A Review of VIKING SUMMER

2 August 2018

A Discovering Diamonds review of Viking Summer by Jen Black

2^nd  

AMAZON UK 

AMAZON US

AMAZON CA 

Romance

Vikings 11th Century

Ms Black has a thing about the interaction between the Norsemen and the Gaelic people in the 11^th century. Just as in her previous books set in this period, she delivers a well-researched and gripping tale, featuring a young female protagonist, Eilidh.

Due to her brother’s lawlessness, Eilidh has been taken hostage by Finlay of Alba, obliged to remain at his court until her brother pays a substantial fine. But Eilidh grows impatient and when her brother fails to show up on the set date she convinces two young men to help her “escape” Finlay’s court and return home. I must admit to finding this a little implausible as no well-bred woman of this century would ride off unchaperoned with two hot-bloods, and as to the two young men, Finlay is their king and they owe him obedience. However, Eilidh’s act of rebelliousness will come at a very heavy price as the little party of three is attacked by marauding Norsemen.

Soon enough, Eilidh finds herself in Dublin, there to marry the somewhat unstable Kimi Torkillson. Not that Eilidh wants to: no girl in her right mind wants to marry this young man who seems to enjoy hurting people. However, it is marry Kimi or be sold as a slave, so Eilidh is trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Leaving aside my concerns regarding the plot device that leads to Eilidh’s abduction, Viking Summer is a fast-paced and well-written story. Against the background of a vividly depicted 11^th century Dublin, Eilidh’s new life takes a turn for the very exciting, even more so when Finlay and her brother show up, determined to somehow find her and free her.

I particularly like how Ms Black describes the religious ambiguity of the era. At times pagan, at other times more than willing to pray to St Patrick and other Christian saints, the Norsemen who have made Dublin their home are pragmatic in their relationship to the gods. They are also cunning traders and brave fighters, more than ready to die on behalf of their lord. Their world is at times very simple, more black and white than grey, but the Norsemen as Ms Black portrays them are no fools, as adept at playing the political game as they are at wielding their swords.

At times, Ms Black’s obvious love and knowledge of the period results in a little too much detailed information which does not move the story forward, however, she does present us with a nicely convoluted plot and a cast of well-developed characters, foremost among which Finlay of Alba makes a lasting impression.

For those in love with the Viking period, this is an excellent read, offering insight into the everyday life of a culture that is often depicted as merely violent but which was much more than that.

© Anna Belfrage

A review I like!

19 April 2018

Queen’s Courier by Jen Black

AMAZON UK £1.20 £8.99

AMAZON US $1.66 $14.53

AMAZON CA $1.95

Fictional saga

1500s Tudor

Scotland

Jen Black’s novels are a delight to read, not merely because of the enjoyment of ‘romance’ but because she is adept at diversifying from one period to another with apparent ease. This one is set in that troubling Tudor era where England and Scotland do not see eye-to-eye. Here, the future Mary Queen of Scots has her life mapped out by her mother, Mary of Guise and the English monarch, Henry VIII. But not all maps are reliable or pre-ordained, nor do the map-makers necessarily agree with each others’ marks on the charts they hope to produce.

The Queen’s Courier is a sequel to Abduction of the Scots Queen, where Matho Spirston had kidnapped Mary, an infant, and given her into the care of Margaret Douglas - Meg - the daughter of the Earl of Angus and Henry VIII’s sister, with Meg then being blamed for the deed. But it is not necessary to read this first novel (although I would recommend it!)  

Matthew, Earl of Lennox, champions Meg but he is greedy for power, and as the niece to the English King, Meg herself  is obliged to retain her virginity and follow the King’s permission for marriage. As for the future Mary Queen of Scots, Henry wants her as wife to his son, Edward. Her mother has different plans.

The author, in addition to being able to write delightful novels, is skilled at taking the reader right into the feel of time and place, by painting visual pictures within her narrative. Her research is well done, as is her depiction of the unsettled politics of the period, with all the upheaval of war, intrigue, scandal, plot after counter-plot and the dangers of being an appointed spy where messages had to be taken in utmost secrecy between Scotland, London and France.

Jen Black’s characters are believable, the diplomacy, the scheming, the hopes, dreams, nightmares and dangers all zip along at a good page-turning pace. The only regret I had is knowing the eventual fate of Mary Queen of Scots!

© Ellen Hill

Amazon rules, OK?

Amazon has altered its customer review rules. Some revisions appeared in late September and others came in October.

• ·        “To post a review, customers must spend at least $50.00 using a valid credit or debit card. Prime subscriptions and promotional discounts don’t qualify towards the $50.00 minimum. Customers in the same household cannot submit a review for the same product.”

• ·        “We updated the community guidelines to prohibit incentivized reviews (a review in exchange for a free or discounted product) unless they are facilitated through the Amazon Vine program…The above changes will apply to product categories other than books. We will continue to allow the age-old practice of providing advance review copies of books.”

• ·        Paid Reviews – We do not permit reviews or votes on the helpfulness of reviews that are posted in exchange for compensation of any kind, including payment (whether in the form of money or gift certificates), bonus content, entry to a contest or sweepstakes, discounts on future purchases, extra product, or other gifts.
• 
  
• ·        “A somewhat murky area is the case of reviewers who post reviews both on Amazon and on their own blogs, with links from the blog to Amazon that result in the blogger/reviewer receiving pay if the person clicking on the link then buys the item on Amazon. It’s not entirely clear at this time, but it appears that this scenario can lead to a purge, because it violates the rule that an Amazon reviewer may not post a review on a product in which the reviewer has a financial interest. Until more is known, a blogger who has monetized his/her blog might be better off not reviewing the same product on both the blog and Amazon.”
• 
  
• ·        Promotional Reviews – In order to preserve the integrity of Customer Reviews, we do not permit artists, authors, developers, manufacturers, publishers, sellers or vendors to write Customer Reviews for their own products or services, to post negative reviews on competing products or services, or to vote on the helpfulness of reviews. For the same reason, family members or close friends of the person, group, or company selling on Amazon may not write Customer Reviews for those particular items.

I don’t know about you, but I will have to read these several times to realise the import. Author Anne Allen talks about the new rules on her blog (see right) and from reading her I understand a good deal more than I once did. Those one star reviews we’ve all suffered over? Evidently some people actually set out to trash competitors by leaving one star reviews. So there you go. The world is stacked against you!

HNS Reviews

It seems the Historical Novel Society is having a re-think about reviews.
I have two  books with them right now for review, so it could not have come at a worse time - for me!

I read a long explanation from Richard Lee on why this has happened. It seems the people who did the reviews do it unpaid and as the volume of titles coming through for review has escalated, it takes too much time for one person to deal with and still have a life of their own.

Another reason is the inherent stigma still attached to indie books by virtue of them being reviewed separately from traditionally published books.

That's one thing. Another is the range of indie books has always been wide and recently the best have got better and those at the opposite end of the scale have got worse. The problem will be in sifting out the good from the less good.

There is a wish to review the best of the indie material alongside the traditionally published reviews. The problem seems to be how to achieve it. I hope an answer is found soon and that the HNS Review system continues and goes from strength to strength.

Indie Award time

 Checked my e-mails for the last time today and was richly rewarded by two reviews from the Historical Novel Society Review section. I sent off both titles earlier in the year - The Craigsmuir Affair and The Magician's Bride. One of them has done rather well and earned itself an Editor's Choice award which means it joins the long list for the 2017 Indie Award.

I can't begin to say how pleased I am. It's been a long struggle to get some recognition for Daisy and Adam and I have put a lot of work into it since I first sent the story off to an agent in 2009. The first response by phone was that it wasn't "quite there" and alterations only collected the words "didn't make my heart sing" on the bottom of the returned submission. I left it alone for a good couple of years, but always with the intention of going back to it. I'll be pasting the actual review on Facebook and Twitter over the next few days.

The Magician's Bride was favourably reviewed but did not make the Editor's Choice. Still, the review for that will be posted too - it is nothing to hide away! The reviewer was not keen on the cover and I have to say I never actually fell in love with it myself , but because I paid money for it and it is at a level of graphic artistry that I may not be able to match, I sent it out there to fend for itself. I'll have to see if I can't make something more suitable.

Say nothing at all

Memories of summer

A  friend is upset because of a poor review. I sympathise. I've had some myself. We have to accept that not everyone has the same taste, in books, reading or in anything else, but some people seem so sure that the fault lies with the author and not with their own poor attention span or the fact that they chose the wrong book for their reading tastes?

These so-called reviews often consist of one star and one line, perhaps two, and  make no effort to describe the setting, the writing style or the story. They are not reviews at all, and Amazon ought not to publish them. The author probably took a year to write the book, and a one line bad-tempered comment is hardly a fair reward for that effort.

 Such people fail to find even one good point, but instead claim the book is boring, boring, boring, dismal rubbish, or words to that effect. All this in spite of the fact that the author has several good reviews from people who enjoyed the book and gave it five stars. Perhaps they don't read reviews before they buy? Perhaps they should. Or perhaps they just like writing miserable comments because it makes them feel better?
It's become a joke that there's always someone on the Trip Advisor website who rates the hotel or venue as one star with a catalogue of faults listed. I assume they were hoping to get their money back - and I hope they did not!

In these days of instant access to the world, it is so easy to rush into print if the slightest thing has niggled  your day. If causing pain and misery is your aim, then go ahead and write negative one-liners. The sensible ones among the reading public will take no notice of them, but simply sigh and say oh s/he must have had a rotten day to write something like that.

My mum always said "If you can't say something nice, say nothing at all." That's good advice for all of us.

Cutting losses

After much thinking I've decided to cut my losses on Viking Magic. It received one one-star review and once the review went up, sales dried up and never recovered. Amazon won't remove the review, so I am removing the book. It isn't easy to "unpublish" something, but we'll see how it goes. Onward and upward, as every writer learns to say.

Thankfully my latest wip is going well and should be ready soon. It is nothing to do with Vikings, but set in late Victorian Northumberland and London where manners count and ladies didn't dare attempt a career if they wished to marry and raise a family.

All I need now is a title, a cover and a final, final edit!

Book Clubs

Book groups

 have existed as long as books have been read for pleasure but it seems they have flourished under social media. I've shyed away from joining, mostly because I don't want to read the kind of fiction favoured by book clubs and I'm not a group person. I'm a sit-back and listen person and observing group dynamics is often more entertaining than the topic under discussion. In recent weeks, there have been a few blogs on the topic, notably one from Joanne Harris ~

http://joannechocolat.tumblr.com/post/106244987266/readers-group-or-literary-groupie


"However, I’m getting increasingly concerned by the number of people who think it’s okay to sneer at people for what they read. It’s not okay to do that any more than it’s okay to exclude other people for what they wear, or what they eat, or what kind of accent they happen to have. Books are universal. They are here for everyone. To pretend superiority over someone because (for instance) you like Kate Atkinson and they like TWILIGHT is to be the worst kind of snob, a literary groupie who wants the world of books to be their own, exclusive yacht club. These people do nothing for the world of books. Instead, they create an atmosphere in which people are afraid to talk about the books they enjoy (or not); in which readers of “serious” books are allowed to look down upon those who read purely for pleasure;"


While applauding Ms Harris for her courage in stating this and more on a public blog, I think this kind of thing is also increasing in real life. Electronic interaction makes it easy to give the impression, deliberately or inadvertently, that certain fiction genres are not worth reading, or that certain authors are rubbish. Journalists have made livings for decades out of scathing reviews and these give the average reader ammunition to fire as if the thought were their own. I imagine individuals hastily scan the online reviews in the hope of finding something that gels with their own view before going to a discussion group. I know I would, if I belonged. One needs something to say, after all and Amazon provides reviews in plenty. One could be forgiven for thinking that very few genuine honest views are presented these days. Or am I being much too cynical?

VAT Clarity and Reviews

This statement from the Bookseller clarifies my last post -  The new European-wide VAT law causing digital products - including e-books and apps - to be taxed in the European member state in which the consumer is located, as opposed to the country from which the product is sold will be introduced in January.
The change will stop multinational online corporations such as Amazon and Google from diverting their European sales through low-VAT countries, but small companies fear that the new rules will also hurt sales of their digital products.

So the petition I've signed is an attempt to prevent small companies - read authors as well as publishers - from suffering from this attempt to stop giant companies avoiding tax. Everyone wants Amazon to pay taxes as it should, but this seems an unhappy way to achieve it. Surely the business brains could think of another way? The thought of having to be VAT registered and send in returns is enough to make me consider pulling out of this writing lark.

On another topic I am very happy with the first two reviews I've received for Abduction of the Scots Queen. (Check them out here ) If anyone has the time, energy and inclination to review it for me, please get in touch! The pic is present day Stirling Castle, where Matho has many of his adventures

Hatchet Job

Have you ever heard of The Hatchet Job website? I had not - until today. A quick glance, after following a link on Twitter, and I see it is a collection of negative reviews on books. I glanced through the one on Morrissey (of whom I have never heard, but appears to be a pop singer) and Anne Widdicombe, and will probably go back later for a more detailed session with the site. How many more poor unsuspecting authors have been humiliated like this?

A A Gill, reviewer, claims
"Morrissey is plainly the most ornery, cantankerous, entitled, whingeing, self-martyred human being who ever drew breath. And those are just his good qualities."
He goes on : "It (the biography)  is a heavy tome, utterly devoid of insight, warmth, wisdom or likeability. It is a potential firelighter of vanity, self-pity and logorrhoeic dullness." Logorrhoeic? I'd have to reach for dictionary to understand that one. Potential firelighter of vanity? Really?
Read it for yourself here:
http://www.theomnivore.com/hatchetjoboftheyear/

It leaves me wondering if there is a site that keeps negative reviews of reviewers? It seems to me that they are often guilty of the same faults as the people they chastise. Perhaps there ought to be such a site.

This makes me happy

A little self promotion today - a new review of Victorian Beauty has gone up on Amazon and since it says more than simply I like/love this book, I'm posting it here:

4.0 out of 5 stars New Twist on a Romantic Cliche 23 Jun 2013

By Margaret Chrisawn

Format:Kindle Edition

There is a plethora of romance novels involving heroines with physical or psychological scars, dark, brooding heroes, a precocious child or two, loyal housekeepers, and remote, rural settings with slightly forbidding manor houses, or even castles. To use any of these literary chestnuts these days is dangerous, I think, unless the author is good enough--and sufficiently inventive--to overcome so many clichés huddled under one roof, so to speak.

Jen Black has done that admirably in Victorian Beauty, which succeeds on a number of levels, where others have failed abysmally. Read the plot synopses elsewhere--I`m more interested in the author's skills at making what could have been a hackneyed tale come alive again, fresh and fun to read. First, her writing is smooth, economical and, in quite a few places, graceful and evocative. There was never one of those moments, on the first page or elsewhere, where I had to sigh, hoping the writing would improve as I turned the pages. It was good from the beginning--what a relief! Second, Ms. Black's setting--the North of England--is one she knows, so now I know it as well, or at least that small part of it. Her descriptions are elegant, imparting exactly what's needed to lead the reader fully into the scene, and then move on. That's a neat trick which many authors have failed to master. Most important, however, are her characters, Melanie Grey and Lord Jarrow. Melanie is neither a beauty nor a typical Victorian noblewoman, but most fortunate for the discerning reader, she is not a "feisty" heroine saddled with the ridiculous trappings of the 21st century. She's vulnerable, to be sure, and she has her moments of fear and weakness, but she leavens those with an endearing nosiness--this woman will pry into things in a heartbeat!--a rather endearing refusal to be obsequious to anyone, including her employer, and a bit of rock-solid strength when she needs it. Jarrow has his moments of brooding, but for reasons that become clear only much later in the book, and are quite a revelation. He may be tall, dark, and moderately handsome, but I don't hold that against him--no one will eventually fall in love with a troll. The interactions between these two provide the requisite sparks, conflicting outlooks on the world and how it works, and an intriguing two steps forward, one step back pas de deux that makes an historical romance so entertaining--when it's done right, as it is here.

Ms. Black consistently writes outside the mold, the formula, or the whatever-it-is of historical romance. Her style, to include the sometimes wry, sometimes quotidian, and almost always refreshing take on her characters and the period she portrays, is a breath of fresh air. Additionally, the two main characters are ones you might want to spend time with outside the confines of a Kindle, and the minor characters are equally well-drawn, beyond the trite and true.

There's a lot of junk out there, folks, so spend your time and money wisely. This is a book I can recommend without reservation, and I don't usually like historical romances,

Don't make fun of Dan Brown

I see Michael Deacon is having some fun at the expense of author Dan Brown in the Telegraph. While I find Brown's writing excessively annoying, I still don't think it is fair or all that funny to attack someone in print in this way. I have to confess the only novel of Brown's I have actually read is The Da Vinci Code, but he managed to hit the target with so many readers that my carping little complaints don't matter at all. Would that every aspiring writer should have such success. Here's the link to the original:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/10049454/Dont-make-fun-of-renowned-Dan-Brown.html

Deacon's piece is a shining example - if a trifle overdone - of overwriting, and for that alone it's worth taking a peek. It's a pity that today's world doesn't abide by the words my mother lived by - 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.' Today it seems no one takes heed of that advice. It is hard to avoid malicious gossip in one form or another, whether it is in the newspapers or on tv or radio. Innuendo and speculation have taken over from news.

Mind you, saying nothing at all doesn't win friends. They tend to take silence as condemnation anyway, so you're damned if you do say something and damned if you don't.  In that case, possibly better to be honest and say what you think? At least then if they won't speak to you ever again, you know why.

I think if I got to be as famous as Dan Brown or J K Rowling I'd ignore the critics, wouldn't read their reviews. After all, their invective is nothing more than journalists taking the easy option to fill a column. It has to be easy to mock something than say why a certain book is so good it deserves all the millions of dollars it has earned. That would take a little thought, but I'd much prefer it if they tried to analyse why certain books are so successful.

You might think the flowers in the pic are pretty - and they are; but if you filled your home with them you'd regret it. Garlic grows in abundance in the woods along with the bluebells.

Two months rain

Our trip out for groceries yesterday was a little more adventurous than usual due to having a month's rain fall in two days. I drove the mini through several "puddles" that covered the entire width of the road and stretched twenty or thirty feet long - and this was up on the ridge, a hundred foot or more above the river. Twice we came up on a "road closed" sign and there was nothing to do but turn around and back track.
On the way home we tried a different route and though we passed plenty of flooded fields, we thought we'd got off Scot-free. Then we saw the car that had just nose-dived into the hedge row above a drop into a flooded field, turned the corner and had to drive through a huge swathe of water where the road dipped down the hill. Take two or three minutes and watch the video click taken in July -  it gives a good idea of life in the region at the moment!

Received a post card this morning from a friend holidaying in Venice - they had to trudge through a foot of water to cross St Mark's Square to get to a concert they'd booked. Seems the whole world is awash.

On a brighter note, this is only my third review for Reluctance: http://romantichistoricallovers.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/reluctance-by-jen-black/
so I have no shame in publishing it here in the hope you'll all read it.

Locked out!

We went for a walk over the Bank Holiday weekend. Picked up the keys, slammed out of the house and halfway down the drive realised we'd picked up the wrong set of keys. Duh. Fortunately we'd left the windows open and hadn't engaged the security alarm. We usually do both, but luck was with us this time. Hopefully we knocked at a neighbours door. Did he have a set of ladders long enough to reach an upstairs window? Amid much laughter, he did, and climbed in through our bedroom window, came down the stairs and opened the door for us, grinning.

For those who are interested in the current trends in reviewing, here's another link:
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/18/how_to_write_a_bad_review/
This one has lots of spin-off links and makes an interesting read.

As for me, I'm away up the hill to visit the Bank Manager this morning, so I can't dilly-dally here for much longer. We've been out walking every day this week so far, and it certainly pays off in alertness, though I can't say it helps with sleeping. I still do most of it after 1am. The radiators warmed up this morning for the first time since May, which means we had a very cold night, and certainly there's been frost on car windscreens. Summer's over, folks. Autumn is here, so look out for falling leaves clogging the drains and Virginia creeper leaves turning a gorgeous dark red. Ours hasn't, as yet, but it will, it will. All the rain this summerhas turned our garden into a crazy jungle in which I've been hacking and tearing all this week. Untold bags of vegetation have gone to the household waste recycling plant (otherwise known as The Tip) and there's loads more to do. And yes,before you ask, interspersed with all this activity, I've edited a good many chapters of my book about Matho.

The pic? Durham Cathedral from the south yard. We were there on Tuesday, and it was a gorgeous day - for an hour, and then it all went to hell in a handcart...

Death knell part 2

Elvet Bridge at Durham

My Monday post on reviews was not some kind of feeble attempt to make reviewers feel bad or guilty for speaking their minds. It wasn't even intended as a form of censorship, or intimidation against those who refuse to gush and hand out four- and five-star reviews when what they have read is trash, or close to it. 

Far from it: my intention was to alert people to two things:1) Amazon weights things in curious ways, and 2) reviews, particularly on Amazon, have more clout than most people suspect. In effect, poor reviews do become a form of censorship, even if that was not the intention. The poor review sends the book down the lists, where eventually it goes so far down it is lost among the millions.

Though some may not believe this, I was brought up to say nothing if I couldn’t say anything nice, so if I read something I don’t like, I just let it go. I don’t feel the need to tell the world when I read something bad. A week later I can’t remember it, (if I ever finished it) and I shrug and say, oh well - there may be a lot of people out there who actually enjoy that sort of thing. I do write the occasional review, and I try to do it honestly, without using fulsome praise unless it is deserved. I've come to realise that even respected publishers have been guilty of using authors in their stable to recommend other authors who write for them. To me, and for reasons I'm sure are obvious, that is valueless as a recommendation.

Bestsellers become bestsellers because lots of people liked them, and say so in reviews. Word of a good book travels like wildfire. There will always be divergent opinions, which are fine in a book group or private conversation. Telling your friends you didn't like book x is fine, a personal view, something we all love. But putting those negative views online to be read by thousands, has consequences, especially if done in a hurried, skimpy way.

The big name authors can stand a few knocks in the shape of a poor review, and often get it from newspaper reviewers (and their peers these days) but authors without a publisher behind them, struggling to write after a working day, with few resources to fall back on – then it seems to me like hitting out at someone who can’t hit back. Some may argue that if putting up a good review is acceptable, then it's only fair that the negative ones should go up too.

Once, when I was only a reader, I would have agreed with that statement. Now I remember the people who raid the Amazon Free lists, pick everything and then publically slate the titles that don’t suit them. Gortner, who wrote the initial piece that sparked my thoughts on this, has, I assume, suffered from trolls, or knows people who have. R J Bennett is another and his blog is amusing ~ http://robertjacksonbennett.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/the-types-of-online-reviews-that-drive-writers-totally-nuts/

There is a difference between a bad review which claims I didn’t like this because it annoyed me/it didn’t excite me/and I hate thrillers anyway….

...and a review that offers constructive criticism about where the book went wrong (assuming it did!), backs it up with examples without giving away the entire plot, and does it from an objective standpoint, not forgetting to mention where the author succeeded.

The three star death knell

Chichester Cathedral

It's difficult, isn't? Here in the UK we're not given to praising something we consider good but unexceptional. We reserve our praise for the truly great, exceptional things that occur only occasionally. I had experience of this difference way back in the eighties when I went to Maine as a Summer Camp Counsellor and was astonished to hear a US counsellor praising a child to the skies for something sporty that I thought was pretty mediocre. Not that I would have told the child it was mediocre, you understand; but I wouldn’t have praised it, thereby letting it know that there was (lots of!) room for improvement.

We got to talking about it later, and I discovered that the US had a system of praising everything in the belief that all a kid needed was confidence, and given enough it would blossom and turn into a prize sportsperson if not overnight, then very soon. In the UK, I explained, a child would have its shortcomings pointed out and be told where it could improve. Ah, those American Counsellors said, that's hard on the kid. But then, it's hard to know which system works best in the long run - constructive criticism versus praise-no-matter-what. Perhaps it's a case of each to its own culture.

But I’ve discovered there are metaphorical playing fields where both sets of players meet head on, and that's the internet where writers, readers and book reviews are concerned. I read last night that Amazon algorithms give any reviewer the power to support writers - or to send them on the slippery slope to obscurity. Reviews of 4 stars or more are rated as good by Amazon. (Authors think they're good, too.) A three star review slips below Amazon's radar, and will penalise a book in the Amazon rating system; it may very well deter sales and therefore destroy any potential income the author would otherwise have received.

I don't know an author who doesn't read their reviews, nor would I believe them if they claimed never to look at them. I'm not saying a reviewer should lie, far from it; there are books that really don't appeal to certain readers, but....in such a case, perhaps it's better to simply accept that in this case you didn't hit lucky, and not review it. After all, there may be many people out there who did like the book. If you decide you must write a review, tell what you liked about the book and where you think it could be improved, but don't give a mere three stars if you wish to read more from that author!

Read more: http://www.epublishabook.com/2012/07/20/amazon-book-reviews-10-cardinal-rules-of-using-reviewing-power/#ixzz24g1cHV9f

Almost as an afterthought, I should point out that until 1st September, DARK POOL, my book about Vikings and Christians in eleventh century Dublin, is available on Amazon Kindle at a special low price of £2.30/$3.61 from 26th August for one week. Check it out -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Pool-Banners-Alba-Sequel-ebook/dp/B004SREKJI

 

 

Reluctance 2nd review

Reviews for Reluctance have been thin on the ground, so I thought I'd put this one up in full for your delight.

3.0 out of 5 stars ENGAGING AND MOVING STORY 11 July 2012

By AC - Published on Amazon.com

Amazon Verified Purchase

Something unusual happened to me when reading this book. I was extremely excited by this story, until I stumbled on a drastic and dramatic situation halfway through, and unfortunately I've never been a fan at all of such an occurrence (I will not elaborate more here) and I was quickly finishing the thirty pages in question, with a sinking heart ...! But against all odds, the author succeeded in recapturing my curiosity at a given time, which is a first because once my interest is lost, it is lost!

Set in 1803, Jen Black does a marvelous job at painting a very brilliant picture of the strangely attractive countryside of Northumberland that has a very important place in that story. I never visited that part of England but I definitely felt at home and ready to go there.

She has created a whole string of wonderfully lively characters. The two main protagonists, Frances and Jack, are a joy to observe and listen to as they interact. There's a very exciting tension between them that began from the first moment they met. There is a lot of emotion and drama with a magnificent and infamous villain who will let nothing and no one stand in his way; he's ruthless and he'll use all possible means to reach his nefarious goal.

Life is often unpredictable and these two people who both went through some difficult times and were not destined to be together, find themselves forced to deal with the accidents of life and at one point they'll have to decide what kind of future they want to build for themselves.

I have to admit that I do understand why the author developed her story the way she did, and the fact that I didn't like a little part of it doesn't diminish in any way the quality of this book. Ultimately I don't regret having read it. She was able to catch my attention again and to me it says a lot about her skill. This will not prevent me from reading her other books. In fact, I already have two on my reading pile ... Fair Border Bride and Far After Gold.

Overall I found this novel very engaging, attractive and moving with some clever and thrilling dialogs. I give 3.5/5.

Reluctance is available now from 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reluctance-ebook/dp/B007ROL46Q

The art of Reviewing

Joanne Harris started something when she complained about reviewers: here
Basically I think she was irritated by reviewers who give away too many plot twists and turns when they review her books, to the point that it made reading the book unnecessary. It was a long article, and interesting, but made no mention of the current craze for non-professional reviewers  to post their thoughts about books on Amazon.

Reading these thoughts can be entertaining, or heartbreaking. Sometimes I suspect people have dashed onto Amazon, clicked on a book title without actually reading the blurb or sampling the text, and several hours later wondered why they didn't enjoy the story. Their review naturally disses the book in question. After all, the book is to blame,  isn't it?
At others it is hard not to notice that authors from the same publishing house review and praise each other's books. It's noticeable even among the hardbacks these days. If the gushing comments are genuine, that's fine, but sometimes that little gremlin of suspicion raises its head and says, rather like Mandy Rice Davies - 'Well, he would say that, wouldn't he? ' because we know the author knows fine well that they'll be due a good review in return.

Is either part of  good bookselling?

Arifa Akbar's answer to Joanne makes interesting reading, too: here

Rowling's new venture

There seems to be a cloud of secrecy about J K Rowling's novel for adults scheduled for publication later this year. Not a hint or a whisper about the content, not even genre. Could she be writing a romance? A historical?  A paranormal? The imagination runs away with ideas...

I suppose it's more likely to be literary fiction, or aimed in that direction. Story of how a pennyless single mother writes in secret for years and finally finds success, and a new lover, perhaps?

It's a big risk she's taking, because in some ways children are an uncritical audience. They either like it or they don't, and if they do, they'll clamour for more, more, more. But adults are a different thing altogether, especially in cases such as this. There will be those that think she has all the success and monetary reward one author ought to have, and that it isn't fair to try for more. Others will applaud her efforts for trying, even if they think the result is pretty feeble. Some will give an honest opinion of the work. No doubt there'll be the one nasty review on Amazon.

Whatever it turns out to be, it will be interesting. I suppose all the Hogwarts fans who are now young adults with salaries to splurge will buy a copy out of a mixture of curiosity, hope and loyalty. The reviewers will be sharpening their pencils. The publishing world will watch with interest. I note she has gone to a new publisher and that her relationship with Bloomsbury was "tempestuous" acording to one report I read.
Sigh. Well, I just wish I had that much clout.

Map reading errors

Reay forest

On 5th November a review for Fair Border Bride appeared on Historical Novel Review, which is very attractive review site you might well want to bookmark if you don't already have it in your favourites.

As well as reliving my trip to Scotland, I'm plodding on with work. Why is it that a synopsis always looks fine until I print it out, which is when I discover that it has mistakes and doesn't read too well? At this rate I'll never have a synopsis that will entice anyone to buy!

The last time I drove the A835, it was pouring down when we left Ullapool and still raining when we reached the Bone Caves at Inchnadamph. The rain was so heavy we didn't dare to get out of the car and attempt the walk up to the caves, but sat inside and watched water pouring down the mountainside in various spectacular waterfalls. So this year our goal was to enjoy the walk up the valley Fuaran Allt nan Uamh before we went on to Kylesku. The weather was OK, it was only four or five kilometres and we had the right map, boots, waterproof coats. (Often a failing of ours is not having the correct map for the walk we wish to take!)

Kyleskyu Hotel

So, we proceeded north, admiring the sight of Loch Veyatie and Suilven beyond, and guessing which mountain was Canisp and which Quinag. Before we knew it, we drove through Inchnadamph, a tiny place with hardly more than six dwellings and a hotel, and doubt set in. As we drove past the confusing peaks of Quinag,we realised we were almost at Kylesku and somehow, we'd driven right past the turning for the Bone Caves.