DiDonovan

Hmm - I don't recall doing hundreds of CD reviews in 2004; I'd have to say I am not that same person. I have reviewed a music cd from time to time, as I've been reviewing professionally for 35 years now - but it's not my main genre of choice and I am certain I'd have recalled 'hundreds'. I haven't bothered posting my reviews until recently - I'm primarily a volunteer reviewer with Midwest Book Review, in addition to my day job, and that keeps me immersed in good books. I tend to review small press over large press because I've been told that large press books get plenty of attention and small press relatively - uh - 'small', but I do read all the large press books too - primarily science fiction and young adult. In the course of reviewing for Midwest Book Review, many, many authors asked me to re-post my reviews different places - but until one of my day jobs 'went away' I just didn't have the time. It was all I could do to read the book and write something about it, yet alone run around posting reviews. But authors kept on requesting me to do so and recently several said they couldn't do their own postings, so given that and extra time, I decided to make the effort. I am a big reader - when I'm not working or reading, I'm writing. I only bother writing about books I recommend, largely because there isn't enough time in the day to write about 'dogs' and quite frankly if a book doesn't grab me in the first chapter, I toss it aside and move on. So you won't be seeing critical negative reviews from me simply because I don't have the time to read a crappy book and write about it! I read in all kinds of genres - paranormal, SOME romance (most are too crappy, however), scifi, young adult, lots of thrillers and novels. I don't tend to see my choices as offbeat but again - I made more of an effort to post on small press titles when informed they 'needed' word to get around. However, I'm NOT a marketing person! That, in itself, is a full-time job with skills I don't have - and don't want. You won't find me in sales, either - I helped hubby run his retail store for 10 years and hated it. I'm more your book-in-the-corner gal than a salesgal. I'm a reader: quirky, oddball, and always looking for something different. See my next post on a MILITARY fiction book for goodness sake - a genre I've largely avoided, until a friend pointed out this book as a 'must read' - and, he was right! Hope this helps!

I noted there's no forum for paranormal romance - and perhaps this is a good thing, because Jan Minkman's new book, while more easily billed by these two names, is more than either. So - While, for categorization's sake, The Space In Between is a 'paranormal romance', don't let that assignment fool you: it's much more, and readers anticipating a breezy, light, supernatural love tale might find themselves quite pleasantly challenged by a story line that defies quick and dirty categorization or a fast leisure read. This is partially due to its setting - Wales - and the fact that in such a wild and woolly world, woods wiccans and mysticism practically oozes from the trees and the long history of a people with close ties to the land. It's also due to the efforts of Jen Minkman to provide more than the usual one-dimensional protagonist too often seen in 'paranormal romance' stories: for Moira is Welsh through and through and represents many of her people's real personas, from her bilingual ability to speak Welsh at home and English outside of it to harsh language. While this might put off some readers, it will be a breath of fresh air to those who will immediately perceive that what follows will be anything but predictable and smooth. The addition of Moira's struggle with ADHD is perhaps one of the strongest pieces of the story, curiously enough. It lends an authenticity and a vulnerability to the main protagonist that's not often seen in your standard paranormal or romance story, and it invites readers to learn more of yet another world: that of the ADHD sufferer and their choices. So, for categorization's sake, I'd call The Space In Between a 'paranormal romance' - but really, it's so much more. It's about finding amazement and personal power in life, and about making choices that lead to new connections. Add in the Welsh cultural insights and you have a 'paranormal romance' that's a cut above your usual love story.