The Art of the Review

Gentle reader, let us take a moment and talk about reviews. Reviews can be a wonderful help to books that might otherwise be overlooked because they aren't on the best-sellers list, and speaking as both a writer and a reader, I am grateful when someone takes the time to share their thoughts about a book. And if it is my book you are enthused about, I throw roses at your feet for the kindness. I know it takes time and effort so XOXO to you for doing it.

What I am less happy about is the review that dwells on things beyond an author's control. Many people don't know that in books from traditional publishers, the author usually has no say in art work, titles, or if a copy editor decided to insert a semi-colon and the word 'Excalibur' in every other sentence. And once printed, even if the publisher were inclined to change any of the above to please readers, they cannot because of the expense. Margins are thin, bottom lines are often red. So before jumping online and lambasting the book or author, ask yourself if they really deserve your ire, especially if the review suggests that semi-colons are as bad as cannibalism or nuclear war and the author is an evil as Adolf Hitler because they have a brown horse on the cover. Those bad reviews cause a lot of grief for anyone who isn't Nora Roberts or James Patterson. And remember that the book is not the person. Hate the sin but love the sinner, at least as much as possible.

Also beyond the author's control are technical problems with websites like Amazon or B&N. In e or print, an author cannot force a business to keep their servers running, to list the books immediately (even if the book is already on Smashwords so why not B&n damn it!), to download samples promptly or regulate after-Christmas traffic when everyone wants to use their gift-certificates at once. We cannot force Holywood to make books into movies. And to blame the author for this is unreasonable. Point the angry finger at customer service, not at a book or author. Blaming the author or the book for outside difficulties would be like someone driving past where you work and coming in and demanding you have your pay cut or be fired because they don't like the color of the building you're in and then dumping your desk on the floor so you have to spend time cleaning up someone else's mess. Bad reviews because a book isn't available in large print, or has a bad cover, or isn't available in foreign languages doesn't do anything but hurt the author. And seriously, if you want large print or a book in German, write to the publisher. They actually like to know that there is interest in things like this.

And please read the book before you review it. As much as I love a five star review it takes some of the joy out of the experience when the review says 'I give it five stars because I am sure it will be really good because it's sounds just like Twilight'. Though that is better that 'I give it one star because I'm sure it will be very bad and not at all like Twilight'.

Lastly, sign your name. Have the courage of your convictions. If a book is really the 'worst book of all time' then you are doing a public service by warning people and don't hide behind 'anonymous'.

Not that my readers would ever do this. The people who have read and reviewed my books are intelligent and fair-minded and generous with their time. They are real people with real problems and real lives who would like to live in a just world. Just like authors.

BTW, please write if you are inclined. It is a pleasure to hear from readers and I really do read all my email.

Over The River

Once Halloween has howled its way past, I begin thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas. T-day is a bitter-sweet time. The joy of gathering with beloved friends and family is tempered by the thoughts of those who are missing. It is also the time-- more so than New Years-- when I take a good long look at my life and remember all the many things I am thankful for. And the list is long, I just need to make it :-).

Since holidays are so important to me and my family, it will surprise no one that I have written several holiday themed books. If you are doing e, be sure to look up Death In A Turkey Town and Murder on Parade (the latest Chloe Boston mysteries and MOP has many treasured family recipes in it). The First Book of Dreams: Metropolis is  also set during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. If you are still doing paper, look for The Master and The Saint. Believe me, you'll meet an incranation of Santa Claus that you never expected.

Happiest of holidays to all of you and drop me a line if you feel inclined.

It's That Time of Year

I am a great believer in giving the consumer what they want-- but do kids really want this? Or werewolf hair, the cotton candy that looks just like something I pulled out of vacuum? Or Blood Bags-- the liquid candy treats? I'm shaking my head and wondering if we can get by with old favorites like letting kids use a 1/4c scoop and dig loose change out of the dish. Or where are the miniature Golden Books they used to have at CostCo? Perhaps we could get away with full-size candybars.... just anything not to handle gummi boogers and zits or scarbaroni. Ick.
But I am a slave to my public, so I guess I will take a poll and if kids want disgusting, they'll get it.

Another indication that it is Fall is the books the dh and I have available. This book, Halloween, has a new cover from the talented Neil Jackson (No relative, As he quipped, we were seperated at birth and reunited on Facebook). Halloween is a creepy and nostalgic story and suitable for any age. Don't you remember the fun of trick-or-treating and the sense that there was something a little bit dangerous lurking in the night? Do you miss it? I sure do.

While on the subject of dangerous things lurking in the dark, I am terribly proud and thrilled to finally have the first two books of the Narcoscape trilogy available. These story are unlike anything the dh or I have written. Check in the Ebook section of the website for these and other Halloween offerings.

Happy Halloween! And may the guid Lord preserve thee frae ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggit beasties and things that gae bump in the night.

No Free Lunch-- But Free e-books Happen

Dorchester Publishing has teamed up with kobo/Borders Books and made Divine Fire available for free download this week. http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Divine-Fire/book-Os1FksHC7EOt4vr8DiAyww/page1.html Thrill as Lord Byron takes on Dr. Frankenstein and an army of ghouls. Happy early Halloween!

Chloe Boston Mysteries

Chloe is ready to ride again in her fourth mystery-- Murder on Parade. Chloe's holiday misadventures continue during the Christmas parade when the Grand Marshall dies in front of thousands of witnesses. Clearly something must be done and Chloe is the logical one to do it, but can she manage to solve a mystery and also get her cousin safely wed to fellow officer, Dale Gordon?

If you haven't met Chloe yet, she is a five foot, ninety-eight pound, dog-loving metermaid with aspirations to be a detective. That dream seems unattainable though since the physical exam requires that she be able to lift a hundred pound bag of sand. Not that this stops her from solving crimes-- much to the mixed chagrine and pleasure of Hope Fall's new chief of police. Chloe's first adventure is Moving Violation. This book was written as a kind of Bible to anchor the world and characters in my mind. Halloween and Thanksgiving are the next holidays for murder. Personally, I'd stay out of Hope Falls of red letter days but Chloe never learns :-).

Redecorating Websites

It happens-- even in cyberspace-- home begin to look tired and faded. And then it is time to shove some furniture around and maybe apply some new wallpaper and generally do a clean-up. It's a bother in the livingroom or kitchen but I thought updating the website would be easy. And less expensive. Ha! Ha! Ha! Well, it was easy for me but the poor dh had a time of it. But here it is! A blog on my website, which also has gorgeous new wallpaper. If you get the chance to visit you can come see all the new trimmings and toys. http://www.melaniejackson.com/

The World's Going E-- be there or be square!

I resisted for the longest time. Every time someone argued the benefit of having thousands of titles at my fingertips, I argued back about the pleasure of smelling paper and ink, the tangible pleasure of holding something flexible and warm and glossy in my hands.... And everything I said is still true, but my flexible, good smelling books are starting to come apart now. And faced with having to replace them-- again-- a lot of my favorite titles are going onto the Nook instead of the bookshelf.

Does this mean our house will be devoid of books? No, there are still thousands of them in every room. But there will be fewer all the time. Because excepting some exquisite, rare and signed tomes-- antiques, often in foreign languages-- the ease of e-reading will probably win enough of the small battles to eventually win the war. Add to that the many on NY's authors are now self-publishing and their books are only in e-format and I think the trend is set.

Still, this is a little like the Christmas tree. We went artificial because I hated killing a tree every December. But pretty and practical as the tree is (woven willow branches with crystals that look like ice) nothing will ever replace all those fond memories of real trees and the wonderful way they smelled and looked and felt.

GERBILDOC4 Jackson/Knave Of Hearts*202*LCNN€[1] €[1]

How many of you remember when there was no Windows and DOS ruled the computer world? I'm talking way back when floppy disks were still floppy and people weren't ashamed of disco. Well, that was when I wrote a trilogy of westerns (Bad Medicine, Medicine Man and Knave of Hearts). At the time the books were deemed not violent enough and far too sexy by the editors that saw them (and wanted to spare the armchair cowboys their blushes if they read about men kissing something besides their horses). So the books went into a trunk and were forgotten-- along with those time- traveling Vikings that would never sell because 'what woman could love a man who didn't know what french fries are?'.

In the years that followed I had three computer upgrades, Windows came along, we discovered the internet, and floppy disks went hard. My current very expensive and very smart computer-- smart because I paid for a memory upgrade-- can't translate my dinosaur DOS into anything better than snippets of pidgen English. Like: ÷„ò„á„ð„ „é„ô„ „á„ì„ì„ „õ„ð„ „é„î„ „á„ „÷„é„î„ä„é„î„ç„ „ó„è„å„å„ô„, Mitchell thought. Á„ „÷„ï„ì„æ„ „í„á„ù„ „ì„ï„ó„å„ „è„é„ó„ „ô„å„å„ô„脬„ „ð„å„ô„é„ô„儬„ „â„õ„ô„ „î„ï„ô„ „è„é„ó„ „î„á„ô„õ„ò„å„®„ „ ‚Ô„è„å„ò„儧„ó„ „î„ï„ô„è„é„„ „ô„ï„ „ä„ï„ „÷„é„ô„è„ „á„ „ò„ï„ç„õ„å„ „ô„è„á„ô„§„ó„ „ä„å„ö„å„ì„ï„ð„å„ä„ „á„ „ô„á„ó„ô„å„ „ âæ„ï„ò„ „á„ „ã„å„ she exclaimed „ô„á„ó„ô„å„ and the dress.

Nevertheless, I see in this sea of a gorp the bones of a good story, and so I am digging it out, one letter and symbol at a time. And someday, maybe even this year, Knave of Hearts will be ready to share with the world that is now prepared for sexy cowboys who use their heads as well as their fists. And other things.