What We're Writing — Susan Elia MacNeal

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: It was the best of weeks. 

It was the worst of weeks.

The best, because I'm proud to say that there are finally finished books completed (just in time for BEA this week) of THE PRIME MINISTER'S SECRET AGENT!

The worst (and, yes, this is relative, I do realize) is that I caught a horrible flu and Mattie also had a tough week with pollen/asthma — so when I talk about "What We're Writing" it's not going to be so much about writing. Not a lot of writing happened this week, I confess.

There was a lot of coughing, sneezing, and blowing of nose. There was a lot of soup and tea. There was a lot of napping. 

But not a lot of writing.

And it's OK. Life happens sometime. First, I was able to do some reading. The novel I'm reading for fun right now is Jane Thyne's BLACK ROSES. It was the perfect read — set in Berlin 1933, it follows the exploits of a young English actress who ends up working in Joseph Goebbels's propaganda films. She becomes Magda Goebbel's confidante and uses her insider status to help the British.


Loved. It. And there's a sequel!

And there was also time for "work reading" — which is still enjoyable, if needing a bit more concentration. This week I read, for research purposes for MRS. ROOSEVELT'S CONFIDANTE: Lynne Olson's TROUBLESOME YOUNG MEN,

Richard Toye's CHURCHILL'S EMPIRE, and 

Catharine Arnold's THE SEXUAL HISTORY OF LONDON. (Ha! I bet I have your attention now!)

And there were also videos: HISTORY'S VERDICT, especially the Chuchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and Rommel episodes:

And then also, HBO's TRUE DETECTIVE. I loved it. I hated it. I hated that I loved it. And I'll probably be writing a post about it at some point about the way it portrays its female characters and its utter and complete failure of the Bechdel Test.

And that, lovely readers, is the news from here. Now that my Jungle Reds Week is over and the flu is abating, I'll be getting back to writing — and also gearing up for BEA (Book Expo America) this week. If you're there, I'd love to see you! I'll be signing copies of THE PRIME MINISTER'S SECRET AGENT at the Mystery Writers of America booth on Thursday, from 1:45 to 2:15.

Have a good week!

SupercalifragilisticexpiBLOGidocious

Hank Phillippi Ryan:  Think of all we've seen that's new. New-new. Siri.  E-books. Leaning in. Blink. GPS. Twitter. Facebook. Blogs. (Jungle Red! Now on its 1,665th entry!)  Goodreads. Free books on Kindle.  Ten years ago? Not a bit of it.

We've also seen--the scourge of one-star reviews. Someone gave my short story "On the House" one star. (Let me say, just FYI, it won the Agatha, the Anthony and the Macavity). WHY did they give it one star? The brief but revealing review said: "Not a book."

Well, no, It isn't a book. it's a short story. But it sure did ruin my average.

Anyway!  Another new thing we've seen is book bloggers. An entirely new phenomenon...and one that changes our lives, molds our thoughts, and --like any fabulous new friend--introduces us to new and wonderful things.

So I could not resist--not that I TRIED to resist-- inviting our own special book blogger to take center stage today.   You know our dear Kristopher..he comments and weighs in very day..and he's pointed us is the right directions so many times!  

So here's our question for the day. Let's talk about reviews--would you write a scathing destructive review? How about just a minorly critical one? Really?

ONE BOOK AT A TIME

  by Kristopher

My name is Kristopher and I am an addict – a book addict.  But my addiction actually enhances my life; my consumption of 2-3 books a week fills me with knowledge and wonder.  My mind is opened to new worlds I want to share with others.  In fact, I never want to halt my book cravings, just feed them.

And so, in November of 2012, I started BOLOBooks.com.

And yet, my blog approach was in sharp contrast to the workings of many existing book blogs.  I just had no interest in writing negative reviews – why waste valuable virtual real estate discussing something I didn’t enjoy?  Plus, I have been around enough to know that simply because I didn’t like a book doesn’t mean no one will.  I firmly believe that every book has an audience and I do not want to be responsible for steering someone away from reading any book

So, I began with a tenet of “No Negative Reviews.”  If I don’t like a book, I just don’t talk about it.  Fellow bloggers told me I was making a mistake.  But I had to do what felt right to me. 

I am happy to report that the author response I have received about this decision has been nothing but positive.  Authors get it.  Even if it means that I might not review their book, they respect my decision and in many cases have stepped up to champion it. 

The relationship between book bloggers and authors should be a symbiotic one.  Book bloggers certainly wouldn’t exist without authors writing books for us to talk about.  And we all know that publishers are cutting budgets for promotion and newspapers are cutting the column space allocated for reviews, so authors are looking for alternate avenues to get any extra promotion they can.

Most bloggers are extremely knowledgeable about the genre they specialize in and many also have a background in the publishing industry.  We understand what the writing life is like and we want to help in any way we can.  Many of us regularly attend the conferences related to our chosen area of focus.  Say hi to us.  Recommend books to us – we are always looking for those “buzz” books – those same ones that you were asked to blurb for a few months back. 

This past week, I attended the BEA Book Bloggers Convention.  It was a one-day event held before the beginning of Book Expo America itself.  It was a vote of confidence when BEA purchased the rights to the blogger convention and they are doing what they can to remind authors that we are out there. 

There are literally hundreds of really good book blogs on the Internet; authors simply have to do some research to find us.  Make it a goal to seek out and read a few books blogs each week.   Some only do reviews, some post author interviews or host guest bloggers.   You will quickly find that you can tell which ones you “connect” with right away.   Remember those.   Reach out to them.   Let them know you appreciate what they are doing.   Everyone craves that type of validation. 

Let us help you in the ways that come naturally to us.  No single book blog can cover every book, even when limiting itself to one genre.  But an author who reaches out and expresses interest is always going to get a response.   We are here to serve you!

So, Jungle Reds and Red Readers, tell us about your experiences with book bloggers.  How can we help you better?  What are we doing right? 

And thank you for continuing to feed my addiction – one book at a time.

Hank:  Our pleasure! So, gang--what book blogs do you read? Who out there has a book blog? What do you think about negative reviews--should bloggers do them? Are book blogs a part of your life?

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Oh--and the winner of THE WRONG GIRL arc is  Julie Tollefson! And (I can't resist because you all are so lovely ) doggonedmysteries.  Email me via my website with your address.   And sure--let's give away another one today to a commenter!

And did you see the CRAZY low price of PRIME TIME on Kindle? I don't know who did it--or how long it'll last--but here it is! Amazing.