Today I’m taking the opportunity to post a brief outline of my process for this year’s SPFBO Competition.  SPFBO 7 will begin on the 1st of June.  Stage 1 of the competition lasts for five months and during that period each team/judge will read their 30 selected books before choosing a finalist.

I already took the opportunity a few days ago to announce that this year I will be teaming up with the Critiquing Chemist and her fellow boffin, (our posts can be found here and here).  We’ve already split our books equally into two groups, we will be approaching the contest in a similar way and the Critiquing Chemist will also be posting soon to outline their approach. 

At the start of each month I will post which books I will be reading during that month (these will be randomly selected using a number generator), at the end of the month I will provide an update of those books chosen and which ones I will be rolling forward.  Between myself and the CC we will be aiming to read at least 30% of every book but the likelihood is that we will read much more than that. 

As with previous years I will write full reviews for the books that I complete.  Any books that I don’t read fully will receive short summaries.  

Hopefully, the Book Gods being willing, we will be able to choose 5 or 6 SFs before narrowing our choice down to one.  

For more information about the other judges and the books submitted this year check out Mark Lawrence’s post here.

You can also follow the competition on Twitter (#SPFBO) and through Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/122875124938545/

Check out this page for the results of the recent cover competition.  So many beautiful, standout covers this year.  Congratulations to the winners.

Finally, I would like to wish all the authors the best of luck.  As with previous years, the best advice I can offer is to enjoy the competition as much as possible, make friends in the community and take part in as many events as possible.  As with previous years I would like to extend an offer to any authors taking part to visit my blog either to post an excerpt, discuss covers or for a general interview.

Below are the list of books allocated to Team LB=TC² : 

1. Deathborn by C.E. Page
2. The End of the Line by David Nelson
3. Orphan’s Rite by M Warren Askins
4. Rising Shadows (The Pillar of Creation #1) by Phillip Blackwater
5. Carrion by Alyson Tate
6. Squire George & the Dragon by Adam Digger Stolz
7. Stranded by Rosalind Tate
8. As Fierce as Steel by Christopher P Walsh
9. Iarraindorn by Philip Dickens
10. Ghost Line by M.A. Poole
11. By the Pact by Joanna Maciejewska
12. Face of Glass by Damon L Wakes
13. Stone Magus by Stephanie C Marks
14. Blades Falling Softly by Sarah Lin
15. Little White Hands by Mark Cushen
16. Subversive (Clandestine Magic #1) by Colleen Cowley
17. Dragon Birth by Raina Nightingale
18. The Darkness that Slept by Tristen Kozinski and Keegan Kozinski
19. Out of the Dust by Joe Coates
20. The Ballad of the Songbird by Jon Ford
21. Graves Robbed, Heirlooms Returned by Ashley Capes
22. Children by Bjørn Larssen
23. The Throne of Ice and Ash by J.D.L. Rosell
24. Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater
25. Berserker by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris
26. Lycoris in Moonlight by Kova Killian
27. Book of Secrets by Claudia Blood
28. Hall of Bones by Tim Hardie
29. One of Us by M. L. Roberts
30. The Crown of Death by David Schratz