A resident of Montreal, award-winning multi-genre author and editor Lea Schizas describes herself as a late bloomer who “finally woke up after a 23-year self-induced coma taking care of the family, and rediscovered my passion for writing.” She is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of two Writer’s Digest 101 Top Writing Sites of 2005 & 2006 and recipients of the Preditors and Editors Most Useful Writing Sites Award: Apollo’s Lyre and The MuseItUp Club. She's also the founder of The Muse Online Writers Conference, The Muse Marquee, and co-founder of Coffee Cramp eZine. Her published works include Toggle Rich Editor (BETA)>The Rock of Realm, Doorman's Creek, Aleatory's Junction, and The Muse on Writing. Because of her supportive, helpful sites and groups for writers, Lea is effectionately referred to as 'Mother Hen'. Her book review site, Muse Book Reviews, caters to authors of most genres.

Thanks for being here today, Lea. How long have you been reviewing? Please tell us about your book review site. How and when did it get started?

The Muse Book Reviews came about a year after I opened the doors to the MuseItUp Club, in 2004. I wanted to branch out in different areas within the writing world to help members and offering reviews was the first on my list.

What makes The Muse Book Reviews stand out among so many other online review sites?

Good question. We take all genres, whether you are self-published or with a small to large publishing house. Most of my reviewers accept ebooks/PDFs or a print book. I would say the unique aspect of the Muse Book Reviews is the fact we help authors by promoting them in all of the sites/newsletters/blogs affiliated with the MuseItUp Club. There are some very low costs with some of the promo, like five dollars for a whole month’s visibility on any of the sites, along with a mention in some of the newsletters. As a writer, I know how much it costs to keep a book alive so we’re not out to make holes in a writer’s pocket but to offer as many areas of promotion as possible.

What is the most challenging aspect of running a review site?

In all honesty, the challenging part is making authors understand that when they submit their books to a review site, we are there for our readers and not necessarily there for the authors. This may sound harsh but bear with me. As a reviewer, we need to inform the reader on what the book is about, the good and what we felt might be lacking in the book. We never bash, that’s not our intent. A reader seeks out review sites to get an impression on a book, to spend their hard-earned money or not. At times, there are some reviews that are not favorable and this is the part that is always distressing.