REVIEW: KISS OF STEEL—Steampunk Romance

My scheduled guest, Robin Maxwell, wasn't able to be here this morning, I will be having her later in the month and her latest book  JANE: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan.

BUY: AMAZON B&N

KISS OF STEEL

Mass Market Paperback, 448 pages

Published September 4th 2012

He craves her like no other...

Honoria Todd has no choice. Only in the dreaded Whitechapel district can she escape the long reach of the Duke of Vickers. But seeking refuge there will put her straight into the hands of Blade, legendary master of the rookeries. No one would dare cross him, but what price would he demand to keep her safe?

Ever since Vickers infected him with the craving, Blade has been quicker, stronger, almost immortal—and terrified of losing control of the monster within. Honoria could be his perfect revenge against the duke…or the salvation he never dared to dream of.



Kiss of Steel intrigued me from the first moment I read the story premise. I thought the concept of paranormal steampunk romance (mouthful isn’t it?) interesting and I was curious to see how Bec McMasters handled the mix of genres.

Bec McMasters is creative and handles it very well. It’s a fresh take on the vampire lore, and she stirs a werewolf into the mix as well. I liked her idea of its origins of the vampire and how it spread to England (and she offers a different twist to the French Revolution). It’s different but she makes it plausible especially the difference between one who is a vampire and one who merely one of the elite blue bloods (the aristocrats). There is a line they cross to become the dreaded vampire.

She creates a believable world using an alternative historical timeline set ostensibly in Victorian England. There are plenty of steam-gadgets—hackneys, transport boats/taxis—other nifty inventions that run the households or the existing world. Some of the weapons that were cool as were the cadre of robotic weapon soldiers, and extensive use of robotic prosthetics for humans. 

The story does manage to capture the attitudes of the time with regards to science and research. The Victorians also had a hidden fascination of erotica (not the same as sex or sex scenes) and you see traces of that in the story. McMasters’ world definitely has the dark, somewhat bleak flavor of the old British scientific romances of that time period (think HG Wells), except her heroes aren’t powerless or as hopeless.

The romance between Blade, Master of Whitechapel (crime ridden slum area), and Honoria Todd, master researcher’s daughter (and research assistant), is good. It’s the bright spot in the dreary atmosphere of McMasters’ world of London.

Honoria has a price on her head set by the powerful, somewhat profligate, Duke of Vickers. He wants the research diaries of her father, which may hold the vaccination against the craving disease, and he wants her. She changes her name, flees with her young brother and sister to the slums, to escape him. Honoria is smart, fiercely protective of her siblings, and has no compunction in protecting them via scientific concoctions or actual weapons (I liked her gun). She’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe even if that means making a deal with Blade. 

I really liked Blade. He’s a good mix of tough and rough and has a caring heart. He’s gathered quite an eclectic group of people (whom I also liked a lot) that are now part of his family. His great enemy is the Duke of Vickers and he has an information network well in place and knows who the three new residents in the rookeries are and that Vickers wants them. Blade initially seeks out Honoria with the idea of using her to lure his archenemy, Duke of Vickers to him. Both Honoria and Blade have trust issues and secrets, but Honoria has lots of secrets and she isn’t one to share them easily even as she becomes romantically involved with Blade. It’s a point of conflict between them and increases the danger of all involved their world. 

Kiss of Steel has a good set of well-drawn, characters. Well-defined sense of motivations in both the good guys and the bad guys and even the monster on the loose elicits some sympathy. There is plenty of tension and suspense with several mysteries to solve in this story and some good kick ass battles.

Overall, it was a good story, which kept me guessing and turning the pages to find out what would happen. 

MONDAY MUSINGS: PROFESSIONAL MINDSET

Most people comport themselves professionally in the workplace. It’s hammered in that we must have professional courtesy when dealing with clients, customers, and fellow workers. The formality of our actions is determined by the type business we’re in and who we’re dealing with. We answer emails within 48 hours, we confirm arrangements made by email, we send email reminders to customers and clients, we handle cancellations the same way—phone or by email. We maintain confidentiality. At least in my line of work this has always been the routine. I handle myself professionally. It’s a mindset.

Personally, I think courtesy is an important quality regardless of whether you’re dealing with business or personal matters. Courtesy is part of having good manners and manners should be as natural as breathing.

I bring that same professional mindset to my online persona and especially with my blog. I have a personal blog day, Mondays, but the other two blog days feature authors. I have a monthly scheduling calendar. I have to have one to keep track of my guests and topics. Usually, I’m booking a month in advance. I’m dealing with busy authors, publicists, PR firms, publishers, and the occasional agent. This is a business and I handle it as such. Professional courtesy is a must.

Part of the professional courtesy I offer is my guidelines, a topic suggestion sheet, confirmation of guest spots, if I have to cancel for any reason I send an email. My reviews are handled the same way—I list those genres I read and those I don’t. I give turn around times. If I haven’t received an authors article and material the week before their blog date, I send a reminder of the blog date. I do have those few I can tap if my blog guest is a no-show to do a quick article. Or I do it. Cancellations happen occasionally due to sickness, a major conflict in schedules, deadlines, and of course there are those who just don’t show up or respond. The latter usually don’t get invited back.

I don’t get paid for my blog or reviews. But I do try to handle those things as if I were paid. I’ll admit it burns my bacon when paid professionals don’t use their professional manners and I tend to weed these out of my life—I don’t have time for the attitude that they’re doing me a favor by sending me books or guests. *Snort. I don’t need any favors. What I need is professional courtesy and follow-through.

Most of the authors I work with are professional. Writing is their business and promotion is part of that business. I have a great deal of respect for hard working authors and PR people. I’ve made some good friends among them and I treasure them.

Like many, I have a very busy life. I work (I run a call center from home), have a spouse, kids, home responsibilities, a ranch and animals to care for, and I write. My time is tight. Dropping something last minute in my lap, especially a guest post, means a late night getting it set up (on a good day and happy blog gods, I’m done in 60 to 90 minutes). It’s even harder when I still have to go online and find bios, book covers, links to Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or websites. Set up then can take several hours. God forbid if I have to work early morning on 4 hours sleep. It isn’t pretty and a foggy miasma of colorful metaphors abound.

I’m heading into my busy time with work.  As demands of work increases my time online decreases, although I still schedule time for that. I’d miss my online buddies too much if I didn’t. J

What are your thoughts on professional courtesy? Especially as an author or aspiring author?

• When you’re a scheduled guest how early do you try to get your material to the blog owner?

• If you’re a blog owner who schedules guests, as a professional courtesy, do you have clear guidelines for your guests?

Map of Lost Memories - Book Review

“The one thing to remember about an adventure is that if it turns out the way you expect it to, it has not been an adventure at all.”
                  ~Map of Lost Memories

Imagine if F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) had written Indiana Jones, with a female protagonist. There would be adventure, but there would also be lush, rich prose. There would be a treasure hunt (with snakes!), but there would also be seething emotional undercurrents, an exploration of twisted personalities and questionable motives.

This is that book, the Map of Lost Memories, a debut historical fiction from Kim Fay. Set in 1925 in Shanghai and Cambodia, the story is about the search for a rumored hidden temple and a set of copper scrolls that will reveal the history of the lost Khmer people. I first encountered this novel many years ago when I read the first chapter of the manuscript in some contest. I was so immediately enthralled, so pulled into Ms. Fay’s premise and her rich story-telling style, that I immediately wrote and begged for the rest of the story. Sometimes you just know when you’ve touched something special. This work haunted me for years. I am so glad that Ballantine Books agreed and now the rest of the world can discover what I did.

Irene Blum, the protagonist, is a unique character—stubborn, driven, in many ways ruthless, but still with a hidden core of insecurity, of vulnerability. She is a study in control, a focused list maker. She lies with ease if it serves her goals. Early in the book is a description of Anne, an unconventional friend of Irene’s mother, a woman Irene deeply admires and has longed to emulate since her strange childhood days, growing up in a museum while her father was the night watchman:

“As teachers fretfully noted her [Irene’s] lack of interest in domestic skills or other female pursuits, the life Anne was living in Shanghai gave Irene hope. It proved that a woman could do anything she liked as long as she did not care what others thought. Every day, with her maps and books and dreams of lost treasures, Irene practiced not caring.”

This is the woman who, in 1925, dismissed from a longed-for job as a museum curator, a job for which was eminently qualified, except for the fact that she was a woman, comes first to Shanghai and then to Cambodia to prove them all wrong.

“I’m having the hardest time walking back through this” Irene says, “… Not just last night but these past days in Shanghai, the last months in Seattle, I’m trying to get back…before I lost my job, before my father died. There’s a path, there must be a path from here to there, but I can’t find it. I can’t make the connections.”

This then is the crux of Irene’s story. To find a way back to the life she’d planned, by any means, the life that was thrown so off course with her father’s death and the loss of the job she felt she’d earned. This is a book about going after a goal so hard that you lose yourself in the process, and only midway, when you’re in too deep, stopping to wonder if it is really the right goal after all. And if you are really willing to do all that it takes to achieve that, or if the price will be too high.

Her business partner in the hunt for the scrolls is Simone Merlin, a woman who often reminded me of Daisy Buchannan in The Great Gatsby. She is an intelligent woman, but she is driven solely by her emotions, which are almost always raw and on the surface, exacerbated by a mind that is frequently addled by opium or whatever other drug she can get her hands on. She’s brilliant, and Irene needs her, but she’s utterly unstable and unreliable. Simone is a study in contradictions: emotionally and physically fragile, but with a core as hard as the stone temples she seeks. She’s almost bi-polar in her mood swings. Irene describes Simone:

“Welcome to the rabbit hole. I could sit here guessing for a year and the only thing I’d know for sure is that whatever I concluded, if Simone is involved, I wouldn’t be right.”

Both women have been raised with a love for the Khmer people of Cambodia, the lost people who built the largest temple in the world, Angkor Wat, then disappeared as silently as the Mayans or the Anasazi. Each woman has a soul deep need to find their lost history, to find out what happened to them. But each of the women has an entirely different—mutually conflicting—agenda of what to do with the history— purportedly a set of the lost copper scrolls—if they find them. Irene’s and Simone’s goals align, to a point. Where they diverge, it could be deadly. As another character says,

“Both of you plan to use the scrolls to fulfill a dream. The problem is that you have such different dreams.”

There are the men in their lives as well. Henry Simms, the secretive, dying, wealthy art collector who instilled in Irene the love of the treasure hunt, who sets all the players in motion. Roger, Simone’s husband, a volatile political animal more interested in raising money for the Communists than in his wife. Louis, Simone’s former lover. And Marc Rafferty, expat, bar-owner, man of many secrets.

Unlike so many novels today, this historical fiction takes time for descriptions, brief, lush pauses that will put you into the story so fully you’ll feel the humidity on your skin and swear you smell jasmine and spices overlaying the scent of mold and rot and unwashed bodies in the dirty streets. She describes walking into a bar: “The room felt sullen with heat, Shalimar, and the masculine reek of cigars.” And just like that, you’re right there with Irene in a 360 degree immersion into the tale.

In the end this is a love story. Love that can be twisted and dark and suffocating. Love for a people and a place. Love that can save you, if you will let it, but where no one emerges unscathed or unchanged.

Irene’s mentor, Anne, says:

“I’m thankful every day for that moment of recklessness. How else would I ever have made it to the other side?”…”The place where one feels truly alive. Too many people surrender to a place of safety. That place where all they do is long to sleep so they can dream about living. Even if you don’t find what you think you’re looking for, darling, it’s the going out and looking for it that counts. That is the only way you know you have lived.”

I was so grateful to Ms. Fay for taking me along on this enticing adventure, and am looking forward to more from this wonderful author!

Tell me, do you have a book that carried you away and that still haunts you?

~Guest post by Kat Sheridan

 

Born in Seattle and raised throughout Washington State, Kim Fay lived in Vietnam for four years and still travels to Southeast Asia frequently. A former independent bookseller, she is the author of the historical novel "The Map of Lost Memories" and "Communion: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam," winner of the World Gourmand Cookbook Awards' Best Asian Cuisine Book in the United States. I am also the creator/​editor of the To Asia With Love guidebook series. The Map of Lost Memories is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as fine independant bookstores like Elliott Bay Book Company.

MONDAY MUSINGS—LETS TALK ABOUT GETTING REVIEWS

Having a book published is a joyous thing for a writer. The first idea to finished product is a lot of work and while you can breathe a sigh relief because it’s done, there is still much work ahead of you. What about reviews and blog tours? Let's talk about reviews.

• What sort of groundwork have you laid, as an author, to get your books from the sale shelf to the hands of readers? 

• Are you creating a buzz for your work (notice I said work and not just the current book)? Have you planned which reviewers to approach?

• If you’re with a small press or self published, will you have reader’s copies (electronic or print) available in enough time to allow reviewers to read it and publish the reviews before the book is released?

The reviews are generally released the month leading up to the release date. That buzz builds anticipation in readers for getting their hands on the book and reading it—because so and so said it was really good. Good, but honest reviews can boost your sales.

How does the book get to a reviewer?

Some traditional publishers are more involved than others in getting author’s books to reviewers. Aside from the handful of reviewers they might use (and most aren’t going to be People magazine or the New York Times) they will also make copies available to review sites.

Netgalley  is a big one of late. Reviewers (they’re touted as professional readers) can request books from the publisher to review. NG has publishers big and small, which is good because it’s equal opportunity. Reviewers have a profile on the site that publishers can vet prior to releasing a book for them to review (it’s a publisher/publicity team decision). The publisher may only release a few books to a few reviewers or they can release a blanket amount available to many approved reviewers (and because most of the books are electronic galleys or uncorrected Advance Reader Copies {ARC}, it’s very cost effective).

Night Owl  is another good-sized review site and they have a group of reviewers on hand to review about any genre. There are also Book Blogs that review books.

What about the author?

The author cannot simply rely on the publisher to do this work. Authors need to be proactive, not reactive. A smart author has done their research, especially with book blogs and they know who reviews what. They’ve asked fellow authors for reviewer recommendations, they’ve checked out the names of those who do reviews, for example, on Goodreads, and know what genre those reviewers read. Or at least they should have been doing that.

When approaching people to review your books, here are a couple of things to keep in mind.

• Look for those reviewers who read the genre you write. This is important because the best reviewers are going to be those who enjoy reading the type of story you write. They know what to expect from the story, they know the type of words used, plot settings, and characters. They are your target audience (the ones you’re writing for and who buy that genre) and those who read their reviews or follow their blogs, for most part, read your genre. 

• Keep in mind reviewers (and book blogs) are booked in advance. We have been provided an ARC (advance readers copy) at least two to three months prior to release date (for example, I’m now receiving ARCs for November and December release). That gives us time to read and write the review. Don’t approach them a week before your book is out and expect to get a positive response. If you’re self-publishing, plan to have a reader’s copy ready at least four to six weeks before you release the book. Hint: electronic galley copy

Don’t forget your beta readers. Get them involved to write a review. 

If I might offer a suggestion, don’t have them all release just the book cover and blurb (that’s not a review) on the same day on their blog. I may want to support the author, but oh my god, fifteen blogs with the exact same information is not fun. Have each add something different—tell me something unique about the author, about a character, or something fun about the setting, or something brief about what they enjoyed about the book. 

It’s all about laying the proper groundwork. Planning the release of your book with as much care as you did in writing the story.

• What sort of groundwork do you put into the release of your books? 

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SMALL TOWN NIRVANA

I bought a set of these, aren't they darling?

My guest today is the amazing Beth Ciotta. I say amazing because Beth has accomplished much in her life—for a quirky daydreamer. She pursued a career in the arts, first as a professional singer, then as a variety performer, character actress, and dancer. Finally, she remembered her early love of writing and started writing contemporary romance and has been published since 2002. 

I have yet to read a story from Beth that I haven't loved. She's a gifted storyteller and I'm sure her background has helped in crafting such entertaining stories. 

Her latest sinful release, is A FOOL FOR LOVE, from the Cupcake Lovers club series. It's set in a charming little town called, Sugar Creek, Vermont. Oh, I had lots of fun with this story and I'm looking forward to THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE (with two characters I loved in book one). 

I asked Beth what drew her to a small town setting for story.  

Nirvana is one of my new favorite words. A place or state of oblivion.  Bliss. Heaven. Who wouldn’t want to live in a place or state of bliss?  Of course, like everything in life “nirvana” is subjective. My idea of heaven is the small fictional town of Sugar Creek, Vermont. The small community featured in my new series: The Cupcake Lovers.

 

Chocolate Porter Coffee cupcakes
recipe by Raspberryeggplant RECIPE

At its conception, I knew the Cupcake Lovers series would take place in a small town. But where? My first thought was Indiana. I grew up in a small town in Indiana. I know the area. The folk. The rhythm. It wouldn’t take much research to create an authentic community.  But then my husband reminded me that I’d already set a few of my books in the Hoosier State. True, true. Time to go somewhere new.

First choice: Vermont.

I’ve never been to Vermont, but I’ve always had the urge to go. I’m entranced by the scenery. The stunning mountains. The lush valleys. The vibrant foliage of the autumn season. I thought about the Sugar Maple trees. Maple syrup. Vermont maple syrup.  I had this vivid image of a small boy pouring syrup into an ice cold creek to make the water sweet for his girlfriend.

Sugar Creek.

In that moment I knew my town would bear the same name as the creek, which would forever spur the distinction between locals—“The creek, not the town.” Or… “The town, not the creek.” I envisioned a Mayberry-like setting comprised of buildings that stood no more than three-stories high. Some of the building were converted, brightly painted barns.  Every business was independently owned. Lots of local artisans, antique stores, a family operated department store, and an old-fashioned General Store where everyone shopped for groceries and gossiped about the latest going-ons. Sugar Creek exploded in my mind, as did the people who populated the quaint tourist town year round.

  

Chloe Madison, the heroine in the launch book FOOL FOR LOVE, moves to Sugar Creek to start a new life. I got to learn my way about town right alongside her. Together we delighted at the camaraderie and creativity of the Cupcake Lovers club. We marveled at the complex and tightly-knitted relationships between friends and family, the secrets and rivalries, and the budding and failing romances. A community that celebrated the best of times and pulled together in the worst.

Like Chloe, I felt as if I’d found a new home. Imagine my glee knowing I wouldn’t be leaving Sugar Creek any time soon. There are at least three more books in the Cupcake Lovers series. Next up: The Trouble with Love, coming out March 26, 2013. And, as my amended cliché goes, the plot (and the cupcake batter) thickens.  Nirvana! 

• Do you like cupcakes? Beth has a collection of cupcake recipes on her blog and she shares in her book.

~*~*~*~

  

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, B-A-M

FOOL FOR LOVE

Beth Ciotta

Call her a fool, but chef-in-training Chloe Madison wants to have her cake and eat it too. So when her boyfriend dumps her for some French tart, she decides to start over from scratch—with a new life and job in Sugar Creek, Vermont. What could be sweeter than cooking for an eccentric lady who’s crazy for desserts? What could be more tempting than joining a club called the Cupcake Lovers? Just one thing: local business-hunk Devlin Monroe…

Although he’s the grandson of Chloe’s fun-loving boss, Devlin Monroe is all work and no play. Micro-managing the family business, he doesn’t have time to indulge in life’s sweetest pleasures—until he meets Chloe. How can he resist such a vibrant, beautiful woman who brings so much passion to the table? But when old grudges and secrets threaten to destroy the Cupcake Lovers, Devlin must decide if his feelings for Chloe are a recipe for disaster—or a sinfully delicious ever after… Excerpt

You can read my review of A Fool For Love here. 

Storytelling comes naturally to award-winning author Beth Ciotta. Dubbed "fun and sexy" by Publisher's Weekly, Beth specializes in writing Romantic Comedy with a Twist of Suspense and is published in contemporary, historical, steampunk, and paranormal romantic fiction. "I can't think of anything more fulfilling than writing stories where everyone (except the villain, of course) gets a happy ending!"

Beth lives in NJ with her husband, two zany dogs, and a crazy cat. A retired professional performer, Beth now pours her artistic passion into her writing. To learn more about her colorful life, visit her website. You can also find her on her blog, Facebook, Twitter

STEAMPUNK ROMANCE--A CHAT WITH MARY WINE

Please welcome historical romance author, Mary Wine, to Over Coffee. Mary has written and published over twenty books. Her latest is a historical steampunk romance. I love the cover.

I recently had a chance to chat with Mary about writing and her latest book. Mary, welcome back to Over Coffee and with what looks like a fun book!

Hello Everyone!

It’s great to be here to celebrate the release of A Lady Can Never be too Curious. I really enjoyed writing this one. At least when I wasn’t tearing my hair out! LOL.

• Mary, what drew you to write a historical romance with a focus on steam punk elements of the era? Was it the gadgets? People's attitudes toward science and discovery?

It was the challenge. I'm the first to admit that my imagination runs hog wild. When I first noticed the idea of Steam Punk, it was a match made in heaven. I can merge my two favorite things...writing romance and making historical costumes. Just as there is paranormal romance, sot too can there be romance Steam Punk. I love writing historical and Steam Punk offered me the opportunity to world build inside a historical setting. It took all my knowledge of combining research with utilizing my imagination to incorporate elements from outside the pages of history. Some of our greatest movies were hybrids that shocked and confused before they delighted.

• It doesn't matter how many books you have published, you're still going to face difficulties. What’s the hardest thing you've had to face as a writer?

I think the answer to that is twofold. The first thing you must do as an author is deal with your own demons. Weather they take the form of lazy, unfocused writing habits…really, I just need to start a load of laundry before I sit back down and finish that chapter or maybe you’re stuck in an endless ‘rewriting’ cycle. I do understand the need to polish and refine work. But there is also a point where you just need to send it off to another set of eyes. Sometimes, that’s much harder than you’d think. It’s hard to understand that if you want to be a writer, you need to produce a product. You have to find the time to put it all down, polish it and then, make yourself send it off.   

•  Who was the most supportive of your writing career?

This is an easy one for me. I've  been very blessed to have a wonderful husband who has supported me through thick and thin. Ten years ago I decided to write a book. That’s right, I was going to write my own romance novel. It wasn't the first time such a thought had rolled through my mind. When I was in my early teens, I often entertained my younger brother with stories. This time though, I was going write a book and I did. Boy was that a learning experience. But I absolutely loved it. Honestly, I was hooked. Oh…I had a great deal to learn but I did in fact sell that book, it became ‘Dream Shadow’. Through it all, my husband always supported me and I count that blessing every day.

• What do you still struggle with as an author?

I believe the answers to this question are the same no matter what it is you are doing. My grandmother used to say….if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. This is so true with writing. I hope I never get to a point where I don’t feel like I have things to learn about the craft. Story telling is one of the oldest art forms in the history of man. Perfecting my delivery of this art form is something I plan to polish with every book I write. It’s still easy to become distracted. But there is nothing like holding one of my titles and that makes it worth the investment.

I hope you’ll agree. My newest title is a Steam Punk but it’s also a wonderful historical romance.

Mary, I'm looking forward to reading this one. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat with me a bit!

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, BAM

A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious (Steam Guardians #1)

Steamy sexual tension and secret societies fuse together in Mary Wine's first Steampunk romance.

Janette Aston is fascinated by all things scientific, and couldn’t care less that her thirst for knowledge is regarded as unladylike by Victorian society. Enthralled by the Illuminists, a group of individuals committed to scientific discovery, she sneaks into their headquarters and is caught by Darius Lawley, an Illuminist Guardian. The attraction between the two is instant and magnetic. 

When the Illuminists realize Janette is a rare Pure Spirit who can harness the power of crystals, she’s targeted by a rival society, the Helikeians. It’s up to Darius to protect her for the sake of science and love. Excerpt

Mary Wine has written over twenty novels that take her readers from the pages of history to the far reaches of space. Recent winner of a 2008 EPPIE Award for erotic western romance, her book LET ME LOVE YOU.

When she’s not abusing a laptop, she spends time with her sewing machines…all of them!  An avid history-buff and historical costumer, she and her family enjoy participating in historical reenactments. Mary lives with her husband and two sons in Yorba Linda, California. 

You can find Mary: Facebook,  Goodreads, Twitter, Website


The cool expresso picture was sent to me by a friend who buys the neatest gadgets!

MONDAY MUSING: REVIEWING AND THE NEED FOR A GOOD FICTION EDITOR

WIKIMEDIA 

Many of you know I do book reviews. I read a lot of books. I love reading a good story and those stories aren’t confined to strictly traditionally published authors. Many of the books I do review are from traditional publishers. I also read books that are published by small indie publishers, and self-published. I’ve reviewed them.

I'll be honest and say that I tend to approach some of the Indie and self-published with reservations—especially for reviews. Not because it's self-published or from a small press, but because so many, while having a good story premise, haven't been edited as well to overall story presentation.

I’ve upset a few by refusing to review a book. I have many reasons why I may refuse a book. The number one reason is my schedule is full.  But there are books that I’m not the target audience for and I don’t feel I can do it justice in a review. I don’t read horror and I don’t watch it either. I occasionally read YA—and that depends upon the genre. I’m not a big erotic and kinky sex stories fan, although there are a few erotic romance authors I enjoy because they tell a compelling story and not just loosely connected graphic sex scenes. I rarely read memoirs. If you write in those genres you want to find those who can read and appreciate the story you’re telling. They’re the best reviewers for your work.

Then there are those books that are just not ready to be published, but they are. They should be going to a good critique partner not a reviewer. I know this because I’ve read or attempted to read some sample chapters. Sorry, I’m not writing a review for it.

Because I know the effort and hard work that goes into writing and completing a manuscript, I’m not going to trash your poorly edited or written book—especially when I see potential for a really good story in it. I’m not fond of snarky, wise-assed reviewers. They make fun of books-whether they are well edited or not, or ridicule the author. That’s not professional behavior on the part of reviewers or review sites, in my opinion. Better to have your book turned down for a review than have a reviewer fill twitter feeds with ridicule or drop a 2 star review on Amazon or Goodreads.

This brings me back to my reservations for some small press or self-published books.

Some small presses don’t have the money to employ diverse enough editing staff to successfully edit their books. That is especially true of self-published authors.

A properly edited book is more than reading for misspelled words and improper grammar usage.

The story also needs an editor who knows fiction. This type of editor enhances the story because they know the genre and the market. They pay attention to word usage (does it fit the genre and characters?), plot (is there enough plot for the length of the story?), building the proper tension for each chapter and scene, and they look at conflict (internal and external) is there enough in each chapter and the overall story?

Fiction editors are particular when it comes to story elements—character point of view, character voice, does the story start in the right place (or is the first chapter all back story?), they check to be sure there is a good balance between dialog, action, and narrative. Does the ending fit with the beginning’s promise? Is the middle sagging and going nowhere?

For the self-published, this means having a good set of honest beta readers who can read for story content and spot the those weaknesses. This allows the author to catch it the story glitches and fix them before sending it to a good fiction editor.

This is why you hear authors who are traditionally published moan and groan about edits and rewrites. Most of those edits have to do with story content, not grammar and spelling. Ask them. They’ll tell you about the chapters cut or slashed because they detracted from, or didn’t fit, the overall story. Ask them about the list of story elements that need reworking. They’ll tell you. They’ll also tell you about the glitches that were caught by their beta readers before the finished manuscript even reached their editor.

Whether employed by a publishing house (small or large) or a self-published author, a good fiction editor is worth their weight in gold. Fiction editors take a good story and make it better.

And that’s the kind of story I want to read or review.