Ramblings of an author, editor, media reviewer, homeschooling mommy, and headless chicken.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Interview with Ted Finch, The Design Author
Monday, May 30, 2011
Book Review: Wings of Light by Laura Bingham
Wings of Light is a wonderful sequel to Alvor, an intriguing fantasy about a teenage girl named Erin and her twin brother, Bain. When they discover a magical cabin in the woods, they make the choice of becoming Alvin, or immortal elves. But being immortal doesn’t make you immune to everything.
In Wings of Light, Erin discovers that she has powers that she has powers that far exceed that of a normal Alva (girl elf), even though she shares powers with a dragon. Where the extra powers come from is anybody’s guess, but these out-of-control powers might mean trouble. Oh, and Erin and Bain’s fairy godmother got kidnapped. To make matters worse, Erin is having troubles with her crush, whose heart seems to belong to someone else. Will Erin and Bain survive this and solve the intertwining mysteries, even with the help of Pulsar the dragon? No man knows. Unless they’ve read the book.
I really liked it because it’s creative and it’s well written. The charters, the Alvin world and everything felt so real. I felt… connected somehow, crazy as that sounds. Laura Bingham has worked her magic. ;-)
The girl has a way with a book review, doesn't she? Well, she is my daughter, after all ...
We received a copy of this book from the author, but this did not influence our opinions. It just caused much dancing in the streets and shouts of joy.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Guest Blog: Christine Fonseca on Writing During Uncertain Times
If you've ever been there, done that, you know how I feel about Christine Fonseca. I saw her name all over the place, on Twitter and Facebook, and all my friends thought she was awesome, and now I know why.
Because she's awesome.
She's so awesome, in fact, that she has written today's guest post. So, without furthering the ado, here's Christine.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Called Home Book Giveaway - Enter Now!
Last week, I reviewed Gloria Schumann's new novel "Called Home: Two Hearts Answer." You can check out the review here. Today I'm giving away my copy of this book, and you can win!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Writing a Great Book Review
I've been a media reviewer for about five years now, and I've developed a style that works for me. I'll outline it below, and then you can tweak it to fit your own needs and parameters. It's all right if you copy it step by step, too - whatever works best for you.
1. After I've read the book, I let it sit for a day or two and let it percolate in my brain. I think about the plot, the characters, the things I wondered as I was reading, the questions I felt were left unanswered.
2. When I sit down to write the review, I give a synopsis of the plot in my own words. Yes, you can use the text off the back of the book, but I personally prefer to write one of my own. It presents my interpretation of the book, rather than what someone else wants me to think about the book.
3. After I've written the synopsis, I will make a criticism sandwich. That is to say, I share something I liked about the book, something I felt could have been stronger, and then I close with another thing I liked. I rarely just praise without mentioning something I would have improved - I am a critical reader, and so I spot things. That's just what happens when you work as an editor. You see stuff. I think it's important that a potential buyer know for certain what they are buying. I also feel that the author can grow and strengthen their talents as they hear what they might have done better. But I also feel that writing in and of itself is a huge accomplishment, and I don't ever want the author to feel slammed or harshly criticized. If I can't be helpful, constructive, and edifying, then *I shouldn't be critiquing. Simple as that.
4. And that moves us on to my fourth point. I try hard to keep my comments helpful and edifying. If I totally hate a book and can't find anything good to say about it, I will contact the author or the publicist - whoever sent it to me - and I will explain to them that the book didn't quite fit me, and that I'd like to pass it on to another reviewer. This is the most fair way for me to handle it - I don't believe in ripping people up, but instead, I believe in allowing them to learn and grow from their experiences.
5. I always like to talk about how the book made me feel or the things it made me think about. That's what makes the review unique to me. Anyone can post the text from the back of the book, but it's hearing what the reviewer felt while they were reading that will sell the book.
6. I always, always include a purchase link to the book. The book review should tell about the book, it should tell how I feel about the book, and it should give my reader a way to buy the book when they are done reading my review.
In a nutshell, those are my tips for writing a great book review. Some reviewers like to include the author's bio, or interview questions with the author, or book club-style questions. All of that is great. The main thing I can offer is this - be yourself and share how the book impacted you. When you do that, you will rarely go wrong.
*I do want to make one clarifying statement - there are some book reviewers who do like to mention all the negatives and things they didn't like, and I'm not saying they shouldn't do that. It's their choice. I'm explaining what works for me, and every reviewer will have their own philosophy and their own take on what makes a review great.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Book Review: The Third by Abel Keogh
Our main character is Ransom Lawe, a man living in the northwest about fifty years into the future. The world is running out of natural resources and the people of Earth depend on recycling for their survival. Another law has been enacted, that of allowing only two children per family. If a woman becomes pregnant after having her two legal children, she is taken in and an abortion is performed on her. Regular pregnancy testing is mandatory, and Ransom's wife, Teya, works in the clinic where this testing is performed.
When she realizes she is pregnant, she knows she's in trouble. She and Ransom already have two children, little boys they love dearly. She hides the results of her pregnancy test by switching out blood samples with someone else, but then she is caught and taken to the clinic. Ransom has a choice. He can risk everything in the world to save her, or he can obey the law. Teya and his children are his world, and he decides to fight for his family.
This book will give you chills. It speaks to the male reader with the question, "What would you do to protect your family?" It speaks to the female reader with the question, "What would you do to nurture your family?" and it leaves both readers contemplating their own commitment and their own beliefs. It's been over a year since I worked with Abel on this book and I still ponder it. What does family mean to me, and would I risk everything to preserve it? My answer is yes, and I believe yours will be too as you follow Ransom and Teya on their journey of self-discovery and ultimate self-sacrifice.
Also available on Kindle.
If you'd like to see what other reviewers are saying about The Third, click here to follow Abel's virtual book tour:
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Splash into Summer Blog Hop
You would like more details, you say? Read on!
All over the Internet right at this very minute, over two hundred bloggers are each giving away a prize. It might be a gift certificate. It might be a book. It might be a couple of books. It might be any number of wonderful things. And you can enter to win every single one of them.
All you need to do is visit the participating blogs and enter their contests. Then, at the end of the month, you will be notified if you have won. It's that easy!
So, what's the prize on this blog? I shall tell you!
Pretty fun, huh? That's right - if you are the winner (chosen by Random.org) I will e-mail you a $10.00 gift certificate to that most wonderful of all places ... Amazon.com.
All you need to do is become a follower of this blog by clicking on the box to your left titled "People Who Think I'm Cool." Then leave a comment on this blog post telling me whether you're a new follower or a previously existing follower. That's all! It's that easy! All comments will be uploaded to Random.org and the lucky winner will splish-splash all the way to the bank. Er ... the Amazon.com website.
Not only that, but you can then go to all the other participating blogs and enter their contests as well. So what are you waiting for? Let's get blog-hopping!!
The winner will be chosen at midnight on May 31st.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Shameless Self-Promotion
Self-promotion is absolutely crucial to every form of business. It doesn't matter if you're a car salesman, or if you work in a clothing store, or if you are a make-up girl, or if you are a construction worker. In each of those jobs, you are selling yourself - your skills, your experience, your know-how. You are presenting yourself in such a way that your employer and your customer can feel confident in you and the job you are going to do. Filling out resumes, going for interviews, meeting with prospective clients - these are nothing more than selling yourself and your abilities.
When you write a book and enter the big, bad world of marketing, you're doing exactly the same thing you've done every time you've entered the work force. You're informing people of a skill or ability you possess.
Let me ask you a question. Say you're in the middle of a job interview, and you are asked, "So, I hear you're good at typing." Would you answer, "Oh, I don't know about that. That other applicant you just had in here is a lot faster." Or would you say, "Yes, I'm pretty fast." It's a pretty simple choice to make, isn't it?
So why do we downplay our writing? Why do we feel that we need to apologize when it comes to talking about our books? We say "shameless self-promotion" as though perhaps, at some point, we might have felt the need to feel ashamed, but we're going to shake that off for a second. There is no need to ever be ashamed of the product you have produced as long as you know you did your very best on it. If you turned out something you know wasn't up to your potential, then you can make a decision to do better next time. But "shame" is not something that should ever be associated with something you created that came from your gut. If you really, really are ashamed to admit that you did it, then ... why did you do it?
Now that we've talked about the "shame," let's talk about the "self-promotion." Go back to the analogy of the shoe salesman. A woman walks into his shop and says, "Hi, I need a pair of shoes." He pauses. Should he say something? What if he shows her a pair and she says she doesn't want them? He would be crushed. Humiliated. Rejected.
Um ... no, he's going start showing her shoes, right? Of course. That's his job. And it's your job as a new author to talk about your books. He has shoes to sell, you have books to sell. If someone doesn't buy your book, it doesn't have to be a devastating thing - it just means that those shoes didn't fit. Someone else with feet of a different size will soon come into your life, or your shoe store, and you'll be able to make that sale.
So, let's encapsulate my little lecture.
1. Stop being ashamed to talk about your books!
2. Stop feeling as though you have to apologize!
3. Get some confidence - talk about your book in an upbeat, positive way. Let other people know it exists.
4. Never downplay your accomplishments. Don't say, "Well, it's just a little story about ..." No! Smile and say, "It's a great story about ..."
Self-promotion is hard. It's hard to get up the courage, it's hard to know what to say, it's hard to find that balance between talking about yourself and coming on too strong, and it's also hard to know when you shouldn't bring up your books (and yes, there are times when you don't want to promote, generally in times of social politics, but that would be a blog for another day). You can learn how to master all of these skills, but you've got to practice them, and regularly. Hiding behind pillars and potted plants will not make you a master of self-promotion - you've got to get out there and do it, and you'll find your own stride and what works for you. And if you're interested, here's another post I wrote on this very same topic.
All right, then! Go promote yourself, and let me see you stop saying the word "shameless!" It should all be shameless!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Book Review: Called Home: Two Hearts Answer by Gloria Schumann
David Schlosser grew up down the road, and his writing career took him to the bright lights of the big city, where he became a best-selling novelist. He realizes, though, that his heart is back on the farm, working with his hands and staying in touch with nature. He's intrigued to learn that Emma has also returned home. They went to school together, although he was a little older than her, and he remembers her as a bright, spunky teenager. Anxious to see the woman she has become, he pays her a visit on her farm, and is a little surprised to see that she's not as emotionally open as she used to be.
Emma's life has not been easy. Her brother died when she was a child, her father abandoned the family, and then she was betrayed by the man she thought she would marry. She has built walls around herself so she won't get hurt again. When David shows up, handsome and successful, she's glad to see him, but at the same time, she's very reluctant to open herself up to him. He's artless and charming, ready to pick up their friendship and be a help to her on the farm, but she's resistant to making herself vulnerable to anyone ever again, even if it is just friendship. And when David decides he wants more than just that, she becomes frightened. Risking her heart again is just too much.
"Called Home: Two Hearts Answer" is a contemporary romance by author Gloria Schumann. I enjoyed the interplay between the two characters as David tries to get Emma to loosen up, and Emma clings tightly to her privacy. I appreciated the care both of them took of Emma's mother and the way they felt connected to the land, like stewards over something precious. I did wish for just a little more back story for David and Emma, things they might have experienced together as teenagers to help set the stage for what happens between them as adults, but I found the story enjoyable and engaging, and I recommend it to any reader who is looking for a clean romance with some nice heart-thumpy kisses and a plot line they can care about.
*FTC disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for my review, but this did not influence my opinions.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Book Review: Nia by Mella Reese
This is a nice concept, but in practical application, it's not working out so well. Nia is not a typical princess, and she's not interested in being treated like a piece of glass. She'd rather ride her horse than wear fancy dresses and sit at tea. She'd rather travel around and administer to the sick and needy in her kingdom than stitch tapestries. The thought of being shadowed every minute of every day annoys her beyond belief, but if she doesn't accept Garreth as her guard, the other kingdom will be offended, and it would be a bad move, politically. She knows she must do her duty to her kingdom, so she grudgingly accepts, and finds herself with the constant presence of a man who will not even meet her in the eye.
As time goes on, she finds another reason to be angry. Garreth is a good man, one of kindness and talent, but he has committed himself to her service forever. He will never marry or have children, and he will never have a life of his own. Nia values human life and the individual's right to choose their own path, and she badly wants to free Garreth from his servitude, but he will not leave her. His honor is stronger than his own personal desires, and he refuses to break his oath.
I enjoyed this novel on many levels. It showed a smart heroine, a believable political struggle, and a true friendship that touched my heart. I liked the twists and turns near the end, I loved how it didn't conclude the way I had thought, and most of all, I appreciated the examples of honor and true courage throughout.
Mella is going on tour with this novel, and you can follow all the reviews by clicking on this button. Just check out the right-hand sidebar to see where "Nia" is appearing - the links will be updated as each review goes live.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The LDStorymakers Writers Conference
The first day, I ran boot camp with the beautiful and smart Rebecca Talley. She's amazing to work with and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. She was the brains of the outfit - I'm just the tolerated sidekick. We had quite the adventure trying to check in, however - we piled up all our luggage on a cart and then learned that the cart we had chosen wouldn't fit in the elevator we needed. A very helpful employee showed us a secret passageway (sort of) that led from the big elevator to our rooms. It was most secret and mysterious, and it almost made us late for boot camp, but it's all good, right?
I wish I had a picture of Shirley Bahlmann helping me out at boot camp. We didn't have a microphone, and so I was standing on two chairs (one for each foot - Jaime Theler only needed one, but that's because she's skinny) so I could (presumably) be heard. When I looked down, I saw Shirley sitting on the floor holding on to those two chairs for dear life so they wouldn't slip out from under me. I always knew Shirley was a sweetheart, but now I know she'd risk her life to save mine.
That night, we went to dinner and ate marvelous Italian. Here I am (right) with Shanda Cottam and Carolyn Frank.
That night, I filmed some interviews with some of the talented authors of LDStorymakers, and I got to spend the entire evening being snarky with Terri Ferran. There's almost never enough time to be snarky with Terri, so spending the whole evening at it was way cool. (Keep your eyes on the Storymaker site for those interviews to be posted, probably edited for snark.)
Now, look at what the ever-incredible Erin Summerill did! I think this is one of the best pictures of me ever taken - she's so talented.
At lunch on Friday, I got to hang out with some awesome ladies. Left to right: Jenny Moore, Tanya Parker Mills, LC Lewis, Pam Williams, me, Karen Dupaix, Deanna Henderson, Cindy Anderson, and Cindy Hogan.
Friday afternoon, I taught a class on setting up blogs, and live and in person, we set up this one for Elizabeth Hathenbruck. That was fun! Almost couldn't get on the Internet from the classroom, but one of the class participants got it going. Thanks, Jan! (AKA Lee Lindsey)
Friday night before dinner, we had a mass book signing. I got to sit with Aubrey Mace (left) and Don Carey (center). That was a lot of fun, especially throwing Don's paper airplanes across the aisle at Heather Moore.
Me at dinner on Friday night with the awesome Renae Mackley and amazing Melissa Cunningham.
Friday night was a fun get-together for Authors Incognito, the online support group for persons who have attended the conference in the past. This is a mighty large group of people, so I marked myself with an arrow. No way you'd see me otherwise. You couldn't ask for a more enthusiastic, supportive group of friends.
After that, I was interviewed for LDS Women's Book Review along with Christine Bryant, Danyelle Ferguson, Heather Justesen, and Karen Hoover. Shanda, our interviewer, was taken by surprise when she mistakenly believed I goosed her. Note that - mistakenly. This was after Karen ran around shooting everyone with her Nerf gun. And a good time was had by all.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Book Review: Harbor's End by Claudia Culmone
Needing time to get away and think things over, hopefully in a place where no one knows who she is, she moves to a quiet town on the coast, seeking solitude. She takes her beloved horse with her and is prepared to face the end of her life.
But she's not prepared for what she does find - friends, support, a community ready to take her in and include her in their lives. She's never experienced a small town before and isn't sure what to make of the open, friendly ways of the people. As she opens up and becomes willing to share who she is, she finds that life is sweeter than she had ever expected, and she finds the strength to do the things she needs to do.
I enjoyed the novel "Harbor's End" by Claudia Culmone. I liked the descriptions of the town and wanted to go find me a little home somewhere that matched the descriptions in the book. I liked the characters and wanted to see them be happy. It was a quick read, perhaps a little too quick, and I did wish it had been expanded a bit, but that's a good thing - if you want more of something, that's always a good thing.
Visit Claudia's blog here.
I received an advance reader's copy of this novel from the author. This did not influence my opinion, which is entirely my own.