Friday, June 2, 2017

Mystery Thriller Week 2017 – A fan / reviewer’s thoughts by Kim Hunter


The 11th to 22nd February 2017 I disappeared!  I only left my computer chair to take care of necessities, one of which was NOT sleep!

I heard about the event in November 2016 after joining a book review blog.  Not realising what I was getting myself into, I agreed to read and review as many books as I could so that these reviews could be posted during the event in February 2017. I ended up reading / listening to 12 books by the end of January and had the reviews scheduled for posting during the week of the event.   This part was hardly a sacrifice as the authors very generously gave audio or electronic copies to the readers wanted to review them.   What I did not realise was how interactive the event was to be!

There were many live events during the extended week – this gave those interested an opportunity to learn more about the art of writing, to question authors and other players in the industry.  However, most started from about 10pm my time, so I spent many sleepless nights chatting, not sleeping.  Oh, the sacrifices we make…….!  I’m sure that some of the authors felt as I did as they were participating from all over the world too.   However, it was an opportunity not to be missed and I was there as often as possible.  There were many give-away’s and I have a TBR pile of note!

From my point of view, the event was about exposing readers to new authors and authors to new readers.  It certainly achieved this for me.  I discovered the existence of ‘cozy mysteries’ and have now decided that I am not a great fan of gruesome thrillers or horror stories!  I met the author Barbara Venkataramen during this event – a writer of cozy mysteries.  I love the conciseness of her writing – the whole plot is developed and solved in about four hours of reading.  This means that you can take a Sunday afternoon and feel like you have read a 400 page novel (I am not a speed reader BTW!) with all the characters coming to life in an environment you can envision and a mystery solved in a short space of time.  Spectacular!  This is a new genre for me and I will be looking for more cozy mysteries to read.

Another of my favourite authors, Susan May, also participated.  I always find her amusing and informative.  CJ Petterson and Sarah Key were two other authors who willingly gave of their time – each trying to make the event interesting in different ways for the participants.  I can honestly say that they succeeded.  For the many other authors and book people who participated (simply too many for me to list), I, as a reader, need to give you my thanks.  Your participation made the event fun, interesting and worthwhile.  The orgainsers added a few competitions along the way so that bloggers could be discovered and followed, and authors read via the prizes they donated.

Will I participate next year? ABSOLUTELY.  I’ll stock up on caffeine drinks and exercise my fingers in advance, for getting to chat with people who have the courage and perseverance to write and publish the stories we are privileged to be able to read, is priceless.

Kim Hunter
Tangowithtext.com

Thank you to Kim Hunter for participating in Friday's Fun and Family-Friendly Guest Posts. Kim, you are welcome to participate any time. 

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