I loved writing reviews. I was actually told by professors in college that I should seek a career as a critic. I also dreamed of working for a publisher or being an editor. The problem with being a late Gen X kid was to get our foot in the door, we had to move to NYC and start as a non-paid or poorly paid intern after college graduation. I'm not a risk seeker so this concept of struggling to survive in an expensive city was not my idea of dream come true. Nowadays, things can be more remote, so perhaps if a generation younger, my path might've been different. I am not one to admit regret though, as everything in my life brought me to where I am: married, with a son, a lecturer of English, and a published novelist. This does not mean that the original dream is gone. I'm dabbling in other things on top of my roles, planning to dip my foot into the publishing side of things in the future.
I'm getting to the point, I swear. I have been wary of writing book reviews as a published author. I'm afraid of retaliation if I'm not fond of a book, which made me stop writing poor reviews--for the most part. I was scared that any low review would be paid back out of spite (the trolls are out there). So I did less reviews and mostly only published the good ones. If I feel censored out of fear, then what is the point in writing reviews since they should be honest?
The same goes for author features.
So this is my official resignation from reviewing books as an author. I might do it as a reader now and then under a screen name, but I no longer will use this blog for reviewing books going forward. Nor can I in all good conscience feature authors. If I continue to run this blog, it will be more personal or about the craft itself.