Review Hang Over

… When you read a really awesome review and you just keep going back to pinch yourself and remind yourself that the reviewer was talking about YOUR BOOK!

For realz.

This:

is my favourite line from a review ever (so far… shut up).*

Because I am a fan.

Do I set out to write like Joe Abercrombie? Well, maybe, because I love his work and I want to love my work (but I don’t know if that is ever really possible for an author to truly LURVE their own output… because we can always see what it was meant to be). I’ve nearly finished reading all his currently published works… then I will be sad… but more is coming out, so I will be happy (yay!).

Anyway… in another sense I don’t set out to write like Mr. Abercrombie, because, well, I like sexual tension and romance in stories, and so I write stories with these elements appearing fairly central to the overall plot. It often makes me wonder if I’ll find much of an audience. I mean, some elements of my stories probably appeal to those who like dark, gritty themes and violence and whatnot, while other aspects of my stories will appeal to those who dig romance and sex… Is there an audience for both? Well… there’s me (o: I’m not entirely unique… Somewhere out there, are others like me, and just maybe (please!) they feel like reading something I write….

And so… I continue to write… Just in case.

 

* my deepest apologies to my other reviewers, because I TOTALLY dig your work, too… it’s just… it’s just… yeah, I can’t dig myself out of this one. But don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved plenty of reviews – the passion with which some people can talk about my book… wow… just wow. Y’all are awesome.

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A Review: Healer’s Touch

Oh my…

That is all I can say. Honestly, when I read reviews like this, it makes me wish I could read the book the way readers can.

Healer’s Touch is a mix of romance, steampunk and high fantasy done the right way and written in just the right kind of style. I have to say that this book has made me a fan of Deb E. Howell.

I have a fan (o: It’s exciting and scary all at once. I mean… RESPONSIBILITY! Argh! Right, back to falling back in love with WARRIOR’S TOUCH.

Read the rest of the review HERE.

Today’s Proud Mum Moment Number 1

Actually… number 2, but since the latest post gets to sit at the top, I’m putting my real number 1 up next… ‘Cause this is cool, and all, but…

Right. After seeing another author pop a review for their book from Amazon.co.uk up on Facebook, I thought I’d go check out how Healer’s Touch was doing over there… Yes, I do think it’s annoying that Amazon’s reviews and sales info is divided across all the various Amazons. So much more time-wasting!

Anyway, here’s a little bit:

When I first read Healer’s Touch – I immediately sensed the passion in the author’s words. The setting, characters and descriptions have been crafted well and I loved the mix of Wild West, traditional fantasy, Steampunk and medievalism. It’s unusual and handled well.

And the link to the Review (hope that works!)

A review of Healer’s Touch

Today’s Procrastination

I’m up to a whole new phase of my story. Things have been shaken up for my characters and it’s taking me a bit to get into the new head space, so progress is slow.

Today, I mucked around with a possible query. It’s not perfect, but it’s nice to be thinking about it. Yet again, I can think of parts of my story that could do with a bit of a tweak to sharpen them up to fit the query/outline. It’s good. Not big changes, just things like making my MC more proactive and such. But, that is for the next revision.

So, lately, I drew a new picture to play around with an idea for a cover. It was meant to have both Jonas and Llew on it. But, I learned something. It’s really hard to draw a female character that I think is cute. I was basing my image on some models (actresses), but she ended up looking a decade or two older than I want her to. Weird, considering it wasn’t anything like wrinkles that did it … What is it about young vs older people that makes them look their age, or not? I’ll put up the pic of Jonas here and in my gallery.

A follow up review

This is a follow up to the review I posted the other day, from a reader who read my first five chapters on Jottify. I posted up chapters 6 and 7 and this is what she had to say:

Great continuation – it reads like a published novel, flawlessly. I could repeat everything from my first comment for these chapters – great characterization, it flows perfectly, gripping narrative, intriguing plots and subplots… But how could you be so cruel as to leave such a cliffhanger…!?

And then I posted Chapter 8:

Love the new chapter – the dialogue, the romance, the action, the internal debate / struggle, you pack a lot in, which makes it an eminently enjoyable read

… yeah, the rest be spoilers, so, no, not here.

If you feel so inclined, I have the first 10 Chapters available on:

Jottify

and Authonomy (since this is the one that would increase my chances of being picked up for publishing, this is the one I’d be keen for support on).

I realize I may be jumping the gun, but I am eager. Plus, I have been working on this thing for over three years (not long compared to some) and I can truly sense the end is nigh … and then there are those scenes for book 2 that are already hijacking my brain … I can’t wait to write them and figure out exactly how I shall shape that phase of the tale.

Still hope/expect to have this draft in the bag in 2 months. But, please don’t point and laugh if I don’t. I’m sure there will be a reason. But, I do find that posting chapters up (and receiving positive feedback) does help force me to knuckle down and get on with it … but, first I have to go compile that darn newsletter. Right, yes. Procrastination end.

The warm fuzzies

I know I already shared this on my Facebook Page, but I still feel like sharing it here.

This is going to get me through this weekend:

“I really, really love this – just flew through all five chapters in one go even though I really should be sleeping. I just dropped in to jottify for a few minutes but because of this it turned into a couple hours because this is exactly the type of book I would pick up in a bookstore and just fall in love with the characters. I love the repartee, the characters are excellently drawn, the action well described and you have a deft hand with flowing writing; it’s very easy to read and I found it quite absorbing, although I do I have to admit that I was a bit overzealous in my devouring of it and in the beginning kept jumping further to see what happened next (I guess I’m too impatient, though once it’s published I’m definitely getting myself a hard copy that I can curl up with in bed and read at leisure ). I would definitely like to see more of this!”

(o:

Keepin’ ya regular …

Okay, I totally stole that from the Candlebox (band) Fan Club Newsletter – I was a big fan back in the ’90s.

Well, I’ve done a little housekeeping around here, and I think the blog is starting to take on the kind of look I’d like to achieve. I have helluva lot more drawing to do to gain the kind of expertise I wish I had, but at least I can slap something together with what skills I have. I guess I can say the same for my writing … and my mothering. It’s all about surviving with what you’ve got, huh?

So, this week has been was pretty slow on the writing front. I’ve hit that bit in the middle where I’m just about finished my set-up and am ready to tackle the big End of Act 1 event … I’m excited about it – have been for weeks – but I just want to feel like I have things set up right. It has paid to take some time getting there – several weeks ago I just hadn’t thought about all the players that could potentially be involved at the upcoming “big event”. But, last week I guess I had a wee bit of inspiration tap me on the shoulder to say “What about these guys? You think they’re just sitting there passively waiting for the story to hit their borders later? Why not bring them into play earlier?” (I’m talking about a country, here … ). Anyway, it was an eye-opening thought. Sometimes, the best ideas just don’t have the habit of hitting me in the face the first time. I need to stew.

[Brief] Movie Review.

Being a fan of Justified, I thought I would check out some of Mr. Olyphant’s movies. (I am also a fan of Deadwood, so figured I was in good hands ).

1. Hitman. I don’t recommend it unless you are a socially inept male who spends his life in front of a computer screen make-believing he is the uber buff and cool hero that doesn’t even see the girls that throw themselves at you. Seriously. This movie doesn’t even have a sex scene. It has an almost-sex scene. Which would be fine. In fact, it could have been endearing – if the rest of the movie hadn’t been so full of cheese it was making a mess of the grill & threatening the benchtop. Yep. Mr. O. is nice to look at -even bald – but I doubt I’ll watch this rubbish again.

The chick in the movie did have lovely breasts, tho. And did actually get them out. So, lonely men of all ages, check it out.

You want a movie about a troubled assassin? Watch The Assassin, with Bridget Fonda. Or the original, Nikita. But the remake was fine.

One bonus: Bald head = great for practicing sketching various head angles & expressions, so I grabbed a few screenshots.

2. Catch and Release. I am also a fan of Kevin Smith, even when he talks. He talks in this movie & is just gorgeous. The storyline is a cute romantic comedy starring Jennifer Garner. She’s a good-looking young lady, isn’t she?

She plays a young woman dealing with her fiance’s death, & all the drama that goes with that. Finds herself at least a little bit attracted to one of the fiance’s friends, blah-dee blah.  Oh, that makes it sound as though I didn’t like it. I did. It was sweet.

Mr. O. looks far younger than he must have been in 2006 – well done, sir, on such an achievement. Yeah, I could see me, possibly, watching it again in a few years’ time.

But that last line of the movie?

Urgh. It probably wouldn’t suck so bad if I wasn’t such a fan of the movie Singles. Honestly, that line just had me thinking “rip off”, which probably wasn’t fair. But so be it. I did like the movie. I’d probably give it a 3/5.

Haven’t seen Singles? Go on, give it a go. Bridget Fonda is in it, too. And Matt Dillon. And Pearl Jam – with speaking parts!

Keeping the balance

Alright, alright… I can’t just be plastering up the good stuff, can I? Actually, this is my blog, so maybe I can. But, it doesn’t feel honest. If all I do is share the nice things that people have said about my work, then those nice things actually lose their shine for me. I think it is because if you read a great comment I have posted, and then you have a look at my work (or already have) and don’t agree with the positive that someone else saw in it, then you’re less likely to believe other reviews I put up, too, aren’t you? If I put up a negative review, and you read my work, and you disagree with it… then you still can’t take the reviews at face value, but, at least you know you can trust ME. So, I’m gonna put it out there… The other day I got this:

“Although you write well and have a good command of the language I find the essential ingredient of good writing