A fellow author, Irene Frances Olson, recently asked on her website:

If a book doesn’t have any reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers’ sites, does it really exist?

As anyone who has held DIVIDED LOYALTIES in his or her hands — and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart — it certainly exists. And I’ve heard lovely things…good story, love Maureen and Joe, couldn’t put it down. Does that warm my heart!

What I didn’t realize, and am now learning, is that reviews matter. Or as Irene wrote:

Let’s face it, you can hardly purchase a bag of cotton balls online without having dozens – if not hundreds – of reviews to peruse prior to consider pushing that all important BUY button. The same goes for books, but even more than that, an author’s literary credibility is tied in with author and sales rankings and reviews are part of what feeds those rankings.

I hate to think of my Civil War story in the same thought as cotton balls, but those deciding to buy a book just may be looking for the reviews before they hit that BUY button.

So I’ve learned my lesson and have been reviewing books as I read them. Nora Roberts and Mary Kay Andrews may not need my review but Irene, Patricia Panahi and Alexa Jacobs do. These three writers will take part in my Facebook Meet the Authors party Aug. 15.

And I’d ask you to do the same when you have a moment.

Any site will do: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, wherever you like. It’s easy. Hit the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ button 😬. Then type in two sentences: Loved the story. Couldn’t put it down. (That’s just a suggestion.)

Other readers may not thank you but they’ll be grateful for your review anyway.

And so will I.