Old Friends, New Posts...

Wow!

I spent Wednesday scrolling through my blog reading list and tried to visit as many of you as I could. It's been forever since I have read any IWSG posts! (Insecure Writer's Support Group). I will certainly be signing up again for that.

It was great to hear from some old friends. It was amazing to catch up and see how things have been going. I've been gone for a very long time. Longer than I expected.

It's getting easier to get back into this habit of blogging. Especially after reading posts and leaving comments. I felt MUCH more like my old self. I missed you guys!

But it is Friday! And now I will leave you with something else a little familiar:

Funnies and Favorites!

You can find this book by clicking here

So, I have certainly found some new favorites over time.

If you ever saw any of my book reviews for Jill Nojack, you'll know she's now a favorite author. I love her Bad Tom series.

And this book here

And the third one here

I have done reviews for all of them on here. But if you'd rather just take my word for it, there you go!

She's got a very clever wit, the books are pretty well paced and the story is just purrrrfect!

Sorry, totally could not help that AT ALL!

All right, now on to another favorite. I have discovered a love for (and this has nothing to do with books!) recycling in my crafts!!

I'm not kidding. I have taken making my own paper clay to a whole new level. I've been doing a lot of things lately that have been really cool!

And my final favorite thing today: my new place. We found a house last April that hubs and I just fell in love with. It had good, solid bones and structure, so we talked the owner into a sweet deal. We've been doing a lot of the remodeling on the place ourselves. We took it all the way down to the bare bones and built it back up again. I can't begin to tell you... that's a lot of damn work! But well worth it. That, of course, has been the biggest reason for me to not blog these last few months.

But now I'm back. I'm rambling as usual and I know you all just want to get to the funnies. So here they are! Have a super weekend and see you soon!

Fantasy Book Reviewers...

Of course, with Book Two being out now, I find I have more time. That and grandkidlet is in daycare. Hooray!

More time = more posts. I hope!

So back to the topic.

I'm looking for reviewers for book two, Veritas. It is preferable if you have read book one, Adversarius. It's sort of a pre-requisite.

With that being said, if you would like to review book two, but have not read book one, I'll happily supply it.

In the past, I have asked for reviews and have offered up the book for free. I'm still willing to do that. I don't mind. But if you're just looking for a free e-book, hey, I don't mind that either. If you are truly interested in my books and don't have pocket change to buy a ton of e-books, please contact me. I am not looking to get rich, here. I've had this story in my head for well over 20 years now. (20 years!!!) I want to share it with everyone.

You're talking to a person who subscribes to BookBub to find the free deals. I have a whole series of books waiting to be read because I'm only missing one or two. If I find a series I REALLY like, I try to reach out and find out if someone can lend it to me.

I'm not a penny-pincher. Okay, well, I am. I honestly just don't have cash to throw out to get books I want to read. People don't understand that my family lives paycheck to paycheck. One bad week of sickness, we're pretty much S. o. L.

I truly understand those who can't afford books. Again, drop me a private message, we'll work something out.

Again. Back to the topic.

In the meantime, if you are honestly willing to do a review, please leave me a comment and I'll get you a copy of either book two or both of the books to get you up to speed. But PLEASE leave a REVIEW! Okay. Thanks. You can go about your business now.

Have an awesome rest of your week, everyone!

*****

Contact me: Paridzule (dot) keep (at) gmail (dot) com.

Just Another Monday...

I avoided the word 'Manic' because it isn't a hectic day for me today. Matter of fact, this forgetting to post thing is becoming a bad habit. Again.

I've been wrapped up in revisions. I'm also becoming a bit of a computer potato because of it. I'll sit here, write/revise on the upwards of 1,000-4,000 words. In between, I'm surfing the web, taking a moment to let everything sink in while contemplating the next scene. I've also been reading some stuff for people. Bits to critique and what not. So my day is pretty much spent right. Here.

I need to get out and go for a walk! Which, I am planning on doing today, until I forgot I hadn't posted anything for the blog.

Whoops!

I'm also trying not to be a pushy nuisance on Twitter. I've seen so many blog posts about what NOT to do on Twitter. One of the things is, don't constantly push your books. Okay, so I send out a link to my book every so often now. Mostly I try to be myself. (I know, uh oh!) I post links for others more than my own stuff. But I'm also trying to send out shout out's to new followers and make them more personal than generic.

Not that time consuming, really. I only gain maybe two new followers every other day. But, I do need to get off the computer a little bit more than just to do dishes, laundry or make dinner. My eyes will go square shaped if I'm not careful.

Oh! I have a new review up of 'Adversarius'! Almost spaced that! You can go read it here.

And I was interviewed on Friday over here. Sheesh, I gotta keep up with this stuff!

On that note, have a great week and I'll be posting up a couple reviews of my own.

Book Review: 'Was Once A Hero' by Edward McKeown...

Title: Was Once A Hero

Author: Edward McKeown

Publisher: Hellfire Publishing, Inc.

Pages: 356 (Print), File size: 431 kb

ASIN: B006UMTBY8

Purchase: Amazon

Summary from Amazon:

Reluctant privateer Robert Fenaday searches the stars for his lost love, Lisa, a naval intelligence officer whose ship disappeared near the end of the Conchirri War . He’s joined by the genetically engineered assassin, Shasti Rainhell, whose cold perfection masks her dark past. Both are blackmailed by government spymaster, Mandela, into a suicidal mission to the doomed planet Enshar. Leading a team of scientists and soldiers, they must unravel the mystery of that planet’s death before an ancient force reaches out to claim their lives.

My Thoughts:

Sometimes it is difficult for me to get into a science fiction story. Some of the terminology used can be quite confusing. Not this time around, though. It was an easy read for someone like me who isn't a hard core sci-fi fan.
Robert Fenaday's loss of his wife is heartbreaking and his search for her seems fruitless. Now, with the Conchirri War over, funding his search becomes a bit of a problem. Enter the little Enshari who is about to change all of that. Granted, the government wants to see Fenaday go on this mission ... and not come back, but this isn't why Fenaday chooses to accept.
Shasti Rainhell is definitely not a woman you want to mess with. She lives up to her surname in lots of ways. Always by Fenaday's side, she isn't about to let him go to the Enshar planet without her.
This book contains a myriad of aliens and robots, cyborgs and intrigue. Enshar was attacked by an unseen force and McKeown keeps you guessing until the end as to what exactly wiped out almost an entire species and then some. Very well written, great plot and strong characters. I would definitely read more from this author.

My Rating:

5 out of 5 skull and crossbones

Book Review: When It Leaves by Savannah Rayne...

Title: When It Leaves

Author: Savannah Rayne

Publisher: Hellfire Publishing, Inc.

Pages: 32 (Print), File size: 60 kb

ASIN: B006CXG8ZU

Purchase: Amazon

Summary from Amazon:

Playing in the leaves is something all children do; twins Steven and K.C. are no different. One autumn evening, the five year olds ask to go out to play until dinner is ready. What happens that night will haunt Steven for the next twenty years
.
Now with a daughter of his own, Steven is left to struggle with the painful, guilt ridden choice of keeping his daughter safe or help the brother he lost, long ago, the one person Steven always thought he would do anything to have back.

This tale solidifies the old adage, “be careful what you wish for…”

My Thoughts:

Just a note, this is obviously a short story. Now that's out of the way, this was a good story! I'm a sucker for a good scare, and this was the perfect short story with the change in the air and knowing Halloween isn't far off.

The twin boys are typical. One is more dominant than the other and the taunting reminds me of my kids when they were that little. While not giving too much away, this story centers on something that takes one of the twins when they're five years old. Fast forward to twenty years later and you've got the remaining twin married, living in the same house and having nightmares every time the leaves begin to turn colors. He has a three year old daughter and when the anniversary of his twins' disappearance comes around, the dreams get worse. The elemental being (that's the only way I can describe what took the one twin) has become the twin and in order to free him, he demands that his brother sacrifice his own daughter.

On the creepy scale, this didn't give me nightmares or make me skirt blowing leaves, but in all fairness, it did creep me out. Like I said, it's an awesome story and one I would highly recommend now that Halloween is on the horizon. Strong writing, good flow, good characters developed quickly but not lingered on for a short story... I give it:

5 skull and crossbones.

Yay! I'm so happy to find good, well written books deserving of such reviews! Well done!

Book Review: Sweet Valley Confidential (Ten Years Later) by Francine Pascal...

Title: Sweet Valley Confidential (Ten Years Later)

Author: Francine Pascal

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 304 (Print), File size: 495 kb

Page Number Source ISBN 10: 0312667574  ASIN: B00457X82Q

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Summary from Amazon:

Now with this striking new adult novel from author and creator Francine Pascal, millions of devoted fans can finally return to the idyllic Sweet Valley, home of the phenomenally successful book series and franchise. Iconic and beloved identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are back and all grown up, dealing with the complicated adult world of love, careers, betrayal, and sisterhood.  WANT MORE SWEET VALLEY RIGHT NOW??  Become a fan of Sweet Valley Confidential on Facebook or Twitter.

My thoughts:

 **Spoiler Alert**Spoiler Alert**Spoiler Alert**

Be forewarned, lots of spoilers in this review!

In true Jessica Wakefield form, I have to say O. M. G.! I don't know how many of you used to read the Sweet Valley High books in school. I did and my husband gave me a strange look the other night when I confessed as such. I loved the books in high school. They were a quick, easy read and an escape from my own teenage angst at the time. I even picked one up for my daughter when she was in high school and she liked them well enough, but didn't fall into the series like I expected her to. But then again, she doesn't read much. But she did like them.

This book, Sweet Valley Confidential... I'm going to blatantly honest. It is NOT worth the money. I bought the Kindle version. Even though we're scraping right now, we do give ourselves a tiny allowance once in awhile so as not to feel completely cut off from having some kind of fun. Well, I bought this book and I want my money back.

Let me start with the characters. I think Ms. Pascal took all the character descriptions, threw them in a hat and just tagged one to whichever character she hit with a dart first. None of them were true to form. First, we have Elizabeth. While the old Elizabeth Wakefield was sweet and kind, this one seemed like a cardboard cut out, at least that was the personality she presented. Jessica took on the role of Elizabeth and Todd was background material. Winston was killed off, Lila remained Lila and Enid turned into Dr. Snob. Oh and Liz and Jessica's brother Steven? Gay. Some of the characters stayed the same, some seemed to grow and mature. But that isn't the half of it.

Now, just to be sure I am not hating on this because of all the radical changes, let me tell you how the story flowed... It jumped from point of view to point of view like a haphazard pogo stick. It went from being in the present from Liz's view to being the past from Jessica's view. It was all over the map. I got confused more than once. But having paid the amount of money I did for the Kindle version I was not going to discard it.

The other thing I didn't like were the expletives that seemed to be dropped in randomly to make the characters seem grown up. Didn't like it. I am all for using expletives in writing, but make it work with the sentence, don't drop it in like an afterthought. That and the sex. It felt as if all of the characters were still seventeen and playing grown-up. They were way out of their element. I don't know, I feel like this was just tossed out there to bring interest back to these beloved characters but now I feel more ashamed of them. Granted, they are not supposed to be like they were in the books of old. They're supposed to be grown up, mature and out in the real world. But I didn't even get a feel for any of that. The work of the twins and Todd was described, but briefly. It all focused so much on Todd and Jessica's betrayal and how Elizabeth felt, that there was no more room for anything else.

Yes, Todd and Jessica were getting married. They went behind Elizabeth's back. That was way out of left field and, while a great twist, just flopped. So, I hate to say it, but I am not even going to read the new e-series. It just seems like a clean up series for the convoluted mess of this book.

Sad, but I give this book two skull and crossbones. :(

Book Review: Brood of Bones by A. E. Marling...

Title: Brood of Bones

Author: A. E. Marling

Publisher: Aether Publishing

Pages: 364 (Print), File size: 1,417 kb

Page Number Source ISBN 10: 0984022317 ISBN 13: 978-0984022311  ASIN: B005QQ3H7G

Purchase: Amazon

Summary from Amazon.com:

One unexpected pregnancy is a drama; fifty thousand is citywide hysteria.

Cursed with endless drowsiness, Enchantress Hiresha sleeps more than she lives. Since she never has had a chance to raise a family, she sometimes feels like every woman is pregnant except for her.  This time, she is right.

From virgin to grandmother, all the women in her city have conceived.

A lurking sorcerer drains power from the unnatural pregnancies, and Hiresha must track him by his magic.  Unfortunately, her cultured education in enchantment ill equips her to understand his spellcraft, which is decidedly less than proper.  The only person uncivilized enough to help is the Lord of the Feast, a dangerous yet charming illusionist.  Associating with him may imperil Hiresha's city, yet refusing his help will allow the sorcerer to leech godlike power from the mass births.

My thoughts:

This is a well crafted, intellectual piece of High Fantasy. I feel that my review might clash with the intellect level with which it was written. A. E. Marling has created a very unique fantasy world, at least from my viewpoint, and well thought out characters.

Elder Enchantress Hiresha is a powerful magic user, but with many flaws. The largest being her inability to live in the waking world. She has been gifted twelve gowns and her station requires she wears them all. That alone would make me exhausted, but what causes her drowsiness is not the physical activity, but the magic.

The Lord of the Feast is a very interesting chap and I could see he and Hiresha marrying. (If he were not a damned being.) His cryptic humor as he aids the Elder Enchantress helped keep the story moving forward.

I really enjoyed this book. I can't give too many details without giving the entire story away, as much as I would like to prattle on about it. The world was well thought out, the characters were well rounded and flawed deeply. The story itself flowed well and progressed at a decent pace. Most stories you read where a lot of sleep is involved are usually boring, but Marling presents Hiresha's problem with wakefulness in an interesting manner without putting the reader to sleep as well.

Did I mention I LOVE the cover?

Very clean, well written, highly intellectual... I have to give it:

5 out of 5 skull and crossbones.

So You Want Your Book Reviewed...

In light of recent events, I am going to put something out here that I have on my WDC (Writing.com) portfolio.

And now I am going to add to it. This is for me to use when I choose to do a review. Feel free to use this if you do reviews.

1. Reviews are given FOR FREE.

2. I, personally, do not get paid to review a book or short story. If you choose to give me a copy of your work in order to garner a review, do not think of it as payment. I would gladly purchase the book if you would prefer, but I honestly don't think I should. You want the review and are contacting me, not the other way around.

3. If I do not like your work, I will tell you in private and not put a bad review out there. If you are self published, I hope my critique of your work prompts you to fix it and put it back up for sale. You upload the content yourself, this has to be an option.

If I do like your work, I will post reviews for you where you ask me to, as well as post the review on my blog.

4. Please realize real time constraints. You know nothing of my personal life and how I spend my time. (If you truly know, you better be related...) You can only assume from what I tell people here on my blog and other social media. We all know what assuming does, don't we? However, should I fall behind, I will do my best to maintain contact and make sure you know this in advance. If you cannot wait, I'm sorry.

5. Please act in a professional and courteous manner. Rude will get you nowhere. Worse than rude, well, we won't discuss that, will we?

I am trying to make light of a situation here as well as give some real advice for reviewers and writers alike. There isn't much humor in the way people treat other people at times. There is no need for threats, stalking, name calling or any other rude, unprofessional behavior in regards to opinions.

We all know what opinions are like, right?

I am going to say this, whether I regret it later or not remains to be seen. This is a free country, I am allowed to express myself however I deem fit.

Don't. Push. It.

And one final thing to say about all of this. GROW UP and ACT YOUR AGE.

Thanks everyone!

Recap & Clarification On Mr. Bryant...

If the name Carroll Bryant is not familiar, it soon will be. And not in a flattering way at all. This man seems to have single-handedly made indie publishing that much harder for indie authors with his lack of ethics and professional protocol.

Now mind you, I'm going by other blog posts, some details I found through other blog posts and have yet to go look around on AbsoluteWrite.com and check out the forums. But, bloggers tend to be pretty good in gathering their facts, so I will leave you with two more blog links to see more of what has come to light in this whole situation.

This one.

And this one. This one, is the most important.

Okay, and I did just go through some of the forum stuff on AbsoluteWrite.com here.

Once you are a little more informed, like me, you'll still see this as a bad thing. This guy did not act in a professional manner at all.

Indie authors already have a bad rap! This is not going to help. Reviewers are throwing down the gauntlet and quite a few are not going to review indie authors ever again. Unless of course, they have built a rapport with them and like them.

So like one person said on the AW Water Cooler, Authors Behaving Badly is becoming a trend. Their numbers rise while those of us with professionalism and integrity struggle. (Okay, I didn't quote them verbatim, you get the idea.)

There are going to be some severe consequences to all of this, guys.

1) IF people continue to buy Mr. Bryant's books and his numbers continue to grow rapidly due to his now A.B.B. image, more authors are going to follow suit.

2) Reviewers will stop reviewing.

What does this mean for writers? Readers?

If Bryant's perverse way of gaining readers works and others follow suit, we're in for a world of hurt. People hide behind the computer every day spouting off things they would never say to someone face to face. Seriously, I would like to meet with people face to face who bad mouth me. In my experience, most of those people back down and try to explain away their actions to smooth things over so I don't end up using their head for a doorstop.

Not really.

Maybe.

Point is, he needs to be the one taught a lesson in all of this, not the reviewers who really had every right to do what they did. Again, a commenter on AW Water Cooler said he's the adult here, shouldn't he be acting his age?

Reviewers are vital to the publishing industry. Why? Because they tell people whether or not a book is worth it. Will one reviewer make or break you?

NO.

Because everyone's tastes in books varies. I can tell you what I like to read. It doesn't mean that you won't like it. If I love it, you may hate it. If I hate it, you'll adore it. Possibilities are endless here. The reviewers are just trying to help filter through the crap. Sorry, but there is lots of it out there, self published AND traditional published.

Pointing the finger at self pubbed authors is not going to help. Some review blogs I have read did state that most indie authors are more pushy. Maybe they are, but you can't tell me a traditionally published author can't be just as pushy. Or creepy. Or dysfunctional.

This is not something that is going to go away overnight. People love the drama. MY concern is this, however: If something isn't done about this as a writing community whether you are self published, traditional published, a reader, a reviewer or even a blogger - it is only going to get worse.

That is my opinion, take it or leave it, as always.

What do you think?

I'm Sorry?...

I'm a little stunned.

You guys know me, I don't always comment on your blogs, but when I see something you've posted and it hits me like a ton of bricks, I have to add my two cents.

So here it is.

First of all, let me just link you to this post here about an indie author who went on a review rant. This post will link to another where you can see the details of it all.

Second, let me state right here and now that if I offered up to review your book and haven't AND you have not heard from me about it. I'm sorry.

Last thing I need is someone listing me as their source of angst. I mean... I can be, but not in this instance!

Now for the rest of my two cents. It doesn't matter if you are an indie author or traditionally published author. If you ask me to review your book (because hey, I've reviewed books here) please keep in mind that I have stuff to do with my own book, my work, my family. Even with *gasp!* other books. If I can't finish your book, for whatever reason, I will try again. If I still can't, I will email you. Personally, I don't like to give a bad review. I'll give you my review in private if it comes to that point, not for all the world to see simply because I know how hard it is to shake off negativity.

I also am seeing a trend in some of the indie authors out there (not that any of them have contacted me personally) that have the frame of mind that they're somehow better than traditionally published authors. Writers as a whole are pretty humble creatures. We don't expect anything or think we're entitled to special treatment because we write. So why have that attitude? Are you so jaded by the publishing industry that you would turn on your readers and fellow authors? If that's the case, stop writing and find something else to do. Otherwise, stop whining and work on your book. Hire an editor, join a critique group, make your self published book the best it can be to avoid getting bad reviews.

I try to review books I read, whether asked to do the review or not. If I like the book, I am going to review it. There were a couple of reviews I did that were not glowing, rave reviews when I was helping another reviewer on their blog, but I didn't enjoy posting them. I did contact the person I was helping and said, "I can't do this anymore, some of these books are soooo bad!"

If indie authors want to maintain respect, let me suggest that you act in a professional manner. Act like a published author! Don't call people thieves or liars if they did not review your book. Not everyone will contact you if they don't like your work, they'll just drop it, ignore you and hope you'll go away. If you really want that bad review, it can be done. But why would you?

Tips on professionalism:

* Politely email the people and ask if they've had a chance to read your work, if not, when can they do so? If they have, but didn't like your material, either thank them for their time or ask for constructive criticism.

* Don't bad mouth people, their blogs, their books, etc. Karma will come back to you. People will see you acting petty and think, "Wow, I am NOT going to read their book if they're going to be like this..."

* What you post on the internet will find a way to remain on here FOREVER. So, with that in mind... THINK about what you post before you post it. I'm sure I have stuff out there I would LOVE to take down...

* Treat people how you want to be treated. The Golden Rule. If someone offers up a review of your book, offer one in return if they are a writer. If they're not a writer, link to their blog or website. Support the people that support YOU. However, if they don't follow through on their review promise, don't get pissy. Again, politely email them and say, "Hey, you promised a review for a review. If you are unable to review my book, I will not be able to uphold the deal we had." Of course... maybe try not to sound so rude... But people will read things online in their own voice and you may end up coming across snarky anyway. So begin with "I'm not trying to be rude."

Overall, no one is entitled to anything more than anyone else in this business. Yes, indie authors seem to have a harder time of it because of the route they choose. But I know several indie authors and respect the hell out of them because of taking this route. I also respect them because they ACT PROFESSIONALLY. No matter what route you take, this is a difficult enough of an industry as it is, why add to it? Writers have been pretty good about supporting their fellow writers. I really don't see a need for such competitiveness in this field because readers will choose what they like, no matter what. Not everyone is going to like your book to begin with and it isn't your job to force them to like it. Take it in stride.

And I hope everyone reminds me of this when I get my bad reviews. Hehe!

Do you have anything to add to this? Did I not review a book for you and contact you? By all means, leave comments. Not the best way to start off the week, but hope you all have a good week regardless.

Marketing Medias...

So I've been on Twitter a lot more lately. I have to admit, while I was a little skeptical about it, it's become pretty fun.

I've actually been "re-tweeted" twice now. Just silly random things. But it was an odd feeling. You mean to tell me that something I said was funny enough or "cool" enough to be re-tweeted.

Nice.

I've been utilizing it much more, following more people and more are now following me. I even have a few new blog followers. Welcome! Especially if you came over from Twitter.

Facebook is another cool social media to use, but like everything else it takes a lot of work. I find I spend quite a bit of time tweeting and updating my status to keep things going on the web.

My blog gets lots of traffic, so does my FaceBook and now my twitter as well. What's next? My website. Hehe! It might be a free site at the moment, but someday I will be a Dot Com. Woot!

Okay so I extended the Giveaway for Elf Killers to Monday August 29, 2011. Details are simple. Leave a comment on the review if you want to be entered into the drawing for a copy of the eBook. I'll post the winners like that following Tuesday. Spread the word!

Review: Griffin's Daughter by Leslie Ann Moore...

Since I got my Kindle from my wonderful hubby I've been enjoying it immensely!

The first book I bought was my sister-in-law, Cheri Chesley's book, "The Wild Queen". That was a no-brainer purchase.

Since my funds were limited, though, I started browsing all the free eBooks out there and came across "Griffin's Daughter" by Leslie Ann Moore. I think someone here in the blog world that I follow must have reviewed it at some point because it sounded familiar. But I follow LOTS of blogs and almost ALL of them do reviews.

So here is mine! Lol!

Product description (courtesy of Amazon.com):

BORN BETWEEN TWO cultures, a young woman searches for acceptance. An ancient evil searches for her. A young girl lives as a social outcast due to her mixed human and elven blood. To escape an arranged marriage, Jelena flees into the unknown on a quest to find her elven father. Her journey takes her on an unexpected adventure of magic, danger, and most startling of all - true love. 2008 IBPA Ben Franklin Award for Best First Fiction

My thoughts:

I could not put this book down. Leslie Ann's descriptions were great. The story was smooth and seamless. My only regret is I did not purchase the YA version of it and ended up getting some steamy sex scenes. Sorry people, but sex in fantasy? Puhleeze.... this is a bit much. (It is also a soap box rant for another day.) I am not a prude, but I just get irritated with the "sex sells" crap. Okay, so part of my soap box rant made it in here...

Aside from that, the characters were good and likeable. I connected with them right away. Jelena is sweet and feels like no matter where she goes in life, whether it be human population or Elven population, she will be outcast. She wants to fit into one society at the very least, rather than be treated like the mongrel that she is, forced to work in her own Uncle's kitchens because he wants nothing to do with her. She escapes her human life because she refuses to move from one form of slavery into another, that of being some Nobleman's concubine.

The descriptions in this book are most definitely Asian in nature. Pagodas, embroidered silk clothing, very, very honor bound people, the Elves. I love the combination of mingling Elves and the Asian culture. LOVE it.

However, I give it a 3 and a 1/2 Skull and Crossbones rating simply because of the sex. Without the sex, I give it 4 and 1/2. Sue me.

How Do You Handle...

Recently, I read somewhere about someone giving an honest (although bad) review of someone else's book.

The author had approached the reviewer and the reviewer could not find one shining example in the book to give any sort of praise. The reviewer posted the bad review on their blog and soon after, was being harassed by the author's friends.

Nasty comments appeared under the review and the reviewer even received a nasty email.

The author was never heard from.

What if this had been your book or even your review? I am all about honesty and when reading the review, I didn't find it as harsh as I had been warned it would be. But if you cannot find anything to praise, should the review be done?

And you, as the author. How would this affect you? What if someone posted in their blog that your book lacked plot, had characters you couldn't make a connection with and was poorly written?

We, as authors/writers, take a responsibility to make sure our work is the absolute best that it can be before we give it to the world. But there are those out there who think, "Hey, that would make a neat story!", then proceed to write it out and push it onto the web before any editing has been done.

Funny. I think my first book was just like that and I thank whatever deity listens that I didn't get the horrible reviews. My book just died, quietly, with no fanfare. Had I gotten those bad reviews, I probably would have hid from the world, never writing another word again.

And it is fine that friends stick up for your work. Family will as well. But don't harass the person who wrote the bad review. (Okay, yeah I have asked people to help out my sister in law on Amazon...) But honestly, I didn't attack the person who wrote the bad review, I just posted a more positive one. Others have as well.

With that being said... if you are going to be honest and write a bad review, don't slam the author and just say it was a horrible story, that it was the worse book ever and leave it at that. Back up your words and give examples.

What would you have done in any of these situations?

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

So I thought I would start doing something fun for Fridays. Everyone else does. :D

I figure I will list my favorite authors/books, movies and music. I'll also be throwing in some fantasy artwork and just to make you giggle (cause I LOVE to hear you giggle...) a funny.

Favorite authors/books:

I have to go with David and Leigh Eddings at the moment. I absolutely LOVED every single one of the books in 'The Belgariad' and 'The Mallorean' series. I'm currently reading 'The Redemption of Althalus' and can I just tell you... it is EPIC. This is the kind of writing I love. I love all of the characters that come out of their imaginations, I feel so connected to them and there is usually a dozen or so linked with the MC's that, if they weren't there, the book would be boring and flat. But the fact that they can tell a story with so many characters... that is what my writing is like and I can only dream of pulling it off as well as they do.

Favorite movies:

I'm a sucker for a good movie. Now, I am not all about the chick flicks even though I do watch them once in awhile to purge my system of old tears that need to be shed so I can have new tears form...
I love action, adventure, thriller, HORROR! and all sorts of movies. Recommend a good movie and I'll watch it. So far, my current favorite is 'RED' with Bruce Willis. The whole freakin' cast just cracks me up. I love the movie, I love the effects! My favorite line from the movie is after Bruce's character asks John Malkovich's character if he feels better (near the end) and John's character says, "Yeah. Wanna go get pancakes?" (after just killing a guy!) Hilarious!! I love it. I think that is how I would be... lol! ::coughs and looks innocent::

Favorite music:

I have always been a super huge fan of Queensryche. Yep... Operation Mindcrime, Empire... I love Geoff Tate's voice. I'm so glad he didn't go opera. Don't get me wrong, I love opera, but he's better suited for Rock.

Now for some fantasy artwork: (I seriously need to remember what sites I get these off of... I just pull off the pretty ones. ;)



And of course I have to give you the 'geeky' funny:

Review: The Redemption of Althalus...

I finally finished it! Woot! Time to move on to other readings, but for now I want to give you my review of the book.

Title: The Redemption of Althalus, 2001 (Yes, I know it is old!)
Author: David and Leigh Eddings

Summary from Wikipedia: The Redemption of Althalus is a stand-alone fantasy novel by David and Leigh Eddings. Its main character is Althalus, a professional thief enlisted by the Goddess Dweia to save the world from the desolations of her evil brother Daeva and his henchman Ghend. As with other Eddings books, it is written in a style which combines dramatic storytelling with wry, light humour.

You can purchase this book on Amazon.

My musings:

I absolutely LOVED this book. I don't know how to be unbiased about anything David and Leigh Eddings write. I read Eddings in High school as well as all the Elf Quest graphic novels. I sort of started there, you know, getting the idea to write myself.
In this book, Althalus starts out as a thief whose luck just goes to pot. He would never have taken the job Ghend gave him if he hadn't been so desperate for gold. He travels to the House at the End of the World and meets the goddess Dweia.
After enlisting Althalus, Dweia begins to train him and they enlist others to help in their epic quest. Journey. Thing. (Five bucks to whoever gets that reference even if I didn't quote it exactly....)
The House at the End of the World proves to be the catalyst in the events happening around the world. If it were not for this house, the world would have been lost.

Now, while I absolutely adore Eddings... both of them... I have to admit that some of the pieces of the story were just far too convenient. But this is a stand alone epic novel. It isn't part of a series. It doesn't have a prequel. So reading this book was quite fast and seemed to contain all of the elements of their previous series of 'The Belgariad' and 'The Mallorean' all in one shot. So if the story moved too quickly or hopped around too much, you can thank the doors of the House at the End of the World for that. Read it and you will understand what I'm talking about. If not, well then... psssh! I can't tell you! I know, I'm mean that way.

My rating: 4 out of 5 Skull and Crossbones.