Public Service Announcement

      This Public Service Announcement is brought to you by....

Err. Me?

   You have no idea how long I've been working on this post! My daughter has been relentless this morning. I came home, made a well balanced breakfast; eggs and toast with homemade jelly, restarted the washer (forgot about that load of socks last night! Sons of Anarchy was on!), swept the floor, took out the trash and all the while the toddler is attached to my leg screaming "Sit with me Mommy!" She needed some extra attention. So I sat with her while she played with her legos. After four minutes of me not being allowed to touch the legos I decided I had other things to do. Off to the dishes I went. She followed. This went on for several hours until I conquered every chore on my list. I allow myself a reward when it's done. I work on the blog or the facebook page I admin.....Shameless plug....If you have a facebook page/account come over and say hi at Reading Addicts.....or Jenny Phillips (author) page! Tell em' I sent ya! LIKE them! I like them!  Jenny Phillips page is a great place to show your support for an author and to hear about any upcoming books she has coming out! Reading Addicts is a good place to swap book suggestions and hear reviews.

    Speaking of reviews! That's actually why I'm here! It has been brought to my attention that most people/readers don't leave reviews after reading a book. I realize that we live in a world where it is far more common to air your bad opinion of an establishment or product than it is to say "Wow! That was great!" or "I love the folks down at the shop and save because they always greet me with a smile, even though they have four teeth between them." I want to take this opportunity to tell you how important it is for a writer to hear they've done something good!
   
    The more I write and speak with other writers the more I understand what it is all about. You pour your heart and soul into a piece of work, you release it and wait for the reviews. You want one person to give their approval. Or maybe you're the writer who could care less, either way, someone wants to know if the book was worth a look. Other readers want to know if they should be reading this book, right? If readers cease to leave a review all there will be is the sound of crickets. And even though crickets are nice to listen to while you're sitting on your deck with a cup of coffee or a beer at night, they are not a welcome noise for authors who need to know if their work is speaking to you or if they have room for improvement. Not all authors are picked up by big time publishers. That means they don't have a team of experts to give them high fives. We rely solely on our fellow writers and fans to encourage us! And maybe I'm confused about what a publishing company is suppose to do. I know there are Publishing Companies out there that are confused about what they are suppose to do..... a totally different topic which I will refrain from speaking about.  
   
    I recommended a book to a friend recently. She emailed me to say that she LOVED the book and passed it on to four more friends who all loved it too. I said "Awesome! Did you leave a review on amazon or goodreads?" and the crickets began to sing. "I don't know how to leave a review. I'm not a writer" she said. Well, Stripper (that's what we call her) you just left a review when you emailed me! Congrats! You now know how to leave a review!
   
    So, here's the thing. When I leave a review I like to share a few things. Did the book pull me in? Did it hold me there or did it roller coaster up and down? (because sometimes you're reading a book and the story drags on and then BAM! It picks up and you can't put the book down!) Readers want to know these things. Did the author make me fall in love with the characters? The author wants to know if they have built a relatable/likable/loathable character. I want to know that I was successful in making you hate a character! I try to bring to the authors attention that there are errors without being rude. I've read reviews where the reader says "Whoever edited this book should be shot" and to me, that is just rude. Please don't do that. Chances are the author is the same person that proof read, edited etc. and by making rude comments you're stomping on their dream..... Meanie Pants!

   Not everybody has time to write a review but if you're on goodreads they make it so easy to rate the book with stars! You don't have to explain why you gave it five stars but if you'd like to share you can! I love that some folks will give a book three stars and then go on to tell you why they rated it lower.

    Ok. So that is my Public Service announcement and you have no idea how many times I typed "public" and forgot the "l"......If that's any indication of how my day is going. I'm going to go read another book to the toddler and pour orange juice and protein down her throat just in case there is another cold brewing in there! Wish me luck!

  

A Ten dollar gift card and a choice

    I truly have become a reading addict. I am addicted to reading. I can't get enough. Sometimes I fall so madly deeply in love with a book that I literally cannot put it down. I take it to the bathroom with me and read. Not while I'm on the toilet. That's where I meditate. I literally hide with the door locked. Sometimes I'll even lie and say I have explosive....well, you get the idea, just so I can get through one more chapter.

    Recently, I found myself driving, alone which rarely happens, to Target to get toilet paper. I NEVER go to Target alone and bonus, I had a ten dollar gift card. High Five. So, anyway, I thought "Ok Tasha, it's time to do something mature. You have to buy something you actually need." So, as I walked to the store from my Jeep, I decided I would buy a new shirt or if you're my Granny, a blouse... in case I got called for a job interview. I can't very well wear my husbands old T-shirts, the things I've been living in lately.

   So, there I was standing in Target, staring at the clothes section. They have cute and affordable shirts. I hesitated to enter the arena.

    And then I walked to the books....just to browse!! I was only going to browse! I swear but then I found this book. The cover wasn't very interesting to be honest with you but it spoke to me. Or maybe it was the sign that said "If you loved 50 Shades of Grey, You'll love this ---->"
I don't know. I read the title without picking the book up..."Switch" by Megan Hart. I don't read the back of books. I'll normally read the first page. If it catches my interest I'll read the entire thing. This book though.....I picked it up and opened to page nine and read these two sentences before anything else:

" I love the way a blank sheet of paper looks when it's waiting to be written on. Anything can happen in those moments before you put pen to paper."

   You see, this book really did speak to me because those words, that's how I feel about writing. Anything can happen and it's all up to me. I did the irresponsible thing and took that book to the cashier and said "Ring me up before I change my mind." I used my gift card and then counted change until I had the book paid for. Then, I walked out without buying toilet paper. Oops.

   But isn't that what an addict does? Push everything to the side to get one more fix? I devoured that book in one day like a junky with a quarter size rock of crack. I couldn't put it down and at the end I was like "Wo! That was intense."

    If you like the raunchiness of 50 Shades of Grey, you know, the SEX and you're not afraid of the "f" bomb or other various dirty words then this book could be just what you've been looking for. And that's all I have to say about that because I have MOM things to do.