My “Precious 5-Stars” Essay Now Live at Clarkesworld

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and their own score system. As long as people continue to be unique, diverse individuals, reviews will never be standardized (and thank goodness!). But will Precious Five-Stars ultimately become a matter of pride or a source of punishment for authors today? Read the rest of the article (and comment) here at Clarkesworld…

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Jenna Does HERO (with giveaway!)

Jenna over at Jenna Does Books has posted a really great review of HERO: JENNA’S REVIEW My favorite fairy tale writer, Alethea Kontis, pulls off another slam dunk with HERO, the second of her stories about the Woodcutter sisters. HERO is a gender-bending, swash-buckling tale about Saturday, the second youngest sister to Sunday, whom we previously met in Enchanted….

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KIRKUS Loves Hero!

HERO Author: Alethea Kontis Review Issue Date: September 1, 2013 Online Publish Date: August 14, 2013 Publisher:Harcourt Pages: 304 Price ( Hardcover ): $17.99 Publication Date: October 1, 2013 ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-0-544-05677-0 Category: Fiction The cover is terribly wrong—again—but Kontis’ return to the Woodcutter family is still mightily entertaining. This story focuses on Saturday Woodcutter, whose sister…

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My Hero, Sarah Beth Durst

My dear awards-sister, Sarah Beth Durst, has already devoured her ARC of HERO and has this to say: “I loved HERO. It’s the kind of book that makes you smile from the inside out.–Sarah Beth Durst, author of Vessel How wonderful!  I’m all aglow. Thank you, Sarah!!! Tweet

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Princess Alethea’s Magical Elixir

My new (and final) review column is up at IGMS. It’s been a wonderful four years of reviewing — thank you all so much for reading! Title: Darkbeast Author: Morgan Keyes EAN: 9781442442054 I had the pleasure of interviewing Morgan Keyes in July during my yearly Month of Author & Artists. In doing the requisite digging for her bio,…

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Princess Alethea’s Magical Elixir

New book reviews are up at IGMS! Title: Home from the Sea Author: Mercedes Lackey EAN: 9780756407278 I adore Mercedes Lackey – By the Sword is one of my all-time favorites, as is her beautiful collaboration with Andre Norton: The Ship Who Searched. I keep the Bardic Voices books on hand at all times for my re-reading enjoyment. They…

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On Reviews

Recently on Twitter (I seem to be on Twitter a lot while I’m writing fiction–it’s quick and easy) a bunch of us were discussing reviewers who blatantly ask for free books, and the value of such reviews. Since then, I’ve been mulling over how to respond to these folks. Because according to some of my considerably more published friends,…

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