She became an internet sensation among young adult book readers when she started publishing her vampire books online (LuLu/Amazon/Barns & Noble) and marketing them herself, many for only .99 cents. Within a year she had sold a million books before she was picked up by a traditional publisher. I learned about Amanda Hocking earlier this year when she appeared in a short spot on Anderson Cooper. I have to admit I was originally attracted to her because she was plus size and thought she would be interesting on my plus size related venues. 
Within a week I was downloading her My Blood Approves series (four books) from Kobo and seriously delving into the world of e-book reading via Jeff’s Blackberry Playbook. I was addicted and reading every night in bed, sometimes for hours; something I have not done in a long time. At the time when I purchased the books they ranged in price from .99 cents to $2.99.
I really enjoyed the My Blood Approves series which is what I would call a quick enjoyable read. There were a few typos within the books but really not much more than some of the traditional publications I have read. The story follows a young girl who meets a young boy who also happens to be a vampire and follows their journey of love and discovery as she joins his family of vampires. There was the usual vampire lore that we are used too but also a few new points of interest. Every one seems to want to compare young adult vampire books to Twilight and while there may be vague similarities there is no real comparison. I was sorry it was over.
When I finished with the vampires I moved on to the zombies with her Hollowland series which disappointingly was only two books. This series also has a young girls as the heroine and in this case she really is because hidden within her blood is a resistance to the zombie virus. Even though I am a zombie movie addict, this was actually the first zombie book I have ever read and while there were some scary aspects to it I had no problem lying in bed in the dark and reading it. So if you have not ventured into zombie lit yet this would be a good start.
I have taken a break from Amanda Hocking’s books at this point, only because I have so many on my desk I need to read and I really hate to dwell on one author for too long. But I am looking forward to getting into her Trylle trilogy, a paranormal romance that has been republished by St Martin’s Griffin and I think will be made into a movie someday soon.
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