Monthly Archives: May 2012

May 30, 2012 · 6:59 pm

Call Me… An interview with Desiree Finkbeiner

TrueJDK is proud to present our debut interview, with Desiree Finkbeiner, author of Ethos: Morning Star (Book #1 in the Ethos series)

Desiree Finkbeiner, author of Morning Star (#1 of the Ethos series)

Desiree Finkbeiner – Don’t Quote Me

1. “Call me….”
Call me what you want, but I know who I am.

2. “Who in the world am I? …”
In the world, I am one of a kind.

3. “Love is…”
Love is not a feeling, it’s action.

4. “Man is never…”
Man is never far from home, if he makes home his heart.

5. “Woman is…”
Woman is everything a man is not, but is naught without a man.

6. “I have seen wicked men and fools…”
…but wicked fools are court jesters to the devil.

7. “It is a truth universally acknowledged…”
…that a smile has no language barrier.

8. “No one is useless in this world who…”
…can wipe the toilet seat off if they dribble.

9. “There is nothing more deceptive than…”
…corporate advertising.

10. “Searchers after horror…”
…will never find peace.

11. “Show me a hero…”
…that believes, even a villain deserves second chance.

12. “A room without books is like…”
…a garden without produce.

13. “In three words I can sum up everything I know about life…”
Forgive. Create. Experience.

14. “The best things in life make you…”
…rethink your life.

15. “If I had followed my better judgement always…”
…there’d be no story to tell.

16. “Friendship is born at that moment when…”
…one accepts another, flaws and all.

Morning Star, available now through Amazon

Desiree Finkbeiner – Morning Star, (Book #1 of the Ethos series)

So, tell us what brings you here…

Ethos is the series I am focusing on most right now. Morning Star,
book #1, was released March 28 2012. It’s an urban fantasy/paranormal
romance/adventure story that crosses over adult to YA markets. I try
to keep my writing clean enough for adults and teens to enjoy without
being easily offended.

There is some mild passion in the book as well as some mild violence,
but I’m sure you’ve seen and heard much worse on Nickelodeon LOL! The
main point of the book is to provoke thoughts of spirituality and
moral reflection, to look within ourselves and ask how far we’d go to
stand up for what we believe in. I think the issues presented are
general enough, that people from all walks of life can find some
tidbit of universal truth that speaks to them on a personal level.

I’m a sucker for action, so of course, there are a few good fights
and chases… and what would a good fantasy be without a little
romance? However, I didn’t want the book to be saturated with it. I
tried to find balance between the romantic elements and the rest of
the story, so readers from multiple genres could enjoy it.

Hook me…

“Am I going to die?”
(First line of Morning Star)

Heroes and villains…

Kalen, the hero, is the reserved, quiet type; duty bound and humble
but fierce when his duty calls him to action. He was called to be one
of Ethos high ranking warriors, his duty is to protect a relic from
his world, with his life if necessary. Part of his oath was to remain
unattached from serious relationships, especially from love. But when
the relic he guards is compromised, he finds himself tempted to
violate his oath of office.

Ellette, the antagonist, was once like Kalen. She too held the same
position as a warrior for Ethos. But little by, she justified bending
the rules until she had completely fallen from her position and
became an enemy to the people of Ethos and became a threat to the
liberty of two worlds.

An Author’s Pain…

Finding the time to write without distraction. I have 4 children, one
of which is a special needs child, so peace and quiet is rare in our
home. I only seem to write when everyone else sleeps. So I often had
to sacrifice rest to complete this book.

Friends, Romans, and countrymen…

Looking for a book with a moral? A book without graphic sexual
content and harsh profanity? A book you’d enjoy and also feel
confident that your teens could read without being influenced to
engage in risky behavior? Then look no further. Ethos is for you!
It’s packed with detailed world building, strong romance without the
smut, adventure between two worlds and a very unique spin on faeries
and other mythical creatures.

What’s Next…

Book #2 in the series will be out this fall. Book #3 next year.

Parting is such sweet sorrow…

Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter (details below) for the most up-to-date news.
Thank you for reading. If you like what you read, then please take
the time to rate and review on Amazon and Good reads etc. I
appreciate it very much and it gives me encouragement to keep writing
books for readers like you.

 

Buying Morning Star

Morning Star is available to purchase at:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Morning-Star-Ethos-ebook/dp/B007PSUV2W/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Morning-Star-Ethos-ebook/dp/B007PSUV2W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338045897&sr=1-1

Find out more about Morning Star:

Action Adventure Fantasy Book Trailer #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlrpPaNqWBo&feature=relmfu

Paranormal Romance Fantasy Book Trailer #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wRBiwi7MDA&feature=relmfu

Ethos on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13568249-morning-star

Ethos on Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/books/28173037/Morning-Star-(Ethos)

Ethos on Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/work/12535862/85293762

(TrueJDK notes – Ethos has over seventy 5-star reviews on Amazon.com’s page. A review by yours truly will be appearing shortly).

Find out more about Desiree:

Author Blog on Blogger: http://desireefinkbeiner.blogspot.com/

More art on deviant art: http://fink-art.deviantart.com/

Author website: www.finkartstudio.com

Author Facebook fanpage: www.facebook.com/finkartstudio

Author G+: https://plus.google.com/116389190274070035894

Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/finkart

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Desiree-Finkbeiner/e/B007PVI2MU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

 

 

Original quotes from:

1.       Herman Melville, Moby Dick. (“Call me Ishmael”)
2.       Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.”)
3.       William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs”)
4.       Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island (“Man is never perfect, nor contended”)
5.       Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (“Woman is sacred; the woman who loves is holy.”)
6.       Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped (“I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both; and I believe they both get paid in the end; but the fools first”)
7.       Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”)
8.       Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend (“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another”)
9.       Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact”)
10.   HP Lovecraft, The Picture In The House (“Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places”)
11.   F Scott Fitzgerald (“Show me a hero, and I’ll write you a tragedy
12.   Marcus Tullius Cicero (“A room without books is like a body without a soul”)
13.   Robert Frost (“In three words I can sum up everything I know about life. It goes on.”)
14.   Edgar Allen Poe (“The best things in life make you sweaty”)
15.   Edgar Rice Burroughs (“If I had followed my better judgement always, my life would have been a very dull one.”)
16.   CS Lewis (“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”)

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May 28, 2012 · 8:43 pm

Book Review – The Bones of Odin, David Leadbeater

And away we go with our next review.

The Bones of Odin ((Matt Drake 1)) by David Leadbeater, available for Kindle. Links at the bottom of the page, as usual.

Brief Summary - Matt Drake, former SAS man, now working as a freelance photographer gets caught up in a plan to find the nine pieces of Odin, assembling a puzzle which may well lead to the end of the world. His old talents are tried to the limits as he fights to save his friends, find the pieces of Odin, and save the day.

This is not the first book from Leadbeater, but it is the first of a proposed new series. The next Matt Drake book was recently released for Kindle. There is a wealth of reviews available on Amazon for this book, running the full range of 1-star to 5-star ratings.
The Bones of Odin is not without some charm – the lead characters are fairly likeable, and dialogue is comfortable. However, that’s pretty much the only real positive I can find. The basic story is a low-quality version of the recently-popular genre brought into prominence by The Da Vinci Code. I’ll admit to some guilty pleasures in similar books (Preston and Child are favourites of mine), but this is definitely one of the poorer versions. Most of these books run along the lines of: hero stumbles across ancient conspiracy/prophecy, rushes to save the world, gets chased by shadowy conspiracy group, goes from A to B to C to D to collect various pieces/clues (usually just too late, or just ahead of the bad guys), eventually finds the last piece in time to make sense of the whole thing, realises it’s a bit of a misunderstanding, saves the day, goes home. Usually gets the girl.

So it is with The Bones of Odin. Only, it’s pretty poorly done. Getting Drake into the story is poorly handled coincidence of the highest order. The bad guys are phenomenally crap (yes, I debated on which word to use. It’s definitely the most appropriate). The introduction of the love interest, the shocking plot holes, and the whole chase are disappointing. The McGuffins (the 9 pieces of Odin) which are meant to be assembled to point to something or other are actually nothing, and have no bearing on any of the prophecy or clues. Coincidence works in with the most appalling timing (Classic example, a team of crack SAS-types are exploring a cavern, and have been for a while. The moment they realise that the floor they’re standing on is a trap, it goes off. The very moment. Twaddle.) Inconsistencies litter the book. To list all the flaws would fill pages here (but I do have to highlight that I’m pretty sure the SAS would do psych tests of some description – especially an elite branch of the SAS).

However, the most grating thing about the whole exercise is Leadbeater’s obsession with simile and analogy. Most of which are utterly painful, but manage to crop up on almost every page. It swiftly degenerates into parody in the same way that Cat did in the later series of Red Dwarf (when he was reduced to doing nothing more than comparing situations to out-of-date clothing styles and such). If, however, you find phrases like “It was colder than a polar bear’s scrotum” to be the height of quality, you may well enjoy this.

I do try to find something positive in every book, and I would re-emphasise that the trio of lead characters are well-defined (ignoring the shockingly poor way they’re brought into the story), and actually pretty likeable. However, I would remind Leadbeater that you don’t have to attack the reader with the backstory of a character immediately upon introduction. Some things can be hinted at, and introduced slowly. The dialogue is, surprisingly smooth.

Overall, a clumsy piece, that’s not without charm. Unfortunately, I won’t be trying any more of the Matt Drake series (and yes, the double parentheses are part of the description, not a typo from me).

Bones of Odin is available on Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bones-Odin-Matt-Drake-ebook/dp/B006AVJGU8/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

And Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Bones-Odin-Matt-Drake-ebook/dp/B006AVJGU8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338234143&sr=8-1

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· 1:32 pm

Feedback on my book

At the risk of being a little selfish, I’m going to write a little about Clown today. Clown, my first ebook, available now on Amazon – see those nice links at the side?

Good. If you click them, it’ll take you to the Amazon page, and you’ll see a complete lack of reviews. Disappointing for me? Sure. I’d love to see some more reviews up there, and hopefully they’ll come. In the meantime, however, what I can share with you is some feedback from a couple of friends over cocktails on Friday night. Yes, I like cocktails. Sue me.

Happily for me, I can also give some feedback on their feedback. Woah, wait wait wait! Come back. This isn’t the usual “angry author argues with review” feedback. I’m not that arrogant. The feedback from these friends was honest and constructive, and came from them as the reader of the book. Regardless of what I intended or wanted when I wrote it, it’s the reader who defines the book – what they take from it, what they see in it, what they enjoy, what they understand. And there’s absolutely no point in an author then addressing every single point that a reader raises so that they understand better. Your book should do that for you. If it doesn’t, take that feedback on board for next time you write something.

Here, there’s a few comments from them, and a couple of my notes besides. Why? Because this blog is here to look (primarily) at my journey in writing and publishing. So these are my thoughts, written down instead of locked in my head. If you’re unsure about whether or not to try the book, it may also help sway you one way or the other. At least, until more reviews are forthcoming.

And, really, there’s only five or six key points I took (although I reserve the right to come back and discuss one or two in more detail at a later point).

Too much description.
Absolutely fair point, and this is where editting would help immensely. I tried to create a detailed world, and used too much description for it. There’s still a part of me that enjoys this, but I’m not the reader. I’m guilty myself, of skipping through excess amounts of description, so definitely something to take away for next time.

Fantastic immersive world.
Love this piece of feedback, and it genuinely makes me wonder how closely that ties in to the amount of description being used. I think it may be more to the fact that I’ve tried to create a world I fully understand, and one that works. By the sounds of it, I’ve succeeded and made one that peope enjoy. This bodes well for return visits to that world.

Briliant original characters.
Again, I love this. The characters were given a lot of development over the course of the writing, with dialogue being written and re-written until I felt that the characters were comfortable talking to each other, with their own styles and voices. I have borrowed a couple of characters from the classics (two, possibly three), but given them enough of a spin that I feel they’re fully mine now.

Great characters, but not knowing their names early can be confusing.
Fully accept this, as something I can develop in later pieces. My aim was to intersperse the main story with hints of what was to come. The vast majority of those hints don’t reveal names immediately. In a couple of cases, this is essential and works to the overall value of the story.

All comes together for a brilliant finale.
My favourite bit of feedback. I was very worried about the final reveals/twists, that I didn’t want them to be a complete lack of surprise, but I didn’t want them to be the only selling point of the story. Enough that it would warrant further readings. Seems that worked, and answers a lot of the questions that arose during the story.

Would work better as a series of short stories.
Ooh, now this one. Great feedback, again, and led to one of my biggest problems in writing. So, to explain:
When I started writing this, the rough format was that it would be a chunk of the main story, an interlude hinting to a later event, chunk of main story, interlude, and so on. The main story chapters would be in several sub-sections (My personal favourite is the one that simply reads “Orange and black”. It makes sense in the context), so allowing the reader to enjoy in bite-sized chunks. I also had it split into Book One, Part One, Part Two, Book Two, Part One, Part Two.
The main story ran to 455 pages worth on the Kindle. And it all seemed to much.
My dilemma, then:
Keep as one long book
Split into two books
Run a series of smaller books
My choice may have necessitated drastic rewrites. Book One, for example, has a nice ending, but not one which I would want to use to lead in to a separately published Book Two. Although Book Two does have a great start (to my mind).
Ultimately, I made the decision to keep it as one book, just changing the structure a little. It’s still in bite-size chunks of chapters and interludes (although without those titles), but I feel it works better for it. Some will agree with me. Some won’t.
My next book does not follow quite the same format, so the feedback will be interesting on that, too.

So, based on that feedback, the main points I’m taking away are:
Great characters, great world, great resolution
Too much description

The whole question of series of short stories is one that I’ll never be able to fully consider, and will be revisited in these pages in the future. I’m quite happy with the honesty, and the positivity. It’s a good start, and future work will reflect some of the feedback taken.

Now. Find out for yourselves. Go and click one of those links, and download for yourself. Enjoy some great characters, in a great world, in a tale of the fantastic which leads to a wonderful resolution. Lose yourself in the wonderful descriptions of everything. And have fun.

Oh, and leave a review if you can!

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· 11:44 am

Weekend thoughts on reviews

Ah, the weekend is over.

Forgive me, but given that we were suddenly blessed with a scorching hot, extra sunny weekend, I had to abandon my computer screen and make the most of things. Thus, my weekend was mostly spent in the garden, lying in the sun, turning bright pink, glass of Tequila Sunrise in hand, and a book being read.

See?

Even with the blazing sunshine, I still manage to keep reading. Although it did give me a little moment of conscience debate, which I would like to share with you. Naturally.

The book I’m reading (full review to go on tomorrow) was not going particularly well. Pretty quickly, it was summarised what kind of book it would be, how it would spill out, and how much I’d enjoy it. A quick flick to Amazon saw a lot of reviews reflecting my own thoughts. So I turned my Kindle off, closed my eyes, and lay back.

If this book had been a film I was watching on TV, I probably would have shrugged and flicked over to something else quite quickly. As I’ve grown older, I’ve grown a little less patient with wasting my time on something that I don’t really enjoy (although, admittedly, I do find guilty pleasures in watching some absolute tripe every now and then).

And this was an unsolicited review. No one had asked me to read. No one had asked me for my thoughts. No one had said, “Hey, I’m struggling for reviews, could you help me out?” There were a surprisingly high number of reviews on Amazon. The author could live without me. The other readers and speculative customers could do without me. I could do without finishing the book, to be honest.

But, sitting there in the hot sun, sipping my Tequila Sunrise (I do make a nice Tequila Sunrise. Simple recipe here – crushed ice in the bottom of the glass, two shots of tequila, fill the glass up with orange juice, and 1-2 shots of grenadine poured in against the side of the glass. Pick the size of the glass to suit you, and how much orange juice you want for the flavour. Ditto the grenadine. If you want to change the colour, play with how you pour the grenadine in – Against the side, and it’ll sit all nice at the bottom, poured in and it’ll mix a little, swirl it for a nice colour), I thought a little more.

Do I have to finish reading this book? Really?

I wasn’t gripped by it. It was charming, sure, but clumsy with it. However, by not finishing reading it, by not finishing what I’d set out to do, I was letting myself down.

Clown (my own book, available now on Amazon – subtle hint), sat on my computer for far, far too long, because I just “never got around to it”. Which is appalling, really. If I gave up on this book, I would be perpetuating the habit of not finishing what I started, simply because I didn’t like it. And this was different to not finishing my meal, or my drink. This was an act which I enjoyed (reading), to support doing something else I enjoyed (writing – in this case, right here).

So, I made a decision. No more walking away from something I enjoy, simply because that little piece of it isn’t fun. It’s a pledge I’m making to myself, and will no doubt come to regret, but it’s a worthwhile trait to have – sticking-at-it-until-its-done-edness. Or something.

Review up tomorrow.

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May 26, 2012 · 3:01 pm

Book Review – The Brightest Light, Scott J Robinson

Have just finished reading this ebook, and am in a state of conflicting emotion, so I’ll try to deal with this impartially as I review the book. Then, I’ll follow with a couple of comments about what has wound me up.

So.

The Brightest Light, by Scott J Robinson – available for Kindle, links at the bottom of the page as usual.

Brief Summary - Poor Kade. A one-time master-thief, member of the Skyway Men. Until he messed everything up, and got kicked out. Having waited for ten years, he’s finally offered the chance to get back in the Skyway Men’s good books by running a mission for them. Or so he thinks. The mission is revealed as a set-up, with Kade having to go on the run from the law, the Skyway Men, and all manner of others whilst trying to find the elusive thieves who took the item he was sent to steal, who set him up, and who framed him. Oh, and try to figure out what the hell they took!

This is a fantastic, well-written tale, and I give full credit to Robinson for the incredible world he’s created. It puts me in mind of a Studio Ghibli-esque world, filled with floating lands, and an advanced/retro civilisation. Crystals are used for power, and one character stumbles (in a throwaway moment) upon the possibility of developing steam power as well. Robinson has crafted this world easily and credibly, and admirably drops us straight in. Explanations about the floating worlds never feel clumsy or forced, ditto for the Skyway Men and other characters and groups. The development of the characters is smooth, believable, and Kade and his companions feel easily likeable. Action scenes are well handled, and come thick and fast.

It’s hard to pick some problems for this. At a stretch, I’d go with that I’m not actually sure what the purpose of tattals and crystal implants are (however, I’m going to come back to this), and that some characters are thrown away far too quickly. But, the book is 198 pages long, and runs at a brisk pace, so what can you expect? Otherwise, this is a fantastic piece.

Coming back to the points I wanted to come back to – this is far too well developed a world to throw away on a mere 198 pages (although this is an ideal length for this book). I would absolutely love to see a series of books in this world, answering more questions – the development of the questions, the Green Sea Raiders, what (may or may not) lurk beneath the floating lands, etc.

Full credit, Scott Robinson, you have produced a great piece of work, and I would recommend it whole-heartedly.

And thus the review section ends.

 

Scott J Robinson

There are two sets of frustration I have here. Robinson has five books available through Amazon. The first frustration is that on Amazon and Goodreads, Robinson has virtually no reviews, although these books have been published in Jan, Feb, and in the case of The Brightest Light, April of this year. The Brightest Light has no reviews at all.
My previous blog entries have discussed my views and issues with reviews, genuine and bogus, so it is doubly frustrating to see a quality book like this with no reviews, where another book filled with problems has an abundance of 5-star reviews.
But, such is life.

The second frustration I have is with Robinson himself. At the end of the book, I had thoroughly enjoyed reading, had been composing the review in my head, ready to give glowing recommendations. I read the last page, and clicked through again. To find that Robinson had left a message at the end of the book. This is that message:

“Note

Let’s face it, some independent writers aren’t very good. Or they aren’t interested in working with proof readers or editors to get their work right. For those of us who are trying, it can be hard to be taken seriously amongst all the rubbish. With this in mind, if you enjoy this book, please consider writing a review on Amazon. In face, any honest reviews or comments are appreciated.

Thanks.”

Worse was to come in an About the Author section at the rear.

“Scott J. Robinson has been writing fantasy and Science Fiction for as long as he can remember. He’s had short stories and poetry published in various publications over the last 25 years.

The Space Between is the first novel he has made available to the public…”

Wow.

Arrogant much?

I’m sorry, but I find these comments incredibly offensive. Yes, there’s rubbish out there. There’s also quality out there. Pointing out in this manner actually offends me, and shows the writer to be phenomenally arrogant. Especially the “…is the first novel he has made available to the public…” comment. Isn’t that nice of him? He has deigned to bestow his writing upon the public – as opposed to gathering dust on a shelf.
And, if you’re going to snark comments about people using/not using editors and proofreaders, by god, your work had better be bullet-proof. Sorry, Scott, but yours isn’t. There are mistakes, and more than a handful (but. absolutely not a huge amount) of errors in yours. Not enough to detract from the story, to be sure. But if you want to put that target on yourself, you need to be 100%. You’re not.

Your work, based on this, is fantastic, and I will be putting reviews on various sites to endorse it. However, I would strongly suggest you remove that note at the end of your work, and change your “About The Author” section to something less offensive. Shame, really. It’s like having a delicious meal, that leaves a foul aftertaste.

 

Product Description:

Kade was once the up and coming star of The Skyway Men, a globe spanning criminal organization. Then he made a mistake. Then one more. Then one too many.
They could have killed him but instead, he was banished.
Kade spent ten next years on a backwoods patch of farmland that flew along the quietest windlanes. He worked the smithy and fixed the crystal machines that ran everything from lights to biplanes and the huge engines that kept the skylands aloft. But all the while, he waited to be recalled.
When the Skyway Men finally offer him another job, Kade can hardly believe his luck. But soon he’s going to need all the luck he can get. The skylands still sail the sky, there are criminals and constables, gun battles and robberies, but nothing is like he remembered. Nothing is the same and nothing is as it seems.
And if you can’t trust a bunch of criminals, who can you trust?

Available at:

Amazon.co.uk – http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Brightest-Light-ebook/dp/B007XCWAEW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1338038812&sr=8-2

Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/The-Brightest-Light-ebook/dp/B007XCWAEW/ref=la_B0074H4FDU_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1338039897&sr=1-2

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May 25, 2012 · 3:01 pm

Links to help new indy authors – reviewer sites

As time goes on, I hope to be able to share some information to support fellow aspiring authors.

I’ll start with a list of reviewer sites which I’ve found useful. I vouch for none of these, but they may help.

Reviewers:

 

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· 12:32 pm

Good reviews, bad reviews, ugly reviews

Reviewing seems to be the most p0pular theme bringing people here, and I promise to have a new review up this weekend, from a nice little (unsolicited) fantasy piece I’ve been reading.

Meantime, here’s some random thoughts about reviewing, which I’m nicely calling “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”. Hey, there’s a reason they’re called classics!

Reviews seem to come in a barrage of formats, with all kinds of restrictions, clauses, issues, problems, and all kinds of mayhem.

Let’s start with:

The Friends and Family Review
Let’s face it, if you’re a new author, you need reviews. You need reviews to get people interested enough in your work to buy it, then to review it themselves. As a newly published author, the most likely people to buy your work immediately are family and friends. They’re very proud of you, and they want to support you. So they’ll give you a five-star review straight away, just because it’s you.
Very sweet of them, but ultimately not that helpful.

The Dodgy Review
I’m finding a number of references to dodgy reviews for books. Dodgy in the sense that they are neither genuine reviews, nor are they done with good intentions. They seem to be split into two main categories:
Author’s Self-Review.
Yes, authors are writing their own reviews on their own books. Goodreads, for example, allows this as standard. I’m not too keen on it, and I wouldn’t know how to honestly, constructively and impartially review my own work, so I’m staying the hell away from that. However, other authors have decided to create alternate accounts for Amazon (and presumably other sites as relevant) and post glowing reviews of their books. In some cases, they are using the same account and simply changing names (not realising that this will change every entry against that name). Forum boards are awash with examples of these – many bordering on the hilarious.
Reviews for Hire
Staggeringly, at least for me, there are people (I hate to call them businesses) who will take your money and construct multiple reviews of your piece of work from different accounts.

The Ugly Review
Again, I’m going to break this down into two parts:
The Retribution Review
What I’ve found is that other customers are wising up to reviews, and causing a backlash when they find dodgy practises going on. Mostly, this is restricted to author-bashing/mocking on the forum boards. However, every now and then someone goes a little further and decides to post an utterly malicious review in order to drop the average rating down, and cause a little doubt in people’s minds.
The Just Plain Mean Review
This one really worries me. I’ve spoken with two authors, who shall remain nameless, who told me two tales which scared the hell out of me. The first was an author who, following a minor dispute with a less-than-reputable published, found their book “hijacked”, with the content being completely changed (to vile erotica) leading to multiple bad reviews. This was an appalling case, and hopefully an isolated one.
The other was a friend who found a number of dodgy reviews for his book on Amazon, and did a little detective work. The reviewers were ultimately found to be working in a bookstore, and had something of a vendetta against self-published ebooks. They withdrew the reviews, but the situation is not fully resolved. Again, staggering.

Finally, the Good Review. From the genuine reader.
This is what I want, and what every author should want and aspire to collect. The ideal review.
From an impartial, preferably unsolicited source. A constructive review, that lists the good in the book, along with a reason to read. More than just a couple of lines, but less than an essay. A snappy selling point, which an author can be proud of.

What I’ve seen is that customers are wising up, and these are the things they’re picking up on when choosing books:

  • An excess of five-star reviews from an unpublished author. Yes, it would be nice to believe that someone really is that good straight away, and that every review is genuine (and they might well be), but this will set warning bells going.
  • A glowing review from a reviewer whose only review ever is for that one book. And never reviews again. Survey says… Fake account.
  • Multiple reviews which read at least 90% the same – cut and paste is not your friend.
  • Excessively vicious reviews and excessively gushing reviews.
  • Any review that contains the words “I’m so proud of”. Too close to be impartial.
  • Ditto for a reviewer who shares the same name as the author.

Now, I’m fully aware of how hard it is to get reviews. By and large, anyone who offers a reviewing service does so for free, and in their spare time. Reading a book takes time. Writing a review takes time. There are only so many hours in the day.

Reviewers look for some degree of quality control, and so do authors. You can get the best review in the world, and be ridiculously proud of it, print and frame it, hang it in the bedroom (or wherever takes your fancy). But if no one else sees it, it doesn’t help much.
Some reviewers insist on a minimum of, for example, five 5-star reviews for a book, or a minimum 4-star rating (raising the temptation for unscrupulous practise to get them).

And so the vicious cycle runs, and it can be downright upsetting for a new author. “I have my shiny new book, which I laboured for years on, and no one will read it. No one will give me a chance. No one will buy it…”

How do you get someone to take a chance on your book? You have to sell it to them.
How do you sell it to them? You promote the hell out of it, and you show them that others like it.
How do you show them others like it? You show them the great reviews.
How do you get the great reviews? You get people to read it, and leave reviews.
How do you get people to read it? You promote the hell out of it, and you show them that others like it… oh.
Vicious cycle.

I can’t guarantee that I’m going to become the next big thing in the reviewing, interviewing world. I can’t guarantee that my books are going to sell ridiculously well, and allow me to retire to a nice private island. I can dream, though. I’m good at that.

What I can guarantee is that I will help any other struggling/would-be author as best I can. And, hopefully, that someone will, in turn help me.

It takes only a brief moment to read a genuine review – which (in my case) will be shared across various media, and I promise all reviews are genuine. See yesterday’s article :)

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May 24, 2012 · 4:09 pm

Reviewing Guidelines

As I build up an audience, I’m determined to support aspiring authors any way I can.

Hence, I will be offering reviews. As such, I should have a few guidelines.

Please note that my reading list is now at a length where I will be unable to accept any more submissions until further notice.

For those who would like a review here, please note as follows:

My preferences are to review: Horror, paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi, action/adventure, humour. Sorry, but I have no interest in sparkly vampire romance stories, or anything of that ilk.

Reviewing Guidelines

  • I am happy to accept requests to review – please contact me if you have a request. E-mail: truejdk@hotmail.co.uk
  • I will review honestly. Sometimes brutally so. Be prepared that you may hear things you do not like. However, I have no interest in being mean to someone for the sake of it, and I will always attempt to cushion a blow, and support with positive comments about a work.
  • Reviews will be published here, with links sent out through Facebook and Twitter. Slightly abridged versions will appear in Goodreads and Amazon UK and US (provided it is listed).
  • Where a book is not listed on Amazon/Goodreads, I will be happy to add a review once it is published, provided I receive notification of the listing going live.
  • Depending on how busy I am, length of book, circumstances, etc, I will provide an estimate of how long it will take to review a book.
  • Reviewing is done for free, regardless of how many reviews or stars you have in other formats, but is done wholly at my discretion.
  • If the review request is prior to submission, I would be grateful for submission in a suitable format. I will reserve the right to retain this for my own reading purposes afterwards, but guarantee that it will not be shared or distributed in any way, shape or form by me.
  • I reserve the right to not finish reading a book, and state that clearly in the review, with appropriate reasons why. The most typical reason for this would be a sizeable book that is very poorly written.
  • I also reserve the right not to write a review, if I feel that the review would not be appropriate.
  • If your request is for a book that forms part of a series, I will not be able to read all of the previous entries (except in exceptional circumstances). Your book will therefore need to be immediately accessible to the reader, or I will not be able to accept it.
  • By accepting a request to review, I am not entering a legally binding contract.
  • Please note that I may choose to read the review requests I receive in any order – simply for the sake of variety if nothing else.
  • I also reserve the right to call a temporary stop to accepting submissions for a period of time, based on the length of my reading list. I will not add continuously to the list, and if I cannot accept any more, requests will need to be remade at a later date.
  • If you have not read this guidance, make a request when I’ve clearly stated that I’m unavailable, send impolite e-mails, etc, please understand that you will not receive a response.

I actually enjoy reading, reviewing, and trying to help others out. Hopefully I can do so in a constructive and positive manner.

12th January 2013 – Please note that my reading list is now at a length where I will be unable to accept any more submissions until further notice.

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May 23, 2012 · 9:46 am

Book Review – The Crystal Needle, Daniel Peyton

OK, following on from my comments yesterday, the review in question:

Daniel Peyton’s The Crystal Needle, available for Kindle through Amazon, description at the bottom of the page.

Brief summary: Modern day American family moves to a neighbouring area of Salem. Son is an avid stitcher - enjoying embroidery. Coincidentally, the home they’ve chosen is right next to a good witch, Elsabethe. A stitching with, at odds with her stitching witch sister, Adel. 300 years past the two fell out over dealing with mankind around the time of the Salem with trials. Adel went bad, and abused her powers. Elsabethe bested her, but now she’s coming back. Because, also coincidentally, the stitching kid is a chosen one of sorts for the stitching sisters, and the Japanese fox family which led to all the trouble back in the day.

This is Peyton’s second book in 3 years, and has a number of positive reviews from advance readers on Amazon.com. And there are a number of commendable points about it:

  • Peyton isn’t afraid to go down the old-school, traditional fairy-tale witch route
  • Peyton is obviously very passionate about his subject.
  • It’s a nice tribute to the old good vs evil saga, blending in witchcraft, American history and Japanese folklore.
  • The more one stays with the story, the better it gets
  • The Kitsune family are well written, and particularly enjoyable
  • There’s some pleasant moments in there, with an actual explanation of why the lead (a strong, well-trained lad of 19) enjoys embroidery
  • The backstory to the town’s foundation, division of the witches, etc, is nicely done.
  • Adel as a leaf-witch is far more impressive a concept than a sewing witch

On the negative side of things :

  • The dialogue is absolutely painful to read, and detracts from the story.
  • The formatting of the book needs some serious work, with a number of glaring errors in paragraph spacing, quotation/apostrophes use, spelling, incorrect wording, etc.
  • On a personal note, I personally hate coincidence as a driving force in a story. The staggering coincidence of this boy’s family uprooting to move into the house (which has stood empty on the market for years and years) next to Elsabethe, and that this boy happens to enjoy embroidery borders on the ridiculous.
  • To begin with, stitching is given so much attention, it almost drove me away
  • There are some fantastic scenes which are very poorly handled. Such as one character being pierced with thread, and slowly driven into a patchwork quilt. The inherent horror, the feeling of that character should be through the roof. Instead, the moment is given a throwaway line, and has no later repercussions or effects on said character. 
  • Events, such as the climactic battle, occur and are then pretty much forgotten about. One moment which absolutely pained me was a security guard being assaulted by a character, told to run away, and does just that. And that’s it. Too many little throwaway moments which could have followed up.

There are also opportunities for more backstory around the witches – who tasked them with going out to improve the world by sewing, and why did they not come to stop Adel when she breached the given laws. On another note, I was a little disappointed that Yuki had to adopt a westernised name and look to fit in with the town.

Whilst I commend anyone who takes the time to write about something they feel passionate about, to finish a novel, and to publish it, I just can’t help the feeling that this is a first draft version only, and more work is needed for it to be ready to stand as a quality piece (which it could well be). The formatting and speech just take too much away from the story, and I more often felt that I was reading, as opposed to being immersed in the tale. And, please note, that this is “as it currently stands”.

I would strongly suggest Peyton works on improving the dialogue, and look at formatting before publication/reviewing once live. The potential is there for something fantastic, and I genuinely hope to see that in subsequent publications. I would actually like to see a revised version of this book come out, as I feel it could be something which has a lasting legacy.

Honestly, were this rewritten with a younger protagonist and targetted for a young adult audience, this would be something far, far better. Potentially the start of a lengthy series?

The Crystal Needle can be found at Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Crystal-Needle-ebook/dp/B0069DS694/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337680478&sr=8-1

And at Amazon.co.uk at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Crystal-Needle-ebook/dp/B0069DS694/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_1

The description runs from their Amazon link runs as follows:

“300 years ago, in the dark shadow of the Salem witch trials, two kind stitching witches founded the city of Featherville as a haven for the unfortunate victims of the witch hunts. Soon after Featherville’s founding a father and his three children arrive seeking a safe home. They are not human, but Kitsune, a magical fox people from Japan. Their story, and the loss of their mother to hunters, tugs at the hearts of the sisters. Elsabethe comforts them, but Adel becomes angry. She uses her magic to avenge the Kitsune against the humans who had hurt them. After tasting vengeance, she begins to desire dominion over man. In her lust for power she destroys the father of the Kitsune and curses his children. Adel is ultimately magically imprisoned by her sister in the forest nearby so that she can do no more harm. But, the seal is not eternal.
300 years later fate begins to move. A family takes up residence in Adels old home and finds a friend in the little old lady living next door, Elsabethe. This family has one son, a 19 year old boy who happens to enjoy embroidery. Joseph is flirtatious, kind, and pretty good on his feet. He becomes close to Allison, the cursed Kitsune girl. Unaware of her true identity, he comes face to face with the reality when Adel makes a terrible and triumphant return. Together, they must find a way to defeat her, saving Featherville and the whole world from the wrath of the Obsidian needle “

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May 22, 2012 · 11:38 am

Reviewing how I review

Reviewing, eh?

Normally, I used to just scribble the occasional line against an Amazon product. Or E-Bay. It was nice and easy. “I enjoyed this.”, “Great stuff – definitely recommend”, etc. The usual inane and, ultimately, unhelpful stuff.

Now that I’m embarking on this great journey, I find I’m taking a bit more consideration, and as usual, overthinking things. For example – when is it best to actually start reviewing? Making a few notes when you’re reading the book? As soon as you finish the reading? When you get time?

The earlier that I start, the more feedback I’m actually able to give. Whereas the longer I leave it, the less specifics I can remember, and the less detailed a review I can write. I then invariably end up with something a little more generic. On the Amazon site, that can be fine, but on here, I think I’d like to go into a little more detail.

Which brings me to the next problem. I started a book today, a self-published book by a non-established author, and began writing a review after getting a quarter of the way through on my train journey to work. So, all my impressions and information were fresh and clear in my head. I started to write, and as the words fell out, I started to feel I was being unnecessarily harsh. I’m very conscious that when I read something by a friend, I tend to be very critical, but this book really irked me. It has a few positive reviews on Amazon, which I hope are genuine, but the issues I’ve found just really bother me, and take away from the story being told.

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not Stephen King. I’m not Tolkien, Shakespeare, or Dickens. My writing is, undoubtedly, flawed. My story-telling can use improvement (and there will be a later post about how I wandered away from the norm with it in Clown). I find that authors largely fall into two traps – hyper-critical of their own work, or ridiculously over-confident/arrogant with it. I’m the former. So, I know that by reviewing someone else’s work and telling them what they don’t want to hear (i.e. “This is a masterpiece!”), I instantly put a huge bullseye on myself.

Yet, I am a reader. I began reading at a very early age, and would much prefer to lose myself in a good book. I can manage the basics of writing, at least, And what I most enjoy is literally getting lost in a story. Fully immersed, so that I’m not conscious I’m reading. I don’t mind where a story takes me. I will forgive the flaws, as long as it sucks me in and keeps me entertained.

Where was I?

Yes. Reviewing. So, anyway, long story short, I’ve decided that reviews on here will be quite detailed, and Amazon will be the editted version. I will not compromise my principles. And where I have to give a negative review, I will do so in the way which I handle all negative feedback in my life – trying to make a positive out of a negative, and hoping that fractured egos can handle it.

Keep your eyes peeled, and watch the skis!

(Yes, skis. You either get it or you don’t).

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