Joining the Crowd

The romance blogging world's abuzz with talk of e-books. Topics have ranged from requests for more reviews of e-books, discussion about different e-publishers, and other thoughts.

I'm in a unique position. A year ago, I didn't think I'd write fiction except as an occasional pastime. I wrote it once or twice a year, tops. Given that, I reviewed anything and everything that interested me, whether it was in print or an e-book.

Obviously, things have changed. I have a release date for my first e-book: June 9. A second is under contract, and a third is well underway.

I can no longer say I'm only a reader.

For some people, that fact will completely change their opinion of my reviews. I understand that, as I've eyed some author endorsements with skepticism. However, there's usually an obvious difference between a post promoting someone's book and a post recommending it. The former often consists of a blurb about the book along with a review or two, while the latter will offer an explanation about why they enjoyed the book.

That's not the only conflict I'm facing. I've decided not to review books here by my publisher. (I may recommend the ones I like at my author blog, but I'll do that only if I genuinely like the book.)

And what about other e-publishers? Should I stop reviewing their books? Or start reviewing them in a different way? As a reader, I want to review them the same way I review anything else, but I'm not sure if that's wise.

Thoughts? I'd love to hear from readers and writers on this.