Tag: Publishing

Books, Critiques, and Writing

On By dotluvs2writeIn Fiction Writing, News Events, Writing Techniques2 Comments

I’ve found I spend the majority of my time critiquing other writers’ stories’ chapters via the online writing group of which I’m a part. I do count those as “reading books”.

I sporadically write and revise my stories with no particular schedule or pattern. Although, I do write pretty regularly, just not every day, that’s probably not the best approach.

If you’re a writer and wondering about writing daily or whenever, I’m not the best example. ha ha.

I’ve read you should write every day at a particular time to discipline yourself, but I’ve also read you can write when the mood hits you. The important thing is being able to finish what you’ve started, and I usually do–more than not!

Because of the activities I just mentioned, reading physical books takes me quite a while to get through. I get through a few pages then set it aside and go back to what I mentioned above.

While browsing blog posts and Facebook groups where people talk about their favorite books for the year or at any point in time, I thought it would be nice to write down the few books I’ve read over the past couple of years that I found extremely good reads.

Warning: It’s a very small list. Oy

The Witness by Nora Roberts — This book was incredibly good with regard to the suspense, storyline, and characters. It really kept me engaged, and it seems difficult these days for me to keep engaged in most books, which is very odd since I’m an author! Well worth the read. FOUR STARS

The Girl Who Lived by Christopher Greyson — One of the best thrillers I’ve read in ages. I read one before this, and it was overall lacking any type of thrill or suspense. But this one had me on the edge of my seat, gave me the chills, and had me worried about what was going to happen to the main character. Excellent character development, extremely exciting, suspenseful scenes, and amazingly, a pretty clean book. The only hiccup for me was the outcome. It seemed a bit of a letdown, but because the rest of the story rocked, I could excuse that. Well worth the read. FOUR STARS

House Rules by Jodi Picoult. I read this several years ago. The best Picoult book I’ve read. Its storyline was fascinating, characters intriguing, and the plot had a bit of suspense in it. Really enjoyed this read. FIVE STARS

The Great Alone — Nothing I’ve read in the past several years has topped this book. It is one of my all-time favorite books. I was totally sucked in, engrossed, and a part of the characters’ lives. The suspense and that sense of something sinister looming ahead carried me through the chapters with angst. I also cried four times in different sections/chapters of the story. AMAZING READ. FIVE STARS.

And there you have it. My short selection. Hope there are some good reads for me in 2021.

Incidentally, my novel, What She Didn’t Know will be out in mid-February to late March 2021. I’ll have a solid date in the coming weeks.

Hope you consider my book while compiling your to-be-read list.

~*~*~*~

One More Try

On By dotluvs2writeIn Fiction Writing, Musings, News Events, Writing TechniquesLeave a comment

I received some more feedback on the blurb for my upcoming novel, What She Didn’t Know. So, once again, I’ve changed it up so that it’s less wordy and more smooth and to the point:

Growing up with an alcoholic abusive father,  Michaela, Gloria, and Seraphima carry deep internal wounds into adulthood.  When a tragic event shatters their world and a long-held family secret is discovered, will they be able to repair their broken ties and heal from the past?

~*~*~*~

What Success Means To Me

On By dotluvs2writeIn blogging, Fiction Writing, Inspirational, News Events2 Comments

I’m very thankful, touched, grateful, and a bit astonished over my book sales. I say this because when I published my book, Passage of Promise, I had a very realistic and sober view of the amount of books I thought I’d sell.

I truly believed I would sell between 10 and 20 copies. That I’d be thrilled to know that 20 people had purchased my book.

But checking out my year-to-date report for all forms of my book sold: International, Print, Digital, Signed Copies, the number is more than 20, and I’m still somewhat shocked, but also so very happy.

Since my book came out May 1 (print) and May 4 (ebook/digital), I’ve sold 100 copies.

If I count the 10 my mother ordered to give as gifts to her friends, I’ve sold 110 copies.

Maybe folks won’t see that as a huge success, but for me, it’s amazing and indeed a success for me, an unknown self-published author (with the help of the best editor I know, D.A. Sarac) with her first ever published book. I feel extremely grateful and blessed.

THANK YOU ALL, who were interested in my book, buying it, reading it, reviewing it. This means more to me than I can truly express.

~*~*~*~