Short but sweet reviews: The ‘Stalking Shadows’ Blog tour takes off today.
“Nick and Ariel’s relationship is awesome; talk about a powder keg. They’re both such great characters, the book is all about them and I still wanted more.”
How are the books going? Chop chop chop!
I haven’t talked about what I’m doing in the writing department for a while, though I’ve been sharing my journey into the Upper Reaches of Diamond Peak with my Facebook fans. If you’re not getting those scintillating updates (including photos to stimulate your–and my–imagination) then go to the page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tahlia-Newland-author/188047104605893?ref=hl, like it, then hang your curser over the like button and click on ‘Show in News feed’, even better, click ‘Get notifications’. But to fill you in, Demon’s Grip, book three in the Diamond Peak Series is in the hand of my trusty beta readers, and hopefully I’ll get it back inn a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I’m revising book four, Eternal Destiny, which I haven’t looked at for three years. I have to cut 30,000 words from it and I’m having no problem. My writing had improved enormously since I wrote this second draft, and there are many necessary scenes , extraneous paragraphs and passages that can…
The Host, my favourite Stephanie Meyer
When Twilight came out, I read and enjoyed it like many others, but it was the first Vampire book I’d read since Dracula. I’ve read many vampire books since then, but the Twilight series, even though I’m totally over it, ( I didn’t think much of the movies) still has a kind of magic about it that other books don’t. It has nothing to do with whether it’s well written or not, it has to do with the flavour of the series, the feeling it left me with. There’s a lot you can say about the story, both good and bad, but the warm aftertaste for me comes from the character’s struggle to live a compassionate life. That’s a rare theme in a YA book, or in any popular fiction actually, but compassion is a powerful thing and has the ability to move people deeply. Ms Meyer deals with the…
When negative reviews are kind
This post is part of, and an extension of, one I wrote for the Happy Honkers blog about when kindness looks like unkindness. When you publish a book, it goes into the public arena for review. That’s part of the deal, and negative reviews are something all authors need to learn how to handle. When you ask someone for a review and they say it will be an honest review, that’s what you’ll get, and you have to be prepared for the results, whatever they are. If you aren’t willing to get negative reviews then don’t ask those whose review policy clearly states that they will publish such reviews – like me. I’m talking here only about comprehensive reviews written by professional reviewers i.e. those who know about writing. They’ve given you 1 or 2 stars and a review which includes all your writing faults. It’s a painful shock,…
I’ve got the ‘Awesome Indies Seal of Approval’
The seal appears on book covers as a pure gold version of the above. The back and gold version is used for display on the author’s website. What it means. In order to be awarded the Awesome Indies Seal of Approval, books must be approved by three qualified reviewers, at least one of which is a regular contributor to the Awesome Indies site, or one of the site’s back-up readers. The standard of prose required for the seal is higher than for inclusion on the site, therefore placement on the Awesome Indies list does not guarantee award of the seal. So yay, I’m so pleased. I set up these things, and then I think, shit, will my books get it. I checked, and they do. I was relieved to discover that I have more than the three reviews needed for both my novels.
A change of focus – going hermit for a bit
Sometimes I focus on publicity and sometimes more on writing. It depends where I’m up to with book production. If I’m writing a first draft, that’s all I do, apart from keeping the blog going, but I’ll use posts I’ve written previously. First drafts require all my focus. I write them only when I’m inspired and that puts me on a kind of creative high where I simply can’t do anything else unless I really have to—like make dinner or sleep. Rewriting is another area that takes a lot of focus, but I can also do other aspects of my job, like marketing or formatting, at the same time. It’s actually beneficial to have space between working on the restructuring because ideas and solutions come to me when I’m not thinking about it. Editing is the same in that respect. But, even so, when doing any of these things,…
Last review of the blog tour and it is AWESOME.
Day 19 of the blog tour has me over my peak download quota and facing a hefty internet bill for this month–I’m so far in the bush that I have to have Satelite internet and it’s expensive–but my day was totally made by a review on Book Briefs that humbled me. There is nothing better and more inspiring for an author than to find a reader who not only resonates with their books, but also encourages others to read them. Thank you, Michelle. Readers like you make writing worthwhile. One little quote: If you like fantasy books at all, you HAVE to read Lethal Inheritance. To find out why she thinks that, please visit Book Briefs, and while you’re there help send some traffic Michelle’s way. (Tweet it etc) http://bookbriefs.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/review-lethal-inheritance-by-tahlia.html