REVIEWS...AGAIN!

I took a mini break in November and feel so, so much better now.  It wasn't so much a month filled with fun and frolics, but rather a month of renewing the spirit, being with family and reminding myself not to take things too seriously.

Due to a combination of factors and a lack of recent releases, my sales have taken an alarming nosedive and it made me less inclined to write.  However, the time away made me remember why it is I write - not to be a bestselling author or make millions - simply to entertain readers who have a similar sense of humour and sensibility.

The Internet and the upsurgence of networking sites have spawned a new breed of people: ones who make vicious comments from the safety of Cyberspace, often using assumed identities and saying things that they would not have the courage to say in public.  There have been Facebook battles which have spilled over and resulted in the loss of life in the real world, and Twitter arguments which involved thousands of users sending furious tweets back and forth.  Book reviews are the latest weapons of choice for these hate-filled people.  Some of them seem to think it acceptable to give 1-star reviews and leave the nastiest possible comments.  What they don't realize is that intelligent readers realize their words are symptoms of the issues in their personal lives and little to do with the books they are reviewing.

I never buy a book, whether it has good or bad reviews, unless I try a sample first to see if the writer's style and voice appeal to me.  Most retailers give readers the option to do this and yet some reviewers make stupid comments like, "I couldn't get past the first page!"  As I mentioned before - reviews often reveal more about the reviewers than the books they review.  Which fool spends money on a book they haven't taken the time to sample?

With all the bad press reviews have received lately, it's surprising that many readers still buy books based on them.  Therefore, all I ask of you is, please take the time to leave a review if you read my work.  Be honest and let me know what you liked or didn't like.

MULTITASKING

I wish I was one of those people who are able to do several things at once and do them all well.  Sadly, I’m not.  Most of the stories I have available for sale at the moment were written in 2005 and 2007, both times when I took career breaks and wrote full time. I have five romance novellas/novels sitting unedited on my PC since 2005 and about twenty short stories in various stages of development which I’ve started since then.

The weekends are usually over by the time I get into my writing zone and going part time is not an option.  But writing fulfils me in a way that nothing else does, so I have decided to find the time to indulge this passion of mine.  I plan to make September a month to remember!  And if I can get my royalties up to an acceptable level, I may even be able to take yet another career break in 2013!