CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF BOOKS

Hi! Thank you so much to Romancing the Genres for having me today. I'm Bethany from Cloudy with a Chance of Books. I've also commented on various writing blogs over the years as Wavybrains/chanceofbooks. I think each book lover who does reviews at various sites and on book blogs has a different mission. For me, my mission is simple: helping great books, particularly undiscovered gems, find the right audience for them and analyzing what makes great reads work.

I've been an RWA member since 2005, and this blog came about after I decided to let my membership lapse while I wrangle motherhood and teaching community college. Even during the weeks (okay, MONTHS on end) of not writing, I was still a voracious reader, and I realized that I missed talking about books. Here I was up all night nursing a voracious baby sumo wrestler and discovering amazing new authors, but I had no one to rave to. I've done Goodreads since 2008, but I realized that more and more of my Goodreads reviews sounded like blog reviews. So this year, I took my RWA renewal money, put it towards a Nook Color, and gave birth to Cloudy with a Chance of Books.

I operate on the premise that EVERY book is some author's baby and the product of months (years!) of hard work. And nearly every book has at least one person who loves it, even if it's just the editor and the reader's mother and the 15 people who love second person, present tense stories told from the POV of a purple goat with OCD. In my reviews, I always try to talk about which types of readers might like a particular story because my goal is to help those 15 readers find their purple-goat-boy stories.

When I LOVE a particular book, particularly one that I think isn't getting enough exposure like Paty Jager's Spirit of the Mountain or Inez Kelly's Sweet as Sin, I do a blog post (making it my pick of the week if I can) and a Goodreads review AND Amazon and, occasionally, Barnes and Noble.
It's the heart of what I want to do as a reviewer--getting great books more exposure, and I throw my whole self into it. On the other end of the spectrum, I very rarely do reviews of books I don't finish at Amazon/Barnes & Noble--I'm not going to tell readers to NOT purchase a particular book as for all I know there are legions of people dying for the purple-goat story. I see Amazon/Barnes Noble/other bookseller reviews as telling readers whether or not a particular book is worth their money. This why it's so important to me to identify which types of readers a particular story may work for, because worth is so darn subjective.

As the blog evolves, I find myself less and less willing to do purely negative reviews. If I can't find some redeeming value in a book, some connection to the ideal audience for a book or some insight into why something didn't work for me (but might for others), I'd rather put the energy towards the books that truly captivate me. As a reader, I love snarky review blogs, but I'm trying to carve out a different niche for myself. And I know reviewers-who-really-want-to-write have a bad rep, but I can't change that part of my identity as a reviewer--I love how doing reviews has connected me with so many awesome authors and keeps me connected to the Romance community.

I think the fact that I have written manuscripts and critiqued others' WIPs comes out in my reviews--I tend to think like a writer, looking at conflict, point-of-view, tension, and characterization. But, I'm a reader first and foremost and what I really care about is: Did it hook me? And if it did, I want to figure out why and share that experience with others. There is nothing quite like the heady feeling of falling in love with an author with meaty backlist or discovering a rising star. I use my Five Umbrella Friday pick of the week to showcase new additions to my keeper shelf.

Since having kids, I've gained new respect for the novella, and I do a Saturday Short pick of the week to help weekend readers find a guaranteed awesome gem. Like the ladies of Romancing the Genres, I love venturing into different subgenres, and I find novellas a great way to try out new authors and new genres. I like nothing more than being able to say "I wasn't sure I'd like it . . . BUT."

Doing reviews also means that I get handed more genre defying books that let me say, "But I loved it and here's why." I'm just a few chapters into Gail Carriger's Soulless (comment for a chance to win), and I can already tell it's one of those genre-defying discoveries that make life as a reader so much fun--I don't usually "do" Vampires and alternate history is very hit-and-miss for me. But then I encounter a very proper Victorian Spinster with the dry wit of an Austen heroine, and she's completely non-plussed about being able to fight paranormal beings. And the week from hades slips aways, I forget to look at the clock, and this . . . THIS is why I've embarked on my journey as a reviewer. For moments like that. I'll have a full-review up on my blog as soon as I finish with Alexia. Or she finishes with me. I doubt she'll let ME have the last word.

Thanks so much for the chance to visit! Feel free to ask me questions in the comments, I'll check back to chat later. And share your opinions on reviewers-who-also-write--can it work? Send you running for the smelling salts? If you're interested in sending me a book or novella to consider for review, my email is chanceofbooks at the email provider that starts with a "G."