#AugustReviews Hall of Fame ~ the first five days!

#AugustReviews is an initiative to get genuine readers into the habit of leaving book reviews on Amazon.  My original post about it is HERE

Another huge thank you to everyone who has shared, RT or re-posted the blog, and especially to those who have written versions of it on their own blog.  There has been so much sharing activity that to thank and comment on all individually would take me hours and hours of each day that I don't have, so please take this as an official thank you, and you're on my RT list. :)  If I don't RT you, give me a nudge!

  
*Please note: #AugustReviews is NOT about own book promotion.  
All hashtags suffer 'hashtag abuse', but I don't want this idea to get lost under yet another mountain of 'buy my book' tweets, which can only be counterproductive, as it will put off any genuine readers who might join in.

Many have already reviewed, so a big thank you to all who have joined in, and please see the list below.  

Please do not tweet blog review links to the hashtag.   

Why not?

• The purpose of this initiative is to get more readers posting reviews on Amazon.  If you post blog links, it might put new reviewers off and lead them to think you need a blog to review.
• It causes more work for me, as I have to go and seek out your review on Amazon! 

I would LOVE to see some reviews from readers who haven't written one before ~ so if any of you are reading this, please don't be shy!  If you're not sure what to put, just have a look at the ones below, which should give you a few pointers, or read this terrific post on With Love for Books with some great one liners: it's HERE.

Huge thanks to Barb Taub for her fab graphics, 
and welcome to the first...
  
...#AugustReviews Hall of Fame!

Click the title of the book to see the review :)
 

Sharon Booth reviewed Summer at Skylark Farm by Heidi Swain

I reviewed Out of Love by Diana Appleyard

Mags Cullingford reviewed Scotch on the Rocks by Lizzie Lamb 
 
Barb Taub reviewed Abe Lincoln on Acid by Brian Anthony and Bill Walker

Carol Thomas reviewed To Squeak and Hattie by JJ Morval 

Stacey from Whispering Stories reviewed:
Recipient by Dean Mayes
Becoming Phoebe by J Michael Neal
The Tudors  by Marcia Williams
Franny The Fearless Firefly by Christina Murphey

E L Lindley reviewed The Family Line by Laura Wilkinson 

Elizabeth Ducie reviewed: 
The Broken Road by Lindsay Stanberry-Flynn
A Killing Tree by Paul Toolan
Blood Hits The Wall by Judith Cranswick 
What Happens in the Alps by TA Williams
Perditas by Alison Morton

Wendy Janes reviewed Marielle by Peter Davey

The Happy Meerkat reviewed The Demon Within by Byron Nadgie

Luccia Gray reviewed:
Escape Plan by Elizabeth Hein 
I let you go by Clare Mackintosh
Under a Cornish Sky by Liz Fenwick

Liz Lloyd reviewed Trust Me I Lie by Louise Marley

Elle (Capes and Corsets) reviewed Fudge Berries and Frogs Knickers by Lynda Renham

Adrienne Vaughan reviewed Escape to the Riviera by Jules Wake

Cathy Ryan reviewed Banshee by Sarah Cradit

Catherine Hokin reviewed:
The Girl In The Glass Tower by Liz Fremantle
and my book Kings and Queens

Ella Noel reviewed:
Horizontal Living by Ray Green
M'TK Sewer Rat by Delinda MCann

 
Rosie Amber reviewed:
Harbinger by Marcia Meara 
Her Enemy At The Altar by Virginia Heath 
Dante's Key by G L Baron

Rachel Poli reviewed:
The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse 
A Spark of Justice by JD Hawkins
Walking Over Eggshells by Lucinda E Clarke

Shelley Wilson reviewed The Last Necromancer by C J Archer

 
Sarah Houldcroft reviewed my book Best Seller 

Jenny Worstall and Anniek Snowroses reviewed my book Round and Round 

Thanks more than I can say for everyone's support in this, and keep them coming!  I may not be as active on social media as I would like at the moment because of some bloody annoying back problems, so I'm sorry if I don't thank you personally, but am giving #AugustReviews top priority. 

The Z Files: Stacey Garrity ~ Scorpio

Astrology ~ a bit of fun, a load of rubbish, or something to take seriously?

I invited around 70 writers/bloggers to write a piece about how typical they are of their sign, and how its traits affect their writing life ~ if at all...

Has your favourite writer been featured yet?  Links to all previous posts at the end of this one :)

Today I've got another intense Scorpio for you!  Stacey Garrity, who runs a really excellent book blog called Whispering Stories (link at end of article).  She's very professional and the blog is so well presented; as well as book reviews, Stacey has included features such as 'The Writing Life' in which she interviews authors, Fun Fact Friday and a monthly poem ~ and lots more.

Stacey with her husband ~ they'd just climbed Mount Snowdon in aid of Childflight,

a volunteer run charity with which they are both involved, that takes long term sick children and their families on holiday (click link for more info).

Welcome to The Z Files, Stacey, and please tell us about your Scorpio blogging self!

"I am quite a typical Scorpio, although I don’t read my star sign any more.

As a teenager, I was obsessed by them and would read numerous magazines every day."

"Looking at the traits associated with being a Scorpio, I realised that at some point throughout my life, I have had, each and every one of them – positive and negative, though most of the negative ones no longer play a part in my life.

When it comes to blogging I most associate myself with being focussed, determined and ambitious.  I am a keen planner and I am meticulous about everything I do, this helps me keep focus on the task at hand and do it to the best of my ability."

"I have always been ambitious, so it came as no surprise to me when I wanted my blog to be more than just about reviews, I wanted it to have a variety of categories that people could enjoy.

Lastly I am an extremely determined person, and when I set my mind to something I don’t give up easily.  Some days, blogging is hard, especially with three children, work and being a Patient Representative for a charity.   I can sometimes be sitting until nearly midnight writing new posts, as I am determined to make my blog a success."

It deserves to be a success, it's a great blog!  The link to it is HERE and you can also follow Stacey on Twitter.  Her book review list has grown so large now that she's looking for reviewers to help her out; if you think you may be interested in this, the details are HERE.

Stacey was the seventh Scorpio to respond to my invitation to contribute to this feature (five was the maximum from any other sign), so I'm getting a bit low on famous Scorpio writers!  But I've found one nicely appropriate one, and I'd saved one of my favourites....

.... Evelyn Waugh ~ I've read a few of his books, and A Handful of Dust 

is definitely in my all time Top 20

...and Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet, novelist, activist ~ and literary critic!  

I expect she would have had a book blog, too, if she'd been born forty years later :)

Coming Next: A New Romantic trio ~ with four zodiac signs....

Previous Posts (click name to see post):

Leo and Aries: Terry Tyler and Julia Proofreader

Leo: Rose Edmunds, Anne Goodwin, Alex Johnson

Aries: Trisha Ashley, Cynthia Harrison

Gemini: Haydn Lee, Norah Colvin, Jerome Dumont, John Privilege, 
 Shelley Wilson

Aquarius and Capricorn: Nicky Black

Aquarius: Lynda Renham, Cathy Ryan

Capricorn: Wendy Janes, Annie Lyons, Steffany R

Sagittarius: Rachel Amphlett, Wendy J Lennox, Katrina Mountfort

Cancer: Sarah Boucher, Mark Barry, Katie Oliver

Virgo: Louise Marley, Elizabeth Ducie, Barb Taub

Pisces: Julie Haiselden, Maria Savva, Sacha Black

Scorpio: Gemma Lawrence, Robert Leigh, Catherine Hokin, Jenny Twist

Taurus: Valerie-Anne Baglietto, Val Poore

Libra: Tom Hocknell, Jen Ammoscato, Joanne B

Wanted ~ one book reviewer!

Whispering Stories is one of the best book blogs I've come across.  It's run by a delightful lady called Stacey; you can see the blog HERE; it (and Stacey!) can be followed on Twitter HERE.

Like many book bloggers, Stacey is now finding that her to-read pile is getting larger than she can manage, so is looking for someone else to join her on the blog.  If you're interested, this is what she's looking for:

"I'm looking for someone who owns a kindle or a device they can read a kindle on (ipad etc), all I'm after them doing is reading and then reviewing the book. They then send the review to me and I'll sort the post out.

I will put their name on the review and they will have their name on my blog as being part of my blog team - so would need a picture and some info on them.

I don't read horror books or sci fi books, so someone who may like those would be good, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone whatever genres they prefer; it's just that a liking for horror/sci-fi would be a bonus!

They need to understand that there is no financial gain, they will get the books for free though.

The reviews are placed on the sites already set up for Whispering Stories,  I will let people know who did the review and that they are part of the team and chance the profile on the pages to include them.

Generally, they need to be able to review a book a once a fortnight (though more often would be great!) - this isn't cast in stone, and at times I do understand that they may need more time. They need to be trustworthy and honest with their reviews."

If you're interested and would like to discuss this further, please contact Stacey via Twitter or her blog at the links above - not me!!

Many thanks for reading ~ and if you know someone else who may like to do this, please pass it on. :)