Tag Archive for: Book Reviews

Create Some Mayhem!

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Create Some Mayhem!

By Cathy Perkins


Malbec Mayhem has joined the world!


Usually when an author releases a new book, it’s nerves and
excitement and a ton of planning and nerves…

Did I mention it can be nerve-wracking? Will people like the
book I spent however many months writing? Will they “get” the characters, the
theme…

Will they hate it?

Will my publisher look at the numbers and tell me to go
away?

Malbec Mayhem is nerve-wracking for me because it’s a little
different. It’s a novella, revolving around one of the secondary characters in
the Holly Price series. Alex had been bugging me for ages to give him a second chance—and
this story is his opportunity to grow up and get things right. The mystery takes a back seat to the grown up version of coming of age. 

Whew! Most readers enjoy it:

5 Stars: “Alex get a second chance at love,
but in fighting for what matters most he discovers his truest self.”

5 Stars: “Perkins … successfully develops her
characters and put more than enough twists and turns into its pages.”

Double whew! 

Now to tamp down the rest of those nerves!

Malbec Mayhem


Successful restaurateur Alex Montoya’s charmed life has hit a
snag. His trusted business partner turned out to be not exactly trustworthy,
and Alex could be facing jail time over some of his partner’s shady financial deals.
As if that weren’t bad enough, creditors are calling in loans he didn’t know he
had and he’s desperate to prove his innocence before all his businesses are
repossessed.

After a career-building stint in Napa
Valley, Sofia Pincelli has returned home to eastern
Washington to take over the family’s winery. Running the family business,
however, means dealing with her ailing father’s constant micro-management—and
his disapproval of Alex. Her father’s condemnation of Alex’s rumored involvement
in his business partner’s schemes runs so deep, it threatens Alex and Sofia’s
blossoming romance…along with the Pincelli family’s signature red wine. Sofia
needs Alex’s crop of Malbec grapes to show her father she has what it takes to
make award-winning wine—and save the reputation and finances of the Pincelli
winery.

When the Malbec grapes go missing,
Alex and Sofia must join forces to find the fruit before it spoils—or risk
destroying both of their businesses and their hearts.

 

Want a copy? Get it from your favorite retailer:

Amazon                      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GNHM2AE 

B&N                           https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/malbec-mayhem-cathy-perkins/1128809421

Kobo                           https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/malbec-mayhem-1

D2D                            https://books2read.com/u/38g2jB

Apple                          https://books.apple.com/us/book/malbec-mayhem/id1543804593

 

Prefer a paper copy? 

Amazon                      https://www.amazon.com/dp/1942003064

B&N                           https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/malbec-mayhem-cathy-perkins/1128809421

 

Want to learn more about the
series?

Jump over here:          https://cperkinswrites.com/books/the-holly-price-mystery-series/


An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She’s hard at work on Peril in the Pony Ring, the sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award. 

Book Review: A Different Kind of Fire by Suanne Schaefer

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by Shari Randall

My preferred genre to read is mystery but occasionally I branch out, usually into historical fiction. I especially enjoy novels about women breaking barriers and finding their voice. Gilded Age stories and stories of artists are also my go to’s, so debut novelist Suanne Schaefer’s A Different Kind of Fire was right up my alley.
Schaefer’s passionate tale of love, art, and first wave feminism centers on Ruby Schmidt, a talented artist who leaves her family and fiancé, Bismarck in Truly, Texas, to attend art school in Philadelphia in 1891. Despite her obvious talent, Ruby struggles against the restrictions placed on women, not just by society but also by her art school. She finds solace in the bohemian world of her fellow artists, and begins a lifelong love affair with Willow, daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia family. 
When Willow’s family discovers the affair, Ruby is left destitute on the streets of Philadelphia. She becomes pregnant by a volatile Italian artist and marries him, but when he leaves her, she is forced to return to West Texas, to face those she left behind.

Ruby is a gutsy heroine – headstrong, determined, driven to pursue her art but longing to reconcile her love for art, love for her family, passion for Bismarck, and her longing for Willow – the “different kinds of fire” of the title.
The love scenes are erotic and explicit. Schaefer’s thorough research into and knowledge the art world of Gilded Age Philadelphia provides fascinating context, and her love of her West Texas roots is evident. 
Ruby’s struggle to reconcile her passions – for art, for those she loves – made for an enthralling read. 
I’m already looking forward to Schaefer’s next book, Hunting the Devil, about a biracial American physician who gets caught up in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. 

You can learn more about Suanne at her website, The Art of Words.

Equal Rights for Positives

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by Bethany Maines

A funny thing happens when you read your own reviews – you start
thinking about them. 
I’m about a month away from completing the manuscript for Glossed Cause, the fourth book in the
Carrie Mae Mystery Series, and I made the mistake of checking out a few of the
reviews on High-Caliber
Concealer (CM #3).  I knew it was
a bad idea.  It’s always a bad idea.  What happens when I get to a bad one,
hmmm?  It’s not like I can look the
reviewer up, knock on their door and explain how monumentally wrong they
are.  But you think, “I’ll just look at
the good ones.  Just one.  I can stop there.”
You know this a total lie, right? Reviews are like Pringles
for the eyes.  Like I can stop with just
one.  I open up Amazon, I’m looking and…
then I read this: “If you enjoy reading about
Stephanie Plum, you’ll love Nicki! Maines is getting better with each book.”

And I thought, “Hell, yeah!”
<insert fist pump here>

Just one?  But I have popped – I cannot stop. I should
read more! 

Eventually, of course, I got
to one with a complaint. I’d spent too much time on Nikki’s personal life. Gah!
But, but, but… Glossed Cause is about
her FATHER (among other things).  What do
I dooooooo????

Now I’m stuck staring at the screen, half way through the
book, trying to figure out if I should turn the ship or stay the course.  “Stay the course!” my internal editor
yells.  But it’s hard to hear over the
crashing waves of doubt. 
I was complaining a negative comment on another project to
my husband he said, “Well, I think it was awesome and my vote counts more.”  <insert lightbulb going on here>

Why do the negatives get more votes?  Shouldn’t the positives get equal
rights?  Here’s what I and anyone else
who is stuck in this trap are going to do: 
We’re going to go back, we’re going to read the first positive review,
and we’re going to believe that one.  Because
Maines really is getting better with
every book.

There’s No Bad Ink

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By Laura Spinella
Not long ago, I happened upon a list of publishing/reviewer buzzwords, clichés and euphemism decoded.  Reprinting them here would be laugh-out-loud funny, but not terribly original. Let me give you an example: “absorbing,” meaning, “makes a great coaster.” “Brilliantly defies categorization,” translating into, “even the author has no clue what he’s turned in,” and so on. From there, I began to wonder if any of these well-veiled expressions had turned up in my reviews. And, if so, what was the reviewer really trying to say? Fortunately, I’m neither narcissistic nor masochistic enough to have looked.  But I was tempted to dip my toe in the idea—only because when one is a writer, slamming your hand in a window is often the less painful and more distracting activity.  This is what I came up with had a few of these reviewer favorites been attached to BEAUTIFUL DISASTER.  For the record, I’ve given due credit below for the wordsmiths of these pithy illuminations.
        “Spinella’s novel captures the times we live in…” To paraphrase, “Captures the times we were living in two years ago.” In other words, she left the best years of her life back in Athens, Georgia, and, clearly, she needs to seek professional help.
        “The plot kaleidoscopes through a stunning turn of events…” Translation: “A major character dies.” Okay, he doesn’t die, but he does spend 275 pages in a coma, same thing.
“Beautiful Disaster lands center stage as a promising debut…” Agent, editor, author and Mother beam triumphantly.  Uh, not so fast. This equates to, “many flaws, but not unforgivably bad.”  While the thought, I’m sure, is arguable from many perspectives, this cliché did give me pause.  Why is it so unthinkable that a debut novel could be the pinnacle? Um, Gone With the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Bell Jar. It happens.  Besides, pinnacle is a relative term. For some of us it’s Kilimanjaro, for others it’s the bunny slope at Mt. Wachusett.  I digress.
      “With fingers afire, I singed pages, finding the writing unflinching…” What this really tells us—other than the reviewer has Teflon fingertips? “Has a lot of bad words.”  I admit, BD’s main character cusses like an extra from the movie Jarhead (278 f-bombs there according to Wikipedia).  Flynn didn’t broach that standard, but he was a marine and I do believe it came with a certain level of expectation.
      “With a blush and a wink—don’t lend this sensual and frothy romp to your grandma.” This one takes on two hip buzzwords, “sensual,” meaning “soft porn,” and “frothy romp,” meaning “funny book by lady.” I suppose they’re okay as long as they don’t occur in the same scene. I keep envisioning a rotund woman with facial hair and pink feather in hand, confined only by an oozing bustier as she straddles my protagonist.
      And I know for sure the following cliché did not turn up in a Beautiful Disaster review, “A heart rattling tale that will line school library shelves for generations, a classroom-friendly read.” The latter part translating into, “kids won’t read it unless they have to…”  And had the first part been the case, well, those One Million Moms would have really had their knickers in a knot.
      “Beautiful Disaster is a gripping journey into love lost and found.”  Aside from making me want to shove a finger down my throat, this means the reviewer, “turned the pages fast but didn’t read them.”  On the other hand, it would be the upside to being labeled “literary,” or “luminous.” I am so relieved to never have been described as literary or luminous. The aforementioned vernacular respectively means “plotless” and “not much happens.”
      “With her debut novel well in hand, Spinella will be a writer to watch.”  I grazed this phrase in a couple of actual reviews—not that I was paying attention.  (Looks away demurely) Anyway, I was saddened to learn it would be the opposite connotation of, “a writer you are actually going to want to read.” (Head hangs, hits desk and simultaneously slams hand in window).
      In a place where words are our business, it seems the true meaning, like a definitive novel, (one that could have used an editor) sometimes gets muddled between the lines. In the end, this can only translate into that age old advice that there is no bad ink. It doesn’t matter what they say, as long as they spell your name right.
      
Laura Spinella is the author BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, a Southern set novel that asks, “What would you risk for a love that is greater than honor or friendship or the passing of time?” Visit her at lauraspinella.net  Best First Book, NJRWA 2011, Favorite Book of 2011, SheKnows.com
Attributions:
“absorbing” : “make a great coaster” Don Linn, publishing consultant
“brilliantly defies categorization” : “even the author has no clue what he’s turned in” James Meader, publicity director of Picador USA
“captures the times we live in” : “captures the times we were living in two years ago” Mark Athitakis, critic
“classroom-friendly”: “kids won’t read it unless they have to” Linda White, book promoter at Wonder Communications
“definitive” : “could have used an editor” “Book Babe Extraordinaire
“frothy romp” : “funny book by lady” Jenifer Weiner, novelist
“gripping” : “I turned pages fast but didn’t read them” Sarah Weinman, news editor of Publisher Marketplace
“literary” : “plotess” Mark Kohut, writer and consultant
“luminous” : “not much happens” Peter Ginna, publisher, Bloomsbury Press
“sensual” : “soft porn” Peter Ginna, publisher, Bloomsbury Press
“stunning” : “major character dies” Mark Athitakis, critic
“unflinching” : “has a lot of bad words” Isabel Kaplan, novelist
“a writer to watch” : “as opposed to one you are actually going to want to read”  Jan Harayda, novelist
  

About Reviews

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My time recently has been taken up with promoting my latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, Bears With Us.

This is what I’ve done so far: a book launch at our local used bookstore (we have no book stores anywhere nearby), and two days at our Springville Apple Festival (sold about 1/2 the books I did two years ago) and I just finished up on a month long blog tour.

Blog tours always take a lot of time because of the promoting, going back and comment about the comments, plus I ran a contest–the person who commented on the most blogs could have his or her name used as a character in my next book–so I had to keep checking in order to keep track of all those who commented.

Some of the bloggers reviewed my book and all of them were wonderful, but one gave away the whole ending of the book. Eeek! She’s been asked to take that line out and as I write this I’m not sure if it happened or not. Unless she does, of course, I won’t promote the blog nor will I use the review anywhere.

Through the years I’ve received mostly wonderful reviews, but there have been some that were a bit odd, a couple where I could tell the person hadn’t read the book all the way through, and once before an Amazon review gave away a surprise ending. I contacted the reviewer and she eliminated that part. What I don’t understand is why anyone would do that. I work really hard to come up with an ending that might surprise most people and putting that in a review is definitely a spoiler.

Believe me I appreciate the time someone puts into writing a review about one of my books. I’ve written lots of reviews over the years–and believe me I would never give away the ending.

Authors, anyone else ever have that problem?

Readers, how do you feel about a review like that?

Marilyn

Lori’s Book Sense

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Welcome to my first Lori’s Book Sense post.  I would like to thank the wonderful women of The Stiletto Gang for asking me to join them here each month. I’m honored!!  Each month I’ll share with you a few of my favorite reads from the previous month.  Since this is my first  month I’m going to post a few of my favorite all time reads. 

First I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself and how I got blogging.  For the past 14 years I’ve worked for my family business. I work with my father and two younger brothers. I have three beautiful nieces.  I just hit the big 4-0 and live with my Maltese puppy Sadie.

 I belonged to a book swapping site ~ www.paperbackswap.com. My friends started calling me “the book pimp” because my book recommendations would cause their wish lists to grow. Several of them started bugging me about doing a book blog. Eventually I gave in and it’s taken off.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would turn into the success it seems to have become. It actually boggles my mind at times.

Overkill by Joseph Teller (4th book in the Jaywalker series)

Harrison J. Walker—Jaywalker, to the world—is a frayed-at-the-edges defense attorney with a ninety-percent acquittal rate, thanks to an obsessive streak a mile wide. But winning this case will take more than just dedication.Seventeen-year-old Jeremy Estrada killed another boy after a fight over a girl: shot him point-blank between the eyes. No one disputes those facts. This kid is jammed up big-time, but almost unable to help himself. He’s got the face of an angel but can hardly string together three words to explain what happened that day…yet he’s determined to go to trial. All they’ve got is a “yesbut” defense, as in: “Did you kill him?” “Yes, but…” Jaywalker is accustomed to bending the rules—this case will stretch the law to the breaking point and beyond.

 Trust me, if I ever get into any sort of legal trouble Harrison J Walker (Jaywalker as he likes to be called) is the lawyer I’m going to call.  Overkill is the fourth in the Jaywalker series.  I stumbled on Mr. Teller’s first book a while back and was immediately taken in. Now I anxiously await each next book in the series! Jaywalker is dedicated, hard working, and loyal and determined to a fault. He goes after his cases with guns blaring. He will work himself to the bone, forsaking sleep and food if it means justice for his client.  Too often I find myself reading as fast as I can to find out just where he will take me, but then force myself to slow down so that I can savor every question, every thought, and every emotion. Overkill is a legal thriller on par with any John Grisham or Scott Turow I’ve read. You will marvel at his way with words, at his finesse in the courtroom and his skill when handling witnesses. You too will fall in love with Jaywalker.  

Motherhood is Murder by Diana Orgain

Nights out are hard to come by for new mommy Kate Connelly. So when Kate and her husband are invited to a dinner cruise hosted by her new mommy club, Roo & You, they jump at it. But when the president of the club takes a deadly spill, everyone becomes suspect-and Kate’s on deck to solve the mystery.

I adore Kate. She’s funny, charming, goofy, determined, and lovable. She has a husband who adores her and supports her 100%. Her “to do” lists are hysterical – right down to making sure she stops at the library to pick up her copy of The Dummies Guide to Private Investigating. She is head over heels in love with her 7 week old daughter Laurie, but at times feels like she’s not a good enough mother – she doesn’t know if Laurie can hold her head up at a 45 degree angle while having tummy time, she didn’t sign her up for swim classes while she was still pregnant with her and she doesn’t make home made baby food! But what Kate knows is that while all of that is great, what really matters is that she loves her daughter and after that everything else will fall into place. This is a great read for any mother or soon to be mom who is looking for something light and fun to read while the baby is napping or while awaiting its arrival. The discovery of the murderer and their reasons behind are a shocking twist that many won’t see coming. Motherhood Is Murder is a fun, fast, cozy read that will keep its readers entertained and anxiously awaiting the next installment. A must read.

Henry’s Sisters by Cathy Lamb

Ever since the Bommarito sisters were little girls, their mother, River, has written them a letter on pink paper when she has something especially important to impart. And this time, the message is urgent and impossible to ignore—River requires open-heart surgery, and Isabelle and her sisters are needed at home to run the family bakery and take care of their brother and ailing grandmother. Isabelle has worked hard to leave Trillium River, Oregon, behind as she travels the globe taking award-winning photographs. It’s not that Isabelle hates her family. On the contrary, she and her sisters Cecilia, an outspoken kindergarten teacher, and Janie, a bestselling author, share a deep, loving bond. And all of them adore their brother, Henry, whose disabilities haven’t stopped him from helping out at the bakery and bringing good cheer to everyone in town.But going home again has a way of forcing open the secrets and hurts that the Bommaritos would rather keep tightly closed—Isabelle’s fleeting and too-frequent relationships, Janie’s obsessive compulsive disorder, and Cecilia’s self-destructive streak and grief over her husband’s death. Working together to look after Henry and save their flagging bakery, Isabelle and her sisters begin to find answers to questions they never knew existed, unexpected ways to salve the wounds of their childhoods, and the courage to grasp surprising new chances at happiness.Poignant, funny, and as irresistible as one of the Bommarito sisters’ delicious giant cupcakes, Henry’s Sisters is a novel about family and forgiveness, about mothers and daughters, and about gaining the wisdom to look ahead while still holding tight to everything that matters most.

Will coming home to Trillium River be the wake up call that this family needs? Will they be able to finally deal with the trauma’s of their lives and finally find peace and happiness? Will they once and for all get the answers that they’ve unknowingly been searching for? But just when things seem as if they are finally turning around they get the most crushing, heart breaking news they could ever get. They are faced with something that they are not willing to deal with and could very well destroy any of the progress that they’ve made. It is now time for them to put everything else aside and come together as a family.

A beautifully written tale of one families struggles and triumphs. Of how they overcome adversity and figure out a way to move on with their lives. Of how to love and trust again. Of forgiveness and family. Full of laugh out loud moments and heartbreaking scenes, scenes that will have you crying as you read them, Henry’s Sisters is one story that you will regret not reading.

Twisted Sisterhood or Small Acts of Kindness, by Misa

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Recently, I was on my way to Dallas to attend a Texas Beef Council special event hosted by a fellow blogger (shout out to June Cleaver Nirvana Holly Homer!!). My daughter had been having a horrible time adjusting to 5th grade. She wasn’t sleeping, was angst-ridden over EVERYTHING, was so unhappy with her body (she’s 10!!! This worry and seeking of validation from others starts WAY too young), and was obsessing about middle school (which is still a year away).


I heard Katherine Schwartzenegger on a radio show, talking about her new book, Rock What You Got. I sat in my car and listened as she expressed how she’d felt exactly what my daughter was feeling. Needless to say, I stopped by the bookstore on the way home and picked up Rock What You Got. We’re reading it together and it’s really helping! Amazing.


Today I heard Kelly Valen talk about her new book, Twisted Sisterhood. It goes beyond the issues discussed in Rock What You Got (and I’m anticipating needing it as my girl gets older), tackling the complicated relationships women often have with one another, including passive aggressive behavior, mean girl behavior, bullying (anyone hear about Joy Behar on The View with her “comic” bullying?), and other layers of complexity and judgement within these relationships.


I see them starting now with my daughter, and while it’s great to observe and use in character development, it’s definitely not good for a girl trying to figure out who she is, what she believes, and where her validation comes from.


All this got me thinking about why it is we (meaning our culture) work so hard to tear others down instead of build them up.


I’m absolutely of the simplistic mindset that little acts of kindness go a long, long way, and shouldn’t we spend our energy on that kindness instead of on negativity?

Think about these scenarios. What would you do if:


  1. You’re on a two-way surface road driving south and there’s a lot of traffic, including a line of cars coming the other direction, in their turn lane, trying to turn left across your lanes. Do you stop before the intersection and let the cars make their turn, or do you block the intersection? (As I drove to a class I teach in Dallas tonight, I watched as car after car after car stopped in the middle of the intersection, blocking those cars who were trying to turn. When I approached the intersection–and mind you, traffic was slow up ahead so it’s not like I was blocking traffic behind me–I stopped so the cars could turn. But cars in the lanes on either side of me kept going, edging forward. It took a good minute or two before the cars in the other lanes stopped so those people could make their turn).
  2. You walk down the aisle at the market and come across something that had fallen from a shelf and is on the floor. Do you pick it up and put it back on the shelf, or leave it? Time after time, I watch as people walk on by. My kids do it at home. Walk ON the pillow instead of picking it up! ARGH!!
  3. People are coming out of a concert. You’re in a hurry. Do you wait your turn, or dodge people, cutting them off as you dart in front of them? Why not slow down and just wait?


I wish we could all be just a little more kind, because the reality is, you never know the impact your small act of kindness will have on someone else. Case in point, I got an email two days ago (at exactly 9:51 am 🙂 and it changed my whole day.


Misa,

OMG! This book [Cursed] was good. It’s a good thing that I DVR’d my shows, because I could not put this book down. That twist with the brothers, I did not see that coming. This was a great read.

I’m starting The Chain Tree tomorrow. I anticipate another giving up the TV show for this one as well.

Again, what a great story.


I think the fact that this reader took the time out of her day to tell me how she loved my book is amazing. She didn’t get anything out of it (except my everlasting devotion), but her message made me smile and feel giddy inside. It made my day (still is, in fact, two days later). I’m sure she had no idea how her message would make me feel.


Small acts of kindness. Isn’t that what we should spend our energy on, rather than the complicated twisted sisterhood relationships we focus too much time on? I imagine we’d all smile a lot more, don’t you?





It’s Not Me, It’s You

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Like most writers, I’ve had my share of bad reviews. I’ve also had more than my share of glowing raves. Early in my career, there was so little attention to my work that the good reviews could make my day. And the bad ones could send me to bed. Over the years, after having experienced the full range of dizzying highs and crushing lows the writing life can offer, I have found more balance. Like a kayaker in big water, I stay centered and keep on paddling – rain or shine.

A few years ago, I read a book called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. It changed my life. One of the agreements, maybe the most important for me was: Don’t take anything personally. No matter what anybody does or says to you, even if they should go so far as to walk up to you and put a bullet in your head, has anything whatsoever to do with you or who you are. It’s all about them, about their thoughts, ideas, prejudice, and view of the world. If people say they love you, it’s about them. If people say they hate you, well, that’s about them, too. If you learn and internalize this (which – PS – is not easy), it can be very illuminating – and freeing.

Most people only deal with this on a small scale. You have your friends, family, neighbors, business associates, and random encounters with strangers. Most of us know that some people are going to like us, and some people are not. Likewise, we won’t like everyone we encounter. Maybe your coworker reminds you of someone who bullied you in high school; you dislike her without even knowing why. That’s about you. Maybe you think your friend is cheap and it makes you angry. Another person might admire her for her frugality. It’s all about the opinions we bring to the table.

As a writer, I am fortunate that my novels have found a large number of readers. And, guess what? Some people love my books. And some people don’t. Some of those people keep their opinions to themselves, some of them post on the bookseller sites, write their opinions on Facebook, send me personal emails, or write reviews in major national magazines and newspapers. Luckily, most of the people who do this, have at least something nice to say about my books. But not always.

If you’re true to yourself, as a person, as a writer – if you don’t chase trends or seek to please, you are likely to attract at least some negativity. I have found this to be true in my personal and professional life. Of course, it’s never a good day when someone says something negative about your work, but you tuck in and keep paddling.

When I sit down at my keyboard to work on my novel, I am my truest and most centered self. I don’t seek to please; just to tell the best story I can, to the best of my ability. I know some people are going to love it, and some are not. The world is impossibly complicated, and opinions vary wildly. So no matter what reviewers write about my books, I try to remember that it’s about them as much as it is about me.

Lisa Unger

________________

Lisa Unger is an award winning New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author. Her novels have been published in over 26 countries around the world.

She was born in New Haven, Connecticut (1970) but grew up in the Netherlands, England and New Jersey. A graduate of the New School for Social Research, Lisa spent many years living and working in New York City. She then left a career in publicity to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time author. She now lives in Florida with her husband and daughter.

Her writing has been hailed as “masterful” (St. Petersburg Times), “sensational” (Publishers Weekly) and “sophisticated” (New York Daily News) with “gripping narrative and evocative, muscular prose” (Associated Press).

Buy Fragile at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Borders
IndieBound

The First Review

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It’s an in-between moment that’s hard to describe. It’s the time after you know a review of your new book is there for all the world to see and before you actually click the link or turn to the magazine page to read it. You hold your breath, torn between wanting to know what it says and wanting to avoid it at all costs. (I mean, after all, what writer worth their salt doesn’t believe they’re a fraud and that at any moment, someone is bound to discover it?)

The first review of Murder Takes the Cake was posted on line last Friday night. You can read it here at armchairinterviews.com. I got the email about it from the editor and then braced myself to look at the review. My pulse raced and my fingers fumbled on the keyboard as I clicked on the site and searched for the title of the book.

The actual review can be exhilarating or crushing. Logically, you know that no review can give you confidence if you don’t believe in your writing. But your heart yearns for other people’s approval of the fictional world you’ve created. You want the readers – and reviewers are readers, whether we want to believe that or not – to love your characters, understand your plot, and when they get to the words, “The End,” rush out to buy your next book.

Sometimes, even with a good review, the author spends way too much time searching for subtext and parsing words. A single word, the slightest turn of phrase, anything that could be construed in a negative way, will stand out like a neon light. And no matter how many flattering descriptions surround the one little criticism, that line will be the one the author can quote verbatim years later.

The worst review is not necessarily the one from someone who didn’t like your book. It’s the one where the reviewer not only didn’t like your book and said so, but he/she didn’t get the characters’ names correct. You’re left with the suspicion that the reviewer never read your book. And there is nothing you can do about it!

Or how about the review where the careless reviewer missed several vital clues and then claimed in print, or worse on-line for everyone to see forever, that the murderer’s identity “came out of the blue.” As the author there is nothing you want more than to post a scathing rebuttal, but you can’t. It just isn’t done. You have to let it go.

If I could ask only one thing from readers, it’s to not take a single negative review too seriously, especially if it isn’t representative of the other reviews of the same book.

And for authors, I’d advise the same. Not everyone will like your book – but that doesn’t mean you haven’t written a good book. Not every review will be good – learn from them if you can, if not clean the smelly goop from your shoes and move on. And for heavens sake, when the review is positive, enjoy it without “wallowing it around” and searching out potential bad spots.

So what about the review I mentioned in the beginning of this blog? It’s fantastic! “Evelyn David” is ecstatic.

I think I’m ecstatic. Probably.

I need to read it again, just to be sure.

And yes, despite the advice I just gave everyone, I’ll reread the review over and over until the next review is posted.

But I won’t focus on individual words.

I won’t.

Probably.

Evelyn David
http://www.evelyndavid.com