Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Great Review and the Happiest Win!

First the bad news. I'm not writing as much as I planned this month. There are lots of "excuses" but I think the real reason is I'm letting my head hold onto the pressure. All my friends keep asking, "So when will the next book be available?" My mom, "You've got to write the next one faster so I can read it." And so on.

The good  news? I know what I need to do to fix my head problem.

LOL, no, but really. I need to forget that anyone ever read the first book. Forget that some of them are anxiously awaiting another book. Forget the things I found "lacking" in that first book as well as the fact that something important got edited out of the ending. My 15 year old pointed it out when she finished reading. The conversation went like this.

15--"Mom, I loved the book, but it was a bit confusing at the end. You never said what they were going to do. You hinted they were going to do something, but then you just dropped it."
Me--"Maybe you missed it. They're going to Jaron's planet, it's there right before they return to Joharadin for the coronation."
15--"No, you just say," flipping through the book to find the page, "blah, blah blah...."
Me--*head to the wall* I can't believe I missed that!

Now one of the reviews makes perfect sense.

Wait, wait! Okay, I was going to say how I'm going to get my writing groove back on.

1. Concentrate on the positive
There have been some wonderful reviews. I'm taking Carrie Butler's advice from Alex Cavanaugh's Friday post and starting an ADF (Anti Depression Folder) where I keep all the great reviews. Ones like I'm going to post at the bottom.

2. Forget You
Not you the blog or my lovely followers. But forget that other people are going to read this book. It's keeping me from writing that crappy first draft. I need to write it for me in all it's wordy, passive, detailed and often full of backstory glory. Then I can come back and make it readable for other people.

*sigh* I feel better already.

Now, for the WIN moment of last week. 

My 13 year old came home from school, walked into the kitchen giddy.
13--"Mom, I finished your book today! It was SO good. Surprisingly so."
Me--"You did? What was your favorite part?"
13--"I don't know."
Several hours later...it's 10 PM and I'm walking into her room to tell her to turn off her light and go to sleep. She's snuggled up in bed with my book.
Me--"What are you doing?"
13--"Just re-reading my favorite parts."
Me--"Oh? You figured out what it was? What was it?"
13--"When they're on the tram, and then the cave, and when they're running from the Dragumon, and ...."
Me--"So basically the last half of the book?"
13--"Yep."
Me--"And you just re-read the last half of the book?"
Big grins from 13--"Yep"
Me, now dumbfounded and giddy, walks away with nothing else to say.

How awesome is that??

And finally. Here's the kind of review I want to write for now on. It's specific about what she liked.


I am not a science fiction fan.  I am not a fantasy fan.  But I am a fan of this book. This book is the perfect blend of sci-fi-fantasy-romance.  The story is captivating and the characters are engaging.  You want to root for them to find happiness and to save the world from the first meeting.  There are several things about this book that I want to address as I review it.

- Strong Female Character:  Bless you Charity for creating a strong, smart, independent female lead for this book.  Seriously.  The world owes you a favor.  The world needs more Talia Zaryn and less Bella Swan.  She had deep loss early in her life but instead of wallowing in that, she set off to make the world a better place.  And the best part of all… She did it by getting an education and becoming a scholar.  Awesome!  That you for this example for my daughters to read.  Not kidding… Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love story where the soulmates complete each other. Too many times the characters in a love story come to each other and rescue each other in ways that are not healthy.  I loved the pair in this book.  Both of them came to the relationship with 100% and because of that, they were able to create amazing things and be even better.

- Nature:  I don’t read a lot of fantasy books (see above), so forgive me for these thoughts.  I loved the role that the woods and the sun played in the book.  I don’t want to give too much away about the story but I experience my own recharging when I am in the sun and the trees.  When I am outside and in nature, I feel a grounding to my life that I don’t feel any other place.  Nature is healing to me.  I loved that theme in the book.

- Spiritual Themes:  Throughout the book is a common thread of a common spirit and a divine influence.  (It is very Jungian- collective consciousness.)  There is a place in the beginning of the book where a character wrestles in his mind with a demon.  The description of this internal battle was so beautifully written.  I think that everyone can relate to a struggle with a demon in the mind.  We all have things that we struggle with.  I loved how the demon was fed from the emotions of the host.  Isn’t that the way it is for us too?  Our strongest emotions overpower our will at times and we do things in those impulses that we regret.  Anger and Sadness and Fatigue overcome our will to do right or to achieve our potential.  The amazing part of this concept comes in how it is overcome.  I believe that our will is the greatest gift we have been given from the divine.  We sacrifice our will in His name.  How amazing is it that it is the use of will is used to tame the demon in ones mind and gives us strength in trial and difficulty?  I loved the spiritual tones of this book and I am excited to see where the sequels go in realizing the role of the divine.

- Emotional Growth Themes:  Last one… I promise.  There is a part at the end of the book where a character takes on too much responsibility and becomes weak and broken.  How many times do we do this?  I do.  Sometimes the act of ‘saving the world’ in our families and communities becomes a burden that breaks us.  I know that I do this all the time.  I take on the act of doing everything myself to spare someone else the burden.  And then I become weak.  When I am giving all and someone else in my life is taking all, I get to a point where I am curled up in a ball in my mind and don’t want to come out.  I TOTALLY understood this.  I love that this was a point made in the book.

Now for the disclaimer– The author is one of my best friends in this world. I know her well and we have discussed a lot of things over lunch and heart to heart.  She is talented and I was amazed to see so much of her in the pages of this book. It oozes with her ideas and soul. Even though she is one of my best friends, I say this with as little bias as possible… This is a great book.  It is original and exciting and a great read.

Go get it and read it.

21 comments:

  1. Your thirteen year old is a fast reader.
    So you had in your head what was to happen but it didn't translate to the pages? Don't worry - you're not the first to do this!

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    1. Yep. On both counts. I loved Shell Flower's advice that I've got the second book to fix the mistakes. I'm going with that!

      I'm surprised my 13 year old is a fast reader because she only recently got interested in books, but holy cow! Now that's she's into them she's really into them. :)

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  2. You have that second book to fix all the things missing from the first. Wow, and that review totally makes me want to read your book. I wish my son would read my stories :)

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    1. That's so true Shell! Having my kids/family read my book was one of the things I most wanted and feared. Of all the people in the world they are the ones I wanted to be proud of me. Maybe your son will read your stories one day?

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  3. That's right! Forget everyone and write for yourself. You can do it! You can do it! Rah rah rah

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    1. LOL, thanks Beth! I was us all night day dreaming the next scene I need to write. Now I just hope I can get it on paper today.

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  4. Gah about the ending! And this is why writers have to carefully review the galleys!!!! Email me Charity, maybe we can fix it :)

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    1. I hope you didn't think I was blaming WiDo! No, I'm pretty sure the details were in a scene I chose to cut in order to not drag the ending out. Amie and I also decided that scene needed more attention and should be at the beginning of the next part of the story, so the oversight is entirely mine.

      I've got a master list for this second book that has all the clues needed for important elements in the rest of the series so I can check to see they are present and accounted for in the next galley. ;)

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  5. It's impossible to make everything perfect, but in these days it's easy to fix it too...if you wanted to.

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    1. So true! I think I'm going to focus on making the next book even better and that will make me feel better. :)

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  6. You've got to take time to write, otherwise it's pointless having a writer's blog! I hope you enjoy your break and get tons done, Charity!

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    1. Thanks Emily! Sometimes we all need to be reminded though don't we?

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  7. Ah, so you've been wrestling with your own demons in your head. I guess you need some time in the sun amongst the trees.

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    1. Oh Yes Please! A nice little cabin on a mountain with really old trees surrounding me and lots of sunshine dancing through the leaves. *sigh* Sign me up!

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  8. Writing, finishing and having a book published - worth a million bucks.
    Knowing there more to come, you just need to take it easy and let it flow - worth a billion bucks.
    Knowing your very own child loved it enough to reread half of it in a short period of time - PRICELESS!!!

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  9. How beautiful - both your 13 year old's comment the review. Hope your sales are going amazingly well! :-)

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  10. PS how frustrating that an important part was omitted at the end! I'd be so annoyed too!

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  11. Awesome reviews, but especially from the 13 yr old. Awesome, the discovery of books.

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  12. That is such a wonderful thing to hear from your daughter about your book! You have every right to feel proud of yourself :) *hugs*

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