C.J. Miller

- I had never heard of the RITA s or RWA - I didn't read book reviews - I didn't check agent or editor blogs - I didn't have a twitter account - I didn't "friend" authors on Facebook - I didn't use Goodreads - I didn't pay attention to banner ads for books on websites - I didn't write reviews for books online (I am still leery of writing reviews or rating romance novels.) * I was/am a BIG romance reader, sometimes reading a book a day. Since becoming a parent, the number of books I read has decreased. How I found new authors: - Amazon.com's recommendations based on my buying history - my local library's "new books" section and librarian referrals section (a librarian is a writer's best friend!) - word of mouth - cover quotes by an author I love recommending the book... "Oh, so-and-so read this and loved it? Awesome!" - Some amount of random selection based on title and cover art (I rarely read the bac...

I received my box of RITA books last week. To my delight, they are all books in romance subgenres I've read and have enjoyed. I have six books to judge over the next couple of months, which is totally reasonable. I've already started one and it's by an author I've never read. It's a great way to discover new authors. While reading and judging the books is a job I take seriously, I am trying not to overthink the scores. I've read hundreds, of not thousands, of romance novels over my lifetime. I know what I like and while it's subjective to give a score, I can give a fair and honest rating. I can't wait to find out the winners. Maybe it will be one of the books in my stack!