Only a couple of days more

I got the manuscript for At her boss’s command back from the editor a couple of days ago and have been busy ever since with preparing it for publication. It has been a wonderful experience to see my text through the eyes of someone else, and I believe the book – and especially the language – improved immensely with editing. Those of you who want a sneak preview can read the excerpt, now in its edited form.

I have to format the manuscript next and then do an HTML conversion prior to publishing it. Something always goes wrong with that, but unless a disaster strikes, I should be able to publish the book by Monday the latest. Those of you who subscribe to the blog will know the moment it comes out, because I will announce it here. Until then, it’s tweaking and polishing for me.

Waiting for the Hobbit

One of two people in my household is eagerly counting days to December 14th when The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey premiers. I really liked the Lord of the Rings movies and this one promises to be just as good. However, despite loving the story, I haven’t actually managed to read the books, something I probably shouldn’t admit publicly, especially in a book blog. I have started reading the Lord of the Rings many times, but I have never managed to get through more than fifty pages or so from the beginning before giving up and I haven’t even tried to read the Hobbit. It hasn’t prevented me from enjoying the movies though.

There are still a couple of months to go, but a new trailer came out and I thought to share it with you. There are five different endings to it and you can choose your favourite at the official page, but I chose the one with dwarves. Enjoy.

Reviewed: Beer Goggles by Sean Flynn

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m trying to mend my habits when it comes to writing reviews and that I would start with Sean Flynn’s Beer Goggles. I finally managed to write and submit the review and I thought I would share it in my blog as well. I also thought I would add a separate page where I would collect all my reviews, providing that I manage to write more than just this one. I will use Amazon’s starring system of one to five starts, but I can tell you already that I will only review books that get three stars or more, at least if they are written by fellow indie authors. Anyway, here is my first ever review:

Beer Goggles by Sean Flynn, 4/5 stars

A truly delightful read

The book starts out as a comedy fest of one-liners and funny episodes that will make readers laugh out loud. But Travis’s and Dave’s drunken romp takes a serious turn when they think they have witnessed a murder and try to bring the murderer to justice. The book remains funny, but the tone changes slightly, raising it above a mere comedy number to a genuinely interesting story. The structure of the narrative, which alternates between two points of view, before and after the alleged crime, ensures that readers constantly know more than the main characters do – or they think they know; beer goggles may affect their perception of the events too.

Travis and Dave are likeable fellows and the reader genuinely wants to know what happens to them, the narrative flows effortlessly and the mystery remains unsolved until the very end. All in all, a very enjoyable read that is suitable for everyone.

 

***

What do you think? If you are interested in the book, you can purchase it on amazon.com or .uk, and all the other amazon sites as well.

The great unveiling of my new cover

Here is the cover for Hannah’s upcoming book. I think it turned out great; it is romantic yet sensual, but I have already had competing opinions. My sister thinks it is nice, but Christmassy – I already changed the original red to darker because of that – and she wasn’t very fond of the red ribbon on the left in general, and my husband thinks the colour is faded and the picture would better sell clothes detergent. So not exactly praising opinions. The ribbon is there for a reason, however. The photo I used wasn’t wide enough for the ideal height/width ratio, and so the canvas needed some filling material, and on its own the photo was a bit overwhelming and needed the red ribbon to balance it out. The overall red hue is so that the text would stand out better and I think it adds to the romantic feel too.

However, I’m sure there are other opinions out there, so feel free to chime in. It is still possible to make changes, provided that I can be bothered to make them. It is surprisingly exhausting work. If you want to compare how the cover fits the book, the blurb is in an earlier post. And the first chapter, still in its unedited state, is available for you to read too. If you don't want to leave a public comment, you can e-mail me as well. You can find the address at the Crimson House Books pages.

Writing reviews

There has been a bit of ado in the literary world in recent weeks about book reviews. There was an indie writer who had bought or faked most of his raging reviews, and then an established author who had to admit he had used faked identities to write good reviews for his own books and one star reviews for books on the same genre to make his fellow authors look bad. All this has made us all a bit leery of reviews. Is it written by the author’s mom to be that praising or is the lousy review not a result of a bad book but a jealous fellow author?

I have been lucky with my reviews. I got one from a total stranger almost instantly after publishing my book and it was both nice and critical enough to give potential readers a good notion of what my book is like. But it wasn’t until I got a couple of very complimentary reviews that my sales really took off and that has made me appreciate the reviewing system in a whole new level. It has made me consider mending my manners, too, when it comes to writing them in return.

Amazon asks its customers to review everything they purchase and I never do. Even if it is for a good book by my favourite author, I just think she or he can manage without it and delete the e-mail prompting me to take action. Last week I was asked to review Sherlock Holmes books I downloaded recently, which definitely made me smile. I doubt that Sir Arthur is eagerly waiting for my good opinion of his books and no one is so clueless he or she wouldn’t have heard of Sherlock Holmes and would need a reviewer’s assurances before purchasing. And how would I review them anyway? “Five stars; it’s a classic” or “One star; who does this Conan Doyle bloke think he is anyway, copying TV series.” (The latter might make you laugh, but considering the malicious reviews some have written out of spite, it’s not necessarily that farfetched.)

However, what I really should be writing reviews about are the books by fellow indie writers. That is, if I had time to read them. Even then I would probably only write it if I could give the book at least three stars. I’m finishing a book now that I will definitely review though, and so I thought I would mention it here as well. “Beer Goggles” by Sean Flynn turned out to be as funny as promised, but also much more. It has great, likeable characters, a plot that keeps me guessing and effortlessly flowing narrative that causes professional envy in me. So if you are looking for a mystery with a hefty serving of British humour, give Beer Goggles a try. I can warmly recommend it.

I’m not sure that’s the way the review will look like when I finally write it. It will be my first, so I want to make it good. And I have a couple of chapters to go anyway, before I can start reviewing it. I just don’t seem to have time to read it. I started designing the cover for my next book and it is surprisingly time consuming. Hopefully I will be unveiling the new cover soon.