Posts
* * *
After a spate of school shootings, the story, while fictional, seems terribly real. A mercilessly bullied boy is about to execute his plan to get revenge on his fellow students. Majesty--with a mother broken and unavailable -- "the love of her life snuffed out"--knows that she has cried wolf one too many times. And she has to hide, so what can she do to prevent this horror from happening?
I found myself feeling Majesty's intense alarm in the pit of my own stomach. But, although the author manages to hit me in the gut, I'm not at all a fan of this type of fiction. If I were, I would have given it a higher rating.
* * *
That's an excellent review IMO. In my short excerpt, the reader felt my character's alarm in the pit of her stomach and my story rang as real. That's awesome and encouraging feedback! Couldn't ask for better than that. Though the genre wasn't her thing, I loved what she had to say. She also summarized my excerpt well in detail before her commentary there.
* * *
I didn't like how the author switched tone in each character's head and this myatery was to gothic in spots. Never found out what is was alla bout.* * *
[Typos above are not mine. Hmmm.] And that's not a bad review either. In my novel, I made Warren's scenes darker with a richer vocabulary to reflect his conflicted mentality and intelligence. He is Goth, so I'm glad his scenes came across as Gothic. I was hoping for that. I'm sorry he/she didn't like the switches in tone, but I think it's one of the things that will make my work stand out from the slush pile. And it's pretty clear what the story's about. The other reviewer got it perfectly.
On the whole though, I just think reviewers should rate a work based on the writing itself and not what genres they do or don't like. Just sayin'. I'm happy with these reviews, mostly, minus the flubby fingers. I get flubby fingers a lot so I can't talk. I know alla bout that. ;) Red Bull does wonders or those Dunkin Donuts Mocha Swirl Lattes. Seriously. I totally do run on Dunkin. Perks me right up. Mmm. Later.
~ Signing off and sending out cyber hugs.
I used to run on Dunkin. Now I'm too fat to run.
ReplyDeleteI love it when readers give you backhanded compliments they didn't even know they gave. I have to agree, too; this contest should be about the best writing, not one's favorite or least favorite genre. If it's not your cup o' tea, you should be alla bout movin' on to something else and not determining an author's fate.
:)
Your reviews seemed competent, at least. I got one helpful review and one laughable one, so I'm feeling a bit let down by the whole process.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Darc. I agree.
ReplyDeleteRuzkin, the whole ABNA process is laughable. It's mostly about getting contacts for Createspace rather than finding the best work. Just keep plugging away, polish your book and go look for an agent. You'll be much better off.