Nothing makes an author’s heart sing like the sweetest bird than a great book review. As a book writer, I always get a little tingly with anticipation when I have the opportunity to read my book reviews. Reviews are the lifeblood of the publishing business. While it’s easy to find reviews on a site like Amazon.com, it can be much harder to find book reviews in print magazines, digital articles, or on individual websites. Today, I want to share a pair of reviews that warmed the very cockles of my heart and made my inner author glow with sheer delight.
New Books = New Reviews
Last year, in 2016, I had the pleasure of finishing up a two-year long collaboration, Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage, with Sara Shrapnell, Poppy Maya, and photographer Alisha Westerfeld. (on Amazon) I also launched my own new title, Zills, Music on Your Finger Tips, with photos by Alisha Westerfeld and illustrations by George Goncalves. (on Amazon) So I’ve been on the hunt for book reviews that I can both quote and analyze. I like to use feedback from critiques to improve my future writing.
I’m a blog reader
As part of my “job” as a belly dance writer, I devote quality time each week to reading blog posts, watching YouTube videos, and listening to podcasts about our art form. It was quite a delight and surprise to find a book review on a blog I regularly read and enjoy, Sophia Dances: Confessions of a Dance Pants Addict. I use the blog aggregator Bloglovin’ to collect, store and deliver blogs in an easy, visually appealing, and readable way. So when I saw my own book title appear in my stream, I was THRILLED!
Sophia Ravenna is a professional writer and researcher located in the Pacific North West. I’ve been following her blog for a while, and I find her reviews to be thoughtful and insightful. Apparently, my co-author Sara Shrapnel gave her a pre-release copy of Becoming a Belly: Dancer from Student to Stage for review purposes when they met in person at the Seattle-based event, Waking Persephone. So I was absolutely DELIGHTED by the surprise of reading her review! Since Sophia had written so honestly and thoughtfully about Becoming, I reached out and asked if she would like a review copy of Zills. When she accepted I must admit, I was excited. The when I read Sophia Ravenna’s review of Zills: Music On Your Finger Tips, I spent the day walking on air.
Review of Zills: Music On your Finger Tips by Sophia Ravenna
Review of Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage by Sophia Ravenna
Recently, Sophia shared an image of one of her boxes of books. From the looks of the contents, this is quite the enticing collection, and there will surely be reviews of other publications in her future blog posts. And as you probably figured out, I’m looking forward to catching them all!
My hunt for reviews of my books will always continue. If you ever spot one, even if it’s unfavorable, drop me a line at davina@davina.us and let me know! And if you regularly write a blog, have a podcast, or YouTube channel – or simply want to share your favorites, let me know and I’ll add it to my Bloglovin or YouTube feeds!
Thanks for sharing the review love with me today!
Happy Costuming and Delightful Dance,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
May 29, 2017