New Review for Prime Time

I just got a new review for my e-book "Prime Time" yesterday. And wow. I was blown away. It received Five Hearts from The Romance Studio. So thank you, Maura, for taking the time to read my story and for your kind comments:

Review from The Romance Studio:

Somewhere in the future the moon is settled by humans but, like too often happens, it has reverted to a two caste system. The Porters are workers doing whatever they’re told for little pay or benefits. The Techies are the educated, the people with power, control and all the perks. Deena is a popular Porter with enhanced senses. Jake is a Techie. The two join forces to stop the corruption and use of a powerful drug used to control anyone the villains choose.

Vicky Burkholder has built an excellent tale of romance and suspense. Deena, Jake, twin brother Sean, Tam and their friends the ghosts are exceptional characters with honor and courage in the face of some serious threats.. I think Ms. Burkholder has used some great descriptors in her wording to make the bubble they live in and the vents Deena travels through easy to visualize as we read.

I really like the way the author builds the story step by step until we’re in the middle of a conspiracy much more complex than just using humans to experiment with a drug to control them. The whole caste system is explored when some people like Jake and Sean from the Techie security finally find out what’s going on in their world and have some courage to help change it. Even when the unfair abuse affects them they don’t run away.

The computer Zeus is a hoot, reacting much like a human when people mess with his circuits. The ghosts show their skills and value in a world that would have just shot them off into deep space if they’d been found. This is really an easily read book that builds to a peak and literally explodes in the finale.

Overall rating: 5 Hearts
Sensuality rating: Sweet
Reviewer: Maura FrankmanOctober 27, 2008

Websites and Facebook and blogs, oh my.

Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to figure out the value of different types of online presence. Agents, publishers, and even other authors say that if you want to sell books, you have to have an online presence. At the very least, a website.

Then they get into the details. The website has to be professionally created and updated on a regular, if not a daily, basis. And you should have a blog tied into it so you can update that often. And have a presence on Facebook and MySpace and other venues. And participate in social chat sites. And plan to spend at least an hour each week on each of these.

So, tell me something. If I spend an hour each week on all these social activities, when do I get to write? My time is not unlimited. Nor are my funds. If I can't write, I can't sell books, thus earning my income to afford the fancy website and updates. But the flip side is, if I don't participate and have a major online presence, I don't sell books either.

And thus the conundrum.

So if someone out there has a brilliant idea to get past this, please, let the rest of us in on it. Or just me. :)

What I want - and don't want - to read

I just put another unfinished book on my "Give Away" pile. There have been a lot of them of late. What's worse, is I feel as though I wasted my money - something I can't afford to do these days. But I had this gift card...

I purchased two books by the same author. She's quite well known in paranormal romance and there's a lot of buzz about her, so I thought, why not? I had read the reviews on Amazon - mostly 5's, a few 1's - and, of course, a bunch in between. But still, heavily on the top. I should have paid more attention to the 1's.

So why didn't I like it? The author (first name Christine) switch POV (point of view) every other paragraph. I'd be reading in the male POV and suddenly I'm in the female, then back. I wasn't sure whose story I was reading. And yes, switching POV is common in romances, there is still an unwritten rule that it should be done only in major blocks like chapters or scenes. (And no, this isn't Nora Roberts - the queen of POV switching - at least she tells a good story). The only thing Christine had going for her was her world building. She was an expert there, but world building cannot carry an entire story. Her characters were unrealistic, their emotions not believable - at least for me (and the 1's on Amazon).

So, two more books on my pile. Many, many more to go.

So what do I look for in a good book?

Adventure - I want a little excitement, but not a bunch of graphic gore. Give me a fight scene or two, but let me imagine the worst, don't spell it out. Believe me, I've got a good imagination.

Romance - I want a man and a woman with lots of tension between them. But I'm tired of erotica. Once you start giving me the x-rated words, I'm out of there. I've read so much of it that it does nothing but turn me off. Give me tension, but not details.

World building - whether it's contemporary, historical, science fiction or fantasy, show me that you know how to create a good setting. And yes, I do read all of these so when and where don't matter to me, but it has to be real or at least realistic.

Craft - show me that you know how to write. Don't head hop. Understand the difference between "bring" and "take". Grammar, spelling, characterization are all important. Do your homework and let me know you understand them.

Tell me a good story and I'll shout your name to the world.

Waffles

My husband and I have been chuckling all weekend about waffles. Belgian, plain, flavored, with butter and syrup or fruit and whipped cream... all sorts of waffles.

The odd thing is, the fun started not because of food, but because I couldn't decide on something. Actually two somethings. And I was going back and forth between the issues - waffling. Which started the teasing. We had fun with it and the decisions were made, though I'm still waffling on them.

Seems as though a lot of folks are doing that these days. I know a lot of my friends are. Should I stay at home and continue to try to make the writing work? Or go back to the full time job because the family needs the income? Or find something at least parttime to supplement what the significant other brings in?

Decisions.

Something we face every day. Some of them are minor - should I wear a heavy coat or just a sweater? Some of them more major - Should I stay at home or go back to work?

And unfortunately, nobody can make the decision for us. Oh, we can talk about the pros and cons with friends and family, but ultimately, the real choice comes down to us. We factor in all the issues and come up with what seems like the best solution. The big ones are never easy.

But it's nice to know there are friends and family out there who will listen and understand and help.

And eat the waffles with us. I'll have mine with blueberries and whipped cream, thank you very much. :)

Pulp Fiction

I spent part of yesterday with several of my best friends. Four of them to be exact. All five of us are writers. We laughed and ate, and gossiped, and ate, and chatted, and ate... Well, you get the idea. :) Though there is a fifty mile gap in distance, we try to get together once a month. It's not always easy - there are kids, jobs, deadlines, and other obligations to consider. But we do try. And it's always good.

We sit there and commiserate with each other about the jobs, kids, writing, economics, and all the other stuff people talk about when they get together for no specific reason other than just to relax with friends. It is getting more difficult, though, as some must start paying more attention to outside jobs that actually have a regular paycheck.

Writing is not known for its steadiness of income, especially these days. But on the upside, in a poor economy, that's when people often turn to books to uplift them and get through tough times - or at least forget about them for a little while.

Which is why I write and read what is known as "pulp" fiction. These are the books that don't usually have any lasting, deep thoughts to guide you through your days. They are rather a way to escape. To read about others troubles and how they survived and overcame. Whether on another world, in another time, or with beings who exist only in our imaginations (or do they?), these novels get us out of our everyday world. They give us a sense of adventure, or warm fuzzies, a sense of fantasy, or shivery chills. They challenge us, entice us, draw us in, and offer a place of refuge for however long we need.

By the way, if you want an interesting read, check out the Wikipedia article on pulp magazines. Then go pick up a good book, a cup of your favorite beverage, and escape for a little while.

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“Fiction writers are strange beasts. They are, like all writers, observers first and foremost. Everything that happens to and around them is potential material for a story, and they look at it that way.
- Terry Brooks

A Few of my Favorite Things

Actually, the title should be: A few of my favorite websites.

I was trying to figure out what to blog about today and started looking at some of my favorite websites and blogs. These are places I want to go when I need inspiration or a laugh or just to know that I'm not alone in this solitary writing life. So I thought I'd share some of them with you. Some of them are listed here as links. Others will be soon.

A new place to look at was just developed by my d-i-l today. It is a blog about what women go through in their daily struggle between family and job. Her insights are beautiful prose. Take a look at: http://nean-laughingatthemoon.blogspot.com

One place I go to a lot is "Write Attitude" - a place for inspiration, help, or when I just need to know I'm not alone in this. http://www.writeattitude.net

For a chuckle, my son's cartoon "Zoidland" is one of my favorites. Of course, I could be a little prejudiced, but I do like it.

Four of my best writer friends: Natalie Damshroder, Vicki Smith, Megan Hart and Misty Simon have links here. Check them out just to see what they're doing.

There are a lot of other places I go on a regular basis - blogs for friends, agents, publishers; websites for information and inspiration. I'll be adding more to my links as I think about them. But for now, take a look at Laughing at the Moon (the first one here) and leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by.

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"It's never too late to be what you might have been." - George Eliot

Likes and Dislikes

I was sitting in my favorite morning chair wrapped in a nice warm comforter working on my journal, a cup of hot tea at my side. I took a sip of the tea and.... Yuck. Not a flavor I like at all.

It was a new flavor that sounded wonderful on the box with a lot of things I generally like in my tea - lemon, honey, ginseng... all wonderful ingredients. But I must have been in a hurry when I purchased it because I obviously didn't read the fine print in the ingredients. The "lemon" is not the yellow citrus fruit I love, but the herb, lemon verbena, which I do not like at all. It ranks right down there with lemon balm. There's something about the smell and taste of them that doesn't work for me.

So did I force myself to finish that cup, hoping I'd grow to like it? Nope. Past experience has taught me that no matter how many times I try the herbal "lemon" flavors, I do not like them. So I dumped it and got another cup - one that I know I like (Earl Grey in case you're wondering).

And it's become that way with books for me. Henry David Thoreau once said "books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written." Maybe that was true in 1854. But I'm not sure if it holds today. If I read the first few pages and don't like what I see, I will rarely finish the book any more. I just don't have the time to waste. I might read up to twenty-five pages, but if I get that far and it's still not working, that's it. It goes in my discard pile and I go on to the next one. I used to force myself to read a book all the way through. After all, someone took the time to write it and a publisher somewhere thought it was decent enough to publish. But not anymore - unless I'm reading it for a review, then I do read the whole thing.

So I'm asking you - when faced with a book you don't care for, do you read the whole thing just to see how it comes out? Or do you read the beginning and then jump to the end or dump it after the beginning?

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"Keep reading books, but remember that a book's only a book, and you should learn to think for yourself." - Maxim Gorky