Read My Book!

7/30/22—I’m so over-booked at the moment—and reading slower than normal—that I’m probably not going to agree to any new books until I catch up. But you never know. As always, if I’ve already read something by you (or someone you’ve represented/published), hit me up—you get moved to the beginning of the line if I can make it work. But I feel bad about that. So, if you’d like, fill out this other form, too, and I’ll almost definitely do a Book Spotlight and/or Guest Post to help you promote your book.


You’ve written a book? Congrats! You want me to read it? First—thanks, I’m flattered. Second, I’m probably game*—if there’s a date you want it done by? Well…we’ll see what we can work out. Otherwise, it’s FIFO as I work it in with other things I have committed to/want to read.

I’m going to ask for an electronic copy of your book if I’m interested. Yes, I’d prefer to ask everyone for a paperback, but you shouldn’t spend money to get me a book, so please don’t. It makes me feel guilty. So, until you become James Patterson, e-copy, okay? Apparently, Kindles are moving away from .mobi, so here’s where I ask that you provide something to me in .epub format. Thanks to some helpful readers/writers, I don’t have the aversion to .pdf that I once had—but I still run into glitches with them occasionally, so if you can give me an .epub, I’d appreciate it. I’d very much appreciate it if you’d send a cover image with your book.

If you’re an agent, a publicist, a publisher and you want me to consider someone’s book—the same rules apply.

I talk about this more on my About page, but, briefly, as far as genres go, with Fiction:
bullet I’m a Mystery/Thriller/Crime Fiction junkie
bullet I love Urban Fantasy
bullet I enjoy good Science Fiction or Fantasy
bullet I’ve even dabbled in Chick Lit (‘tho, honestly, I’m more comfortable in “Lad Lit”)
bullet I’ll take a decent Western.

On the Non-Fiction side, I admit I’m a bit more limited—if it catches my eye, though, I’ll read anything.
bullet I typically end up with Biography/Autobiography/Memoir
bullet Something with a “Soft Science” bent (I’m not opposed to a “Hard Science,” but this is a hobby, not homework)
bullet I’m also a Theology Nerd, of the Reformed Protestant variety—I’ll read some things outside that, but I won’t read any Non-Fiction attacking Christianity/Reformed theology (if you can do it in an interesting novel, I’ll read it).

If you make me laugh or chuckle in any of the above, that’s as good as “Up, Up, Down, Down” to get me on your side.

But I’m open to reading just about anything as far as genre goes (you’ll have to sell me hard on a Zombie book, Romance or Self-Help), just:
bullet make your pitch interesting
bullet try not to let your form’s grammar/spelling make me question your writing ability (I don’t care how cool the book is, it won’t “peak” my interest—and yes, I’ve been told that multiple times)
bullet answer the questions I ask (“when” and “what” mean very different things)
bullet you should come across like someone nice to work with.
bullet if I say, “yes,” don’t hit me with a list of demands, you make me dislike myself for agreeing to read your book—resulting in a miserable experience for me (which makes it difficult for me to say nice things about your book).
bullet After a couple of problems in 2019 (one un-named author in particular) I’ve decided that if you start demanding things from me after I say yes, I’m going to not read/stop reading your book (even if I’m loving it at the 90% mark). It’s petty, but it’s my blog and I’m tired of not enjoying it. I’ve almost walked away from this entire thing because of rude authors, and I won’t put up with it anymore.

I do go out of my way to be fair and reasonable in what I say about a book—but I do give less than rave reviews frequently. I know many book bloggers won’t post negative—or even “meh”—reviews. I’m not one of them. There are two reasons for this: any review (I’m assured) on Goodreads, Amazon, or anywhere else helps your metrics no matter what it says; moreover if I spend the time reading your book, I’m getting a post out of it. I do prefer to like things, so you’re going to get a lot of slack from me.

Unless you specify otherwise, a few hours after posting here, I’ll cross-post to Amazon, Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph (and other places you might want me to).

* This is subject to change at a moment’s notice if I can’t keep up or something.

1 Comment

  1. Your site form above is broken so I’ll post my book review request here:

    Hello,
    Poe has been used in books and movies before, but not quite like this. Would you be interested in reviewing my book, The Girl Behind The Wall–Edgar Allan Poe, the Girl, and the Mysterious Raven Murders? It’s a mystery scheduled for an October 21 pub date on Amazon and your review would definitely help launch it. If you are interested, I’d be happy to send you a pre-pub ebook (mobi, pdf) or proof copy of the book (382 pages, print version). The book jacket copy posted below provides a brief intro to the main lines of my mystery.
    Thank you,
    Bruce Wetterau

    Did Edgar Allan Poe know more about murder than he revealed in his bizarre stories of murder and mayhem? Was he in fact guilty of killing a girlfriend in a fit of rage many years before he became famous?

    Bruce Wetterau’s taut thriller weaves a murder mystery worthy of Poe himself as it follows Poe through actual events in the last months of his life. The year 1849 saw the real-life Poe dealing with his alcoholism, failing health, poverty, and painful memories of his recently deceased child-bride wife. His life had become a psychological pressure cooker, with severe anxiety attacks and bouts of strange hallucinations.

    The Girl Behind the Wall opens in early 1849. Poe is being tormented by frightening visions about murdering Annabel Lee while he was a student at the University of Virginia. Afraid of the hangman’s noose, Poe knows he can never tell anyone about the repressed memories haunting him. But a newspaper reporter named Sam Reynolds has overheard him talking erratically about Annabel while in a drunken stupor. That a man as famous as Poe could be a murderer would be the scoop of a lifetime and Reynolds will do anything to get it.

    Flash forward nearly two hundred years to the present. The book’s hero, Clay Cantrell, accidentally uncovers damning evidence–Annabel’s skeleton and a locket from Poe–behind an old brick wall at the university. While the mystery of Annabel’s murder and Poe’s strange visions unfolds in flashbacks, Cantrell and friends launch a search of their own for the truth about Annabel’s death. But another murder mystery much closer to home overtakes them when a cold-blooded serial killer named the Raven claims his first victim, a UVA coed.

    Obsessed with Poe, the Raven stages his murders with clever ties to Poe’s works. Clay tries to stop the murders and soon winds up in the Raven’s cross hairs. Though this isn’t the first vicious killer Clay has fought, he doesn’t know the Raven has a diabolical plan to execute him.

    Will Poe finally reveal the truth about Annabel, or will he take the secret to his grave? Can Clay escape the Raven’s plot, find what drives the Raven’s murderous obsession with Poe, and at last answer the question, who killed Annabel Lee?

    Note: This is the third book in my Clay Cantrell Mystery series. Each title has been written so that it can be read as a stand alone mystery.

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