Welcome to Blog Stop for Authors of Murder on the Mullet Express Today!

This book is dedicated to Constance Odessa Chambers (1888-1963) and the other members of the Army Nurse Corps. We are grateful for their service and inspiration.

~~~

When traveling with Percival Pettijohn, it was best to bring a sidearm. Cornelia was glad that she'd brought hers.

Here they were, broken down on the Dixie Highway in the no-man's-land between Gainesville and Ocala. All she saw were pines and cabbage palms on either side of the rain-soaked highway. Two vehicles had already splashed past, ignoring their waves and cries for help. If a car stopped, though, would it hold assistance, or thieves who had decided to pluck two old crows and one old coot?

...A young man climbed out of the car, straw hat in hand. He jammed it on his head, obscuring a shock of sandy hair.

"I heard that you were broken down. Has anyone offered to help yet?"

Someone had told him that they were stranded? Cornelia's mouth curled down. "Have you come offering your assistance for money, sir?"

"No, ma'am. I don't own a tow truck. But I thought you could use a ride. It's not very far to Ocala from here." He hesitated. "I'm sorry; I should have told you who I am. Peter Rowley, land agent." He stuck out his hand.

"What a coincidence," Teddy said. "We drove down for the grand opening in New Homosassa."

"I thought that might be the case...

"So, all three of you are coming to the opening?"

Uncle Percival nodded as he adjusted the amplification of his hearing aid. "I've been considering a winder home for a while, one in a milder climate."

~~~

Murder on the Mullet Express

By Gwen Mayo, and

Sarah E. Glenn

The band was playing "Nobody's Sweetheart" when they

entered the ballroom...

Prepare to travel back to the 1920s when land was being sold and companies would host a weekend full of entertainment, hoping to sell a plot of land or arrange an investment into the new community that was being built... What fun! And enjoy some of the entertainment presented throughout the weekend!

You will love the main characters--three elderly individuals, two of them related, uncle and niece, Percival and Cornelia Pettijohn, and Theodore Lawless, Cornelia's companion... Who better to solve the murders in this delightful cozy murder mystery!

"You bounder!" a man's voice shouted. "I should have known you would be here?"

Through the viewer, Cornelia now saw two men circling each other near the entrance of the

first passenger car. One, a burly man with a heavy mustache, held his fists in a boxing

stance, while the other had his arms up in a defensive pose.

"Cheat! Thief!" The aggressive one swung, and his opponent jumped back. People began

gathering--to watch, of course, not to stop the fight...

~~~

The three had been traveling together in Cornelia's car when it developed a leak and they were stranded. The land agent who was one of the sponsors and host of a weekend event to try to sell land, had gone to help, knowing it was likely they would be one of his guests... A car part had to be ordered, so the trio had to ride the Mullet Express to the actual area where they would be staying... 

And it was during that ride, that they witnessed a fight between two men, one of whom seemed to have gotten the worst beating and had shown physical distress while they were traveling... Both Cornelia and Theodore (Teddy) had been nurses in the war and instinctively started watching his symptoms... Later, they were called in to nurse him...and then to act as witnesses when he died...

"Why don't you go back to reading
Gertrude Stein?" Cornelia grumbled.
Her companion shuddered.
"I've been reading it since we began
the trip. Or, I should say, I've tried
to read it. It gives me a headache.
~~~

It is Cornelia who takes the lead as amateur detective, while Teddy, who was more socially inclined, enjoyed the drinking and parties hosted for their enjoyment. 

Uncle Percival, on the other hand, really didn't have too much of an interest of any planned events. Instead, as a retired civil engineering professor, he spent all his time talking to the train engineers or exploring what was happening in the buildings being constructed. He had just purchased the new motion picture camera and had decided to film the entire trip! 

Teddy turned to them. "And who is this dashing gentlemen? She fingered her long strand of beads.

 "I apologize. I didn't ask your name. I am Cornelia, and this is Teddy."

He bowed quickly. "Pleased to meet you both. My proper name is Santiago, but I go by Chago."

The band struck up "Let's All Go to Mary's House," and people began to dance. The talkers moved to the edges of the room. Cornelia moved with them, but Teddy tapped Chago's arm. "Dance with me, won't you? I love dancing, but I can only di it for a little while."

...The first song ended, and "The Charleston" was next. A whoop went out, and the floor filled quickly. Teddy kicked next to Chago, delight on her face. Their young neighbor rushed to join in...

You might begin to think Pettijohn is a bit of the forgetful professor, but he's not...His mind is still strong though his body has aged, and he has a wonderful gift of memory for all things he has seen... Of course, his unquenchable thirst for new paths to learning soon led him to trouble...he had conveniently forgotten about the police mandate for all visitors to stay at the hotel and surroundings while the murder investigation goes on.

Cornelia...decided to try
the machine for herself.
She aimed it...Shouts
broke out behind her...
Cornelia shifted the
camera...Cornelia now
saw two men circling
each other...
~~~

Of course, if he had done that, they would not have come to know about the second murder... But only after he was put in jail, mainly to keep track of him, LOL... You see that new Motion Picture Camera, without anybody realizing it, had captured both murders! Cornelia had filmed the first while her uncle had captured the second, even though he hadn't realized it...but could later clearly report everything he had seen as he put his amazing skill to work...

I have to admit that I was having too much fun with the antics of the characters that I wasn't paying too much attention on following clues...However, these two authors had me beat since I wouldn't have even begun to guess at least one of the guilty parties! Kudos to the mystery team!

One interesting characters was a man working as a driver for the event...He hooked himself with our three main characters and drove them every place, including back and forth from jail and getting himself in several tight situations...

"Cripes!" Mitch jerked the wheel hard to the right and they narrowly missed being sideswiped by the mobsters' car. Cornelia saw the reason why the men had doubled back. Traffic was at a standstill on the road to the hotel. Both lanes were filled with lines of cars headed one way..."Valentino movie," Teddy answered from the back. "Double feature."

..."They must not know where they're headed. The road ends at the river."

"Good," Cornelia said. They can't get away."

~~~

The book includes mob criminals that were prevalent at that time... And when they get involved; they, meaning more than one group of criminals, create quite a bit of excitement that Cornelia and Teddy seem to always get involved with! Oh, one other unique perspective of the societal censoring happening at that time with regard to women... This was an important addition to the era's story, but done so cleverly low-keyed that many of us would think nothing about it, except if it had been called to the readers' attention... And then, the ending was such a surprise since I had selected one man as the charlatan! So Percival Pettijohn totally quite me off guard for a perfect ending! Cool, right?!

The ladies entered the ballroom to find it blanketed in orange and white banners. Tropical flowers decorated the tables, blazing creations in crimson, gold, tangerine, with touches of blue or purple. The centerpiece of the room was an enormous white cake studded with fresh orange slices. The sweet aroma made Cornelia's mouth water...
"Here they come," Teddy said, breaking her brown study.
After the men walked in, Rowley removed the blindfold. Everyone shouted, "Happy Birthday!"
The professor beamed at the display. "Marvelous! All this for me?"
"We need to outshine Saint Petersburg tonight," the land agent said. He gestured to the gallery, and the musicians broke into "Bugle Call Rag."
~~~

It addition to providing readers with a wonderfully entertaining cozy mystery, Authors Mayo and Glenn provide additional historical background, including the drink that Teddy so enjoyed: The Mary Pickford Cocktail... It's made with white rum, pineapple juice, grenadine, and Maraschino...but you'd have to read the book to get the full recipe... A short bibliography for further reading is also provided...

If you enjoy historical, humorous looks at the past, together with a splendid set of characters who save the day...you really do need to check this one! It's so much fun, I've got to  highly recommend it!

GABixlerReviews

See previous blog article by Gwen Mayo on the Poison of Choice...and authors' information


And Thanks to Gwen and Sarah for sharing their book at
Book Readers Heaven!

Whole Lotta Trouble Leads to Whole Lotta Fun...

My name is Richard Wannamaker. After retiring from the IRS, I decided to write a story about my roller-coaster life as a cost accountant. Enclosed please find my 500-page autobiography, a volume I have fondly entitled Journal Entry—
get it?   
Tallie winced. She got it, and about twenty others like it on her desk every week. Reams of paper containing stories utterly inappropriate for the mystery and romance fiction lines for which she acquired. It wasn't that she didn't admire the man for creating the tome, but if he'd researched Parkbench Publishing at all, he would have known they weren't looking for autobiographies. And that she wasn't a Mr., but a Miss.
 Miss— as in unmarried and unlikely to be in the near future. If only Richard Wannamaker had been on her mother's Christmas card mailing list, he'd have been privy to that tidbit, courtesy of her mother's annual Blankenship Bulletin, complete with pictures, favorite family recipes, and news. This year's headline:
YES, OUR BEAUTIFUL, SUCCESSFUL DAUGHTER IS STILL SINGLE!
It was almost February and she was still recovering from that one.
Tallie sighed and forced her attention back to the cover letter in her hand.
~~~

Whole Lotta Trouble

By Stephanie Bond

Want to take a break and sit down with a fun book about book publishing? This is one you'll enjoy...at least I did!  Tallie works for a small agency but has recently been outgunned by another editor, known as Scary Kara...who promised the author's agent, Jerry Key...much more than Tallie, shall we say?

Tallie had been given the job of editing the new manuscript for the top author of the agency. Her boss, Ron Springer, the executive editor, then left on an extended time away from the office, but told her he would be in touch. Tallie had met with Gaylord Cooper, had managed to get him to accept her in place of Ron, who had always edited for Cooper in the past, and then politely refused to meet with Jerry later.

Jerry was met by Kara as he was going down the elevator...and just like that, Tallie had lost the account. With Ron out of the office, there was nothing she could do.

Of course, the fact that there was only one copy of the manuscript led to problems...Yes, can you imagine a writer only making one copy of his new book, for which he had been given a high 6-figure advance?!!!

And, no copies were to be made while it was in the hands of the publishing company!

Seems Gaylord Cooper was continuously certain that somebody was out to sabotage his work...

But was he just eccentric or was there something behind it?

In any event, that precious manuscript was still in Tallie's hands, even though it was no longer hers to protect!

Tallie's best friend was not really the one she could share her frustration with--she had once dated Jerry Key and both knew she was still a little in love with him. Still, Tallie had to talk to somebody! But Felicia had her own problems with Jerry since two of his married writers were fighting and somehow Jerry seemed to be in the middle of whatever was going on...

But as they were talking another young woman stopped by their restaurant table.  She wanted to talk to Tallie about her company possibly doing a print version of an ebook she was now working on. When she started to talk about the story, however, it soon became apparent that Felicia recognized the story! Uh Oh! As they talked, the name Jerry Key came right into the middle again...

Source: boston.com via Julien on Pinterest

The door to the spa opened and out strolled Jerry Key, blond, tall, and fashionably thin, a man bag over his shoulder for his 
gadgets. The man prided himself on owning the latest and  greatest electronic equipment, from phones to laptops to stereos. He had teased Felicia about her penchant for retro, 
from her vinyl collection and the old turntable she played them  on to the big-button land line phone in her bedroom. 
As always, her pulse rate increased at the sight of him, doubly so with the anticipation of confronting him. She stood and screwed the lid onto the bottle of caffeinated water. 
She was stowing the bottle in her purse when she realized that someone had joined Jerry on the street—a woman. Frozen, she watched as the two embraced, then shared a full-on kiss. Their meeting, it seemed, wasn't accidental. Felicia removed her sunglasses and bumped her nose against the window, flabbergasted.  It couldn't be. But if the woman's long red coat wasn't enough to prove it was Suze Dannon pressed against him...

Well, these three women decided to put Jerry in the spot...they played off of his sexual activities and called to arrange a special date...so that when they got to his hotel, he was already naked and blindfolded! They then tied him up further, took his picture and sent it to his entire mailing list... Wow... that was...cruel???

Only thing is, though, their plan to have the maid find him and let him loose didn't work... and when they did find him the next morning, he had been... murdered...

Oh yes, there's lots more, including Tallie having a blind date with a man from her home town!

A lost manuscript that Tallie may or may not have eft in a taxi, a scene of a crime, or just about anywhere else...

A late idea about why her boss and the author could not be found, and what was so important about a manuscript...

Actually, the last part of the book blew me away... Never would have saw it coming and still wonder... Let me know what you think about what was really happening. That is, besides the fun, the crazy email pictures going "viral"??? (Probably!)

Hey, check this one out!


GABixlerReviews

Stephanie Bond has written over 60 novels for publishers such as Bantam, St. Martin's Press, Avon/HarperCollins, and Mira Books. She currently writes a humorous mystery series called BODY MOVERS, and romantic comedies for Harlequin Books. She is best known for writing steamy books that make readers laugh out loud. Read on to find out more about Stephanie's childhood and how she became a writer. http://www.stephaniebond.com/about.html

Fun Look Inside Publishing--Read My Review; Find Kate Mitchell's Site to Learn More!

Check Out Kate Mitchell's Site!

"You had a run-in with Bernie; I saw you in his office when I got here and
figured you could use a friend."
Suddenly Mac's ability to know exactly what she needed was starting to
bug the hell out of her.
"It doesn't matter." She waved a hand, hoping it would all go away, "I
just need to be alone."
"It does matter, Kate. I know how important your career is to you and had
this gone south it could have meant, well, we both know what it could have
meant." Mac slid into one of her leather chairs.  Kate wished he would
leave. Nothing he was saying was making her feel any better.
"Bernie will accept responsibility for nothing. Not ever. The sooner you
learn that, the better off you'll be."
"Not only did he not accept responsibility, but he also blew off the whole
freaking incident, like he's forgotten an event poster instead of the one
reason people were there: the books."
"Kate, I'm not trying to diminish this, believe me I'm not, but the quicker
you move past it, the better you'll be. People like Bernie get to these
positions by God-knows-what means. Maybe he's Edward's bastard son, I
don't know. The point is if you push this, you won't win. He will..."
~~~

The Publicist

By Christina George


Yes, I wanted to read The Publicist purely on the basis of the title since I do spend quite a lot of my time with books...LOL What I didn't want to do, however, was to be awake at 1 AM finishing the book, reading the few pages of Book 2 and wanting to call this dear lady and scream "Where the H is the next book!...or words to that effect...

Some writers have the ability of writing as if they are just talking to you, or at least it seems like that because the story sounds so real, so convincing that you feel like you actually know the new character who has been created... The back cover states: "The story only an insider could tell..." Indeed this is Kate Mitchell's story and what's more, you'll quickly find out that Kate is doing her own publicity for her book...so don't bother looking for Christine George, whoever she is...LOL I've already sent a Facebook "close friend" request for Kate, am following her on Twitter demanding to know about Book 2, and, well, you get the idea... My readers know that I hate to be kept hanging!

Kate Mitchell is a publicist in a major NY company...but, everybody should quickly know, that any female working these days will find herself in similar situations on the job...

You know what I mean...there's men there...and some of them are married...

In fact, many single women will find that there are few straight men surrounding her on the job...

But that just means that we must be even more professional, normally a more effective employee than most, and spend a lot of your own time working long hours trying to be recognized and move up... Kate is a woman with whom I would be friends and would "do lunch" with, going over the various problems we face respectively in our jobs, and gaining the sympathy and sometimes good guidance to help us through it.

And believe me, Kate gets into some fantastic situations, like being called to come "talk a suicidal writer" down from the ledge when she demands that her publicist be contacted!

Or how about the diva who absolutely must be on Oprah, or interviewed by The Talk--or whichever is the latest top TV talk program... Actually, Kate loved her job and did very well in dealing with any situation that she had to face...

including terminating the long-term contract with an author with whom she had become friends...

Of course, it was the boss who was looking at the bottom line and knew they were friends, so assigned what would normally be his job to Kate to handle... but that led to an entirely new issue which was the cause of my frustration...because it's to be in Book 2...

There was also another long-term author, who had lots of fans, but her books were not the tough, edgy, sex-filled novels that the boss wanted to have for the future. But Kate had accidentally heard about that upcoming cancellation...and, wow, you wouldn't believe how she handled that situation--I loved it! Reminded me of something I would do, but just not so dramatically...

So Kate was flying pretty high, gaining a reputation, moving toward handling top authors... There was just that one issue, you know--the one man to whom she was attracted was unavailable...

And he was attracted to Kate and had the power to ensure professional interaction increased...

Oh yeah, there's lots for any women out there who have faced similar situations to enjoy...and, men--the author included Mac's [MacDermott Ellis] viewpoint and feelings as well...so it definitely is a novel that is contemporary professional life that is anywhere and everywhere...It's meant, I think, to be a fun book and it is! It's meant, I think, to show the publishing world (and others) from an insider's perspective, and it succeeds! But, in the end, it also shares those deep personal internal thoughts that we all have when confronted with personal relationships within and without our business organization. And, after all, those are what affects our heads and our hearts the most...

Personally, this was a must-read type of book--and you'll know who you are if it is for you too... Enjoy!


GABixlerReviews

About Kate Mitchell

Only an insider could tell a tale like this. As a workaholic publicist with a big New York house, Kate finds herself at the mercy of a broken system—including books that don’t sell, and author egos as big as the island of Manhattan.


I'm a book publicist at a New York publishing house. Books are my life. Put that remote control down and pick up a book. The world would be a better place. Lives in New York, New York Born on August 22

About the Author

I've worked in publishing for twenty years (give or take). Here's what this book isn't. It's not a slam against publishing (though it is broken) and it's not a slam against authors (though some of them are crazy). This book is not autobiographical though many of the stories are true. No you won't know which ones, hell it's more fun to guess, right? I continue to work in publicity and help authors because at the end of the day I do love books, I love publishing, and I love authors. I hope you'll enjoy this romp through Kate's world as much as I enjoyed creating it. Find our more at: thepublicistnovel.com

So You'd Like to Blog? Guest Aaron Lazar Shares Excellent Guidance!

For Writers: Blogging - What's the big deal?


The Beginning

I'd just finished my sixth book in May of 2005, when I was approached by Bob Burdick to create a piece for his book-lovers' website. "Just tell us about your writer's life, how you manage to work and write at the same time. Tell us about the person you are, and how it all fits together."

I'd never really written much more than fiction, emails, and tech reports at work. And I wasn't sure how to begin. So, as I normally do, I just started writing.

I think back to that day as the unleashing of a whole different type of writing. This was personal, easy-to-read, and fun writing. Sort of like emailing one of my fans, or speaking one-on-one to a newbie writer who approached me for advice at a book signing.

At the time, I didn't think of it as blogging, per se. I didn't really know what a blog was back then. So I called the torrent of mini-essays that ensued "Seedlings" columns. I thought of them as "little seeds of ideas that sprouted in my brain while driving to work or before falling asleep. Not enough to flesh out into novels, by any means, but insistent enough to require capturing, all the same."

A Blog by Any Other Name...

Since 2005, I've written over a hundred and fifty articles. These pieces range from 500 to 1500 words, and cover topics like writing tips and advice, a writer's life, book reviews, promotional tips, slices of life, etc. I keep a spreadsheet that lets me track where and when I've posted or guest-posted, and the list, in itself, has grown
dramatically.

Writers need to establish personal blogs to help promote their work, network with readers and writers, and to provide a home for their articles. But that's not really enough, these days. It's also good to get on a regularly published list of literary journals, group blogs, social media sites, etc. if you can. For example, my short pieces go up monthly at sites like the Future Mystery Anthology Magazine, and The Voice in the Dark Literary Journal.

I also post weekly on my collaborative blog, Murderby4. Every Sunday, I write my piece then post it here on my personal blog, too, and copy it over to one of my favorite social media sites, Gather.com. Often I'll have the energy to do the same at some of the .ning groups, like The Book Marketing Network, or Book Blogs. There are other sites I used to frequent such as EzineArticles.com, Helium.com, etc. Lately I've had a hard time keeping up with all their requirements about so many allowed links per article, etc., so I've sort of slowed down there. But they're all good, and I'm sure you can find your own assortment of places to post your blog pieces in addition to your personal writer's blog. The message here is to take advantage of the time you spend on these articles, and post them all over the place to get more coverage.

From each of the postings, I then tweet the article by simply clicking on the small Twitter icon at the end of each piece. I add key words to the canned pretweet, and often add "Plz RT", which signals my pals on Twitter to retweet the link to their followers. In order not to overwhelm my friends on facebook, I generally post a link to that site just once, linking to Gather, where many folks add their comments and their own observations about the topic of the day.

I also keep a list of subjects I want to write about so I don't run out of ideas. Don't get me wrong - sometimes I come up empty-handed. It's hard to have a column ready every week, never mind while keeping up with the current WIP. I don't know how those newspaper columnists do it!

Why Blog? (I Just Wanna Write!)

Why do we do this? What's the benefit? And how can we justify taking time away from our "real" writing to do these short little blogs?

First of all, it's about connecting with people; connecting on a deep down, personal level. If you can relate to your readers, they might wander over to see what else you've written. Perhaps they'll check out your books. And maybe even buy some! More often than not, however, you'll find the benefit of blogging is a gateway to meeting wonderful people who often are in your boat. These writers may have their own blogs, may be looking for guest posts, just like you. Little by little, by sharing, networking, and helping each other, you can all gain more exposure to readers and blog followers by holding hands and posting each other's pieces. There's a lot of synergy in that model. And eventually, assuming your books are good, you'll start to grow a nice audience for your work.


Giving Back

Of course, you also want to offer something of value to your followers. In addition to hopefully entertaining them, giving them a bit of a laugh from time to time, and offering the benefit of your own observations and experience, you want to help them on their own journey. Be open to newbie writers who have never written a blog in their life. Offer to showcase their new book. Ask folks whose books you've read to guest blog for you. You'll be surprised at how many of the best selling authors actually respond and appreciate the option of reposting their blogs on your site. Always be willing to pay it forward, and offer freebies off and on like contests where folks can win a copy of your eBook(s) or print books. You can host other author's giveaways--that's always a treat for readers--but be sure you don't make the conditions for winning too hard. That never works. Usually I just ask someone to comment on the article to be eligible to win. Simple and effective!

The Rules of the Game

I've sometimes read that blogs should be "short and sweet", that My version of blogging doesn't necessarily meet all the "rule of thumb" advice that I'd stumbled on over the past seven years. I've sometimes read that blogs should be "short and sweet", that you should blog every day, and that if you write something longer than 500 words, people lose interest. I'm not so sure about all that.

So, I don't follow those rules, and in the course of letting myself navigate through this mire with my own instincts, I've managed to create a pretty decent platform. The last time I googled my name, I got over 4,000 hits, mostly from the articles I've written. I've tried to help writers by sharing advice and tips, and have connected on a deep level with so many wonderful folks, not limited to writers or readers. It's been a good run, and I'm grateful for all the folks I've met through this process.

How to Get Started

Don't let all this scare you if you haven't ever blogged or are just about to release your first novel. It's a growing and learning process that comes with time.

Start with your own blog. Gather up your book cover images, a headshot if you like, and links you might like to add to the side bar. If you already have books to sell, sign up for Amazon Associates and get your product links. You can also create mini-slideshows where you feature your own book covers, and it's really easy to copy the code onto your own blog sidebar. 

Blogs are fairly easy and intuitive to create, using a platform like Blogger or WordPress. Usually it's all free, too.

Once you have your template in place with photos and links, etc., then it's time to write something! There's no wrong topic with which to begin. Talk about yourself a little, if you wish. Pick a subject you're wondering about in the literary world. Or offer a chapter from your book(s). (tip - make sure you have your publisher's approval before you publish more than a blurb from your own work - check your book contract.) 

How to Get Followers

Some blogs go a long time without any official followers. And that's okay. You can check your stats to see how many hits you've had. Just keep writing, check out other blogs, and comment/follow them if they suit your interests. Then you can invite folks back to read your blog, and the whole process begins!


Final Caution

It's really easy to get so caught up in the promotion of your work that your free writing time for your WIP almost disappears. Try to get on a schedule. You need to balance this aspect of your marketing plan with the time to actually create more products to market! It's a real challenge.

Hmm. Maybe my next blog will be about how to achieve that balance...

Best wishes and good luck to all, and remember to write like the wind!

Aaron Paul Lazar
lazarbooks.com

http://www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com/ 

A ReBlog - Used by Permission at

Book Readers Heaven

Aaron is a man that I admire greatly...Since I've done and said much of what is here, I know we think alike and would be friends--if we ever met! LOL! That's what is so wonderful about the Internet and Blogging. Most of my time, in addition, to Blogging is of course taken up by reading YOUR books, Aaron's among them and I love his work! When I started Reviewers Roundup on Facebook, this was the reason! You can never have too much publicity...and to ensure your message gets out, you have to build in time to do it and think creatively as to how to accomplish this! It's not hard! Aaron and I have thought independently of the same activities, so all you have to do is think HOW...and read great articles from Aaron and many others!

Join Reviewers Roundup Right Now--It's Open to the Public! Just stop by and visit whenever you can!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReviewersRoundup/ 

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What's Happening at Book Readers Heaven - Celebrating Passing 3000 Posts! Republishing My Review Process Philosophy...

James Patterson Versus Nora Roberts Versus Dean Koontz Versus Stephen King,  Versus Manny Monolyn Moreno, Versus Walter Jack Savage, Versus, Lin Wilder...et. al.

How Does Your Work Rank Against the Top Fiction Authors?

An Informal Talk About My Review Philosophy - Specifically...

Let's Talk about reviews and reviewers...

Do you have a right to question? Sure...!!!!!

So there I was routinely submitting a review, this time for Megan's Way... when I later got the notification of a comment on Amazon...

I take this type of opportunity to remind myself that I need to share my review philosophy from time to time. Note that this post was created based upon my actually responding to a comment on Amazon.

M, I don't know what a number of your comments relate to so I'll just ignore them and comment about your comments/ critique of me personally as the reviewer.

M, I have published a paper on my feelings regarding grading/ranking books... Briefly, in my opinion, it has no value whatsoever. It is illogical for me to attempt to take a top number, i.e., 5, and use it to select a number to equate the work of, say, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, Robert B. Parker, and so many other top authors that I routinely read... To me, if you start from the top down, then those writers who are new writers may never be able to be compared to a top nationally known author. Personally, I think this is discrimination of the worst kind...

I review each book individually and rarely consider ranking, unless I am forced to put one in on sites that mandate it.

Here is my method for grading in a realistic manner, or at least it works for me... One or two stars. I get many requests for books that I refuse to read based upon my posted parameters... too many errors, poor writing, routine publishing issues that should have prevented the book being published. I refuse to read these books beyond 50 pages. Some are so bad that I don't even read beyond the 1st or 2nd chapters. The fact that I refuse to then take my time to proceed to Amazon and report it is apparently what you would expect me to do. Frankly, I consider it a waste of my time, since the whole grading system is faulty and I refuse to play the game when I would be lying if I submitted a review for something I will not read.

Your review giving for instance a one or two...could be based entirely on your own process, as is that of every other individual. If I had agreed to review a book, this doesn't apply as a rule. Instead, I contact the author and explain problems discovered. Most of the time, the author will ask that I do not review the book. Many times, I have also provided documentation related to actual errors so that if the writer wishes, the book can be corrected and resubmitted. The fact that you don't know about those books I've refused to read and either returned or otherwise as agreed by the requester is, frankly, your problem, not mine, since you chose to look at how I grade overall. 

Anyway, by process of elimination the ranking of three is my lowest rating for books I have completely read. I point out that I use, based upon my working at a small publishing company where I had a chance to work on every detail of the publishing process, an evaluation of publishing issues, cover, format, writing and grammar issues as well as story line, so something that gets a 3 will have an explanation for that within my review. If a book has been well done and has a logical story for the most part, but there is something that detracts from an overall satisfying book, it normally will get a four with some reason stated. What that results in is that the top grade is what is left!!!! That does not mean that I personally liked one book versus the other! That's why the grading activity is an unrealistic method for scoring. ...read my words to see what I personally felt about the book!!!!!

If I would be forced to really get serious, then I would have to demand that I be permitted to use a ranking so that I could give, award-winning authors a higher ranking, and then move downward. Frankly I have found that some of the independent writers have created a much better book than many of the well known authors, mentioned above. (So, What do those stars means!!!?) and then go downward to those I would still refuse to read at, say, 1-5... I think you might begin to understand that I pay little attention to how my review rankings compare to yours or anybody else. I've published my philosophy, my process, and I'm willing to share that at any time.

By the way, my personal opinion is rarely used to give a "ranking." I feel I have a responsibility to be able to read and fairly review a book even if it opposes my personal views and still give a fair review. When this occurs, I normally go back to the requester and, you know what, none of them have ever disagreed with my review... I routinely used "words" to voice my opinion rather than a ranking, even though I do rank when required.

Now, regarding your issue with the sexuality content of the characters in this book. Frankly it is obvious to me that this is a personal issue with you. I'm sorry that the book offended, perhaps, your personal opinions. But frankly, the sexuality of these individuals really, in my opinion, had little to do with the overall intent of the book. I could easily defend myself and say that perhaps my writing made it easy for you to misunderstand... but the truth is that those issues were never even a part of my conceptual review material...that the author chose to create these characters that way was really only relevant to the story if the reader decided they were, as you apparently have. 

I am personally appalled by some of the real sexuality issues that are daily displayed on television and other media...and as much as I hate the thought of sex slavery, sexual abuse, etc., that is indeed rampant in today's world, This is where I would place my personal thoughts, but thousands of authors/ screenwriters, etc., continuously write about those issues, and are legally permitted to do so. I would include these issues for information, but would not consider these issues as part of the ranking process unless they bordered on pornography, which I have publicly stated I will not review.

As for sexuality? You really have no right with today's laws to question that a gay and straight had sex. In fact, they have a word for it-- bisexuality...Legally, in my opinion, I am not permitted to question the law as a reason for my review activities. Indeed, I state publicly that my reviews do not discriminate on all those issues covered by law, including sexuality. Regardless, I still repeat that, for me, the sex was not relevant to the overall conceptual story line--and you are blind to today's world if you don't think that the "real" sexual issues happening to our children and teens are not worldwide, but like I said before, the sexual activities were not the thrust of my understanding of the story. My review title clearly shows that I felt Death and Dying within the family was being spotlighted. I believe this "could" be considered to happen across the world? At least in my knowledge of "this" world. Although I do admit to including statements often connecting the overall storyline to real world issues. For me, that's part of how I read a book and believe it may be helpful to potential readers.

M, as an aside to all this, it is clear to me that you are not regularly reviewing, so I thought I'd mention that there are millions of books given free for reviews every single day!!!!! Amazon does it through their own program, but every book site has them routinely. But if you can give me a valid, legal reason to stop this and get every publisher, author, publicist, etc., to stop providing them, sure, I'd be happy to review the books I've purchased that sit stacked to be read and enjoyed, I'd be happy to change my activities. By the way, you should also know that the government got involved in all this several years ago and I've handled my tax issues in accordance with IRS regulations and filed them appropriately and on time for many years. And...the reason you know that all my book reviews are provided free is because I follow government regulations to display that... but if you look hard enough, some of my books have been purchased...but I rarely have time to read those books because of the number of requests I routinely get...

If you have any other thoughts on my credibility, hey, just ask. I've had to put a notice up that I'm not accepting any new requests. And my ratings for whether they are "helpful" here on Amazon by readers is apparently satisfactory according to statistics...

Now, could I ask you one thing...why don't you include a picture? Are you for real? Can I find you anywhere else on the internet? How do we know who you are, who throws out poor ratings so freely?

I note that you often rank low with innuendo and sarcasm and with your supposed intelligence which is compared to those that felt differently than you about a given book... Hmmm, I wonder why your choice of books is not much better? I would think you'd take more time with your purchased selections. But then, I note that many have been "bought" when they are being given free? Kind of ironic, don't you think?

And, yes, the last two paragraphs are meant to be sarcastic. But then, I'm not reviewing a book where I try to be fair and unbiased. Apparently you don't bother with that... I do...

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I Got A Back-Handed Compliment Today! LOL...

I Got notice of this feedback on Amazon today... "What a joke," I completely agreed with this individual's assessment of my review activities...You may too! Father Bascio died before his last book was published. What a Loss to all of us... M. miller

"book lover"

read your reviews and as an avid reader, I have never heard of the books you recommend so highly. what a joke...

I have no doubt you are correct. I have dedicated my review role to help promote little known books from great authors...Sure I read James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Linda Howard, J. D. Robb, Nora Roberts, Jonathan Kellerman, Scott Turow and many others for whom I don't write reviews...but they have help in their publishing activities and lots of fans...so I choose not to promulgate the "groupie" mentality that follows only those that are well-known, adding my review to many others who read only the big name authors. In fact, if you were a new or little-known author, I'd be happy to give my time to read and review your book. Fortunately, there are many others like me who are willing to support independent activities, including those who write novels...Try it, you might find just as many books to enjoy as I do....

And by the way, I don't use my time to read books for which I would give a 1 or 2 ranking...I feel no need to share my time and negative thoughts on a book that is not worth reading..and if a book is not to my personal liking, then I make an effort to understand the goal of the writer and consider the skill in its writing. If more individuals spent time trying to objectively review books rather than just give personal opinions in a few lines, then, in my opinion, the feedback process would be much more effective.

On a personal level, I am amazed daily at how many authors, who reach the New York Bestselling list that I have never heard of...I am amazed, also, that you are able to recognize my "niche"...how many books do YOU read annually from authors you've never heard of? And, thanks for being a fan if you read so many of my reviews!

Review: Maralys Wills Writes For Every Author!

Image by Blumpi via Flickr

Sidney Sheldon calls Maralys Wills
 a "genre-hopper extraordinaire"

Damn the rejections full speed ahead:


The Bumpy Road to
Getting Published




By Maralys Wills




If you are a writer, then my recommendation is given right up front! Add Maralys Wills to your permanent library. As several off her earlier readers said, I read the book as if it were a novel. It was delicious--ok, I admit that part of the reason I said that is that we are very much in tune related to publishing books. In fact, I've already referred to it as I was writing to an individual who had sent me a manuscript.


Now I admit, I'm not sure I would have the patience that Maralys demonstrates when she works on a book for many years. Then again, I'm not a writer and I don't have a driving passion to publish books. I'd much rather read wonderful books like this one and tell others about them! 


Quickly, this is not a technical self-help. It does not include sample query letters, or specifics about book layout or manuscript submission. Instead, Maralys writes this book, I am sure, like she teaches writing--and I imagine her lectures are both very informative and fun to listen to and participate in discussions. 

Wills is called a genre-hopper; in fact, Sidney Sheldon, a famous author of our time, said that he didn't feel he had time to read her book; however, delving into a few pages resulted in his continuing through the whole book and calling her "a genre-hopper extraordinaire" who "will make you laugh and cry and laugh again in the gripping how-to handbooks for writers everywhere. She is clearly a force to be reckoned with." I wouldn't normally quote another's review, but he said in so few words exactly what needed to be said about this book! 

Personally I don't think it is bad to hop around because it is apparent that Wills picks issues or stories about which she is passionate. Although I could be wrong, I think she also hops so that she gains writing experience in various genres, that she then is able to teach from experience as well as gained knowledge. So, in Damn the Rejections, writers will hear about first-hand experience in writing romance, memoir, humor, love scenes, nonfiction and even about writing mystery and suspense "for the male market." 

Having read her book, Higher Than Eagles, a memoir (See My Review), I found her personal story about writing it very compelling since she was sharing her own thoughts "I can still see them vividly, their translucent plastic sails cracking to the wind, and the boys, young and laughing, hanging by their armpits..." (p. 76) And, in turn, Wills' readers can picture her, standing proudly, her face aglow, as she shares both her joys and sadness. 

In many ways, Damn the Rejections is also a memoir, but who better to learn from, than an individual who is willing to share and discuss both the good and bad times in her writing life! 

Now, I believe credentials are important for this type of book--Maralys Wills has published twelve books and teaches novel writing on the college level. In 2000 she was named Teacher of the Year. Educated at Stanford and UCLA, Maralys Wills effectively and efficiently throws in lots of specific writing material on research, plot, dramatic scenes, rewriting, developing characters, and on through to selling your writing, without the reader's awareness that she is being taught... 

But I think her most important and hopefully influential words to writers and aspiring writers are right up front on the first page: 

The highway to "published" is littered with stones

And potholes and dust and authorial bones.

When editors snub me with reasoning spurious

Instead of dismay or descent into furious

A soul-saving litany rings in my head--

Damn the Rejections, Full Speed Ahead.

You just gotta love her! Are you a writer? Then this is a Must-Read! In fact, anybody in the publishing field will thoroughly enjoy Damn the Rejections! 

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