Need Reviews?
10/09: I am currently closed to new review requests outside of requests made through DarkScribe Magazine or MonsterLibrarian.com
~Disclaimer~
Thanks to the new requirements by the FTC I am now required to tell you the following:
-I may have received these books for free from the publisher, the author or a third party charged with promoting the title.
-This does not mean I have been paid for a positive review. I allow no oversight by the author or publishers of the book because this is my site, not theirs. This blog functions primarily as my own book journal. I’m more than willing to let other people read my thoughts and to help readers make choices about what books to buy. But the real reasons behind this blog are entirely selfish–to push myself to read wider and more frequently, to expand my knowledge of the genres I write in, to hopefully build a reader base for my own fiction. “Free books” is not on this list because the majority of the books I have received for free honestly are probably not books I would have bought anyway. Also not on this list is “money” because that’s a complete joke to any one who knows anything about publishing or reviewing.
-Also, some of these books were given to me by authors and publishers who I consider my friends. This also means nothing, because I believe if you can’t be honest with your friends they aren’t really your friends.
-Some of these books might also come from people who are published by the same publisher as me, or even people who play a role in the publishers who have published me (such as an editor). This also means nothing, because if a publisher wants to blacklist me because I didn’t enjoy one of their other books then I don’t wish to be associated with them.
What I review: I welcome books in any subgenre or combination of science fiction, fantasy or horror. I also read romance, particularly paranormal and erotica, but I’m extremely picky about it, so I prefer to buy it myself. Collections, anthologies, novellas, full length books and even Amazon shorts are all welcome. (I’m also very picky about poetry though, so I’m probably not the best reviewer for poetry collections.)
How to submit: I accept pdfs at zombiemicheleATgmailDOTcom (spam guards removed). If you’d like to send me a print copy you can email a query to the same address.
Note:
1. While I do try to see both the bad and good sides of each item that I review I do not promise to like your work or give it a positive review. Everyone has their own opinion and by asking me to review a work for you you are asking me to give my opinion of your work publicly. If you really don’t want to know either don’t ask, or don’t read the review.
2. I do this in my spare time and I’m the only reviewer on this site, so I’m not what you could call prompt. If I tell you I’ll review something I WILL read and review it, but it might not be in quick time frame.
3. Here’s a short list of the things that, if present in your work, I might not be the best reviewer for: Poetry, romance with no other plot line (paranormal romance, romantic suspense, romantic sf are all okay for example, but I’m not the person for contemporaries), romance/sex with issues of questionable consent, characters who are actively abused and don’t fight back or find a reason to stand up for themselves within the first 100 pages, fiction that’s just thinly cloaked rants on politics/religion/anything, bizarro fiction (I will look at it, but I’m not really in your target audience), nonfiction (though my husband reviews nonfiction, so if he is interested I am willing to pass books to him), stories with minorities and women as flat, cliched characters (this is a personal pet peeve, but it will affect my reading)
4. Now, to be fair, here are some things I really enjoy/am actively looking for; social science fiction, any book with minority lead characters, horror with strong, well rounded female leads, GLBT speculative fiction, graphic novels, speculative YA, humor, dystopias, urban or modern fantasy, historical urban fantasy (ie Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s St. Germain novels), “literary” speculative fiction (such as Toby Barlow’s Sharp Teeth, Melanie and Steven Tem’s The Man on the Ceiling and Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin), mixed genre works (ie dark science fiction, science fantasy, paranormal mystery), anything paranormal.