Hi Sara! Thanks for having me! Wow what an honor!....And now for the awkward silence… J Just Kidding, as if I could ever run out of things to say about books or my review site! Ok so start from the beginning I suppose. Well, about me… Hmm.
Once upon a time there was a woman named Nicole, and she had a dream of one day making it big! She published poetry, and had a collection of books so big she had to buy an extra house just to have a place to put them all! When one day the beauteous ladies husband said to her- “You have enough books to start your own bookstore!” an even better idea struck! Why sell all of her books? Why get rid of all her dear friends that helped her deal with the real world by escaping it? Why not SHARE her obsession? Help the world be a better place but introducing people to her love of other worlds and living vicariously through others? And at the same time share all the worldly wisdom she has gained through her many travels in those hollowed pages? Why not start……. A REVIEW SITE!
Nah, that isn’t how it happened, but it sounded good huh? Lol, What really happened was I was trolling the Internet while chatting with a friend when I came across a review site. It intrigued me. Who would have thunk it? I always wondered how those witty quotes ended up on book covers! How could I get my words on those beautiful glossy covers? How could I get my name out there? So I emailed the site, ok I used the “Contact Us” page, but hey it counts! I asked them how I could become one of their reviewers ( see me begging and pleading on my knees in cyberspace). So for a few years I reviewed. I read my little heart out, and my eyes blind, but OH JOY the free books! And then I started seeing MY name out there! My name and witty bantering were on the covers of books! And I had another thought! Why not start MY OWN review site?!?!? Thus the idea to birth HowlingGoodBooks.com!
I got together with my husband and best friend Joann(and Co-Author) and discussed the possibility of such a thing; aka if we had the gumption to pull it off. My husband bought the domain for Mother’s Day- “So you can’t back out”, and Joann and I came up with the name. Then months of hard work ensued. We planned, mapped out how we wanted the site to run, found a wonderful artist for our logo, I worked on getting publishers, and anytime I got worried, down, or started second guessing myself I turned to my family, old friends, and the new friends that I had made. If it weren’t for my slave laboring husband (just ask him, he’ll tell you what a slave driver I am! ;) ), Joann, Kayla Weeks, Jen Allen and all my author friends who suffered with me- Leonard D. Hilley II, Celis T. Rono, Mima, or Christine and Ethan Rose; HowlingGoodBooks.com would have not have been given birth! So thanks guys for all of the support and belief that you have given to me and HGB! And to all the friends that I have made since; Mina Carter, Sara( but of course), Lex Valentine, Melinda Barron, and Dakota Cassidy just to name a few! You guys have helped keep it, and me, going!
But it is a FAR cry from over! In fact we have just begun! We are covering all genres, and currently have over 10 publishers working with us, as well as authors themselves sending us work! We are always on the lookout for new reviewers, especially as we are always looking for new publishers! We are taking applications for reviewers! If you are interested the link is here: http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=43 . And if the directions aren’t clear enough here is a review I did myself for you to go by: http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=114 . (Wink) Did I mention that is the review for Sara’s first book in the Amoveo series, The Amoveo Legacy? Not only is Sara gracious enough to have me here, but she is talented as well! Well, I guess that is all, for now! I must get going! But I will stop in and see if there are any questions out there! I hope you all have a blessed day! Thanks again Sara! And Hurry up on An Amoveo Heart!
Once upon a time there was a woman named Nicole, and she had a dream of one day making it big! She published poetry, and had a collection of books so big she had to buy an extra house just to have a place to put them all! When one day the beauteous ladies husband said to her- “You have enough books to start your own bookstore!” an even better idea struck! Why sell all of her books? Why get rid of all her dear friends that helped her deal with the real world by escaping it? Why not SHARE her obsession? Help the world be a better place but introducing people to her love of other worlds and living vicariously through others? And at the same time share all the worldly wisdom she has gained through her many travels in those hollowed pages? Why not start……. A REVIEW SITE!
Nah, that isn’t how it happened, but it sounded good huh? Lol, What really happened was I was trolling the Internet while chatting with a friend when I came across a review site. It intrigued me. Who would have thunk it? I always wondered how those witty quotes ended up on book covers! How could I get my words on those beautiful glossy covers? How could I get my name out there? So I emailed the site, ok I used the “Contact Us” page, but hey it counts! I asked them how I could become one of their reviewers ( see me begging and pleading on my knees in cyberspace). So for a few years I reviewed. I read my little heart out, and my eyes blind, but OH JOY the free books! And then I started seeing MY name out there! My name and witty bantering were on the covers of books! And I had another thought! Why not start MY OWN review site?!?!? Thus the idea to birth HowlingGoodBooks.com!
I got together with my husband and best friend Joann(and Co-Author) and discussed the possibility of such a thing; aka if we had the gumption to pull it off. My husband bought the domain for Mother’s Day- “So you can’t back out”, and Joann and I came up with the name. Then months of hard work ensued. We planned, mapped out how we wanted the site to run, found a wonderful artist for our logo, I worked on getting publishers, and anytime I got worried, down, or started second guessing myself I turned to my family, old friends, and the new friends that I had made. If it weren’t for my slave laboring husband (just ask him, he’ll tell you what a slave driver I am! ;) ), Joann, Kayla Weeks, Jen Allen and all my author friends who suffered with me- Leonard D. Hilley II, Celis T. Rono, Mima, or Christine and Ethan Rose; HowlingGoodBooks.com would have not have been given birth! So thanks guys for all of the support and belief that you have given to me and HGB! And to all the friends that I have made since; Mina Carter, Sara( but of course), Lex Valentine, Melinda Barron, and Dakota Cassidy just to name a few! You guys have helped keep it, and me, going!
But it is a FAR cry from over! In fact we have just begun! We are covering all genres, and currently have over 10 publishers working with us, as well as authors themselves sending us work! We are always on the lookout for new reviewers, especially as we are always looking for new publishers! We are taking applications for reviewers! If you are interested the link is here: http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=43 . And if the directions aren’t clear enough here is a review I did myself for you to go by: http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=114 . (Wink) Did I mention that is the review for Sara’s first book in the Amoveo series, The Amoveo Legacy? Not only is Sara gracious enough to have me here, but she is talented as well! Well, I guess that is all, for now! I must get going! But I will stop in and see if there are any questions out there! I hope you all have a blessed day! Thanks again Sara! And Hurry up on An Amoveo Heart!
12 comments:
Sara thank you SO much for allowing me to be here! This is an exciting adventure!
OMG! She is so funny! I just looked at the site and there are so many reviews up there already! Everyone should totally go and check it out! She has contest over there too!!!
Lol, yes we have contests as well as the reviews! And thanks for the compliment! ;)
I appreciate the reviews and wish you much success with the site. (Although, I think you'll do fine without my wishing!)
Wow, thank you! And we will take all the wishing that comes our way! Every little bit helps! ;) And I was thrilled to review your work! Introductions to new authors is one of the perks of reviewing! :)
Loving your site Nicole. Thanks so much for blogging here :) I love having guest bloggers as sassy as you are!
Aww! Shucks! *bows head blushing* Me sassy? NEVER! Hee hee But I AM enjoying this! ;)
You have the guts, gumption, and greatness to accomplish this huge endeavor, girl! Not to mention the Moxie, the Momentum, and the Marvelous attitude you exhibit! Okay...I'll shut up now...but thanks for dropping in to our chat last night over at Seven Sexy Scribes. It was to total blast!
Ok now ya'll really ARE going to make me blush! I hope to! I am determined to make HowlingGoodBooks work not just for me or my reviewers, but for the authors as well! Advertisement of all kinds help, and having a spot that you are comfortable with and know the people are important factors! I believe so at any rate! And thank YOU for having me at the chat! It WAS a blast! Seven Sexy Scribes is definitely a place I will come back to!
There's nothing we can do when we set our mind on doing it...and you proved that point extremely well! Great job, visited your website, and best wishes on what will be a big successful venture!
Marianne Stephens/April Ash
Wow! Thank you very much! We have worked hard on building our site, we did it on our own, so that is a wonderful compliment that it will be a successful venture! And thank you for the belief! It is always a great thing to have people believe in you and what you do!
Here is a question for everyone! We added a new rating to HGB. It is called PRYA or Parental Reviews of Young Adult books. Here is a link to explain it more http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=125 . Tell me what YOU think of it! If you are a parent is it something that you would use? If you are a teen or have friends that are teens is it something you would tell your folks or friends parents about? Give me YOUR thoughts!
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