Goodreads Book Giveaway
Falling book giveaway at Goodreads
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Falling – Cherri Red Book 2 Published
Falling – Cherri Red Book 2 is now published on both Kindle and Smashwords.
Dani Walker has spent five years trying to forget about Cherri Red and the summer that changed her life.
That is until she picks up a magazine and Cherri’s face stares out at her, together with a list of tour dates. The temptation is too strong, and Dani has never been able to withstand temptation. When she plucks up the courage and finds herself standing in front of Cherri in the back lot of a run down club in Austin, and when Cherri looks up and meets her eyes, they both know five years is nothing, not for what they feel for each other.
And meeting is just the start of a roller coaster ride for both of them.
Falling is the second installment of the lesbian erotica trilogy involving Dani and Cherri.
Available on Kindle and Smashwords, and in paperback from Createspace.
Falling – Cherri Red Book 2
Finally! I’ve just now, one minute ago, written the last sentence of the last chapter of the follow up to Summer Secrets. This is first draft only, so there’s likely at least 6 weeks of editing and polishing and tidying up, but for anyone whose been waiting for this it’s on the way.
I’ve been distracted and hardly noticed I haven’t published anything in over a year, but that’s about to change. Apart from Falling (and more about that in a moment) I spent last year working on a fantasy novel which was published under another name. Well, that was a disaster. I sold 3 copies in 3 months so I’ve pulled it. The book started out as an erotic short and I should have stayed in my comfort zone. Blood Apples will be recast as the erotic romance it was meant to be, still with the fantasy elements, and be available some time over summer.
Back to Falling, Book 2 of Cherri Red.
When I started book 1 I believe Cherri was the main character. As it turned out, she was a major part of that book, but I believe Dani was the protagonist.
Book 2 builds on that. It’s five years since summer camp and Dani hasn’t seen Cherri once in that time. The dark events that ended book 1 however have come to a climax with the arrest of Greg. Dani is living with Jack but she knows her life is a lie.
A single decision, a single girl, changes all of that and Dani starts living life for herself. At the same time Cherri returns and they start up where they left off.
Summer Secrets has had some great reviews and comments, but one common thread throughout was that most people felt the ending was too dark and downbeat. In retrospect I agree – but hey, the story told itself at that point. Anyway, although book 2 starts to resolve the relationship between Dani and Cherri, it doesn’t resolve it completely, but the ending is upbeat.
PS: During the writing I had one long chapter where Dani flies to London and meets up once more with Amanda of the large breasts and shaved pudenda, from book one. Somehow though the scene didn’t fit with the rest of the book so I pulled it. However, I’ll shortly be posting this as a hot short story here, as well as making it available as a free download through Smashwords. Check back to find out when it becomes available.
What is happening to book titles?
It’s been creeping up on me for a while now, and I’m starting to wonder is it just me, or does anyone else think the same way?
I’m not sure exactly when the trend began, but what I have noticed is it’s becoming more and more prevalent. And I guess I’ve made you wait long enough to discover exactly what on earth I’m talking about, haven’t I?
Book titles.
Or, to demonstrate what I mean: Book titles (a story of love and lust in the American deep south – Book 1 of The Deep South trilogy).
When did writers feel a simple, descriptive title wasn’t enough, but they had to give us an entire synopsis – sometimes the whole prolog, it seems – in the actual title?
I know titles are important. I’ve been posting on a couple of LinkedIn groups recently about the subject, and there I stated my reasons for downloading a book to my Kindle. The explanation comes about because I recently signed up to receive notifications from eReaderIQ.com with lists of free Kindle titles. The email gives a list of free Kindle books, but the list shows only the title and author. If you want to know more you have to follow the link. It made me think about the criteria I use to decide whether to click through.These were:
- The title. Does it attract me and make me want to investigate further?
- OK – the title sounds interesting, so I click through and look at the cover. I have fairly strict rules here:
- Does it look hand drawn? You know what I mean.
- Does the cover look professional? I have a little leeway here, because I’m not so convinced by my own either
- Cover’s OK, so now I read the blurb. Is the writing in the blurb clear? Are there spelling or grammar mistakes? You wouldn’t believe how many self-pubbed books fall at the first hurdle because they put out a badly written blurb.
- How many pages? I never download anything short. By short I mean 5 or 6 pages. I didn’t believe it either, but there are folks out there selling a 5 page ‘novel’ for $2.99 or more. In the words of those clever latin folks: caveat emptor.
- If the blurb intrigues me then I click Look inside. Are the initial few pages interesting? Do they draw me in, make me want to read more?
If I get this far and haven’t been put off – and a single negative reaction to any one of these stages will stop me going further – then I’ll download or purchase the book.
All of which is a long way to leading up to the thing that stops me even getting to first base here: Titles that try to explain the entire book!
I never, ever, ever click through to look any further if it says: Mary’s quest for peace and quiet in a chaotic world – the search for clarity of a woman living in LA (Book 1 of 10 exploring Mary’s introspective lifestyle).
And please, no emails asking me where you can buy this. I made it up. Honestly, I did. But you must have seen similar titles yourself.
So the question is – do they put you off like they do me, or is it just my own prejudice here?
I’m thinking back to some great titles that don’t need any justification.
The Stand
East of Eden
The old man and the sea
Fahrenheit 451
Animal Farm
I’ll stop now.
No, that last one’s not a title. Although it could be. And if it was, would you want to click through to find out what it was about?
I’d be interested to know whether you think I’m alone in this crazy prejudice.
Review of Moonlight on the Nantahala by Micheal Rivers
2 stars
The magic and power of great writers is their ability to draw the reader into their imagined world by making the reading experience seamless. Yes, if we stop to consider, we know the creation is not real, but a good writer makes the whole thing hyper-real. However, not everyone can be a great writer, but even a good writer draws us out from ourselves for a while. Unfortunately, Micheal Rivers is not a great, nor even a good, writer.
I am reluctant to write a poor review for a fellow writer, for I know how long and hard the job is to write and craft a novel, but in this instance I am confused. I found Moonlight on the Nantahala so awkward, so stilted, and in places so difficult to read that I looked it up on Amazon to discover what others thought. This confused as it has received a large number of 5 star reviews (as well as a number of 1 star which appear to agree with my opinion). The general consensus was this was a great book, which confused me even more.
Moonlight on the Nantahala is the story of Edward, an octogenarian who lost his true love many years ago. The tale involves him meeting and befriending a troubled young woman, Lena. There are major elements of a ghost story threaded through the novel. In the story it takes Edward three years before he speaks to Lena, who has been sitting at the bottom of the garden to his old house all that time. When he does speak, for me, things get even worse.
Starting the book, I was intrigued and attracted by the first page. The writing was clean and drew me in, but things went downhill from there.
The dialogue is hard to read, as no-one is able to just say something, they always have to laugh heartily or whisper quietly. And this happens not on the odd occasion, but pretty much every single dialogue point.
And then there are the switches in point of view. Early on in the book this begins to stand out. In one paragraph we are inside Edward’s head, the next inside Lena’s, and the next inside that of his housekeeper, Betty. In some paragraphs the viewpoint is switched from sentence to sentence. I found myself constantly interrupted trying to work out who I was seeing this world from.
I’m confused by this book, and reluctant to post what is a negative review, but feel I need to express my true feelings after reading it. Strangely, in parts, the writing is very good. Micheal Rivers can be excellent at setting and descriptions, can be concise and relevant, but then the swirling head-switching distracts from what is being built.
I see on Amazon the book claims a high selling rank. However, when I look at the Product Details I see it is classified as #72 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Advice & How-to > Parenting & Families > Aging Parents > Aging. The book is neither Nonfiction nor about Aging Parents. I will concede it is about Aging.
So I have a dilemma. I really disliked this book. I can see it has some redeeming features, hence the 2 stars and not 1. However, in light of other reviews, I am willing to concede I may be simply missing something here. But this is my review and not that of anyone else, so I can only offer my honest opinion. Sorry.
Kindle-ling Read-A-Thon 2013
I write a lot, but I also read a lot. I believe for a writer reading is essential. So from today I’m taking part in the Kindle-ling Read-A-Thon 2013. This runs for a week from today, and reviewers are invited to read up to three books and post their reviews.
I’ve cheated a little, because this time I’ve chosen books that are relatively short, so I might actually get a chance to finish them!
The books I’m reviewing are:
His life began deep within the mountains of North Carolina. Edward Caulfield was a dedicated craftsman who appreciated the finer things in his life. As a young man he fell deeply in love and married a beautiful young woman he did not want to live without. Fate took her from him early in his marriage and he lived the rest of his life as a shrine to her. In the twilight of his years he met a troubled young woman and their relationship turned the tide for them both. In his efforts to help her, their lives were changed forever learning from each other. In a world filled with romance, deceit, and sorrow Edward left her a legacy fulfilled with the promise of finding, “The Perfect Rose.”
Fleeing their homes in the city, three teens find themselves on the run with little kids in tow. As people vanish and buildings crumble, they seek shelter in the nearby mountains. Survival depends on their ability to adapt with nothing more than the items pilfered from a crumbling store. Hovering in the background is the constant threat of being discovered by the aliens, adding to the pressure the teens feel having no shelter, a limited supply of food and the well-being of three children to ensure. They must come up with some creative solutions before the inevitable onset of winter, while attempting to remain “invisible” to avoid capture. Being mature and responsible is no longer optional as they deal with their individual personalities, traumas, and learn to raise a baby. Unaware of the extent of the alien destruction, they can’t help but wonder if all their efforts are in vain.
I’ll post reviews when I’m done both here and in other places.
Fifty Shades of Twilight
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Holy Crap — this book is a phenomenal success. I’m minded to hate it just because of that, but I won’t. Until this last week I’ve sat back and watched the posts and reviews and progress of the book with … Continue reading
No – it’s not porn!
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I have a day job. Christ, no — I have a day and night and often weekend job — and in between doing all the stuff I have to do in order to keep a roof over the family’s head … Continue reading
In Memoriam – Alan Turing
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Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alan Turing, mathematical genius and codebreaker who was instrumental in the creation of the world’s first computers when he worked in Bletchley Park, England, helping to break the German Enigma codes. … Continue reading
Review of Breach of Promise by Victoria Vane
I’ve recently started doing some reviews for the Read 2 Review site.
You can read my review of Victoria Vane’s Breach of Promise here.