Guest Post: Book Reviews – Self Published Authors, by Tamera Lawrence

Jill Elizabeth posted this on June 21st, 2012
http://blog.jill-elizabeth.com/2012/06/21/guest-post-book-reviews-self-published-authors-by-tamera-lawrence/

Today’s post is a guest piece by author Tamera Lawrence, offering her thoughts on the perils – and rewards – of performing book reviews for (and providing feedback to) self-published authors. This is a subject near and dear to my own heart for a few reasons. First, I too am a reviewer who more than occasionally has found herself contacted by a self-published author seeking reviews and publicity. Second, because I’m hoping to be an author seeking reviewers at some point in the not-too-distant future. While I’m still not sure if I will go the self-publishing route (it’s not my first choice – I still suffer from the snobbishness of a girl who longs to feel the warm glow of validation that only a New York big publishing house can provide), I’m not ruling it out. Despite the aforementioned snobbishness, I want my books out in the world too – and if I try and no one wants to publish them for me, well, then I’ll just have to man-up and do it myself.


If you’ve gone that route, or even if you’re just curious about the process of book reviewing, Tamera’s piece should be a good read for you. Enjoy – and thanks again Tamera for sharing your thoughts and experience!

Book Reviews – Self Published Authors
by Tamera Lawrence

As a Book Reviewer, I have read all kinds of books by many wonderful writers. Many are traditional books. But many are by self-published authors. Without the benefit of an editor, a self-published author can be alone with the editing process. A really great story can get bogged down with unnecessary wording. There is also the dreaded dangling modifier.Although writing is fun, it’s also a lot of work. Sometimes an author is too close to their story. The writer forgets that a reader needs to see what the writer wants them to see. Feel what they want them to feel. The setting, time period and characters and plot need to stand out early on so that a reader gets hooked right from the beginning. A reader needs to care about the outcome – grab onto a character and stay hooked.

Recently, I had to create a few really tough book reviews. I always try to find something good in the writing. Writers can be so sensitive. I certainly don’t want to discourage anyone. And everyone can learn. Improve. I am always learning. I find that the talent is usually there, but the stories are all over the map. I often have to re-read areas to figure out what is going on. Dig. Dig. Dig. Sometimes I will have to search through the manuscript just to find out the time period. An abundance of characters can also leave me looking to grasp onto someone, anyone. The other issue is that often writers tell a story instead of showing it through their character’s points of view. This dulls the story. The reader can’t connect with the characters.

I would suggest that a writer latch onto the many resources available for writers. If you can’t afford an editor, find a trusted friend to read your book – someone who will be honest with you. Reading groups can also be helpful. Sometimes putting your book aside for a few days or weeks can help a writer look at their manuscript with fresh eyes – often finding mistakes or areas that are questionable. You will now be able to see what your reader can’t if rushing through this process. And if you can’t see it then set the book aside again until you can. There is also Natural Reader, which will read your manuscript back to you. The Internet has great resources for writers – critique groups.

Every word should count.

As a book reviewer, I love to experience the wonderful array of books that I have had the privilege to review. Each writer is special and unique. There is so much undiscovered talent. The competition is fierce. So make your efforts count.

As writer I can benefit from my own advice. I deal with the same issues and always working to improve my craft. I have some great mentors and trusted allies. This support helps me to stay focused and to grow.

Don’t ever get discouraged. Get a backbone. And whatever you do – keep writing!

***

About Tamera Lawrence

As a child, I had a vivid imagination and many imaginary playmates. I read anything I could get my hands on and wanted to write books like Laura Ingalls.

In high school, I aspired to become a writer. But life for me took a different turn. I married young and had 2 small boys before I could blink an eye and began helping my husband achieve his own goals. So writing took a back seat as I concentrated on running an excavating business. Along the way, we had four more children, making us a family of 8.
Whew! Still, I wrote in my spare time, writing mostly poetry. As my children grew, I wrote my first novel. It was 150 pages long. I sent a sample to an agent, who remarkedly called me and told me I had talent. He said my book needed to be about 350 pages and that I needed to learn to polish my material. I was thrilled.

So… I took some writing courses, learned how to write, edit and polish. I met a teacher and author, who took me under her wing and showed me how to use POV as well as keep a story flowing. Her influence has greatly helped me in the way a college never could. “THE POND” was half written when I began my schooling and I finished the book in 2007.

I have 2 more books that I am currently working on. I would have to say that my writing a novel comes second nature to me and the challenge now is writing the perfect query letter. It’s amazing how I can write 400 pages of a novel and yet struggle with that one single letter.

But I’m finally figuring it out. OR so I think!

Anyway…God bless all writers.

For more information on Tamera and her work, check out her blog.

Guest Blog Post By Jill Elizabeth - The Importance of Shiny Things

Jill Elizabeth posted this on May 21st, 2012
http://blog.jill-elizabeth.com/2012/05/21/the-importance-of-shiny-things/


The Husband is constantly accusing me of being too easily distracted by shiny things. You know, those things that catch your eye and pull you away from the conversation or task at hand. I admit – I am highly susceptible to distractions. Highly. Susceptible. I have conversations that must be nearly impossible to follow if you don’t know me/how my mind works. I’ve have, on occasion, had to stop and track my own conversational connections backward, to try to figure out how I made my way to the place I ended up. (Incidentally, it’s very fun for me to do this, because I like to see how my brain connects things. It does not appear so fun for other people though – they mostly just shake their heads and/or look at me strangely.)


I can only imagine how frustrating it must be at times to try to talk to me – I really do have the most ridiculous tendency to wander off, intellectually and verbally. I like to think it’s a sign of a furiously working mind that can’t keep up with itself and constantly reaches out for more. But maybe it’s just a sign of a short attention span. Who knows. A friend once told me about a show, either BBC or PBS, that was all about the bizarre interconnectedness of things – I always meant to look it up, but never did. See what I mean? Either working too fast or not working at all. Sigh. Plus, nice tangent there, on TV, huh? Because you know that five seconds after I wrote that I had to go to Google and try to figure out what the show was…*


Anyway, I have a point here, and I’m getting to it now, promise.

So all this talking about distractability and the role of shiny things in attention-getting (and -keeping) got me to thinking about titles and covers – which are, basically, the shiny things about books. (Nice segue, eh? Admit it – you had no idea where I was going with this post, did you? Teehee.) Let me track this one back for you. I was at a celebratory post-dance-recital dinner with The Husband, The Step-Daughter, and The Step-Daughter’s Best Friend the other night and a random giggle-inducing event led The Husband to lean over and say “that’d be a great title for a story” about a particular phrase (which I won’t repeat because I agree with him and want to develop the story before I give the title away). That got my brain thinking about – in order – my own writing (truth be told, most things do these days), my farthest along Work in Progress (which has a great title that I think is perfectly shiny), my other Works in Progress that have good titles (there are a couple), my other Works in Progress that do NOT have good titles (there are an unfortunate lot of them), how hard it is to come up with a good title, books I love that have great titles, books I have that have great titles, books I love that have terrible titles, how awful it’d be to not have people read your book because of a terrible title, how good titles are occasionally paired with terrible covers, how terrible titles and terrible covers keep me from ever picking up a book, how many of those terribly-titled and terribly-covered books are actually very good and how I’ll never know because I’ve never picked them up… By the end, well, I had a post idea AND I was mentally exhausted.


If you’re a reader at all you know what I mean though. Titles and covers are key. Sure, the blurb is important too, as is the first sentence. Without a good blurb/first sentence, I won’t buy your book. But without a good title/cover, I won’t even pick it up to see if the blurb/first sentence have potential. What a tremendous amount of pressure and importance to place on something that is (a) probably only a handful of words long and (b) designed/crafted by someone who is not you (because most of the authors I know aren’t also artists – graphic or otherwise). But let’s face it – we live in a world of snap-decisions and judgments based on few words and even fewer pictures. A world, in short, of shiny things.


But how do you know what the right shiny thing is going to be for your book? Because the grab-factor of shiny things is a moving target – it depends on the state of the world, positioning in the store, current events, and the mood of the people shopping. Shiny things are why I will never love online books/bookstores as much as real books/bookstores. When everything is two-dimensional and flat on my computer screen, I lose the all-important (to me) element of tactility (a Jillism, meaning the tactile nature of things) – it’s harder for a book to grab my attention because all the icons are the same size, the same weight, the same depth. It’s also much more difficult to browse online. When I’m in a bookstore, I wander the aisles (always starting with new releases in the categories I like – bestsellers (to see what has been labeled such, not because those are what I usually buy), new to paperback, sci-fi, fiction, mystery in that order), my eyes skimming over all the titles/covers/spines until something catches my attention. Until, that is, the shiny thing pops. That’s harder to do online – and nowhere near as much fun. Scrolling is just not the same as trolling, you know?


I have no idea what I’d put on the cover of my favoritely-titled (yes, another Jillism – although seriously, shouldn’t “favoritely” be a real word??) WIP. I can’t take a word/theme/image and develop a graphic representation – if I could, I’d be an artist, not a writer (or not JUST a writer). I am not a visualizer – it’s not at all a strength of mine. I also can’t explain or quantify why some fonts, words, images capture my attention (i.e., why some things are shiny and others are not). And yes, I’m a dork, I’ve tried. So I’ll have to rely on the publisher (god-willing) and/or agent (ditto) to come up with ideas – and I’m sure they’ll have their own opinions based on market research, and I’m equally sure that market research won’t actually be any more of a guarantee of my cover’s shininess than my much-less-documented walking-through-the-aisles-paying-attention-to-what-I-pick-up method, because I’ve done market research in previous incarnations of my professional life and I know all too well what it entails (and what it’s limitations are).


Who knows, anyway. Maybe it’s all just serendipity… Maybe the connection between people and shiny things is purely random, experiential, in-the-moment-ness. It’s possible that’s the case with me, because I know I’ve passed by books on some visits to the bookstore and then picked them up on others – I must have, because I don’t always buy the newest books. It’s still interesting to think about what makes the shiny connection click though. Maybe if I can figure it out in the book cover/title context, I can figure it out in my conversational life too. Otherwise I run the risk of constantly losing myself (and others) every time I see something new.

Sigh.

SQUIRREL!!**

*It was, in fact, called Connections – and it aired on BBC. There is also a quiz show – Only Connect – where you have to connect seemingly unrelated/random things. I would have cleaned up on that show. I always wanted to go on a game show – how cool would that be, to be able to use the random collection of facts sitting around in your head for something other than cocktail party conversation or marginalia? I used to think Jeopardy, but now I think this one would be much… UGH. See what I mean redux?!


**If you don’t get the movie reference, I’m happy to fill you in. If you do, well, you’re giggling already, so point made AND objective achieved.

Subliminal events that evoke feelings of "Hometown"

Summers always remind me of celebrations and gatherings especially when I was a kid. The frequency just seemed to naturally come in quick succession. There’s Mayday, the last day of school, summer camp, Fourth of July, country fairs and family vacations. All of these events make me think of warm weather and good times.

As I was writing “The Pond,” I wanted to build upon the idea of creating an ambiance that spoke to the memories of home that we all share. After all, if readers can’t relate to the subject of your story, then the story will be spoken but never heard. One of those memories for me was going to the fair each year. The whiff of cotton candy and candied apples while walking well-worn paths to the Ferris wheel and other rides all come flooding back to me. I am betting that you recall the same general memories too. Those types of memories are what help to shape a story like “The Pond.”

I’ll be writing more posts about “relate-able” events and memories because I think they are an important part in telling a story that has plotlines and situations that are horrifying. Most people don’t experience some of the events that Michael Adams and his family did in their new home. Tying the common thread among us helps to bring the reader along for the ride and experience a roller coaster of emotions.


Pick up a copy of my book, “The Pond,” now on sale at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. Also available on Kindle.

The roller coaster is ready and waiting for you.

"The Pond" is Available in Paperback for $16.95 and can be purchased here

"The Pond" is also available in Kindle Format for $2.99 and be purchased here. Did you know that you can give kindle formatted books as a gift? You can send as a gift to anyone that has an email address.

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Fear of the Unknown

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the most frightening images is not so much the vision of someone with a gun or some other obvious threat? I find that it is the “subtle” nuances that can be more effective. For example, the movie “Silence of the Lambs” was particularly frightening because of Hannibal Lector. His calm, yet menacing communication style inflicted more terror for Clarice than if he were to hold her at gunpoint. Why? Because he is a sociopath and thinks much differently than a “normal” person. She can’t anticipate or prepare for his actions which leave her all the more vulnerable. And, sometimes that can be much more frightening than trying to escape or fight off an attacker.

When writing “The Pond” I tried to incorporate several fabrics of terror. Hearing things in the house that are unexplained, noises that are unexplained, friendly personalities of neighbors who present a secret dark side. The idea of unexplained, mysterious or the unknown can present more anxiety for people than expected results.

Then aside from danger situations involving people, there are the natural disasters or an act of God such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes or tsunamis. These come without warning and many times, can occur without people realizing just how close the danger is lurking. The usual exception are animals. I remember that I was working on "The Pond" and out of the corner of my eye, my dog woke out of a sound sleep and looked intently at the door. Her ears were perked and her nose was attempting to smell what was around the corner. As I watched her, I listened closely to my surroundings. I couldn't hear anything unusual. However, within 10 minutes, a nasty thunderstorm with dangerous lightening descended upon my area of town.

If I didn’t have my dog to alert me to a weather change, I would have been caught off guard. If I were the type of person to be afraid of lightening storms, I would have been terrified! The storm came quickly and made an impressive presence. And, somehow my dog was able to hear and or smell the unexpected. This is true of most animals; horses, cows, dogs, cats etc. are usually very sensitive to the unknown such as storms. They can also be sensitive to potential danger from people.

As a result of my experience with my dog, I wrote about animals and their “extra sensory perception” to danger(s). Be on the lookout for these animals in my book, “The Pond.”

Requesting Atonement from the Dead

From the time we are children to the time that we are adults, the one constant is that people are born and people will eventually die. Whether they die from natural causes or from some other means, we will eventually come to know people that will die before us.


I’ve known some people that have had difficulty saying goodbye to those who have left this earth. Mostly because there may have been “unfinished business” between them. Did one of you forget to say, “I love you” or “I’m sorry?” Silent words and unfinished business can be very frustrating and painful for those who feel that premature death robbed them of a necessary moment.


In “The Pond,” the main character, Mike; has this nagging issue with a childhood friend who lost his life in the pond. No matter how long ago the accident occurred, the feeling and guilt never leaves because there was unfinished business in Mike’s mind.

Thus, the torment Mike felt as a child has grown with him to adulthood. Guilt never leaves until it is resolved. Haven’t you noticed that people will sometimes request atonement from those dearly departed? It’s a way of trying to finish the business and lighten the load of guilt upon one’s shoulders.


Be sure to pick up a copy of “The Pond.” You’ll see exactly what I mean.

"The Pond" is available in both Paperback and Kindle Version! (Special Kindle $2.99)

What was the best time in your Childhood?

I remember when I was growing up; I would spend my summers with my best friend in the country. It seemed that my own life, worries and other cares were miles away. The days began early with a big breakfast and then outdoors until dusk. There were so many things to do and places to go explore.
Chores that my friend considered to be mundane were new and exciting to me. I learned how to milk a cow, brush down a horse and ride bareback. After a full day of morning chores, riding horses and swimming in a creek, the days flew like wildfire. It was this exhilaration of experiencing new things and carefree days that prompted me to write about it in “The Pond.” I still remember those days, even now. And, I’m betting that you remember them as well. They were the best, weren’t they?

Kindle Version $2.99 Purchase Here - If you are a mystery lover this book is one for you. Or send as a gift!

Things that go BUMP in the night (or day)

Do you remember the first time you spent the night alone? Perhaps it was in a big home or maybe an apartment. Were you scared? I think everyone has an unsettling feeling when they know they are alone. Suddenly, it’s as if you can hear every creak and groan of the home settling and the wind sounds a bit more mysterious.


I have a friend that recently did some house-sitting for her boss while she was out of town. She called me and we chatted on the phone for awhile and then she decided to call it a night. She began turning out the various lamps and lights on her way out of the room and made her way up the stairs to the guest bedroom.

Just as she was turning the corner at the top of the stairs, she got the distinct feeling that someone was right behind her. Have you ever had that feeling? I know I have. But, I’m not sure what causes it. Is it fear? Is it the ghost of your Aunt Mattie from the past paying a visit? In any event, I know this feeling well.

When I was writing “The Pond,” I wondered what would happen if we could easily communicate with the dearly departed. Especially if it involved unresolved feelings or emotions. The idea was intriguing to me. Would the dearly departed be forgiving? Or, do they hold a grudge?

I guess it depends on what really happened. I wonder if the main character, Mike remembers the entire accident of his best friend? It might be why things go bump in the night…or day.

Purchase "The Pond" Paperbook Edition for $16.95 HERE or the Kindle Version at $2.99 HERE!

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Are You Affected by Local Legends where a Young Boy drowned in a Pond?

When I was growing up, legend around town was that a certain old bridge hidden by foliage from the road was “haunted.” I don’t know if it is fact, but people’s curiosity confirmed that if nothing else, the mystique was there. Legend was that a young mother was walking over a bridge one day, lost her footing and accidentally dropped her child in the water below. And, according to the locals, her ghost walks the bridge searching for her child. Curious onlookers (usually teenagers) still visit the bridge and listen for the sounds of her steps.


This type of folklore has always intrigued me. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to put this type of theme in “The Pond.” The idea that a legend can sustain and thrive in this day and age simply by word of mouth from generation to generation rekindles the art form of storytelling. Think back to your past; do you remember folklore in your hometown? When you read “The Pond” it will make you wonder whether the folklore is fact or fiction.

"The Pond" is available in Paperback and Kindle Formats at Amazon.com

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Thalassophobia - Fear of Ponds

Have you ever experienced a phobia? If you have, you know that it is a very unnerving experience and can be quite frightening. There are all types of phobias and they can be developed at any age, although most are due to a traumatic event in childhood. I’m sure we’ve all experienced some form of phobia; to name a few:

• Fear of flying
• Fear of the number 13
• Fear of elevators
• Fear of closed in places
• Fear of heights and finally;
• Fear of large bodies of water such as oceans, lakes and ponds.


Are there any remedies for these phobias? The best medicine is psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, or counseling.


Oh, another remedy might be to move yourself and family back to your childhood home and find out how and why your best friend died in that pond.




Now available on Kindle: CLICK HERE for $2.99

Panic Attacks

According to Wikipedia, the definition of a “Panic Attack” is as follows:

Panic attacks are very sudden, discrete periods of intense anxiety, mounting physiological arousal, fear, stomach problems and discomfort that are associated with a variety of somatic and cognitive symptoms. The onset of these episodes is typically abrupt, and may have no obvious triggers.[1]

If you have ever suffered from one of these attacks, you will quickly discover that there is nothing psychosomatic about this disorder. It seems that at one time or another, everyone has experienced some form of a panic attack. I know some friends who have difficulty with this horrible attack and the experience can be terrifying.
The type of attacks can vary by including one or a combination of feelings or physical agitation:
Trembling, fear, rapid breathing, feeling of having a heart attack, heart racing, sweating and mind racing and a host of other types of emotions and physical feelings.


Sometimes, describing a fearful situation can bring on a panic attack…in my book, “The Pond,” I wrote the main characters to have similar experiences with panic attacks that they never had before. Why? Perhaps just reading about a panic attack can bring one on. The only cure is to buy a copy of the book, “The Pond” and read it!


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_attack

Strange Neighbors and How They Can Affect Your Home Life

We’ve all been there…either you tour one of the apartment homes or you go house-hunting and see the “perfect home” for you or your family. Then you run, not walk to pay the deposit, earnest money, whatever is required to secure the home of your dreams.Everything appears to be all that you imagined and more. As you begin to settle into your new home, you hear a knock at the door. After answering it, you discover your next door neighbors that have come to welcome you to the neighborhood! Sitting down and chatting, you begin to notice peculiar behavior, or is the conversation littered with innuendos and unspoken references? They appear to be nice, but yet; something is niggling you.

What do you do now? It’s the neighborly and polite thing to do by inviting them over for dinner or drinks, yet the last thing you want to do is bump into them. Now everything is ruled by whether or not they will be home or see you. So, that means, grocery shopping, running errands, visiting other friends must be planned so that the neighbors don’t see you leave the apartment or home. That uncomfortable feeling refuses to go away.

What began as the “perfect home” is now your prison. If you can imagine this scenario, you will come to understand the anxiousness of Mike and Donna, the main characters in The Pond, a fictional bit mystery bit thriller by Tamara Lawrence. Maybe you should meet the neighbors before you decide on moving!

"The Pond"

Available in Paperback and Kindle Format

Kindle Format is at the Special Price of $2.99!