Interview With a Reviewer!

Meet RJ’s #1 reviewer–Dottie! Dottie has been reviewing for us for 9 years! She reviews several books a month and also edits for us.

Dottie

Meet Dottie–The Interview

What was the first romance book you ever read? That was so long ago, but the two books that have remained in my memory all these years are two by Kathleen Woodiwiss – THE WOLF AND THE DOVE and THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER. I recently purchased these books again so I can reread them once more.
WolfandDove

What is your favorite genre of romance? I like most genres, but if I had to pick I guess it would be historical romance. I also enjoy inspirational romance and recently I discovered a love for romantic suspense. I have always loved reading books and would probably read a cereal box if I had nothing else.

Why do you think you love romantic fiction so much? Unlike real life, I can pretty much be assured of a happy ending and I enjoy watching the main characters overcome their differences and discover the qualities they love in each other.

What book would you absolutely recommend to a friend to read? That is a difficult question because tastes in literature and genre vary from person to person. For inspirational romance, anything by Julie Lessman, historical romance – THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER by Kathleen Woodiwiss, military romance – Heather Ashby’s LOVE IN THE FLEET series (It is centered around 9/11), paranormal – any of the books in Donna Grant’s DARK SWORD series, fantasy – Terry Spear’s HEART OF THE WOLF series and contemporary western romance – Stephanie Rowe’s WYOMING REBELS series or anything by Carolyn Brown, time travel – Jude Deveraux’s KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR. There are a great many other authors on my auto-buy list also, too many to list here, but the books mentioned are some of my all-time favorites.

What are some of your hobbies? I have several hobbies; crocheting, reading, reviewing, fishing, taking walks, volunteering, church work, gardening, as well as being a beta reader for authors Stephanie Rowe and Terry Spear.

Where do you call home? I live on the East Coast. It is fitting that I love historical romance so much. Not far from where I live is the small town of Bath, with its mineral springs and roman baths, just like the English town represented in many historical novels.

womansneerWhat is your biggest pet peeve about romances? I guess that would be when the couple finally gets together and then the story abruptly ends. I would like to be assured of a happy ending, not a temporary truce. I also don’t like rape plots.

Who is one author you’d love to meet in person? Jill Barnett – During a particularly rough spot in my life, the humor in her books helped pull me through. I emailed her one day to let her know how much I enjoyed her books and what they had done for me. She wrote back to me that same night. I wasn’t expecting to hear from her, yet she took the time to write back and I was touched by that.

How did you get started reviewing books? I was at a point in my life when I had a lot of time on my hands, my family was spread out and I was feeling a bit down. I heard that RJ’s was looking for reviewers, so I wrote a review for a book I had just read and submitted it. It was accepted and the rest is history. I have been reviewing with Romance Junkies for more than nine years now and have served as editor for approximately eight of those years.

Thanks, Dottie!