Jennie Leigh was born in the Mid-South, so has a Southern woman's sensibilities. She met a Yankee on a trip up north, and it was love at first sight. They have been happily married for two and a half decades, during which time she has gleefully taught him how to appreciate all things Southern, like barbeque, black-eyed peas, sweet tea, and a slower pace in both speech and living. She is mom to a pair of lazy dogs who love to provide a background of rumbling snores while she writes, and three cats who couldn't care less what she's doing as long as she lets them cuddle whenever they want.
Reading has been a major part of Ms. Leigh's life for as long as she can remember, courtesy of a mother who loved the written word and read to her children from their births. The local library was a favorite family haunt. Besides the selection at the local public library, Ms. Leigh had a sizable library of her own by an early age, which contained an eclectic mix of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance - age appropriate - and anything involving a horse.
Ms. Leigh's reading tastes have remained varied, though she favors so-called happy endings. Her philosophy has always been that "real" life is full of more than its share of sadness and tragedy, so she prefers her escapism to end with an upbeat note.
Ms. Leigh began writing for her own enjoyment years ago, but has never attempted to have any of her work professionally published. The growing prevalence of self-publishing has afforded her the chance to share some of her imagination with others. She does not take herself or her writing too seriously, and hopes that what she writes will provide entertainment to those who read it.
s the above bio states, I am an avid reader. My husband bought me a first gen iPad when they first came out, which has become my go-to reading device. I have no difinitive idea of exactly how many ebooks are loded onto the thing, though I know it's well into the hundreds. I've become a daily visitor to a number of sites where ebooks can be found and have found untold numbers of new books to read. One thing has begun to stand out during my exploration of these sights, however.
As a writer, I understand the uncertainty involved in publishing something for public consumption and critique, as well as the frustration of watching day after day go by without seeing any of your books selling, partly due to the fact that sites are set up to give priority to not only best selling books, but those that receive significant numbers of reviews as well. So, I know what it's like to check the sites every day while holding your breath as you look to see if your book has been reviewed.
As a reader, I know that I often browse the reviews on books I'm considering purchasing. I'm savvy enough to know that public user reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt, primarily because we are all different, so what one reader falls madly in love with may turn off another. Thus, while I do look at the reviews, I do not necessarily base all my purchases on them alone.
That being said, there is one thing that is sure to turn me off to a potential new read. I've lost track of how many times I've looked at a book, read the blurb, then moved down to scan the reviews only to find that a significant number of them are three, four, or five star reviews posted by "anonymous" users who leave no actual review of what they've supposedly read. It's certainly possible that any given book could have some of these kinds of reviews. However, when there are a total of ten reviews and eight of them are of this type, I automatically assume that the author has posted these reviews themselves in an effort to boost their book's appeal.
There has been more than one instance where this alone kept me from buying a book. It simply seems greedy or unfair, a form of "cheating" that I personally do not appreciate. It feels like the author is somehow lying to me when they pad their reviews in this way. Which is why I will never use this practice. This is also why I ask anyone who's read my books to please, please give them an honest and fair review.
I love the written word, and I love reading. I sincerly hope anyone who reads my work enjoys the read as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Copyright 2013
Jennie Leigh
