SquawkRadio

Every once in a while, I hear a reader ask, “Do you pay attention to reader reviews?”

No. Not just no — hell, no.

Is it because my ego is so big I think my prose is perfect? Is it because I imagine every word I write is gold?

Of course not. (You other Squawkers, just shut up. This isn’t your day to blog, and no one’s interested in your opinion, anyway.)

But a quick glance at Amazon shows that I have five star reviews for every book I’ve written. I’ve also got one star reviews for every book I’ve written. The opinions completely differ on almost every circumstance. A lot of the bad reviews start with something like, “I love Christina Dodd’s other novels, but this one sucks …” and a lot of the five star reviews start, “After the last awful Christina Dodd novel, I almost didn’t give her another chance …”

Listen to the reader reviews? Which ones?

For instance, for THE PRINCE KIDNAPS A BRIDE:

Review #1 — “The heroine was strong and feisty.”
Review #2 — “The heroine is just plain silly.”

For A WELL PLEASURED LADY:

Review #1 — “The first sexual encounter can only be viewed as rape.”
Review #2 — “Also, with the “forced seduction” it was definitely not rape.”

For CANDLE IN THE WINDOW (my first book):

“Being a fan, I had never read Dodd’s earlier work. Turns out, I wasn’t missing anything.”

For TONGUE IN CHIC (my 32nd book):

“I really love Christina Dodd, but this was just horrible. … Don’t waste seven dollars on this horrible book. Look to Dodd’s earlier work.”

My point? An author, while trying not to write the same book over and over again, is guaranteed to bore/horrify/delight her readers because all readers have different tastes. And viva la difference!

Just below, I put up a survey that asks the question What is wrong with romance novels today? I’ve stuck up every circumstance I could think of, but I know there’s no way I could fill in all the blanks. So think about what makes you toss a book against the wall, come back and do the survey, and tell us what works/doesn’t work for you, and why. Because I (and the other Squawkers and the publishers who lurk here) may not listen to random reader reviews, but we’re fascinated by articulate opinions put forth by the Squawkers — women (mostly) with very different tastes who are fans of six very different authors.

And my personal request — don’t give the politically correct answer. Tell me how you feel in your gut and in your heart. Because that’s what a good romance tale is — a story that makes you twitch and groan, talk back to the pages, and go to bed and dream of a great sex, high adventure and one hot man who wants you and you alone. To hell with politically correct. Let’s talk raw, untamed emotion!
Christina’s website