Spotlighting Marie Brown: Blogger and Book Reviewer

Thanks to All of You Who Stopped By!

Marie was one of the first people to review my books, so I have had a chance to get to know her over the past five months.  She has reviewed the books of many of my fellow Siren authors, as well as introduced me to other fantastic authors that I would never have otherwise read.

Her blog is Marie's Tempting Reads, and can be found at:  http://www.mariebrown7822.blogspot.com/

I asked her a bunch of questions both as an avid fan, and as a reviewer.  The poor girl looked like a piece of pepper steak by the time I was done with her.  (get it?  peppered her with questions....okay, maybe I'm not as funny as I think I am.)

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DO NOT JUST CLICK ENTER

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Marie, What draws you to initially purchase a book?  Believe it or not, the first thing that catches my eye with any romance is the cover. I like colorful, sexy, and yes, sometimes sparkly covers. I bought books before just on the covers alone, such as Annette Blair, Melissa Mayhue, and Katie MacAlister. I did end up reading them after purchasing them and fell in love with the books and authors, but if it wasn't for the covers, I might never have bought them. I also might purhase a book on the blurb and excerpt alone. Usually if I read the synopsis and it just...calls to me and says, "buy me! Read me and you will love me!" then i go ahead and go with my instinct and purchase the book.

What would make you recommend it to a friend?   Usually if I sincerely LOVED the book and it totally makes me regret ending the book, then I KNOW it’s a good read that others might just love.

Is there a favorite book or series your hooked on?   Gosh, there are TONS of books and series that I ADORE. I am highly addicted to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, and Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark Series, and Heather Rainier's Divine Creek Ranch Series, and Cara Covington's Lusty, Texas Series, and Darynda Jone's Charley Davidson Series. I am also in love with Laurann Dohner's New Species Series. I also recently fell in love with Setta Jay's A Guardian of the Realms Series too. I got a LOT more but these are the ones that I can think of right now.

Are book clubs still popular?    I don't know If I can say book clubs are popular because outside of social media, I don't do a whole lot of socializing with others. Mainly because the people I know DON'T read...or if they do read we don't read the same things. For instance, I have a friend who prefers mysteries and well, I prefer romance. I DO however believe Street Teams are HIGHLY popular. I am on several and I LOVE being a part of them. I like helping authors by promoting, reviewing, and just spreading the word on my social media accounts about their work.

Would you actually travel to a convention to see your favorite author?  Oh, how I would LOVE to do this! If I had the finances, I would DEFINITELY travel to a book convention to meet some of my favorite authors and to chat with them, and get books signed by them. Plus, I LOVE swag! As it is, since at this time, I can't afford to go to conventions I highly rely on giveaways and such on social media to get signed books and swag. To me, authors are MY rockstars!

You must choose: You're hungry but you've been unable to tear yourself away from the latest release that's captured you with its story. You're deep into a "must read" chapter. Then your favourite dish is placed in front of you. You have a choice, either eat or read. (not allowed to do both). What's your choice?    This is a hard one for me because I love both food and books, but I think I would choose to read. Why? Because I think books are slightly more important, especially if its a much anticipated one. One that I have been waiting for what feels like forever. Plus, I can always eat AFTER I finish the book. hehe

What book do you re-read the most?   Another tough one here because I have several that I re-read. The one though that I probably read the most is Laurann Dohner's New Species Series. There is just something about those books that make me want to read them over and over again.

When did you start reading romances?   This one is easy for me to answer. I was in Ninth grade...probably 15/16 (yea, its been a long time) when I got into romance. I have been HOOKED since!

When did you start reading erotica?   I only started reading erotica several years ago. Hmmm, if I remember correctly it had to be about 4-5 years ago. In fact, it was Shayla Black's Wicked Lover Series that got me started in erotica.

Do you tell people that you read erotica?   Now since outside of social media I am not a social butterfly, I don't usually talk to others. But if I find myself at a bookstore, and someone approaches me while I am looking through the romance section then yes I have no problem telling them that I read erotica, because they are most likely curious if they are seeking me out to chat. Does this mean I am ashamed of reading erotica? No, I just don't like to chat a whole lot because that just how I roll. *Wink*

What does your significant other think about your reading choices?   I sincerely believe my husband is happy with what I read. Mainly becuase since I do read a lot of erotica, I get in "the mood" a LOT more, especially when I get a book with my favorite thing in it, light BDSM!

As a reviewer, do you ever have authors get mad at you? So far, I have been pretty lucky. I haven't had an author get really mad at me as of yet. I think I might of disappointed one or two of them but that’s about it.

How do you typically handle this?   I admit I feel TERRIBLE about disappointing authors. Even though I am HONEST, I do my best to say positive things about a book when I am doing a review. I have read many blog posts featuring reviews on books and if the person doing a review doesn't like it, they can be REALLY mean and cruel. I don't like to be mean. I prefer positive thoughts even if the book didn't really tickle my fancy. Thats probably why if I can't give a book at least a three star, I will no longer do the review. I did one negative review and even though I kept it pretty positive, it was still pretty hard to write, and just made me feel terrible.

What made you decide to start your own blog?   Well as you know, I LOVE books and I LOVE to read and I wanted to do something for the authors since they work so hard bringing us readers joy with their books, I decided to give blogging a chance. Once I got started I came to REALLY LOVE doing reviews. I not only feel like I am doing something special for the author, I feel like I am helping readers find more books and authors to love too.

How many hours a week do you dedicate to your blog?   This varies week to week. It depends on how many books I need to read for a review, and how long the book actually is. Then when I finish a book and get started on the review, it depends on how smoothly things flow from me as I am writing the reviews. Some books are harder than others, and words and feelings don't come as good or quickly as I wish they would. Usually if I am tired or don't feel good, it takes me a bit longer to get through a review. If I am feeling great, I can get through a review pretty quickly. I usually try to post a review at least 3-4 times a week.

What was the very first romance you ever read?   Another question that is EASY for me to answer. The first romance that I read and LOVED was Christine Feehan's Dark Fire. I remember going to Walmart with my parents and making my mom buy me that book. It took me a while to get through, because at that time I wasn't reading much and it gave me headaches to read too long. But once I got through with it I was from then on, HOOKED on romance and I bought every Carpathian book by Christine Feehan she ever written. Then after finishing them, I got addicted to J.R.Ward, Kresley Cole, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and MANY more. Most of the authors were Paranormal Romance authors then I started to slowly read other romances over the years...and well as you can see, my love for romance only grew.

Caitlyn, Thank you SO MUCH for having me on your blog today. I LOVED answering your questions. 

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