Can you believe it’s the end of March already? Talk about a month flying by… seems like just last week I was writing up the February tour reviews.

Anyway, this month I have one book and one DVD to share with you! Today we’ll take a look at the book, and next Monday we’ll talk about the DVD.

So… onward!

Hearts Awakening: A Novel – Delia Parr (www.deliaparr.com)

Synopsis (from the publisher):

If you haven’t visited agent Rachelle Gardner’s blog lately, you’re missing out! She writes quality posts with helpful information, both for unagented and agented writers.

Her most recent post is something that I bet we all need to hear once in awhile, and especially on a gloomy Monday morning: Success stories of writers whose perseverance finally paid off.

The post, “Perseverance Really is Key”, is found HERE.

Head over, read it, and have a Monday Smile (which for me are far and few between!).

So… keep writing.

We can do this!

It’s contest day… there are a PILE of contests out there just begging to be entered whether you’re a writer or a reader!

Contest #1: Beth Revis’ Book Deal!

Author Beth Revis has just received a book deal, and is running a very cool contest to help us all celebrate with her! You can enter the contest HERE.

To make things even more interesting, she’s posted two different prize packages, one for writers and one for readers. Your choice which one you want to enter for! Head on over and celebrate! Maybe you’ll be inspired to work even harder on your own novel.

Contest #2: Book-Lover Carol

Enter Carol’s contest HERE! It’s open to anyone and there are LOTS of books up for grabs! This is best if you’re a YA reader, and there are going to be 4 winners total. Open until April 1st, so get on over there and enter!

Contest #3: Fangtastic Books Giveaway

Now, I’m not sure what this book is going to be like, but it sounds pretty interesting. Either way, paranormal fiction is huge right now so you might be interested in entering THIS contest for Shadowglass by Erica Hayes.

There’s a plot synopsis on the contest page, and lots of different ways to get entries in! The author herself wrote the blog post, so it’s worth checking out!

Who doesn’t want to learn, should perhaps be the question… especially when learning something relevant to your work or craft.

After reading a recent blog comment, I realized that there must be readers out there who simply don’t know where to find these learning opportunities, though they’re interested in being a part of them.

So, I’ve resolved to share with your these great courses and workshops when I find out about them.

Here’s a few upcoming courses in March/April that you might be interested in:

• March 22nd – April 2nd, 2010: Ancient Falconry

Offered by Hearts Through History Romance Writers (RWA Special Interest Chapter) – Course $20 for non-members

• March 29th – April 11th, 2010: What a Wicked Web We Weave – A Spider’s Approach to Subplots in Storytelling

Offered by the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter (RWA Special Interest Chapter) - Course $20 for non-members

• April 5th – 30th, 2010: The Power of GMC: Crafting Compelling Characters and Kick-Butt Stories

Offered by the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers (RWA Special Interest Chapter) – Course $20 for non-members

• April 5th – 30th, 2010: Prose and Contests – Everything You Wanted to Know About Contests But Were Afraid to Ask

Offered by Black Diamond RWA - Course $25 for non-members

…and I only checked out a few places, and these were all RWA chapters! There are many, many workshops out there, from obscure topics to general ones. You’ll definitely be able to find something you’re interested in.

One more tip? Register early! Some registrations close a week or more before the course starts, and others fill up quickly… so if you’re interested, register right away.

Now go learn something!

I’m still revising my NaNoNovel from 2007. I’m not giving up! It’s going to get done, because I love the story and really feel strongly that learning how to correctly edit/revise with this novel is teaching me some very valuable skills.

However… I also know that I should be writing something new at the same time.

For just over a month now, I’ve managed to not actually write anything new fiction-wise. It’s frustrating, but I have this wonderful habit called procrastination that I constantly have to be aware of and consciously battle, or else I won’t get anything done. Yes, I’m one of those people who works best with real deadlines.

So, I’ve realized that I need to have a second manuscript nearly done once I start to query this one. I have no illusions about A Work in Progress (yes, that’s the title!) because from what I’ve heard, the genre is pretty much toast right now. It’ll come around again someday, but for now, no one is buying this stuff.

Which means I have a choice to make:

- Write another book in the same genre (I already have one started) and trust that someday, someone will start buying humorous women’s fiction / chick lit again. I just might be waiting awhile.

- Write another book in a different genre (historical fiction, for which I have 2 plots semi-thought out) knowing that I’d enjoy writing it and could see myself continuing to write in the genre, but thus starting from scratch in terms of taking on a new genre

- Write something in MG or YA (again, I have plots for a few books here too) because that’s what’s selling right now

I think I’m suffering from “too many ideas” syndrome. I also think I have a slight fear of being pigeon-holed into one genre… but then I consider that there are plenty of authors who write in multiple genres, and they all had to start somewhere! I guess you work toward being able to write and sell in multiple genres, taking things step-by-step.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Do I stick to writing another novel in what’s been termed a “dead market”, or do I write something else that — although I love the idea and story and am sure to love writing — would mean I’d have to start my area of focus from scratch?

Ah, choices…

What would you do?

During the month of February, I took a synopsis class from Camy Tang (which I mentioned in a previous blog post). It was very helpful, and if you haven’t had the opportunity to try writing a synopsis yet — or if you don’t know where to start — she’s going to be running the same class sometime in May and I highly recommend it. You’ll get personal feedback and likely a new perspective on your novel that you can’t get from revisions alone.

I know — it happened to me!

One of the assignments in the workshop was a character synopsis, followed by multiple-page synopsis based on our 5-paragraph synopsis we did earlier in the month (the names for which escape me at the moment). After completing both of these, I submitted them for feedback and felt fairly confident about what areas I’d be told were weak. I thought I knew what needed to be fixed, so when the feedback came… I was a little surprised.

Camy has a gift for telling you what you need to hear, but doing so in a caring way that doesn’t make you feel upset or affronted — unless you allow yourself to react that way. She basically told me that my character’s motivation wasn’t believable, and it needed to tie in more to her external/internal goals.

Naturally, I went through several stages of emotions upon hearing this: confusion (maybe I didn’t explain things well enough in the synopsis?), frustration (is she serious?), contemplation (what would it be like if I *did* change things…) and finally, acceptance. Yes, she was 100% correct: my main character’s motivation was weak, wasn’t true to her personality, and didn’t really make sense in the whole context of things.

Imagine my surprise when I started brainstorming how to fix things, and realized that my story would be so much stronger for it!

However, I also realized that if I’d let my initial reaction control me, I would never have been able to rationally accept someone else’ s viewpoint. I was too close to the story, so I was blinded by what I *thought* needed fixing and unable to see the real issue.

After this experience, it dawned on me that taking criticism is definitely a learned skill. It’s natural to get defensive about our word babies, but sometimes we just need to step back and let someone else take a look and truly listen to what they have to say.

I’m extremely grateful for Camy’s feedback, and although it took me a few days realize that she was right, I now also know how to graciously accept criticism and put the advice into practice.

I know that not all critiques will have useful information, and sometimes the advice someone gives you will be wrong — but you’re doing yourself an incredibly disservice if you don’t at least consider what that person has to say, and do it seriously.

And let me tell you, if you want to figure out the weak spots in your manuscript? A synopsis is definitely the way to do it. When your story is broken down to the bare bones, can it stand on its own?

How are you at taking advice from critique partners and other sources of feedback? Have you ever had a reaction like me, feeling defensive until you realized that the other person was right?

Happy End-of-February! To warm you up on this snowy weekend, I have a review for book #3, the final book in our February Blog Tour, courtesy of the fine people over at Graf-Martin Communications Inc. and Baker/Revell books.

The final book is the one that I was least looking forward to reading, initially… and found myself both surprised and thrilled to find that not only did I love the book, but I might even go so far as to put in on my list of memorable reads for the year. Got your curiosity piqued? Here it is…

Beguiled: A Novel – Deenne Gist & J. Mark Bertrand

Synopsis (from promo materials):

In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her…

Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.

Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.

As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

My Thoughts:

This romantic suspense has something over so many other romantic suspense novels out there these days: It benefits from both a man & a woman’s writing perspective, drawing on the strengths of both authors, and it shows. Gist is an established romance novelist, and Bertrand is a debut novelist with a crime-thriller background, which means that both the romance AND the thriller/suspense aspects of the book come across strong. Too often this genre offers up books that suffer in one of the two areas simply because of the limitations of the author, but this co-authorship in particular did exactly what it set out to do.

The main character, Rylee, is likable and quirky, and I was thrilled to see a protagonist with an unusual job… plus, I love animals, so I was able to connect with her passions in that area very quickly. I also found her to be very well-rounded as a character, with good elements and evident flaws that gave her a realism I haven’t seen in recent books (*cough*BellaRossi*cough*).

The love interest thankfully took a realistic amount of time to develop, and even then wasn’t a sure thing. The reactions & actions of the main character and love interest were also realistic for people who are interested in each other — rather than trying to hide behind a facade of “proper” Christianese, the characters are human, with human reactions and emotions. I greatly appreciated this, and I really wish more Christian authors remembered that just being a Christian doesn’t mean you won’t struggle with temptations, tough decision and troublesome emotions… and that you won’t always make the right choice, because regardless of what you believe, we’re all human.

Back to the plot… enough questions were raised and answered in the first half of the book to not frustrate a reader, while also keeping other answers hidden until the twist at the end. The tone & pacing of the book was exacted with definite skill, alternating between lighthearted fun and intense mystery without feeling contrived, and even the inclusion of Christian material (ie. the spiritual journey of the characters) felt natural and normal.

My only concern was that the person who turned out to be the ‘bad guy’ in the end was a bit too obvious early on. I don’t want to say much more in case you read it and my comments spoil things for you, but I was a bit disappointed in that regard. Mind you, the twist turned out to be a lot more complicated than I expected, so that sort of made up for it.

In Conclusion…

What can I say? The book surprised me, in a very good way. I sincerely hope that these authors team up together in the future, and I might even be open to reading more from each author individually.

Definitely recommended. You can read an excerpt here!

Available now from your favorite bookseller from Bethany House,

a division of Baker Publishing Group.

It’s that time again! Today we have post #2 for the February Blog Tour, courtesy of the fine people over at Graf-Martin Communications Inc. and Baker/Revell books.

This month I have 3 books to share with you, all very different from each other: one book I thought I would enjoy and didn’t (see Tuesday’s post), one book I thought might be decent and was (that’s today!), and one book I initially wasn’t sure about but LOVED. Of course, we’re going to save  the best for last, so come back tomorrow for the third and final stop on the February Blog Tour.

Today we have historical fiction…

Abigail (Wives of King David, #2) – Jill Eileen Smith

Synopsis (from the promo materials):

My Thoughts:

Once again, this was the second book in a series for which I hadn’t read the first book… but in this case, it didn’t really matter. You can read this one as a stand-alone because, quite simply, it’s Biblical Fiction. If you know the story of King David (or even if you don’t, really), the book can stand alone because it focuses on a different part of David’s life.

That said, I expected the book to be decent and readable, and it was. Smith is authoritative in her writing, and does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of this historical period. She has a lot of detail to work with (head on over to Ye Olde Bible and have a read of the original story!) and manages to convey both character and story in a way that’s true to the Scriptures but new enough to compel the reader to keep reading.

The unfortunate side of things for me is that I recently took several Seminary classes on the Old Testament/Pentateuch, so the material was too fresh in my mind to be able to really enjoy the book the way I think I might have, had I not been quite as familiar with the storyline. Mind you, even if you’re really familiar with the story of David and his wives, but enjoy historical fiction of this variety (“Biblical fiction” , in other words), Abigail would be a good choice. If you want, head out and grab Michal and start there, as I’m sure it’s just as compelling as this book (if not moreso… I was always more curious about Michal, so I’m interested in seeing how Smith approaches her story… yes, that means I’ll probably read it in the near future).

My primary complaint is that a significant amount of time was spent telling the story from David’s point of view. I know that it’s important to have multiple POVs if you’re writing in third person (another note: I would be very interested in seeing this tackled from Abigail’s first person perspective, but I suspect that can get tricky with Biblical fiction as people are nervous about diving into someone’s brain and adding thoughts when there isn’t clear Scriptural evidence for certain attitudes, etc.), but I found that having so much narrative from David’s POV cluttered up the story and weakened it at points.

Yes, there probably isn’t enough material to write just about Abigail, and yes, I know that David’s story isn’t complete without his side of things (after all, he’s the central figure in the original account) but the story is called Abigail in a series about the Wives of King David. I would have liked to see more about her daily routine, her interactions with other women, that sort of thing. Yes, I know David feels guilty, but why do we need to see him every second chapter? We know his story. We’ve read it in the Bible. What we want to see now is the women’s side of things! Isn’t that why you’d pick up a book with this kind of title?

I realize there are likely fears about diving too much into the speculative aspect of things, especially when dealing with historical characters, but I think we have more than enough information about this time period to be able to derive some kind of thesis as to how the women spent their days and probably how they felt about each other.

In Conclusion…

Abigail is a well written, highly readable book. I didn’t love it, but that was purely my own fault due to my closeness with the material — but I liked it, and recommend it to others. If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a good choice, and it’s the kind of thing you can pass on to a non-Christian friend very easily. I don’t think you have to be a Christian to enjoy this book (due to the time period & the author’s approach to the story) and I think it would make a great study group choice — the kind of thing you could use to complement a study of David’s story in the Scriptures. There’s lots to talk about and muse over… I just wish that we saw a bit more of the women’s side of things, in the end.

Interested? Here’s a little excerpt for you to try out and see if you might like it!

Available now from your favorite bookseller from Revell,

a division of Baker Publishing Group.

It’s that time again! The February Blog Tour, courtesy of the fine people over at Graf-Martin Communications Inc. and Baker/Revell books.

This month there are 3 books to share with you, all very, very different. We have one book that I thought I would enjoy and didn’t, one book I thought might be decent and was, and one book I wasn’t really sure about and LOVED. Of course, we’re going to save the best for last, so come back later this week to see which one was my favorite (and might go on my list of memorable reads for the year!).

We’ll start things off with a contemporary romance…

Swinging on a Star (Weddings by Bella, Book 2) – Janice Thompson

Synopsis:

Life is good for Bella Rossi: She’s managing her family’s wedding business and has a Renaissance wedding to plan for a client, her aunt is about to be featured on the Food Network, and her charming boyfriend D.J. is everything she’s dreamed of… what could go wrong? For one, the best man at the wedding is one of Hollywood’s biggest (and hottest) stars, and to avoid the paparazzi he has to stay at her family’s home. To make matters even more awkward, he seems to be showing an interest in Bella.

From a starstruck sister to a feuding aunt and uncle, Bella has a lot on her plate. Will the wedding simply end in disaster, or will Bella make it through in one piece?

My Thoughts:

I chose this book to review because the press release said it was a “hilarious romantic comedy” that will “appeal to fans of Kristin Billerbeck”. If you’ve been around this blog long enough, you know I’m absolutely a fan of Billerbeck’s writing, so this book sounded like something I’d definitely enjoy — lighthearted, fun, charming, romantic…

With all due apologies to the author, I have to admit, I found the book neither hilarious nor romantic. Since I haven’t read the first book, maybe I was missing out on some character background that I needed to really get into the story, but it felt as though the romance element got all used up in the first book, leaving nothing left for this one. Bella already had her boyfriend, case closed. He’s perfect, charming, lovable, and all around the perfect guy.

Well, when the “Hollywood hunk” appeared on scene (note: another problem I had with this book was dated language… for as young as Bella is supposed to be, she talked like a middle-aged woman sometimes… it was a little jarring, to say the least), the synopsis material made it sound like THIS was going to be where the conflict and romance kicked in. A celebrity taking interest in the main character! Temptation and seduction! (Er, in a “Christian fiction” kind of way, of course.) Here’s where things are going to blow up!

…but it’s kind of hard to relate to a main character who is so perfect that she feels guilty talking to another man. Are you kidding me? In one scene at a play, she’s talking to the Hollywood star and senses that her boyfriend is annoyed at her… for talking to a guest at her home? So, what, she’s never allowed to talk to another attractive man in her life? Not only that, but the implied romantic interest he has in Bella never actually materializes, beyond him smiling flirtatiously across the dinner table… that kind of thing.

I was very disappointed by this — I felt like this major plot point was set up and then abandoned, due to the overwhelming virtuousness of the main character. Her struggles (oh no, he smiled at me! I must be unfaithful!) felt contrived, like a real effort had to be made to have anything wrong with her (there wasn’t), and ultimately I couldn’t connect with the character at all. Bella Rossi isn’t an ‘everywoman’, rather she’s the kind of model Christian that makes other women feel bad about themselves and ultimately hate her for it. I’m not saying I hated Bella (I’m not THAT cruel), but I just couldn’t connect with her character and felt more annoyed with her than anything else.

Look, I’m married. I’m faithful to my husband, and he’s a jealous man (as husbands tend to be). But do I feel awful and horrible and start to think infidelity metaphors apply to me when I talk to another man that I find visually appealing? NO! There’s no reason to feel guilty. The issue would arise if I started thinking about another man, fantasizing about him or dwelling on thoughts of someone who isn’t my husband. Good grief. One five-second daydream and Bella reacts with an intensity as if she’s slept with the guy (okay, maybe not THAT bad). Talk about overreacting.

In Conclusion…

So the book wasn’t for me. That’s clear. But let me say this: Janice Thompson has written a lot of books in her career, which means that she has a lot of fans out there. She’s a recognized name in the Christian fiction community, and just because I didn’t like the book doesn’t mean that you won’t. I’m serious! I’ve recently read several reviews of this book on other book blog sites, and those readers enjoyed the story (though the issue of Bella’s perfection tends to come up in those reviews as well…).

BUT… and this is a big one… I’ve also read that Thompson’s development of Bella in the THIRD BOOK in the series is very different. This is from the author herself! Evidently Bella goes through a lot of tough places in book three, and is forced to evaluate herself and her relationships, and we’ll see a lot of growth from her as an individual. That’s a good sign, and I think it might actually entice me to read book three once it comes out.

Like I said, Thompson’s work is well known, so if you traditionally enjoy her books or other Christian contemporary fiction books, you’ll probably find something to enjoy here as well. Don’t let my qualms scare you off completely.

To help you make the choice for yourself, here’s a link (LINKY!) to a pdf excerpt from the book. Read it, and decide for yourself if this is something you’d like to read. It can be read without book one, but maybe going back to the first book would make a difference in how you perceive the characters in this one. It’s worth a shot!

Available now from your favorite bookseller from Revell,

a division of Baker Publishing Group.