Heaven! Or...when reviewers "get it"

The other day, I received an email from, Amber, the teen reviewer of YA Books Central. She admitted that she'd enjoyed So Not The Drama more than she expected. Like many people who see the pink cover, hear the word "clique" and read the book summary, she went into reading it thinking it was "just another clique-y" novel.

She's the second person (at least who has told me, directly) to admit - it's not.

And I love when DRAMA exceeds people's expectations of what it is or may be.

Her feedback was priceless, because she's a member of the audience So Not The Drama was intended for. Actually, she's a bit older, which is even better.

There's something about a positive review from a young reader that...the feeling is indescribable. But it's somewhere between ecstasy and downright giddiness.

I wrote the book thinking it would likely appeal to middle schoolers - solely because industry standard says your reader will be about 2-3 years younger than your protagonist.

Amber's positive review of DRAMA proves that industry standard is guesswork at best. And it reinforces what most writers already know - the reader that likes your story is the reader that likes your story. There's no profiling system to tell you who that may be.

We wish there were. It sure would make promotion and marketing easier. But it's a creative art not science.

But I digress...

I'm having fun hearing people's (surprise?) reaction to the fact that DRAMA isn't anything like they thought it was going to be.

I love that readers are "getting it." And by that, I mean simply, they're opening their mind and hearts to the characters and realizing (just as my characters do) that you can't - honestly can't judge a book by its cover.