As we go on to our second day of our decennial celebrations, we wanted to invite another of our favorites. She’s an author who in the last seven years has produced nearly double the number of books. I was a fan of her work since her debut and after reading and reviewing all of her fiction work. I can safely say I’m a fan for life.

Her most recent series is a crazy mix of urban fantasy, science fiction, dragons and more. Next year she will be releasing the last book in the Heartstrikers series as well a brand new novel in a celebrated franchise. So without further ado, let me extend a very warm welcome to Rachel Aaron, an incredible plotter, a fantastic writer and one of the smartest authors I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.

Like most authors, I've been a reader for a lot longer than I've been a writer. As a child, I always identified as someone who loved books and stories. Now, many decades and thirteen published novels later, that hasn't changed. I still think of myself as a reader first, because it is the reader in me that the writer must satisfy. When I sit down at my laptop to work on a novel, I am performing for an invisible audience of thousands, but that girl who grew up reading everything she could get her hands on is always right there in the front row. She's the one I can see, and so she's the one I'm always struggling to move. To entertain and delight and bring to the edge of her seat. My reader is my gauge, and it is her care and feeding that makes blogs like Fantasy Book Critic so important to me.

Writing without reading is the author equivalent of talking to hear yourself speak. The more I write, the more important my own reading becomes. It's how I keep my creativity fed and my ideas from becoming inbred, but with so many books coming out, it's harder than ever to find the stories that are truly worth my money and time. I first discovered Fantasy Book Critic when Mihir reviewed my first novel, The Spirit Thief, way back in 2010. At the time, Fantasy Book Critic was the biggest reviewer to ever mention my work, and I was absolutely delighted to be noticed. I read the review and shared it to everyone who'd listen. What I did not expect, though, was how I kept coming back to read other reviews.

It truly was the happiest of discoveries. In my delight at having my own novel recognized by people who knew what they were talking about, I'd stumbled upon a book review blog I came to love and trust not just as a writer, but as a reader, because that girl in me? She's insatiable, and I can't write fast enough to keep up. I am always searching for the next book to fall in love with, and over the last seven years, the thoughtful, in depth commentary of the reviewers at Fantasy Book Critic has given me just that. They've become one of my primary sources not just for finding new novels, but for pushing me out of my reading ruts.

FBC reviews have led me to authors and genres I never would have tried on my own. Not just the popular books or the ones with the big PR push, either, but books from all over. No matter how a good story comes into the market, whether through a big publisher or a small house or a single author publishing alone, I know I can trust Fantasy Book Critic to find it, and to bring it to me.

That might not sound like much, but it is that service, that dedication to finding good books worth reading wherever they lurk, that has made FBC part of my daily life. Even more than their incredible generosity in reviewing my own works, the fact that I can go to the blog and not just find something worth reading, but an in depth write up as to what makes that book so darn good is precious to me. It's a place I can go to roll in the shared love of genre stories--the good ones, the flawed ones, the ones that don't work at all--that made me want to be a writer in the first place. Their work serves the reader in me that is at the core of everything I do, and for that I will always be grateful, and I will always come back every week to see what's new to read.

Happy 10th anniversary, Fantasy Book Critic. I look forward to many, many more years of intelligent, balanced, and thoughtful reviews of the best books in genre fiction.

*---------------*---------------*---------------*

Official Author Website  
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Nice Dragons Finish Last"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "One Good Dragon Deserves Another"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of  "A Dragon Of A Different Color"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "The Spirit Thief" 
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit Rebellion” 
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit Eater” & “Spirit’s Oath” 
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit War” 
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Spirit's End"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Fortune's Pawn"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Honor's Knight"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Heaven's Queen"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Eli Monpress series completion interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Interview with Rachel Bach
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Heartstrikers interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Second Heartstrikers interview with Rachel Aaron
Read "Why A Nice Dragon" by Rachel Aaron (Guest post)

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Rachel Aaron lives in Athens, Georgia with her family. She has graduated from University of Georgia with a B.A. in English Literature. She has been an avid reader since her childhood and now has an ever-growing collection to show for it. She loves gaming, Manga comics & reality TV police shows. She also posts regularly on her blog about publishing, books and several other intriguing things.