Book Reviews - Sensitive Subject

Yesterday's post on book reviews had an interesting response from D.G. Hudson, a writer who has very nice reviews on her blog Rainforest Writing.  Here is what she had to say:

There is an ongoing discussion on what comprises a book review, on many blogs. Is it a review of the book itself, the story, or is it a critique of the author's writing or subject matter?

I want reviews of the book/storyline, not the critic's point of view.

I review books on my blog that I've read. My style is to tell a bit about the book, the time or era it's written, and some background on the author if relevant. It's easy to criticize, harder to create.

D.G. does an excellent job with her reviews, and it is always interesting to read all the information she presents about the book, the author, and other relevant facts. You get a bit of a history lesson whenever you read one of her reviews, and she does tell you what she liked about the story and the characters. She reviews one book a month on average, and her tastes vary, leaning more toward mainstream fiction and literary.

I am aware of the debate she mentioned as to what comprises a review. It is certainly not some of the stuff that is posted on Amazon and other online sites. I have seen some thoughtful reviews there, but I have also seen ranting and even some vulgar postings that have nothing to do with the book supposedly being reviewed. Then there are the ones that simply gush, and often break every grammar and punctuation rule in the book.

Need I say more?

Probably not. I gave my opinion yesterday, so it is better to just move on.

Another good review site is Dru's Book Musings. She has a regular feature that is written from the POV of a character - A Day in The Life - and it is always fun to get an inside look at the character of a story.

I also always enjoy the reviews done by Helen Ginger over at Straight From Hel. Her blog has a mix of articles about writing or editing, as well as a review now and then, and it is always a good read, especially her FTC disclaimers.  Sometimes those are the most fun.

I wish I could list all the sites that I enjoy, but time time and space limitations prevail. I do, however, want to mention one more, Dear Author. There a reader will find reviews as well as the latest industry news. This is definitely a good site for readers looking for a new book to read and authors who are trying to keep up with all that is happening in this ever-changing industry.

Blog Award

I'm doing something different this Friday. My friend Nancy Cohen honored me with this lovely blog award recently, and I want to thank her for considering my blog worthy of an award. Nancy is the author of a cozy mystery series that feature a sleuth who is a hairdresser. I have read Shear Murder and enjoyed it a lot.

 The rules for this award are:

1. Link back to and thank the blogger who nominated you.
2. Post the badge on your blog.
3. Answer the questions posed to you.
4. Nominate five bloggers who shine a little light in your day and notify them.
5. Ask five questions for your nominees.

Since I always hesitate to impose rules on my blogger friends, I encourage those that I nominate to think in terms of guidelines, not rules. And now to answer some of Nancy's questions.

1. What genre do you read for fun? I read primarily mystery for fun.

2. Do you revise as you go along or wait until your first draft is done? I do some revising as I go along. Often my writing session begins with reading through the last chapter or scene to jump-start the next action in the book, so I will tweak some as I am doing that. Still, I will also end up doing one or two revisions when the whole story is complete.

3. What advice would you give aspiring authors? I would encouring aspiring authors to learn perseverance and develop a thick skin. Those that succeed are those who keep writing, and those who improve their craft are those who are willing to take constructive criticism and editorial input. I would also tell them to read as much as possible in all genres, as we absorb good writing techniques as we read.

4. Do you have beta readers and who are they? For my latest release my beta readers were Dani Greer and Cathy Richmond. Dani is the acqusitions editor for Little Pickle Press, and Cathy is the author of best-selling Christian fiction. Both are writers for whom I have a great deal of respect.

Now I would like to pass the award on to:

Helen Ginger, who has a terrific blog where she shares information on writing and the publishing business, as well as some great book reviews.

LD Masterson, who always has something fun and interesting on her blog. Love her Hump Day

Susan Swiderski, who does fun posts with lots of pictures and clever captions. It's always fun to visit her blog.

Marilyn Meredith, who is an amazing woman and my idol. She is not afraid to admit her age, 87, nor how many books she has written and published, 35. 

Joan Reeves, who is always promoting fellow authors, as well as offering all kinds of helpful posts from editing to setting up an office.

And my questions for my friends - should you choose to answer:

1. How long do you spend putting together a blog?

2. What other writing do you do?

3. Do you blog because you like to, or because you were told you have to by a publisher?

4. What is a story your family likes to tell about you?

5. When you visit another blog, do you promote it on social media?

I Need a Leash

To understand the title of this blog post, I have to fill you in on my morning. My plan was to finish up some interview questions for Martha Alderson, The Plot Whisperer, who is going to be a guest at The Blood Red pencil later this month. Yes, you read that right, The Plot Whisperer, like The Horse Whiperer, only for writers. 

Seriously, it is going to be an interesting interview, so I will remind you again closer to the date in case you would like to see what she has to say.

Next on my to-do list was to update my blog. But, lo and behold, when I came to the blog, I saw that I had some comments that I had not responded to. I also saw some new friends, so I had to go visit their blogs. Yesterday I was off line most of the day, so I had not seen the comments.

When I saw Helen Ginger's name, I remembered that she had a good blog yesterday about publicists. I had received a note about that in e-mail, but did not have time to go over yesterday, so I had to go check it out. Business, right?

In between blog-hopping, I remembered I had to do some laundry, so I took a quick break to throw shirts in the washing machine. The thrilling life of a writer.

I came back to my blog and saw Morgan Mandel's comment. That reminded me that she has a new book out, Her Handyman. I haven't read it yet, but it is on my Kindle. It sounds like a fun, light romance, which is always a nice diversion from real life.

Thinking about my writer friends, I remembered that Marian Allen has a book contracted with Hydra Publications, The Fall of Onagros, and she shares how the story came to be on the  Literary Lunes blog. 

Another interruption to take care of an issue at the local art center, then I was hoping to get back to this, when I saw my horse had pulled the rope loose from where I had tied him to munch on some green grass. He helps me not to have to mow so often.

Maybe I should ask Martha to talk to him about staying put?

I ran outside, got him tied again, threw the ball for the dog a few times, then came back inside to another phone call. Just when I thought I was ready to come back to the blog, then get on with the rest of my plan for the day, I heard the washing machine stop. Do I just let the wet clothes stay there and get lots of wrinkles, or do I get up and throw them into the dryer?

Perhaps I should call this post, Friday's Follies.

Courtesty of Classroomclipart.com

 How do you handle days that go awry like this? Do you try to get back to your plan, or just say, to heck with it. I think I'll go read a book?

Friday's Odds and Ends

Tonight and tomorrow I will be in Tyler, TX for the East Texas Bookfest in Tyler, Texas, and, as usual, I left too many things until the last minute, so I will be busy most of today getting everything in order. There are always so many little details, like don't forget the flyers and your toothbrush and your books. Not to mention the list of things to do to get all the animals squared away and make sure my husband has some help if he needs it.

So, I have no blog post idea at all. Instead, I will just give you links to some online friends who have neat things to share.

First up is Alex J. Cavanaugh. I love his brief music and movie reviews, and he always has updates on what is new with some other author friends. He is good about sharing.

Another writer friend is LD Masterson. She frequently has humor on her blog, but also hosts authors who are on blog tours. A recent post is from a mutual friend, Marilyn Meredith who is touring with her latest book, Raging Water. 

Helen Ginger, one of the team members at The Blood Red Pencil, also has a very popular blog, Straight From Hel, where she shares tips on writing and publishing, as well as offering book reviews.

Susan Swiderski has a fun blog, I Think, Therefore I Yam. She does some great pictorial essays that I always enjoy. I admire someone who works so hard to entertain her readers.

And in closing, here is your funny for the day from one of my favorite comic strips, Pickles. Earl is lying on the sofa reading a magazine and Nelson, his grandson leans over to ask, "Where do we go when we die, Grampa?"

Earl says, "I don't know about everyone else, but I'm staying right here."

"Right here?"

"Yep. I'm going to have my ashes scattered over this sofa."

Nelson then goes to Opal who is in the kitchen and asks, "You have a really good vacuum, don't you Gramma?"

Mix Ups Happen

If you were one of the three people who looked for me over at Pat Bean's blog, there was a bit of a mix-up and she has a different guest there today. However, you might want to pop over to meet Helen Ginger and get to read her short story that is in the book, The Corner Cafe: A Tasty Collection of Short Stories. It is quite clever.

The post I was going to do for her, will be here next Wednesday, so come back then to meet Frank, the central character in my story that is part of the collection. When I told him he was not going to be featured in the blog today, he was quite put out and insisted that he get his air time. I told him this was not television or radio, but he didn't care.

And now for your visual enjoyment, a picture of some of the flowers blooming around our place This is a little flower that grows close to the ground and is seen all over in East Texas. If I did more than admire wildflowers I would take the time to look them up on the Internet and find names. I'd rather just look at them.

Friday's Odds and Ends

This is the last day of drama camp. Wow, it has been an intense two weeks. We have had twenty-four campers ranging in age from six to thirteen, and they are a creative, energetic bunch. The good thing is that they have put together a great show in this short span of time, even though they have worn this old lady out.

I love working with kids and seeing them so excited about theatre and learning more about how to make a story and characters come to life on stage.

In lieu of my normal mini-rants on Fridays, I thought I would just share some links to some of the blogs I like to follow that have good content. First up is Mystery Writing is Murder - home of mystery author, Elizabeth Spann Craig. Wouldn't you know it. I just clicked over to her blog to discover she is "Gone Fishing" for a week and a half, but she left some links to some helpful posts for writers.

Another helpful blog for writers and readers is Straight From Hel by Helen Ginger. She has interviews with authors, book reviews, and insightful articles about the business of writing. 

I often check in with Elspeth Antonelli's blog It's A Mystery, where she does some amazing pictorial essays.

Terry Odell also shares pictures on her blog, Terry's Place, on Fridays with her Friday Field Trips. Often the photographs are from her son, Jason, who is a professional photographer, and he is featured today with pictures from the Badlands of South Dakota.

There are also a couple of blogs that I contribute to. The Blood Red Pencil focuses on writing and editing advice and information. Criminal Minds at Work is written by a group of mystery writers and the topics range from reviews to tips on forensics. All Day, All Night, Romance Diva's is written by a number of us who all share the same first name. Hence the reference to the song, "All day, all night, Maryann, down by the seaside sifting sand. The content here is heavily focused on things romantic, but there are also posts that cover industry standards and changes, and other things related to writing in general.

Blogger Award

Helen Ginger gave me the “Lesa’s (Bald Faced Liar) “Creative Writer” Blogger Award. Helen has the wonderful blog Straight From Hell, and is also a partner in editing at The Blood Red Pencil blog, and it was quite an honor to receive the award from her.

It was great fun to read about how the award was given to Helen and her six outrageos lies about experiences in her life. Of the things she mentioned, readers had to guess which were lies and which might be the truth. Did she lie six times and tell the truth once, or lie once and tell the truth six times?

So, following in that sense of good fun, I hereby list some things you might not know about me. Truth or fiction? You be the judge.

1. I was a roller-skating car hop like the ones on "Happy Days."
2. I've broken almost every bone in my body.
3. I once went backpacking in the Rockies.
4. I was a trail rider at a riding stable.
5. I was an executive director for a film project.
6. I was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

I will post the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on my blog, Thursday.

The rules for this award are fairly simple. Recipients must -
1. Thank the person who gave this to you. ( so I officially thank Helen)
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell us up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth. (or the other way around)
5. Allow your readers to guess which one or more are true.
6. Nominate seven "Creative Writers" who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies. (or as many as you would like)
7. Post links to the blogs you nominate.
8. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

I gleefully pass the award on to:

Beth Groundwater
Katie Hines
Anita Davidson
Chris Redding
Tracy Farr --- (couldn't do something this much fun and leave him out.)

I hope this does not put an undue burden on the authors and is fun for everyone.

Kreativ Blogger Award

Patricia Stolty honored me with the Kreativ Blogger Award and this came as such a nice surprise. Patricia has a wonderful blog where she talks about writing and things related to Colorado authors.

Thank you so much Patricia for this recognition. Coming from someone with such an awesome blog and blog site, I am humbled.

There are rules associated with this award.

*****Rule for Passing on the Kreativ Blogger Award

It functions as a meme---list 7 of your favorite things, 7 of your favorite activities, 7 things no one knows about you.

Seven of my favorite things: family, chocolate, puzzles, animals, hamburgers, spaghetti, cookies.

Seven of my favorite activities: writing, playing guitar, acting, gardening, riding horses, watching movies, quilting.

Seven things no one knows about me: This is hard since I am pretty much out there with what I think and how I act, but I'll try to come up with something. Hmmmm...... Some people don't know I used to work for a veterinarian. Other people may not know that I am a hospital chaplain.

Gotta give up on thinking of other things. It would be easier if the rule was seven things some people don't know about me, but there isn't much that no one knows.

Kreativ Blogger award. More rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

For the Kreativ Blog I nominate:

Helen Ginger's Straight From Hel
Beth Groundwater's Blog
Ginger Simpson's Dishin' It Out
Lou Ann Morgan's Reading Frenzy
Terry O'Dell's Terrys Place
The Book Muncher
Marilyn Meridith's Marilyn's Musings

These are all blogs I visit frequently, if not daily, and all have great content and are very well done.

One Lovely Blog Award

My friend and fellow author, Ginger Simpson, surprised me with the One Lovely Blog Award yesterday. She made the announcement on her blog, Dishin' It Out.

I was really touched by the reason she chose me and this is what she wrote about me: A great friend and confidante, and a very smart lady. She has some amazing articles on her site. Maryann is one of those people who comes into your life for a purpose, and she's certainly served hers well in mine.

So it is with the same gratitude that I pass this award to three authors who have enriched my life with their friendship and support.

Helen Ginger -- who has a terrific blog and newsletter packed with helpful information for writers. She is so generous with her time and expertise, and I really admire her for that. She is also a terrific editor.

Dani Greer -- another lady who shares her expertise graciously and frequently. She was the founder of The Blood Red Pencil blog, and can also be found at Blog Book Tours blog. I also chose Dani because she so appreciates my humor.

Morgan Mandel -- I chose Morgan primarily because I admire her courage in publishing her own book, Killer Career. Not only did she take the publishing bull by the horn, so to speak, she did so with an attention to detail and professionalism that I respect greatly. She shares advice, resources, and book reviews on her blog.

All three of these ladies also manage to do more in 24 hours than most people I know. I stand in awe of all of them. So ladies, I pass the honor along to you.

Here are the rules:

1) Accept the award, and don’t forget to post a link back to the awarding person.
2) Pass the award on.
3) Notify the award winners.

I Cannot Tell A Lie

I received the I Never Tell A Lie meme from Helen Ginger at her Straight From Hel blog. Here are the rules:

Sometimes you can learn more about a person by what they don’t tell you. Sometimes you can learn a lot from the things they just make up. If you are tagged with this Meme, lie to me. Then tag 7 other folks (one for each deadly sin) and hope they can lie.

Now it's time for me to answer the questions, and since my mother always taught me my nose would grow if I lied -- and it really doesn't need to get any bigger -- I will answer with the absolute truth.

Pride: What is your biggest contribution to the world?
My family. This is so important to me I can't even think of anything funny to add.

Envy: What do your coworkers wish they had which is yours?
Coworkers? Nobody told me I had coworkers. Jeesh, and here I've been doing all the work myself. Well, okay, I'll fess up. The cat helps sometimes.

Gluttony: What did you eat last night?
I ate a hobo sandwich with carrot sticks on the side. Good little girl that I am. Then I countered that with a bowl of chocolate almond ice cream.

Lust: What really lights your fire?
Chocolate.

Anger: What is the last thing that really pissed you off?
Other than government, politics, greed, celebrities, and stupid people. Nothing.

Greed: Name something you keep from others.
My chocolate.

Sloth: What's the laziest thing you've ever done?
I sat for an hour at my daughters with nothing to clean. Seriously. My son-in-law cleaned the kitchen before we arrived for a visit. When my daughter asked why he didn't leave it for me as I really love to stay busy, he said "I know, but I want to watch her twitch."

I'm not sure I know seven people who might not shoot me for bothering them with this, so I will send the meme to Ginger Simpson and Terry O'Dell. I don't think they own a gun.