Contact

Review Policies and Contact Information

Email: amy @ theblacksheepdances.com

Twitter:  @Blacksheepdance (note the missing "S" at the end)

My preferred genres are literary fiction, poetry, and nonfiction science and history.  I am especially interested in titles that are translated works from Eastern Europe and Russia, Scandinavia, and the Mediterrean region.

I'm currently accepting review copies only of titles in the above areas.  Please email me to discuss.

Publishers wishing to host a giveaway can speak with me in advance.  I'm especially interested in offering worldwide giveaways of books or book-related items.  For book giveaways, an ARC for me is fine, with the winner receiving a final edition or ebook.

I do not review the following genres:  horror, romance, politics, self-help, religious, young adult, or science fiction.  Self-published titles must be approved by me prior to sending.

Please do not send unsolicited titles, even if I've reviewed for you in the past.  Just run a title past me via email, and I can save us both time if I'm not interested.  If I'm not interested, I can suggest other bloggers who may have an interest in your titles.

I do not receive compensation for my reviews, and they only contain my opinion.  Each title that is sent me for review that appears on the blog will show where I obtained it:  noting each publisher and contact.  If no such notice appears, it can be assumed I purchased or acquired the book on my own.

I'm currently running about 8 weeks out on reviews, but in case of upcoming release dates I can often make accomodation to run reviews timed with the release date.

I receive compensation for titles purchased through Amazon.com, as well as for any advertising I may show on the blog.  This compensation doesn't affect the nature of my review.

Regarding the predominance of 'positive' reviews...I've had a few people complain that I only seem to feature books that I like.  Well, that's sort of the plan...if I get a book to review that I can't stand, I don't complete it.  I give the title approximately 40 pages to interest me, after that I pass it on to my local library as a donation.  Therefore, you're not likely to find blistering negative reviews...it's not worth my time.  Additionally, since I stipulate in advance what titles I will review, I usually get titles that I'm already interested in and therefore eager to read and write about that-hoping to expose them to a wider audience. 

Titles that I review for print publications do not appear on the website, as the publication owns first serial rights for the first year after publication.