Almost every author I know has the same inner fear.

Rejection

What if someone reads my book and doesn’t like it? What if they hate it? or worse yet, what if their reaction is “Meh. It was okay.”

Shoot me now. There’s nothing worse in my mind than a ‘meh’ reaction. That means I didn’t do my job. I didn’t write a story that evoked any emotion at all. And boy, when you’re a hot mess like me, the last thing you wanna do is write a lukewarm story.

Getting my ARCs was a blessing and a curse. Sure I get to hold, molest, sniff, lick, and sleep with a copy of my book. That’s the blessing. The curse? People I don’t know are reading it. And they’re gonna comment on it. They’re going to tell the world how they feel about it. And me and my book are lying in bed, waiting. Waiting. WAITING.

The wait is over.

I got my first reaction from Elaina who was one of the limerick contest winners. She said something along the lines of “I love BITE ME! and want to have its babies.” (okay, I may have taken some liberties with that quote. but the meaning is the same. She had a very strong, a very positive reaction. and I had a happy.)

Then my 11 year old son read it. This to me was the most terrifying of all because A: he’s a big reader. He reads 3-4 books a week and when I say books, I mean BOOKS. He read TWILIGHT in a day. B: He has no filter. (Much like his momma) If he doesn’t like it, he’ll tell me. So when he finished the book and said “Mom, this was so funny. When can I read the next one?” I was so relieved. I was so thrilled! And then he started asking me questions about my research and my characters. And when he told me who his fave character was, my heart melted.

And now the big news. I just received my first official review from a review site called Teens Read, Too.

Bite Me! by Melissa Francis

Category: Paranormal
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 7/28/09
Publisher: HarperTeen
Reviewed by: LadyJay
Rating: 5 Stars


AJ Ashe, a teenage Southern belle, is hiding a secret.

Her family is descended from a long line of vampires – yep, I just said vampires. AJ has fangs and occasionally craves blood, but she has also suppressed many of her vamp instincts to fit into “normal” society.

The part that’s not normal – AJ’s mom is marrying her boyfriend’s father.

AJ knows she can’t be with Ryan, especially now that they are step-siblings. The reality of the situation doesn’t make it hurt any less. AJ tries to push Ryan into the arms of another willing female, but they just can’t seem to avoid one another.

And then, of course, other weirdness starts going down. AJ discovers that her family is part of the Serpentine clan; a high school friend is killed, rises from the dead, and begins to stalk her; AND she gets suspended from school.

Just another day in the life of a teenage vampire!

Melissa Francis has successfully produced a fun and fresh vampire novel. The story itself is engaging, and you can’t help but love the characters. Many a teenage girl will empathize with AJ and her angst-ridden relationship with Ryan.

I enjoyed the fact that Francis has made her vampires very different from those in the TWILIGHT series. These vamps have their own set of rules to follow.

I am so glad that I got my hands on this book. The ending left me wanting more, so here’s hoping that many sequels will follow!

Now I know that BITE ME! isn’t going to be for everyone. I have prepared myself for some bad reviews. I’m waiting for the hammer to fall because it will inevitably. But right now, I’m floating on cloud nine. This is a great way to lead up to my release date!

ETA: Twitter contestants–Random winner will be announced tomorrow!