight romance. That's not to say that I won't read anything else, because hey, if it's in a book I'm willing to try reading it. I've read just about everything. I say "just about" because I'm sure there are things that I haven't seen yet. But if it falls in any category between cookbooks (my favorite is this one) and computer manuals (like this one), or anywhere else on any shelf of the bookstore, I'm more than willing to read it. And I honestly can't remember the last time I didn't finish a book. I just can't NOT finish, if you know what I mean.

- I'm going to encourage discussion about books. Actually, I'm going to beg for it. So, if you want to discuss a particular book, let me know. I'd like to start BookTalk in April, with a discussion of March's FAB The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. If you were one of the people that got signed copies of the book, or if you bought and read your own copy, please join me in a discussion IN THE COMMENTS SECTION, about the book. You will be able to identify BookTalk posts because the title will start with BT, and it will have a BookTalk label. If you don't want to read spoilers, please don't click on the comments for these posts.

- To go along with and encourage BookTalk discussions, I'll be sending out a few copies of a book each month. How do you get on my list? Send me an e-mail ( deesbookdish AT gmail DOT com) and let me know that you want to participate in BookTalk (just put BOOKTALK in the subject line, and your address somewhere in the e-mail body). I can't promise that you'll get a book every single month. But the more often you are here and you comment, the more often that you participate in the contests, well, the more inclined I will probably be to send you free books. You are, of course, under no obligation to participate in BookTalk discussions if I send you a free book. But it would be really great if you did drop in and at least give me your honest (but not cruel) opinion of the book that you got.

So, does that make sense? Things will keep going around here, but they'll be just a tad bit different. I'll tell you the books I'm reading, and I'll tell you about those books if they make any sort of an impact on me at all. If I don't tell you about them, then they were either wallbangers, or they were just not that interesting TO ME. That's not to say that you won't find them amazing, but if I don't tell you about them, that that just means that I personally didn't find them all that great. I'll also have regular BookTalk discussions, almost like an online book club, and you might get free books

Now, I'm going to adjourn for the next few days, and actually write up some 'reviews' of books I've read in the past few weeks, and store those to post in the very near future. And I also have a Double Dish from TC that I've had in storage for a few weeks (THANKS, tc!!).

Stay tuned for more fun stuff, more contests, more giveaways, and more of the reasons that I started the site in the first place. Be in touch in the comments if you have any suggestions. Can't wait to hear from you!

Keep Turning Those Pages!

I've Got A Website, But... (Author Island Contest)

...No one is visiting it! How am I supposed to get my name out there so people actually see it?

Let's face it, unless you are a well known author, getting your name out there is not an easy feat. In our search for FAB authors, dee and I know how hard it is to find those new authors. I still have no FAB for January. None. I live in a small town with no book store with the big WM as the only place to find books. Have you tried to find new books, by new authors, at that place? Last year I was lucky enough to find Kristan Higgins there, but it was a rare find. Most of the books I see on the shelves there have Best Selling Author across the top. If you'll read our FAB guidelines, I can't (or won't) consider a book if the author has already hit any of the lists, that seems unfair perhaps, and while we heart many big name authors here, we also really, really heart the new ones. So, I did what any other book buyer without an outlet does - I went online.

Chari-Dee's Quest For New Authors:

1 - I started by going to different publisher websites. While many are easy to navigate, they aren't "get to know the author" friendly, even when they try to be. The focus really seems to be more on their big sellers. And while I can understand this, I don't like it.

2 - Getting no where with the publisher sites, I did a blog search for publisher and agent blogs. I figure even if they don't shout from the tree-tops (so to speak) the new authors on their web sites, surely their blogs would introduce us? Nope. While I did find updates on a few of their authors, I also found more mention of awards being handed out and already (albeit somewhat) established authors.

3 - Next, I gave up and went to Amazon.com. I'll tell ya, I'm not a big fan of on-line book ordering. I like to actually touch a book, feel it in my hand, ya know? BUT, I didn't really see any other options. One of the nice things though, is that little "others who bought this book also bought," feature they have. I started by ordering a few books I was positive I wanted to read. Next in series and so forth, and then I started looking at the recommendations. In the end, I spent over half the night going from Amazon to search engine, to author sites and ordered over $100 in books (which will arrive tomorrow!).

So while I absolutely agree that a web site is key for any author, I wonder how do you find the websites? After all, the reader needs to have heard about the author/book before they go hunting down the site. What is the best thing a new author can do to spread the word about their books?

In my quest to find such authors, I've joined a few on-line groups (mainly on Yahoo!) that allow authors to Promote (yes, capital "P" let's face it, it deserves it). The problem I've had with these groups is there are too many authors and readers posting, and I don't have time to go through three digests a day. First of all, there is a lot of repetition in those groups. People reply to posts without cutting out the original post they are replying to, so a lot of the stuff gets overlooked by me because it's simply too hard to read. Perhaps I'm a stickler for cut and paste and low signature use because of the first on-line group I joined, and while some find the rules for posting too much of a hassle, it helps make things easier on everyone.

After a couple years of deleting thousands of digests, I cannot tell you how happy I was to find AuthorIsland.com . First of all, it's not an e-mail loop all of the time. While there is an on-line group set up for AI, it is used only during chat and only for a set amount of time. It makes it more intimate and I truly felt like during that first chat I had gotten to know the authors, I'll remember their names.

Secondly, DeNita sends out newsletters that have blurbs of the author's latest book or upcoming release, there are links to both author sites and to buy the book. At the Author Island site you'll find tons of contests (You know how I love me contests by the amount of them we run here), announcements, and links. The really great thing about the site is it isn't genre specific, so I can get news on author's from the many genres I read.

But of course, not all authors are members of Author Island, and I'm still going to have to find a way to find them. So, I've put up a new poll with this post about this very thing, and I'm going to explain my thoughts on the choices so you can see those before you vote.

How Do You Find Author Web Sites?

1 - On-line Group: Be it a site such as AuthorIsland or a Yahoo! Group, several authors participate in on-line loops. I've found a great many authors from my favorite Yahoo! Group, and it's the group of another author. But here's the thing, if you're an author and a member of another authors Fan Group/ Message Board, please truly be a fan. Yes, posting to a forum of a well known author will get your name out there, but readers will know if you are a true fan or just some one trying to self promote and doing so by riding coattails.

2 - Search Engines: This one isn't so easy for me, because usually when I think of search I think of searching for an author by name. I know there must be several ways to search for new authors, but I haven't found a great way to do it yet. So, if you vote this, please share with us the keywords you use to find them without a specific book or name.

3 - Blogs: Be it the author's (agent, publisher) own blog or comments they've left on another site. I have found a few authors from well known author blogs when they get a nod from said author. BUT, I've also made a list of authors not to look up or buy based on comments left on blog posts. This one is a sticky subject, because authors are readers too, but your comments as a reader can really turn me off of you as an author. Group author blogs are great, but unless there is at least one author on that blog with name recognition getting traffic is still an issue. If you choose this option, please let us know why and what works for you.

4 - Other: What am I missing here? The readers at dee & Dee are too smart not to have some tricks up their sleeves.

For the contest, please make sure to send DeNita a copy of your comment here to AuthorIsland at yahoo.com (ya know the drill with the spaces and symbol) put dee & Dee Dish contest in the subject and your name and address in the body with your comment.

Take Care

FAB Picks: Because Readers Have A Slush Pile, Too!

If you are reading this, then obviously you love books. And if like me, that love sends you to other industry blogs, such as agents, editors, and authors, then you've heard of the infamous slush pile. You know, that pile that agents and editors have to read through to find "the next big thing," or at least the "next thing that's going to earn us some cash." Well, I say to you, that readers have a slush pile to deal with too. The only problem is, we're paying for it.

Reading is much like gambling. There really are no safe bets. Even some of our tried and true authors let us down occasionally, and the proclamation of NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF... means jack smack anymore. After all, how do I know that this unknown to me author didn't hit the bestsellers list because they were the only new release in that specific genre that week? Or that their family isn't extremely wealthy and therefore went out and spent an unholy amount of money on their "babies" book so they could have plenty around for dinner party gifts, therefore inflating the sales figure for the first few weeks of the books release? After all, I have a stack of books that all have that Bestselling proclamation on the front that I can't make it through the first three chapters. It's a gamble, I tell ya, and if, like me, there is not a bookstore within easy driving distance, and your only source of books is the Big W or the internet, then the stakes are even higher.

That, my dear lovelies, is why I do FAB picks. I can't speak for dee, but maybe she'll chime in here, but for me, I do FAB picks because I LOVE finding that new author, the one that promises great things from book one. I buy and read plenty of stinkers, that when I find a new author that is just hitting the literary world, and they write a story that touches my heart, or makes me laugh, or has me closing the book wanting more (and wanting it NOW), then I love to sing their praises. I also hope that as I sing their praises, others notice, and when they see that book on the shelves, they know that perhaps the gamble won't be as HUGE as normal.

So, you see, as we weed through our "slush pile", that ever popular TBR (To Be Read) stack, when we find some one new that stand out from all the rest, we bring them to your attention with our FAB. And I hope, that as you spend a week at dee & Dee getting to know these new authors and their work, you not only enter for a chance to win their amazing books, but put them on your list of authors to buy! I know that Richelle Mead, this months FAB pick, is on my To Buy list for a LONG time, and look at all the great things we'll be seeing from Richelle in the future!

And since her debut novel SUCCUBUS BLUES is what has me singing Mead's praises, I thought I'd share a bit more of what drew me to the book. Tomorrow, I'll post a full review on the book, but today, I thought I'd share a few of the quotes that stood out for me and why:

"...Humans continually labor under the delusion that there really is a precise set of rules on what sin is and is not, rules that one might break without even realizing it. In reality, most people know when they do wrong. The feel it. Sin is more of a subjective matter than an objective one..."

"Love is rarely flawless," Carter pointed out. "Humans delude themselves by thinking it has to be. It is the imperfection that makes love perfect."

There are few authors that can put those kind of thought provoking statements in a book, and not sound preachy or pretentious. In fact, until now, Charlaine Harris has been the only other author that has been able to pull that off for me. Mead has found a way to fuse together insightful prose with romance, paranormal, and humor that will have readers begging for more.

Don't forget, there is still time to enter this months contest! Click here for details. Also, no one has correctly guessed my two favorite Cusak movies (actually, two of my favorite all time movies) so make sure to take a guess for a chance at another prize!

Take Care