Today we're talking book reviews. OK, I'm talking book reviews. As an author, I recognize their importance. As a reader, I appreciate seeing what others thought if I'm on the fence with trying out a new author, or if I'm unsure about a book in general. One thing I've noticed, however, is there are still a lot of authors out there who feel the need to comment on/react to their reviewers. Especially when those reviews are less than flattering. Authors?
DON'T DO THIS.
Please. It's bush league. Amateur. Makes YOU look like an asshat. If you get a bad review, pull up your big ADULT pants and walk it off. Sure it stings. Someone on Goodreads has made fun of your baby using animated GIF's. Or they tossed a 1-star on Amazon with a big old 'Don't Waste Your Time' in the heading. I get it, really. Sometimes reviews sting, particularly when someone is brutally honest about why they didn't like your book.
Guess what? That's their opinion. It might not be nice, but it doesn't make it any less valid. It doesn't mean the rest of the world will think your book is garbage. In fact, what one person hates another person might love. I'll let you in on a secret: I often read the bad reviews on a book first. Why? Because a brutally honest reviewer is often very specific about why they didn't like something. More often than not, it's a personal preference--i.e., I didn't like the plot, or the character was annoying. It might convince me to take a shot, because maybe I don't mind the things this reviewer talked about. (Unless it's talking about a story riddled with grammar or punctuation errors, in which case, I silently thank the reviewer for saving me from wasting my time. I'm not buying your unedited manuscript, but that's a whole other post)
I'm skeptical of a book that has only 5-star reviews. Even more-so if the author is relatively unknown. Newsflash: even the big, bestselling superstar authors have a mix of good and bad reviews. It's part of the game. You put your work out there, you risk putting into the hands of someone who doesn't like it. That's OK. BUT if you must vent, do it behind closed doors. Don't argue with the reviewer. Don't enlist your friends and family to come to your defense. It's a turn off. Both to the reviewer and other potential readers. If someone sees you being all argumentative an defensive, they're less apt to leave their own review, and you lose. If they're like me, they'll be less apt to buy it.
So my advice in this long-winded post? Be thankful. Thankful someone is reading. If you've sent a review copy, thank them and be done. Ignore that urge to defend your work and recognize not everyone will like it. It's not the end of the world if they don't, I promise. :)
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Checking in...
So after much procrastination, I finally buckled down and made myself finish the sequel to Living Dead Girl in July. Currently, the semi-polished draft is sitting in the hands of a couple different readers so that I can get some feedback before I submit it to my publisher. I can't give you too much detail yet, but here's what I'm willing to share ;)
- The working title for this book is 'Reaper Madness'
- This story is all fantasy/urban fantasy/pnr, rather than a contemporary romance that turns into fantasy
- The story begins a few months after Living Dead Girl ends
- Jen, Jack and Sam all play prominent roles; PJ makes a brief appearance
- There will need to be a book three to resolve the story completely
- There are a couple huge, unexpected twists
Now, a few random thoughts before I send you on your way:
It didn't start out this way when I first thought up Living Dead Girl, but there is a whole, huge, bigger picture that ties this story all together. There are reasons behind many of the things that happen in book one that will come to light later in the story. I'll be honest--I'm a little nervous about book two. It borrows from various mythologies, and half the story takes place in the afterlife (or, rather, an alternate set of worlds where human souls go between reincarnations). To me, it's a great deal easier weaving supernatural elements into the real world than creating a whole new one and making it believable. We'll see if my readers 'buy into it'.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Renea Mason's Reader Appreciation Party This Week!!!!
If you're a book lover, you must stop by this crazy event! It's happening on Facebook and runs the entire week. (I will also be stopping by.) Great way to interact with other readers and authors, discover some new books and maybe even win a thing or two. Tons and tons of prizes, games, and so many author guests. Check out this rafflecopter :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Saturday, July 26, 2014
By now you're used to this, right?
I haven't done much of anything with my social media accounts lately. Sure I'll throw out a few tweets here and there, or diddle around on Facebook, but nothing particularly productive. Aren't we all a little too plugged in now? I think about this every so often, how much we've grown to rely on technology in such a short span of time. Like everything, there are pros and cons, of course.
Back when I was a kid, when our family got together, we'd all sit together at the dinner table or in the living room or even outside. Maybe the TV would be on, but we'd still be conversing. The past few years I've noticed suddenly everybody is sitting around with their phones or tablets. Sure, conversations still happen, but they're interspersed between checking emails, texts, Facebook, or searching Youtube videos, etc. We're all distracted. We've joked that we're one step shy of texting conversations to each other but really, it'd be sad if it sunk to that level, wouldn't it?
I have to wonder when this obsessive phone checking habit became normal behavior. You see it everywhere, too. People don't bat an eyelash at a mom glued to her phone while she's at the park with her kids rather than playing with them. Or a group of friends who go out to eat and spend half their time taking pictures of the event to post on Instagram rather than simply enjoying the meal and company. Never mind the constant oversharing through all the various social media outlets--things that years ago, it wouldn't have occurred to any of us to share, but now flood all of our newsfeeds.
I'm not really complaining. I just wonder, why do we feel the need to do it? What is so compelling? And most of all, are we all beginning to miss out on real life experiences because of it?
Back when I was a kid, when our family got together, we'd all sit together at the dinner table or in the living room or even outside. Maybe the TV would be on, but we'd still be conversing. The past few years I've noticed suddenly everybody is sitting around with their phones or tablets. Sure, conversations still happen, but they're interspersed between checking emails, texts, Facebook, or searching Youtube videos, etc. We're all distracted. We've joked that we're one step shy of texting conversations to each other but really, it'd be sad if it sunk to that level, wouldn't it?
I have to wonder when this obsessive phone checking habit became normal behavior. You see it everywhere, too. People don't bat an eyelash at a mom glued to her phone while she's at the park with her kids rather than playing with them. Or a group of friends who go out to eat and spend half their time taking pictures of the event to post on Instagram rather than simply enjoying the meal and company. Never mind the constant oversharing through all the various social media outlets--things that years ago, it wouldn't have occurred to any of us to share, but now flood all of our newsfeeds.
I'm not really complaining. I just wonder, why do we feel the need to do it? What is so compelling? And most of all, are we all beginning to miss out on real life experiences because of it?
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
The Zombie Apocalypse is Coming July 4th!!!!
(Well, in book form, anyway!)
Definitely check this out if you're into the whole zombie apocalypse thing. And if you're having Walking Dead withdrawals, why not find something else for your brain to chew on? {insert horribly cliched zombie brain-eating joke here}Anyway, haven't read it yet, but it's now on my TBR pile. Question is, is it on yours? :)
When a deadly virus sweeps the country, Vivian Thomas sets out for California in hopes of seeing the daughter she gave up for adoption. Then her car breaks down and she’s faced with a choice. Give up, or accept a ride from redneck brothers, Angus and Axl. Vivian knows the offer has more to do with her double D’s than kindness, but she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to reach her daughter.
The virus is spreading, and by the time the group makes it to California, most of the population has been wiped out. When the dead start coming back, Vivian and the others realize that no electricity or running water are the least of their concerns. Now Vivian has to figure out how to be a mother under the most frightening circumstances, cope with Angus’s aggressive mood swings, and sort out her growing attraction to his brooding younger brother, Axl.
While searching for a safe place to go, they pick up a pompous billionaire who may be the answer to all their problems. Trusting him means going into the middle of the Mojave Desert and possibly risking their lives, but with the streets overrun and nowhere else to turn, it seems he might be their only chance for survival.
Here's the Goodreads link
Buy here:
Check out the author:
http://KateLMary.com
https://facebook.com/KateLMaryauthor
https://twitter.com/kmary0622
Definitely check this out if you're into the whole zombie apocalypse thing. And if you're having Walking Dead withdrawals, why not find something else for your brain to chew on? {insert horribly cliched zombie brain-eating joke here}Anyway, haven't read it yet, but it's now on my TBR pile. Question is, is it on yours? :)
When a deadly virus sweeps the country, Vivian Thomas sets out for California in hopes of seeing the daughter she gave up for adoption. Then her car breaks down and she’s faced with a choice. Give up, or accept a ride from redneck brothers, Angus and Axl. Vivian knows the offer has more to do with her double D’s than kindness, but she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to reach her daughter.
The virus is spreading, and by the time the group makes it to California, most of the population has been wiped out. When the dead start coming back, Vivian and the others realize that no electricity or running water are the least of their concerns. Now Vivian has to figure out how to be a mother under the most frightening circumstances, cope with Angus’s aggressive mood swings, and sort out her growing attraction to his brooding younger brother, Axl.
While searching for a safe place to go, they pick up a pompous billionaire who may be the answer to all their problems. Trusting him means going into the middle of the Mojave Desert and possibly risking their lives, but with the streets overrun and nowhere else to turn, it seems he might be their only chance for survival.
Here's the Goodreads link
Buy here:
Check out the author:
http://KateLMary.com
https://facebook.com/KateLMaryauthor
https://twitter.com/kmary0622
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Now in Paperback!!!
Living Dead Girl, which was released as an e-book first, is now also available in paperback. In honor of that, I decided to do a giveaway on Goodreads. It's going on for an entire month, so if you're interested, hop on over and enter!
Enter to win
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Living Dead Girl
by Nessie Strange
Giveaway ends July 09, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
A Little Perspective?
I rarely post anything serious or profound on my blog. My purpose here has never been to provide deep, thought provoking insight or earth shattering social commentary. To be honest, this blog has been little more than a scrapbook outlining various aspects of my book publishing journey, with a few random subject posts thrown in for good measure. And you know what? I'm OK with that for now, because it provides a landing spot for my author persona that says YAY I exist here's some stuff I've done!
Anyway, since the #YesAllWomen hashtag appeared, I've seen a whole slew of tweets, posts, articles and essays on the subject. I've also seen a great number of arguments crop up surrounding the various related topics, many of them quite heated, some of them downright hostile. And in a way, I can see why--when we see phrases like 'rape culture' and 'misogyny' and 'gender double standards' tossed around, they evoke powerful emotions. They're negative things that nobody wants to associate themselves with. And they exist everywhere to varying degrees.
Relax, I'm not here to preach. I have no statistics to share. I'm not an activist. And I've never, thankfully, been beaten, raped, or otherwise assaulted. I can only offer the experience as being a white, American, college-educated female and how it has shaped my perspective.
I grew up believing that I could do most anything a man could do--gender never entered the equation for me when thinking about school, jobs, or things that interested me. To be honest, I've never spent much time worrying about whether or not I was taken seriously in any of these things, or whether I should be comparing myself to my male counterparts or not. If I wanted to pursue something I did. If I lost interest, I dropped it. One door closes another one opens, and all that. In that sense, being resilient and persistent are great traits to have.
I've found, over the years, that I happen to enjoy a lot of things that are considered male dominated interests--like watching ice hockey, for example. And I've learned to laugh at the inevitable surprise when a male acquaintance first finds this out, because I can acknowledge that I am in the minority with this. I'm OK with that. I don't expect any pats on the back, or an all-access pass to MANTOWN--I simply enjoy watching the sport. And when another hockey fan is around, it's a great topic for friendly conversation. I like putting other people at ease. I feel good about myself when I'm genuinely nice.
So you must be thinking, well...where is she going with this? I'm not going to address the extremes within our society, or the truly horrific things that happen to people. There are bad people out there. Bad things that happen. What I'm going to talk about is more subtle. It starts with the realization that it's very difficult, as a woman, to just be 'one of the guys'.
A lot of it probably boils down to biology and how both sexes interact. I don't have an explanation, only that I know what it's like to feel vulnerable. Let's face it--in most cases, men are physically stronger and more powerful than women. This doesn't make men monsters, it's nature. What this means, however, is that I, as a woman, need to be aware of my limitations. I recognize that a six foot, two hundred pound guy could easily overpower me, and I have to always consider that the potential for this to happen is out there. Screw statistics--I don't know what the odds are that I would ever be attacked in my lifetime; probably pretty low. I only know that I'd be a fool to think it could never happen. That, in its very essence, is what it means to be a woman.
It means I need to be aware of my surroundings at all times. I need to be sure my friendliness hasn't been misinterpreted as romantic interest. I need to be on guard, constantly, because I don't want to to be forced into the uncomfortable situation of having to turn a man down, or worse, fend off his advances. I've been there. I've lost friendships because of it. I'm not a flirty gal. I'm not touchy feely. I don't dress provocatively. I've always purposely avoided all of these things when I'm around guys I don't have romantic feelings for, or that I don't know, because I don't want to give off the wrong impression. It doesn't change the fact that, despite making an effort to avoid these so-called triggers, I still managed to get myself in some hairy situations when I was younger. Thankfully the men involved did back off when I made it clear I wasn't interested, but what if they hadn't?
So what did I do to make any of these guys believe I was interested? Friendly conversation? Take a ride home that was offered? Who knows. I guarantee I wasn't flashing cleavage or telling him I wanted to hook up. And this is something that has always bothered me. Why couldn't I just shoot the shit with a guy and not have it mean anything special? After all, a group of guys can do that. They don't have to get paranoid that their buddy is going to pull the car over on the way home and try to make a move.
Yet, if I told you, when I was 18 or 19 I left a party alone with a guy I knew, because I'd wanted to leave and he'd offered to take me, you'd say I was stupid, right? I should've never gotten in the car with him alone, right? Because saying I don't want to be at this lame-ass party anymore to the person you happen to be chatting with actually means the same thing as I'm interested and want to be alone with you, right? Not all men will make this assumption, but you know what? I guarantee I'm not the only woman this has happened to.
This is why women can't afford to be naive. Why they become frustrated with double standards. Why so many have found a sense of solidarity in #YesAllWomen and used it as an outlet to vent their frustrations. Because we are told on one hand that we are equals to men, while on the other, taught that we should avoid certain behavior, habits, or choices to keep ourselves safe from them. It's something that most women have accepted as a fact of life, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating.
Anyway, since the #YesAllWomen hashtag appeared, I've seen a whole slew of tweets, posts, articles and essays on the subject. I've also seen a great number of arguments crop up surrounding the various related topics, many of them quite heated, some of them downright hostile. And in a way, I can see why--when we see phrases like 'rape culture' and 'misogyny' and 'gender double standards' tossed around, they evoke powerful emotions. They're negative things that nobody wants to associate themselves with. And they exist everywhere to varying degrees.
Relax, I'm not here to preach. I have no statistics to share. I'm not an activist. And I've never, thankfully, been beaten, raped, or otherwise assaulted. I can only offer the experience as being a white, American, college-educated female and how it has shaped my perspective.
I grew up believing that I could do most anything a man could do--gender never entered the equation for me when thinking about school, jobs, or things that interested me. To be honest, I've never spent much time worrying about whether or not I was taken seriously in any of these things, or whether I should be comparing myself to my male counterparts or not. If I wanted to pursue something I did. If I lost interest, I dropped it. One door closes another one opens, and all that. In that sense, being resilient and persistent are great traits to have.
I've found, over the years, that I happen to enjoy a lot of things that are considered male dominated interests--like watching ice hockey, for example. And I've learned to laugh at the inevitable surprise when a male acquaintance first finds this out, because I can acknowledge that I am in the minority with this. I'm OK with that. I don't expect any pats on the back, or an all-access pass to MANTOWN--I simply enjoy watching the sport. And when another hockey fan is around, it's a great topic for friendly conversation. I like putting other people at ease. I feel good about myself when I'm genuinely nice.
So you must be thinking, well...where is she going with this? I'm not going to address the extremes within our society, or the truly horrific things that happen to people. There are bad people out there. Bad things that happen. What I'm going to talk about is more subtle. It starts with the realization that it's very difficult, as a woman, to just be 'one of the guys'.
A lot of it probably boils down to biology and how both sexes interact. I don't have an explanation, only that I know what it's like to feel vulnerable. Let's face it--in most cases, men are physically stronger and more powerful than women. This doesn't make men monsters, it's nature. What this means, however, is that I, as a woman, need to be aware of my limitations. I recognize that a six foot, two hundred pound guy could easily overpower me, and I have to always consider that the potential for this to happen is out there. Screw statistics--I don't know what the odds are that I would ever be attacked in my lifetime; probably pretty low. I only know that I'd be a fool to think it could never happen. That, in its very essence, is what it means to be a woman.
It means I need to be aware of my surroundings at all times. I need to be sure my friendliness hasn't been misinterpreted as romantic interest. I need to be on guard, constantly, because I don't want to to be forced into the uncomfortable situation of having to turn a man down, or worse, fend off his advances. I've been there. I've lost friendships because of it. I'm not a flirty gal. I'm not touchy feely. I don't dress provocatively. I've always purposely avoided all of these things when I'm around guys I don't have romantic feelings for, or that I don't know, because I don't want to give off the wrong impression. It doesn't change the fact that, despite making an effort to avoid these so-called triggers, I still managed to get myself in some hairy situations when I was younger. Thankfully the men involved did back off when I made it clear I wasn't interested, but what if they hadn't?
So what did I do to make any of these guys believe I was interested? Friendly conversation? Take a ride home that was offered? Who knows. I guarantee I wasn't flashing cleavage or telling him I wanted to hook up. And this is something that has always bothered me. Why couldn't I just shoot the shit with a guy and not have it mean anything special? After all, a group of guys can do that. They don't have to get paranoid that their buddy is going to pull the car over on the way home and try to make a move.
Yet, if I told you, when I was 18 or 19 I left a party alone with a guy I knew, because I'd wanted to leave and he'd offered to take me, you'd say I was stupid, right? I should've never gotten in the car with him alone, right? Because saying I don't want to be at this lame-ass party anymore to the person you happen to be chatting with actually means the same thing as I'm interested and want to be alone with you, right? Not all men will make this assumption, but you know what? I guarantee I'm not the only woman this has happened to.
This is why women can't afford to be naive. Why they become frustrated with double standards. Why so many have found a sense of solidarity in #YesAllWomen and used it as an outlet to vent their frustrations. Because we are told on one hand that we are equals to men, while on the other, taught that we should avoid certain behavior, habits, or choices to keep ourselves safe from them. It's something that most women have accepted as a fact of life, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating.
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