OKAY LOVELIES!

The Spring Fling Book Swap is open! 

Spring is a time of love and colors and renewal and all kinds of cool things. So this swap should be about bright, romance, fun, silly. Make-overs and insta-love and tea on the veranda. (Okay, I'm a Southern girl, so cut me some slack. I almost said Mint Juleps.) 

Here are the must haves:
1. Books, duh. In good condition. Used is fine. Some of us even love those beat-up, well worn hardbound old type books. So you're pretty free here.

2. Something whimsical. A scarf with a pretty print. A picture of a unicorn. A cabochon or a cool bracelet. Have fun with this.

3. Something bright. Pretty self explanatory. Can be anything, just keep your partner's taste in mind.

4. A fun spring snack. I totally love Milano cookies.

5. A surprise. Whatever you want to give your partner. A total off-the-cuff gift you think they may like, but try to keep with the theme. 

And the fine print:

Budget is $20.Deadline for signing up ends March 25th. That's 10 days! Deadline for mailing is April 10th. If you have any questions, I'm totally here for you guys. If you need an extension, as always, just ask. As always, this is anonymous. No spoilers. No peeking. 

SIGN UP HERE: SPRING FLING FORM

Once you ship your box, please remember to message or email me with your tracking number. Now go have fun, my little spring fairies!

What's this? What's this? There's reading everywhere! What's this? There's pages in the air!

Welcome to the official Winter Chills book swap! The super, duper Halloween-themed, horror-filled winter book swap for all us that just can't let go of October. 

Here are the official guidelines! Budget is $20, per the usual. Sign-ups are open from November 2nd to November 21st. Packages will be due to ship by December 5th. I hope that's enough time for everyone. If not, just hit me up and we can work out something. We're all friends here, and with it being the (numerous) holidays, we all understand being stretched a little thin. Delays can be made, budgets can be changed. I just want you guys to have a great time!

What to include:

1. Books, of course. However many you want, as long as they are spooky/creepy/horror or whatever else your buddy wants.

2. A treat. Something yummy to eat or drink. 

3. Something to wear. Socks, pins, a hat, anything. Make it fun!

4. Something that smells nice. 

5. A note, of course. Talk to your partner about why you gave what you gave.

Form: SIGN UP

As always, bargain hunt. Target Dollar Spot, Hollar app, Dollar Tree. Used books are fine as long as they are in decent shape. We haven't ever run into a bad giver yet, so let's try to keep it up! :) Also, since some of us don't celebrate Christmas, let's be conscious of that when picking items. That's why this is not a "Christmas" swap, but a "winter" one. Let's try to keep this rather secular and just enjoy the gift of books!

Emails with partners will be sent out on November 22nd. Shipping form will be posted up then, too, so I can track who gets what. 

I love you guys! Let's get this thing rolling! 

I can't believe my eyes! What's this?!

We have yet another author meltdown.

Oh, it's not a violent, rantin' and ravin' one.  Instead this one is the casual sort, the kind who repeatedly says he doesn't care about those 1-star ratings from people who didn't read his book but who just as repeatedly follows those people to every review and blog and website they frequent.

Yes, I'm talkin' about you, Tony McFadden.

http://shelbypj.booklikes.com/post/747132/i-m-a-magnet-

Tony is outraged because someone gave ALL his books one-star ratings.  He is further outraged because when he called that someone on her behavior, she told her friends, and some of her friends proceeded to one-star his books, too.

Poor Tony apparently doesn't understand how GoodReads ratings work, because even though GoodReads (at least for now) allows readers to rate books based on their level of interest or enthusiasm before reading,Tony has labeled anyone who does so a liar.

Of course, Tony apparently also has never heard of the Streisand effect:  None of this would ever have reached the next level of discourse if Tony himself hadn't made a stink about it.

The thing is, Tony doesn't exactly live in a glass house and shouldn't be throwing stones.

Tony belongs to that outstanding group of "independent" writers who style themselves as "Awesome Indies"  http://awesomeindies.net/   They give each other glowing reviews and even have a "Seal of Excellence" that they can paste on their digital book covers.

For instance, here's Tahlia Newland's review of Tony's book Have Wormhole, Will Travel" posted on Amazon:

What's that in the fine print?  "Reviewed on behalf of the Awesome Indies.  I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review."

But, excuse me, Tony McFadden is also one of the reviewers at AI.

http://awesomeindies.net/about/reviewers/

So, who's the liar, Mr. McFadden?  The people like Shelby who rated your book one-star because they had absolutely no fucking interest in reading anything you've written, or you who are just not quite telling the truth about your affiliation with the group that gives you its seal of excellence?

And what about those glowing reviews from that totally impartial, completely disinterested reviewer, Joyce McFadden:

Of course, an examination of Tony and his reviews wouldn't be complete without turning the tables.    Just as Tahlia Newland gave Tony's book a big fat five-star rating, Tony returned the favor for her.  And he didn't even bother to let anyone know that he received a free copy from his friend and fellow AI reviewer Newland.

Get over it, Tony, before it's too late.  Walk away and show us that you really don't care by, um, not caring.  You've already done a helluva lot of damage to your reputation,  way more than Shelby did by giving your books one-star ratings.