Meet the Reviewing Adepts
Jim Chambers
I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where I’ve lived my entire life. My wife Deborah is my best friend and perfect soul mate. I’m a retired civil engineer, and if you’ve driven through Georgia, you’ve probably been on a highway that I designed. I’ve always been a bookworm, and now I love reading on my Kindle. I also love photography, and my images have been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Popular Photography, and Parade magazines.
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Michelle Rever
I was born in Pennsylvania, through fickle fate and where my mother happened to be when she went into labor, but I grew up in the Detroit area and now live in beautiful Northern Minnesota with a very patient and supportive husband. I have a passion for reading, inherited from my mother and grandmother, but the thing I’m most shaped by is my love of animals and my belief in rescue.
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J. Lynn
After 35 years living in Colorado and Texas, we are back “Home on the Range” in our “Little House on Prairie”.
I like reading, sewing, antiques and Classical music with an emphasis on Opera.
Recently retired and looking for something fun to do, I found Red Adept Reviews through my Kindle.
I’ve been married for 34 years to my old dancing partner from college. We’ve traveled both inside and out of the US for business and pleasure.
We love being back in a rural community with all the charms and drawbacks of small-town lving. The skies are clear blue, the air is fresh and your ears buzz with the silence and the gossip over the back fence.
After many years of urban living, we’re back on the High Plains where we were born and raised. Everything seems strange and yet, familiar.
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Heather Brush
Ages ago I moved from southern California, where I grew up, to go to college in Washington state and love it here. I spent a year working with big cats (lions, tigers, etc) and now have my own small zoo, complete with my African crested porcupine Quillamina, my coatimundi Kate, a Patagonian cavy named ROUS, and many others, both exotic and domestic. I have also been doing animal rescue for 12+years. When my world doesn’t revolve exclusively around feeding and cleaning or my real job as a dog trainer I’m a crafting and book addict.
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MamaSylvia
Mamasylvia holds two bachelor’s degrees, the first in journalism and the second in nursing. A lifelong voracious reader, she was so determined to raise children who could WRITE that she homeschooled them all the way to highschool graduation. She was ecstatic to discover the potential of e-reading and loves carrying a dozen books on her smartphone and hundreds on her Kindle 3 with Special Offers. In fiction, she demands likable characters and involving, coherent storylines. In nonfiction, the author must present accurate information in an interesting and organized manner. Travel books and cookbooks always catch her eye. She also thinks telling you *why* she liked or didn’t like something is imperative, so you can decide whether you will like or dislike it too.
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SingleEyePhotos
I have it on good authority that I was born with my nose in a book. That unsettling sight may be why no one else in my family is a reader! Seriously, I always loved to read, and always read well above my grade level growing up. In middle school I discovered my lifelong love for medieval history, which eventually lead to a M.A. in Medieval Studies. My dream was to work in a museum, but like most dreams, it never came true. But I still consider a heavy tome of medieval history to be ‘light reading’! Now, I spend my days messing around with computers to pay the bills and my evenings serving as a lap for 3 cats. Besides history, my favorite genres are mysteries and fantasy. J.R.R. Tolkien is my favorite author, and his works an incredible influence in my life; Dorothy L. Sayers is a close second.
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Kris James
A West-coaster all my life, I choose to see more magic in the everyday than most people allow, because it’s far more fun that way. I was the child who curled up indoors with a good book on a sunny day. I prefer fantasy, sci fi, historical fiction and mystery novels, but I’ll read anything with a good plot and intriguing characters. When I’m not reading, I’m writing my own novels, geocaching, reading science articles, or making puzzles.
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Sally Bennett
I’ve been a reader my entire life: while still in elementary school, I would haul grocery bags full of books home from the library. I turned my love of words into a profession, as a freelance copyeditor and indexer of over 200 books. In addition, I’ve had several articles and reviews of books and software published in general-interest and specialty magazines and journals and have written several novels. I play violin in a studio orchestra and in pit orchestras around town, fiddle in a honkytonk band, and call traditional square and contra dances. After a few decades in Arizona, I returned to my roots in Wisconsin a few years ago.
[...] mentioned it before, but I got my marked up manuscript for Half Past Midnight back from my editor, Lynn O’Dell, about a month ago. Once I began to work on it, I figured I probably had a couple of full days [...]
[...] this time next week, I should be working on the podcast version of the book – at least until Lynn goes through it again and points out everything I’ve missed. Then the next round of [...]
[...] sent my revisions back to Lynn, and she will be going over them in the next week or so. If I understand the process, what [...]
[...] star!! I finished the latest editing pass on Half Past Midnight and sent it back to my editor, Lynn O’Dell. Depending on how this round goes, it may end up going to her proofreader next. Once through [...]
[...] got an email from Lynn late last week indicating that we’re finally done with the heavy editing passes on Half Past [...]
[...] entirely completed. There is still more to do. I’ve submitted a rough book description to Lynn for her comments, but once we’re done with that, my business with the Red Adept is done for [...]
[...] free minute was spent on some aspect of the novel; writing, rewriting, editing, discussing it with Lynn O’Dell, planning marketing strategies, second-guessing myself on all of the above… Once I turned [...]
[...] them. I’m pretty sure I know what changes I need to make, but would like to run it past Lynn O’Dell just in case. (Damn, I’ve grown dependent on her! [...]
[...] first call was from my editor, Lynn O’Dell. I had posted the cover in the Writer’s Cafe in KindleBoards, and one of Lynn’s [...]
Would it be possible to add tags or a line somewhere in the review that listed the genre of the book? I know it can get difficult because many books fall under three or so categories…but I do find it helpful when scanning reviews…or looking for a particular genre of book when I’m searching reviews. It could be that you are tagging them in some way and I’m just not getting it. That has happened before! :>) Happy New Year!
[...] – Before I posted this, I spoke to my editor, Lynn O’Dell. When I expressed my puzzlement over the recent uptick in sales she checked and pointed out that [...]