Policies, Stats, & Info

Who is Waiting for Fairies?

My name is Melissa Tabon. I blog about books because I love them. (I certainly don’t make any money off of this – despite using affiliate links.) I buy books compulsively, and I’ve loved genre fiction since I was a little girl. The first book I ever read on my own was The Swan Princess. I’ve been hooked on heroines who aren’t afraid to try and save themselves ever since.

I have a full-time day job, a husband, a family, and a serious technology addiction. I read approximately 75-100 books a year.

What do you review?

I review several types of genre fiction: fantasy, including epic and series fantasy; urban fantasy; paranormal; steampunk; and possibly a few thrillers or science fiction for variety. I will also read and review YA titles that fit the above genres.

In non-fiction, I will review books only on the subjects of writing, publishing, or knitting. Otherwise, I will yawn and fall asleep.

I will accept hard copies, finished or galley, as well as electronically any format that can be read on B&N’s Nook Color. I am a member of netGalley, although (as of December 2010), my stats are minimal there because I only recently received an e-reader device.

Some of the books I review are received from the author, publisher, or won in various contests. Most of them I have purchased myself (or were given to me by several great friends who know and understand about my book habit). Each review as of December 2009 is marked clearly as to the source of the book, as required by FTC regulations for bloggers. If you find one that isn’t, please contact me immediately so that I can fix it.

My rating system

I use a 5-star method rating system. The system is loosely outlined below:

5-stars: I want this book to have my babies, it was so perfect. I will be salivating quietly in a corner until the author’s next book is released. Until then, I may very well be joining or founding a fan page. Or, stalking the author on Twitter, whichever is easiest.

4-stars: I loved this book. The author’s next release date will be added to my calendar, and I’ll be bouncing in my seat waiting for that day to arrive. I will be actively seeking out the author’s other works, where available, and crying softly in my corner if they are not.

3-stars: I liked this book. When my budget allows, I will most likely be looking for more works by this author and hoarding them in my TBR corner.

2-stars: I have pretty ambivalent feelings about this book. Maybe I found it just okay, or I didn’t feel that it was really for me. I may recommend these books to certain demographics (i.e., those books that have strong erotic or sexual elements that I may not enjoy but fans of those genres might).

1-star: These are books I’ve finished, but that make me feel like I’ve either a) been pounding my head against the wall, b) wasted my time or c) gotten extra rest because they’ve put me to sleep. These are books I would recommend to no living person.

0-star: This rating would be used for books I absolutely hate or don’t finish. Since the older I get, the more I realize how short life is, those two categories are probably one and the same. Most likely, this rating will never be used because I don’t review books that I can’t finish. I find that it’s unfair to given an opinion on only part of the work.

Quarter and half-star ratings will also be awarded based on numerous and mostly arbitrary factors such as re-readability, enthusiasm, or my mood the day I’m writing the review. I will strive to keep ratings as consistent as possible, but I am human and thus not infallible.

Further, I also swear to strive to review only the book as objectively as possible. My reviews take only the work in question and not the author. Therefore it should be remembered that any review – whether positive or negative – is my opinion of the book only and not of the author, publisher, or any other human person involved in the creation of the work. (Cyborgs are on their own.)

As I’ve said elsewhere before – I may bash the book or characters but I will NEVER bash the author. If you’re an author who cannot handle a critical review of your book, then you should most likely not be reading reviews. My heart will hurt for you, because I am a writer too and I know how much it stings to have someone not like your book, but it is my responsibility as a reviewer to be as honest as I possibly can about my opinion without being vicious or mean. This is what I strive for, and if you feel I’ve not lived up to this rule, I urge you to contact me privately.

How can I contact you?

You can email me at kiara@waitingforfairies.com. I am also available on Twitter as Kiaras and on Facebook. You can see past reads, current books, and my to-be-read shelf at GoodReads.

If you’d like to snail-mail me something, please send it via postal mail to:

Melissa Tabon PO Box 159 Amelia, OH 45102 USA

I am currently actively looking for authors or others working in the publishing industry to contribute guest posts or interviews, as well as to sponsor giveaways – particularly for February 2012. Please contact me via one of the above methods if you’d like to participate.

Blog Statistics

I keep blog stats using Google Analytics. The site is small but growing.

Statistics for December 2010:

As an example of one month’s stats, I had 206 visits from 167 unique visitors with 516 page views in December 2010. The majority of visitors are from the United States, with visits from those in the UK, Australia, and Canada following. This is a 30% increase in unique visitors since June of 2010. I hope and expect to continue this growth throughout 2011 by conducting more giveaways and featuring several author interviews and guest posts.

Waiting for Fairies Comment Policy

I will never, ever edit your comments. I do reserve the right to remove your comments in the case of spam or trolling. I get to decide what constitutes spam or trolling.  If you don’t like this rule, go play in someone else’s sandbox.

I do not collect email addresses or other information, except for one-time use in giveaways and contests. All contact and other information (except comments on posts) are removed or destroyed after use in contests.

You do not need to register for the site to comment, but if you have never posted before, your comment may be sent to moderation. I will strive to approve appropriate comments as quickly as possible, but I do have a day job and therefore several hours may pass between your comment and when it posts. I apologize for any inconvenience.

If there is anything in this policy that has not been addressed that you would like to see, please use the How do I contact you? links above to send me a message.