Wednesday's Writer Shout Out - Guest Author Michele Drier

Today I'm handing over my blog to author Michele Drier who has something very pertinent to say on the subject of reviews, as well as some great reviews to share.

Who Has a Review?

In every old movie about Broadway, there’s a scene when the cast and author wait until four a.m. with bated breath for the early editions of the New York newspapers.

Critics who came for the opening night rushed back to their offices and wrote reviews that everybody believed could make or break the play.

There are still critics and there are still newspaper reviews...and some of them may make or break a play, but there’s also the morass of reviews for books.

If you have a big publisher, they’ll print ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) and send them to big newspapers, magazines and review sites a few months before your book hits the sales venues.
Some rave reviews will probably make it onto the book itself before going to print. This is the hype that gets your book noticed, picked up, read and with luck onto a Best Seller list.

There are other reviews though that help or hinder a book in the sales wars, and these are from readers, smaller review sites, bloggers.

As an indie author, these are the ones that count. Without some number of reviews, and more that four stars or so in overall ranking, your can’t even buy a spot on the targeted sales sites like BookBub, Ereader News Today or Pixel of Ink.

I write in two genres, and for each I have review sites that always get copies of my latest and a request for a review.

And I’m incredibly pleased that my most recent book (SNAP: All That Jazz, published in ebook format at the end of June) is in the “rave reviews” category.

Paranormal Romance Guild said, “I loved all of the Kandesky books but there is love and there is LOVE, and this one I LOVED. I loved Nik and Jazz and their love for each other is beautiful in spite of the inherent problems, i.e. being a vampire and the violence. I can't wait for book nine to find out what happens with Nik and Jazz and Maxie and Jean-Louis.”

I have to admit that this reviewer has become somewhat of a fan. In her review of the previous book, SNAP: White Nights, she said, “There is always something new in each book but the characters remain the same.  There is romance, love and sex and always danger of one kind or another.  I can't wait for the next book in the series, so Ms. Drier please just sit at your computer and write.”

The other site that’s always on my send-to list is The Reading Cafe. Their review of SNAP: All That Jazz said, “...this of course, is a must read! Like the rest of the series Ms. Drier has woven an intricate tale of two completely different societies and the issues of falling in love and the adjustments needed to male room in their lives for each other....     Grab your favorite beverage (cause you won’t want to stop) (personally, I found a fan handy). This is a series, you can read each book as a stand-alone, but it’s soooo much better to read from the beginning. Enjoy, everyone, I really, really, really love it!”

As wonderful as these are, they’re like the icing...the cake is the reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, B&N by the readers. Almost every book I read today on my ereader has a plea from the author about posting a review.

The game has changed and we’re never going to get an opening night New York Times review, but we still write the best books we can, put them out there and hope that readers and reviewers will love them as much as we do!

About Michele Drier

Michele Drier was born in Santa Cruz and is a fifth generation Californian. She’s lived and worked all over the state, calling both Southern and Northern California home.  During her career in journalism—as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers—she won awards for producing investigative series.

SNAP: All That Jazz, Book Eight of The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles, was published June 30, 2014.  The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles paranormal romance series include SNAP: The World Unfolds, SNAP: New Talent, Plague: A Love Story, DANUBE: A Tale of Murder, SNAP: Love for Blood, SNAP: Happily Ever After?, SNAP: White Night and SNAP: All That Jazz.  SNAP: I, Vampire, Book Ten in the Kandesky Vampire Chronicles is scheduled for publication early 2015.


She also writes the Amy Hobbes Newspaper mysteries, Edited for Death and Labeled for Death. A third book, Delta for Death, is coming in 2014.

For more information, visit Michele's website by clicking on this link.

Wednesday's Writer Shout Out - Author Elizabeth Rose's Top #Review

The best reviews don't have to be long and wordy to make an impact, as author Elizabeth Rose discovered when she found this review on Amazon back in July.  The review is for her recent release The Dragon and the DreamWalker (great title, Elizabeth), Book 1 in her Elemental Series.  Here's what Amazon reviewer, Ron Kell had to say about the story, which he claimed 'stayed true to form till the end':

Lots of magical story's use the magic as a way around having to plot out a good story line and rescue the characters when the author can't devise a way. Not this one, it is well and true throughout, with magic limited and characters flawed but believable. This has a little bit of good vs evil, taming of the shrew, the hulk and dream walkers rolled together to get a love story Zane Gray would have enjoyed.

The review certainly makes me want to know more about the book, and if you do too, here's the blurb:

The Dragon and the DreamWalker - Book 1 Fire

Drake Pendragon saves Brynn from being sacrificed to Dracus, the dragon of Lornoon. He is shocked to see the dragon's fire has not harmed her, and realizes she must be the Lady of Fire that the villagers fear and call a witch. 

Brynn has faerie blood running through her veins, and while fire cannot harm her and gives her power, water weakens her and can destroy her. She is thrilled to have been saved by a heroic knight, until she awakes and realizes he has brought her to her late father's castle. She knows at once her savior is none other than the infamous Dragon's Son. The feared man of all, and also the man who stormed her father's castle and claimed it as his own. And while their relationship on the physical plane is rocky, Brynn has the ability to dreamwalk, leave her body in her sleep, and their relationship on the etheric plane is much different indeed. 

Can two feared people work together to destroy the dragon, or will they be stopped by their haunting pasts as they realize they really fear themselves?

About Elizabeth Rose:

Elizabeth is a author of over 30 novels, writing mainly medieval, paranormal and contemporary romance. She loves to write strong heroines and tortured heroes. She is an also an artist and creates all her own book covers and book trailer videos. You can see them on her website by clicking on her photo or this link.

Wednesday's Writer Shout Out - Author P J Sharon's Top #Review

It's not surprising that author P J Sharon's heart was touched by this excellent five star review for her young-adult novel, Pieces of Love that appeared on Amazon last month. The reader/reviewer, Kirstin Harnedy, called it "An engrossing, heartfelt novel that offers readers a perfect vacation." 

This amazing story captivated me from the first page and I couldn't put it down. Genuine and heartfelt, it's an amazing journey that's the perfect blend of growth, love and humor set against the incredible backdrops encountered on Lexi's Mediterranean cruise. With authentic characters from Lexi with her struggles to overcome the loss of her sister and find her path to her delightful grandma who frequently reminds her never to call her grandma, PJ Sharon delivers an engaging novel that delights and inspires while brilliantly tackling the toughest of emotions with true depth. It's a novel sure live on in the reader's mind long after finishing the last page.

It certainly intrigues me and if it makes you want to know more about Pieces of Love, here's the blurb:

Sixteen year-old Alexis Hartman wants nothing more than to play her guitar and get high, hoping to escape the pain of losing her sister. But when her second arrest for pot possession leads to her mother’s breakdown, Lexi is sent to stay with her grandmother for the summer. While embarking on a Mediterranean cruise hardly sounds like punishment, being forced to face her demons and falling for a guy she may never see again gives Lexi a chance to discover what it means to love someone—even when you have to let them go

About author P J Sharon

Award winning author of young adult books, Massage Therapist, Personal Trainer, and Yogi, PJ Sharon has been called “a powerhouse of positivity and productivity.” Her mantra is “find balance in all things, and live every day to the fullest.” A black belt in the art of Shaolin Kempo Karate, avid kayaker, and singer of Italian art songs, PJ has two grown sons and lives with her brilliant engineer husband in the Berkshire Hills of Western MA where she writes YA…because every teen deserves a hopefully ever after.

You can find out more about P J Sharon and her award-winning stories by clicking on the link to her website.

Happy reading.

Wednesday's Writer - Shout Out - It could be You!

Every author loves to come across a great review of one of his/her titles.  We spend so much time lovingly crafting a story in the hope that someone will really enjoy it and there can be no better way than for readers to show their enjoyment by taking the time to write a review expressing this and recommending the book to others.

We all receive plenty of good reviews but that never dilutes the pleasure of reading a new one.  It makes us want to shout about it from the rooftops because it validates all our hard work.  It means we've communicated with a reader in exactly the way we set out to achieve.

I had the great pleasure of experiencing that pinnacle of pleasure in a review I came across following a Google Alert last week on Romancing the Book  and that gave me the idea of doing something a little new with this blog.

I frequently post reviews of books I've read on this blog, but now I plan to open my Wednesday's Writer feature to any author who has received a great review that has afforded them real pleasure.  It doesn't have to be a recent release.  All I need from authors is an email with:

 a copy of the review, with its link, so we can acknowledge it correctly

the blurb and buy link 

a brief author bio and 

jpegs of the author and the cover of the title in question.

I hope it will be a great opportunity to spread the word about good books that bring readers pleasure and for us all to share that moment of happiness you felt when you first read that special review.

Please send your email to ManicScribbler@gmail.com.

Seductive Malevolence: In Defense of Evil - A Response by Tara Fox Hall

I'm very happy this week to welcome the wonderful Tara Fox Hall and let her air her controversial views on the way evil is portrayed in modern fiction.  Over to Tara.

My good friend and fellow author Jenny Twist makes the argument that looking for reasons for true evil, as in mass murderers, takes the emphasis away from the victims. I agree that we need to acknowledge the evil in our world. I also agree that evil in our society is being downplayed from a simple and straightforward nemesis of good into a more sophisticated concept, usually of a flawed human’s words or actions.  Any rationale given in defense of human evil gives no basis for a lessening of punishment, a kinder view of evil men or women, or acceptance of their deeds.  I am no friend of evil, of serious criminals, and a strong believer in capital punishment. So why do I find myself cheering on Hannibal Lecter? 

I addressed this issue once before as part of a paper co-written by my husband, “The Allure of the Serial
Killer,” published in Serial Killers: Being and Killing.  The conclusion was that our society is so beset by rules and regulations that we embrace the freedom offered by the sort of antihero that regularly breaks them with aplomb, such as Walter White, the hero of TV series Breaking Bad. Even classic villains such as The Wicked Witch of the West and Maleficent are now being transformed into more than an antagonist we love to hate. Simple black-to-the-soul evil is easy to recognize and abhor, but is almost never found in real life. Literature also has no power to physically hurt us. Realistic evil is complex and potentially deadly, which makes it much more dangerous. If we learn from fiction about evil—and how to deal with it—wouldn’t it be better to have truly complex villains, so we are not swayed by the intricacies of mortal monsters when we run across them in real life?

Enter the most famous evil seducers in fiction, the vampires of today’s literature. This new century predator has become a romantic hero. He’s a born killer who can’t help his desires—and might not even want to. He’s got a gift for one-liners, a ruthless possessive nature, and a mile-wide black streak in his otherwise white soul to keep the long nights interesting. I say bring him on! Who wants a simple monster doomed to die at the end of the tale, or a boring hero too perfect to feel comfortable with? I want my rogue villain who can seduce me with a single look, a few choice softly spoken words, and the brush of fangs in his passionate kiss, even as he saves me from the banality of my everyday life. 

About Tara Fox Hall

Tara Fox Hall’s writing credits include nonfiction, erotica, horror, suspense, action-adventure, children’s stories, and contemporary and historical paranormal romance. She is the author of the paranormal fantasy Lash series and the paranormal romantic drama Promise Me series. Tara divides her free time unequally between writing novels and short stories, chainsawing firewood, caring for stray animals, sewing cat and dog beds for donation to animal shelters, and target practice. All of her published children’s stories to date are free reads on www.childrens-stories.net.

Domingo's Angel by @JennyTwist1 - Now relaunched.

One of the best novels I've read in recent years, Domingo's Angel by Jenny Twist was relaunched (with a lovely revamped cover) this weekend after the author regained her publishing rights and was able to produce this independently - at a much lower cost than her previous publisher charged. Oh the virtues of independent publishing!

Here's how I reviewed it after reading it for the first time:

Jenny Twist is a wonderfully talented storyteller and Domingo’s Angel weaves a spell of enchantment around the reader from start to finish.  Although set in the 1950s (when the English woman, Angela, first arrives in the remote mountain village of Amendillas), there is nonetheless a timeless quality to the story.  Through seamless flashbacks, the narrative takes us through the dreadful days of the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s despotic rule, then forwards into a happier, hopeful future.  

The small, self-sufficient community seems untouched by the outside world and, on the surface looks like paradise. However, every character has been affected and deeply scarred by past tragedies and each nurses his or her own secret pain.  Widows, who have long ago stopped weeping and have put away their smiles - seemingly forever, are the backbone of this community now devoid of men of a certain generation.

The English Angela is escaping from her own tragic secrets, but her healing process begins when she meets Domingo who worships her as his angel, then little by little, the healing magic begins to spread.  But it is Rosalba, the excellently–drawn village matriarch, whose complex life-journey really captivates our hearts.  Angela is quick to realise that “Whatever Rosalba thinks today, the village will think tomorrow” and the true love story is the growing bond between these two women, who learn to heal each other. 

I read the latter half of the story almost entirely through misty eyes as the main characters grew larger than life with every page, unfolding their astonishing stories to me like good friends trusting me with their heartfelt secrets.  When I reached the final page, I felt bereft and lonely, though completely satisfied that I had left them all in very good hands.  Domingo’s Angel is a story I will certainly read again and this author goes straight to the top of my favourites list.

Maybe now's the time for me to dig it out and settle down for a wonderful re-read.  I recommend it to anyone and everyone who hasn't yet read it.  I gave it five stars because I couldn't go higher.  I'd love to know what you think.

Author Jenny Twist left school at fifteen and went to work in an asbestos factory. After working in various jobs, including bacon-packer and an escapologist’s assistant, she returned to full-time education and did a BA in history at Manchester and post-graduate studies at Oxford. 

In 2001 she and her husband moved to Southern Spain where they live with their rather eccentric dog and cat.

Jenny's other published works include: Take One At Bedtime,The Mantequero series, Bedtime Shadows (with Tara Fox Hall) and dozens of short stories.

Domingo's Angel is available from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Shades of Evil - With Guest Authors Jenny Twist and Tara Fox Hall

Jenny Twist

Tara Fox Hall

Although I don't write horror, I do enjoy introducing a little wickedness into my stories when appropriate. Why should creating evil characters be more fascinating than creating good ones? I'm not entirely sure, but they are. My ears pricked up, therefore, at a debate on the subject of evil between two author friends whose excellent work fills me with admiration, and I persuaded them to 'go public' and air their views on my blog.

These two great authors are Jenny Twist and Tara Fox Hall, who often collaborate on chilling horror anthologies, as well as writing individual longer works - and I've never yet been disappointed by any of these.

Tara said that what sparked the debate was a review by a U.S. college professor [Gregory Alles] of Robert Ellwood's book: Tales of Darkness: The Mythology of Evil, that claimed:  “We learn more about evil and how to deal with it from stories than we do from philosophical analysis…life [itself] is…a set of stories.” This had Tara pondering what, if this is true, does the recent shift in fiction toward making the usual villain of the story into its hero do to our society? Should we be worried that the perceived line between evil and good is not just blurring, but disappearing?

Jenny Twist's response to this is:

See No Evil?

In recent years there seems to have been a worrying shift in people’s attitude to evil. We try to empathise with mass murderers, child abusers, serial killers. We look for reasons. They had a difficult childhood. Perhaps they were themselves abused. They have never been loved. They were dominated by a sadistic lover.
Well, it doesn’t wash with me. It’s irrelevant why they do these evil deeds. They have to be stopped. They have to be caught and locked up and never let out again.

Lesley Ann Downey

And don’t talk to me about rehabilitation. Talk to the mother of Lesley Ann Downey, whose ten year old daughter was tortured to death by the notorious Moors Murderers. (Just to prove they really were evil and not just misunderstood, they recorded her screams so they could play it back later for pleasure.) Talk to the families of the 909 people who died in Jonestown. See if they think rehabilitation is a good idea. Or maybe we should think about releasing Charles Manson. He’s been in prison a long time and he’s probably sorry by now.

Let’s not acknowledge that there is evil in the world. Let’s pretend it can all be put right.

Ian Brady

Myra Hindley

Charles Manson

This same downplaying of evil seems to be seeping insidiously into vampire literature. Vampires have become poor, misunderstood creatures who are only trying to earn a crust – or, in their case, a bucket of human blood. It is not, after all, their fault that they are vampires. They were the victims once.

And so now we have sexy vampires who are tender lovers. We have vampires with human emotions; vampires who are co-operating with humans and making a living in the world. We even have, God help us, sparkly vampires.
Don’t make me laugh. Vampires are parasites, feeding on human beings. They are serial killers. It doesn’t matter what they were before or if they were victims themselves. They are vampires now and nobody in their right mind would want one for a lover.
Real, believable vampires should be evil - properly evil. Not this namby-pamby evil which can be explained away and forgiven, but deep-down, black to the soul evil.
My absolute favourite vampire of all time is Kurt Barlow in Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot’. He is ancient, clever, devious . . . and evil to the core. Someone you can really enjoy hating. That’s my kind of vampire.

I hope you'll return next week to hear Tara's response to Jenny's post.

More about author Jenny Twist:

Jenny Twist left school at fifteen and went to work in an asbestos factory. After working in various jobs, including bacon-packer and an escapologist’s assistant, she returned to full-time education and did a BA in history at Manchester and post-graduate studies at Oxford. 
In 2001 she and her husband moved to Southern Spain where they live with their rather eccentric dog and cat.
Jenny's published works include: Take One At Bedtime, Domingo's Angel, The Mantequero series, Bedtime Shadows (with Tara Fox Hall) and dozens of short stories.