self-publishing

Weekly Writing Update: 2/18

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I’ve mostly stuck to my goal of writing 20 minutes per day, though I did skip Friday. However, I made up for it with an extra 20 minutes on Saturday, so I didn’t get behind.

I’m still working on the character interview with one of the major characters from book #4 in the Pithea series (currently titled “Morano”). in the section of the story I’m most uncertain about. I can’t pretend that it’s not starting to feel like I’m stalling with this interview, dragging it out so I don’t have to figure out what do to next, but I’m still walking through the storyline and getting some great insight, so I’d definitely call it productive. I also use the double session yesterday to do some freewriting (something I haven’t done in a while), which started out rocky but ended up being a peek at the later life of a character in Outcast (book #2) that I really enjoyed getting out.

While I work on continuing the series, if you’re interested in reading where it all starts, Pithea is available on Amazon in multiple formats (e-book, paperback, and now in hardcover) as well as Kindle Unlimited.

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Weekly Writing Update: 2/11

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While I wait for my beta-reading sisters to read “Power,” book #3 in the Pithea series, I’m starting to work on book #4. I wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo in 2020 and haven’t touched it since then, so first I have to figure out what major changes need to be made and how to go about making them. I spent all of this week doing a character interview with one of the major characters in the section of the story I’m most uncertain about. It has been very helpful so far, and I’ll continue it this week.

I’ve stuck to my goal of writing 20 minutes per day, even with a few days this last week where I didn’t feel much like doing any work. It’s easier to push myself when the work ahead of me is a character interview, though, because it really doesn’t feel much like work.

While I work on continuing the series, if you’re interested in reading where it all starts, Pithea is available on Amazon in multiple formats (e-book, paperback, and now in hardcover) as well as Kindle Unlimited.

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Weekly Writing Update: 2/4

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For three years, I have posted book reviews almost exclusively on this blog, which started as a place to keep myself accountable while working on my writing. I used to post every single day that I did writing work, lowering that amount to weekly when I didn’t need the daily accountability anymore. Then I stopped writing consistently for a while. Though nothing new (I’ve had gaps in my daily writing before, both long and short), when I did get back to writing again, I didn’t get back to posting. It’s time to remedy that. So I’ll dive back in with a brief update of what I’ve recently accomplished in my writing.

I finished draft 6 of “Power,” book #3 in the Pithea series only a few days ago, the last draft that I will work on alone. I have asked my 3 sisters, who helped me immensely with the revision of book #1, to read it and give me feedback—as vague or as detailed as they want to or have time to give. I’m not putting a deadline on them, though, since they’re all busy and it’s important enough for me to get their feedback before I publish it. I figure it’s been long enough since book #2 was published, what’s a little longer?

In the meantime, I’ve turned my attention to book #4. I wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo in 2020 and haven’t touched it since then, so I’ve been taking it slow getting used to the story again while I start to work out where the first major changes need to be made and how to go about making them. Right now, it’s mostly reading and brainstorming. And I plan to do some freewriting this week, since after so much revision for so long, I really want to do some actual writing, which still isn’t needed with the first draft done of the next book.

I’ve done a pretty decent job of sticking to my goal of writing 20 minutes 20 days out of the month. This month, I’m pushing it to 20 minutes every single day (and if I miss a day, I’ll make it up). This is how I’ve maintained a pretty steady habit for several months now. Plus, I often write with my daughter (working on different projects, but at the same time, usually sitting at the same table), so we kind of spur each other on to write most days.

While I work on continuing the series, if you’re interested in reading where it all starts, Pithea is available on Amazon as both an e-book and paperback (it’s also on Kindle Unlimited).

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Book Review: The Event

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The Event
The Creek Water Series #1
by Whitney Dineen

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Contemporary romance

Emmaline Frothingham left home to prove herself in the wide world, rather than let it always be assumed that she was dependent upon her family’s money. But an embarrassing moment at a work function leads to a life-changing event, and she returns home with the baby that resulted from that night, determined to work hard and keep her head held high in her judgmental hometown.

I normally stay away from contemporary romance, but I got this book for free so decided to give it a try. I appreciated the closeness of Emmie’s family, though at times they are a bit ridiculous. Right off the bat, she’s put into a difficult situation due to the meddling of her aunt, and though she certainly could have chosen not to go along with with the lie thrust upon her (that her baby’s father was a recently deceased fiancé of Emmie’s rather than a one-night-stand), there would be no plot if she had. I wrote down my prediction of a “twist” about 1/3 of the way through the book, though even in my notes I said that it would be ridiculous, yet it seemed obvious that it was heading that way, and yeah, it was. I won’t spoil it, but as twists go, it’s one that is not very surprising (I’m really not one who normally guesses correctly about twists, if that tells you anything) and requires far too many obvious contrivances in the plot. That doesn’t really make for a fun read.

On top of all of that, there’s the fairly extreme bullying, done both by the clear bullies but also by the other side, and the ridiculous amount of references to Emmie’s nursing apparatuses (I know that’s a terrible euphemism). If it hadn’t been such a quick read, I don’t know that I would have finished it. I’m sure the series continues on to showcase some of the side characters from this book, but I don’t plan to read further.

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Book Review: Abby’s Letters

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Abby’s Letters
Book #1
by Dana Romanin

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Christian YA romance

When 17-year-old Jane’s mom dies and leaves her and her 13-year-old sister Abby alone, Jane is determined to keep her sister out of foster care and does her best to pretend that her mom is still alive until she turns 18 and can file for guardianship of Abby.

The synopsis, as given above and the official one for this book, intrigued me a lot. The official synopsis includes an explanation for the title—thinking her mom is still alive, Abby writes letters to her, through which Jane comes to see a different side of her mom, who became an alcoholic after her husband’s death. This aspect intrigued me the most, especially considering the loss of my own mom earlier this year and hearing my sisters talk about a somewhat different mom than I really knew. Sadly, Abby’s letters don’t come into the book until much later than I expected and are mostly short and shallow. The connection they cause Jane to feel with her mom felt forced to me.  Instead, the plot was largely dwarfed by the all-too-common tropes often found in YA and/or romance. A love triangle casts a heavy shadow, and Jane lets herself be goaded into doing things she wouldn’t normally do because someone called her “boring,” thus making the character feel cliché and detracting from the otherwise strong personality I think the author was going for.

The book has 4 perspectives—all 3 sides of the love triangle and Abby. I felt it was a bit much at first, but I don’t really remember having any issues with it throughout the book (on the other hand, I don’t really need to see how perfectly perfect Jane and her body are from two male perspectives). I took issue with Jane’s seemingly cavalier treatment of both guys, though, as she would touch the friend on the chest or something, right in front of the boyfriend, as if she had no idea (at 17, mind you) of the intimacy of such a gesture.

Despite its shortcomings, the book did have some touching moments. I liked the conversion story, though it’s relegated to near the end of the book. It is a big part of the reason, though, that I am interested in seeing how this series continues, despite giving this book such a low rating. That and because I had an inkling that something was going on with Lindsey, who briefly turned the love triangle into a square, and the synopsis for the next book confirms my suspicions. As for this first book, though, it had the potential to be a poignant story about loss and discovery, but the love triangle and other YA/romance tropes got in the way.

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Book Review: Signs of Life

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Signs of Life
by Creston Mapes

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Christian thriller

Investigator Wayne Deetz has the distinction of interrogating the perpetrator of a mass shooting, trying to get the answers about why, how, and possibly with what help. Months after the shooting, Tyson Cooper, whose wife was killed during the event, struggles to move on with his life and begins to question what right the shooter has to live. Deetz’s and Cooper’s stories are told in alternating chapters, with Deetz diving into the interrogation mere hours after the event and Cooper’s starting 10 months later.

I wasn’t entirely sure what the core of this story would be—a psychological dive into the mind of a mass killer, a look at the aftermath of his victims? I didn’t really see how it could be an action-packed race to stop a terrible event from happening, considering that the synopsis makes it clear the mass shooting has already happened. In the end, though, there was some of that as well as the look at the aftermath of the victims, in the form of more than one person who lost someone that day. I can’t really say there was much psychology on the killer’s side shown, which is not a problem, partly because it would have made the book much darker than I would prefer and also because it’s not really said to be about that. The story starts out pretty slowly and continues that way for more than half of the book. Then suddenly, it’s super tense and hurtling toward a major climax. The pacing could have been better, but I’ll admit that I was pretty caught up in the book in the last third.

A lot of my problems came in small bits and pieces here and there. I didn’t have any issues with the writing style (other than the aforementioned pacing), though there were several places that I’m certain a proofreader should have caught an extra comma here or there, or one spot where a couple of sentences at the beginning of a chapter were literally repeated at the beginning of another, 2 chapters later (this book was self-published, fyi). But for example, why, in a book set in pretty modern times especially, did the author choose to have one of the characters make the distinction that his son’s girlfriend was black (but he and his wife have decided they’re are okay with it) and that he worried what family and friends might think? Why was there such a large focus on violent video games as the catalyst for the shooter’s rampage, when literally a quick search online shows that there really isn’t any correlation (maybe unless the perpetrator is already mentally unstable). I have a few other examples that I marked in my notes, but I don’t want to unbalance the review.

The Christian angle in this book is overall pretty good. Cooper and his late wife were Christians, but he has decided that God is not what He claims to be in the Bible, if he could let such a wonderful woman as his wife die (actually, I think he’s in danger of putting her on a pedestal, unless she really is as perfect as his reminiscences would have us believe). Deetz is an unbeliever but is introduced to Christianity by his son, who attends what sounds like a mega-church. Two different starting points lead to some interesting conversations about God. In the end, I wish I had liked this book more, but I didn’t dislike it either. It’s clear that plenty of fans of the genre liked it more than I did, so if you’re interested, definitely check it out. I have another Creston Mapes book on my shelf, given to me by a friend, so I’ll be interested to read another book by this author.

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Book Review: A Fire to Kindle

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A Fire to Kindle
by Daniel Dydek

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Christian fantasy thriller

Rae-Anna’s left-handedness has made her something of an outcast in a time when it’s seen as a curse. Finding refuge, such as it is, amongst the Sisters of a local convent seems to be her only recourse. But even they aren’t entirely comfortable with her, and that’s before a mysterious, supernatural blue flame that she encounters at a crypt filled with evil men enters her and begins to appear on her cursed hand. Whether the fire is friend or foe, she can’t say for sure…at least, not until the battle comes.

I knew going into this that there was going to be some kind of fantasy or supernatural element to it, given the premise of the fire with the mysterious force behind it—though that mysterious force wasn’t nearly as much of a mystery to me as it seems to be to everyone else in the story. With some time and context eventually given, it became apparent that Rae-Anna wasn’t terribly well-versed in the Bible. In the end, though, what I realized is that this book is quite a bit more fantasy/supernatural than I was expecting, and quite a bit different in those elements than I prefer.

The story moves fairly slowly for maybe half the book, as Rae-Anna tries to understand what the fire wants from her and the Sisters treat her terribly because of it. Then it takes a sudden sharp turn into more of a horror story. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think it’s fair to warn any potential readers that there’s some zombie/skeleton action in this book, especially since it is not billed as that kind of story whatsoever. It’s really not my preference in fiction, and especially not something I look for in Christian fiction. In the end, (I think) I understood the underlying message the author wanted to get across with this book, but it felt a lot like two completely different stories were mashed together here—the fire that roots out the evil hearts of seemingly pious people and the undead battle that doesn’t really have a message at all, that I could see. And then after the climax of the battle is over, we have a longer wrap-up than felt necessary and an ending to the story that, again, felt like it worked with the fire plot but was completely unrelated to the minor zombie apocalypse we went through.

The author does a good job with the writing, making the story and characters sound and feel like they’re set in some vague historical time before cars, though I could not tell you where the story was meant to have taken place, even in the broadest terms. I don’t know if that mattered much, though. There are a few moments where the dialog sounds a bit more modern, but overall, I could easily imagine Rae-Anna living in this convent with nuns. This is also not something that is familiar to me, though, so it’s another reason that I felt like I wasn’t quite the right audience for the book. I mostly found myself wondering why it seemed like the characters had never heard of the Holy Spirit and the tongues of fire in Acts. But in the end, I believe there is an audience for this book and any that follow it; I just don’t think I’m that audience. If it sounds interesting to you, though, please do check it out.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

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Book Review: Olivia & the Gentleman from Outer Space

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Olivia & the Gentleman from Outer Space
by Moses Yuriyvich Mikheyev

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s science fiction

12-year-old Olivia is surprised when a visitor from outer space lands in the wheat field near her house and even more surprised when she’s told he might be able to heal her father’s cancer. But first he needs Olivia’s help to find a black ruby that will give him the power he needs.

This book has an interesting premise (and a pretty cover), but I’m afraid it falls apart in execution. A lot of the story is kind of muddled, especially in the details. Olivia is called the Princess of Blue Earth, but I never did understand what makes her a princess exactly. Her dad doesn’t seem to be a king of anything, and maybe her rare ability to read the treasure map to the black ruby is what makes her a princess, but it wasn’t really explained. The gentleman from outer space, who might have been about Olivia’s age, but it’s hard to say, tends to glow in different ways depending on mood, physical status, etc. (like the alien in the movie Home), which was an interesting addition to the story. However, somehow his glowing didn’t attract the attention of the bad guys, though Olivia could often see his face, hands, and even chest glowing through/inside his space suit. And they’re in a hurry to bring the black ruby back before Olivia’s dad dies, but somehow they have time to stop on the moon for sightseeing, not once, but twice.

I didn’t realize until after I’d started reading it that it is self-published, though I’m not against self-published books by any means and am a self-published author myself. I think the book needed more editing, someone to ask important questions (like why does the author write as if Olivia would literally float away on the moon? There is some gravity) and notice some of the more nonsensical dialog and narration moments. The author seemed to put a lot more effort into the settings, and while his imagination does come through, and I appreciate the brilliant visuals in some of the locations, I would have preferred a more cohesive plot and more developed characters.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book to review.
Publication date: April 11, 2023

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Book Review: Cozy Up to Christmas

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Cozy Up to Christmas
Cozy Up #5
by Colin Conway

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery, Christmas

Ed Belmont just wants to make it through the Christmas season doing his job as mall Santa. But someone else is committing crimes around town wearing a Santa suit, and the cops are looking at Ed. Since he’s an ex-con in witness protection, the attention could be a problem.

I haven’t read any of the preceding books in the series, but events from them were brought up in this book a few times. Belmont (not really his name) was the bookkeeper in a gang and reluctantly became a witness against them, and now he’s force to move from place to place, job to job, to keep ahead of the danger. While it seems that previous identities were compromised and required relocation, this one had an expiration date—Christmas. Yet he does end up under suspicion for ongoing criminal activity, which also seems to be a theme in the series.

From start to finish, this is a fairly straightforward story with a protagonist who could be interesting, but feels like a caricature. He learned to enjoy reading, specifically mystery novels, in the first book in the series, and while I have nothing against a hardened gang member becoming a reader, it somehow felt forced to me. I could see what the author was trying to do in showing changes in this man who had been forced into situations and lifestyles he never would have chosen for himself, but for me, at least, it didn’t work very well.

I also think the overall story could have done with another round or two of edits. Maybe some dialog read out loud, some actions acted out. Characters were all the time touching each others arms and sleeves while talking, which I’m not sure is natural. And a lot of people in the story tended to act out what they were saying with their hands, again not necessarily common. While both of these things could have been a trait assigned to one character, having them be so widespread was odd. It also seems really important to the author that I know what everyone is wearing. It’s generally the first thing we’re told whenever anyone new is in a scene. There’s a woman who comes onto Ed so strongly it made me uncomfortable, and imagine if the roles were reversed and it was a man trying to convince a woman to let him touch her (sit on her lap, because, well, she is Santa, after all). It would be considered creepy, and he’d be labeled a perv, not just a humorous device to make the MC all the more annoyed at his lot in life.

The mystery wasn’t bad, but wasn’t super interesting or difficult to solve. There was a small twist regarding the various crimes that had been committed, and it did give Ed a chance to grow more in the story. I think with some refining, this could be a good book and a series I’d be interested in. It is a mostly clean book, with almost no profanity and nothing else that would bother me, minus the aforementioned woman trying to force herself onto Santa. While I don’t plan to read any other stories about Beauregard Smith (Ed’s real name), plenty of others have enjoyed it more than I did. If you’re interested, be sure to check out other reviews at the link below.

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Book Review: Distant Stars

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Distant Stars
by Kassandra Garrison

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Christian romance

After aging out of the foster system, a time during which brothers Will and Kane Rutledge ran away as often as they could, they decide to continue to stick together. And they decide that they need a fresh start, and that the best way to get it is to kidnap Hannah Cole, daughter of a wealthy man, and get a nice payday. But things start to go wrong from the first moment of this kidnapping, and the worst flaw in the plan is that Will didn’t expect himself to be so drawn to their victim.

The premise of this story is what drew me to it—a romance that begins as a kidnapping is intriguing to me, even while being a bit of a stretch in believably. But I knew it could be done and be a romance I would enjoy, especially under the banner of Christian fiction. The Christianity, though, is quite light and mostly involved with Hannah being angry at God for a fairly recent loss. Will has some early religious roots too, but I would have liked to see all of that drawn out a lot more, especially given the plot. Add to that the romance being mostly about physical looks (and smells…what does sunshine smell like, anyway?) for a while, and I didn’t really get into the romance aspect of the story much at all. Plus, I didn’t really buy Will’s softy act, for various reasons.

When I read a self-published book, it is my intention not to let things that a professional editor would help with affect my view too much. I’m not saying that there is no burden of responsibility here, but it’s harder for self-published authors. So while it did not affect my rating, I will at least mention that there were punctuation errors throughout this book, as well as other issues or confusions an editor would/should have caught. It can detract from the book for some, so let that be a warning.

On the positive side, the descriptions of the setting(s) made me feel like I was there, probably helped a bit by my own memory of a recent trip to a beach in the Dominican Republic, and I really like the depth to backstories the author came up with for the main characters. The story has a lot going for it, and I think that with some polishing and less tropes in the plot, it could be a sweet, enjoyable read. Given the way that others have responded to this book, it’s possible I’m simply not the right audience for it, so please check out other reviews at the link below if the book sounds interesting to you.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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