All right.
First off, let me tell you that writers LOVE to read reviews. Especially good ones. You have to understand that this is a business where you spend the majority of your time whispering to yourself in front of a computer screen.
All right, so some of you DON’T whisper to yourself – but I guarantee that you do your best writing all on your lonesome – thinking – REALLY LOUDLY – to yourself.
🙂
When I read a review I can picture somebody sitting on their favorite chair or on their back deck or on the bus or in the bathtub and reading my words – whispering to themselves the whole way through – and grinning.
It’s the grinning part that I like the best.
Let’s face it.
At the end of the day the thing that people remember the most about you is how you make them feel. If you are one of those NEGATIVE NORMAN types – always complaining and going on about all the things that are going on in life people will just remember what a gigantic pain in the neck you were when you are gone.
That’s why I try to always remain as positive as possible.
“If you can’t say anything nice,” Uncle Bob always said. “Don’t say anything at all.”
The fact is it is AWFULLY hard to hear good words out there. So many people are looking at the dark shadows of life rather than dwelling upon all the sunshine in between the shadows. Good words are far too rare. Our ears hunger for them.
We writers are no different.
Our ears hunger for good reviews.
Let me tell you about a couple of my favorites.
“If Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch had a three-way sex romp in a hot tub and then a team of scientists came in and filtered out the water and mixed the leftover DNA into a test tube, the resulting genetic experiment would most likely grow up into Steve Vernon.” – BOOKGASM
That’s a good one.
If memory serves me correctly he was talking about my novel, GYPSY BLOOD.
That’s one of those review quotes that just beg to be grinned over.
Here’s another.
“I knew that Steve Vernon was a good writer when I found myself cheering for a decapitated head!” – Adrienne Jones, author of Gypsies Stole My Tequila
That’s another good one. The book that Adrienne is referring to is my novella LONG HORN, BIG SHAGGY – A TALE OF WILD WEST TERROR AND REANIMATED BUFFALO.
And I am still grinning.
How about this one?
“Any story which mentions Gordon Lightfoot’s classic, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, is okay in my book.” – Frank Errington
That review is talking about my hockey/vampire novella, SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME
To top it off Frank told me that he had read this novella in a Tim Horton’s coffee shop.
How much better does it get?
🙂 🙂 🙂
Well, before this blog entry begins to sound like a Ginsu Knife commercial I just want to stop and tell you about my latest favorite book review. This one showed up over at Amazon in a review of my brand new novella, NOT JUST ANY OLD GHOST STORY.
“It was a comfortable read – much like that old sweater we wear on a cold Sunday morning.” – Michael Boyer
You know the kind of sweater that Michael is talking about, don’t you?
The kind of sweater that your wife has continually tried to throw out any chance that she gets?
The kind of sweater that makes you think about piping hot oatmeal and a good cup of black coffee and a comfortable rocking chair and a big old Labrador Retriever with big floppy ears just begging to be skritched.
You know what I am talking about?
A grinning sweater.
Well, Michael wrote me a grinning review and I want to personally thank him for it.
So, the next time you find yourself grinning over a good book – not just one of my books but ANYBODY’S book – stop for a minute and get your thoughts together and put up a review on Amazon or Goodreads or your blog – or all three. Try to be a little different in your writing. Don’t just say – “Yeah, I liked that book.”
Write a grinning review.
We authors will thank you for it.
So, tell me all of you writer-types out there.
What was YOUR favorite review? Be sure to add a link to whatever book it was referring to. We’re all in this same boat together, might as well row for shore.
And grin while we do it.
🙂
Now – if you’d like a copy of that “comfortable old sweater” of a novella – remember it is STILL FREE until sometime tomorrow night. You’re on short time – so grab your copy while you can.
You can pick it up at Amazon.com.
yours in storytelling,
Steve Vernon
Â
YOURS IN STORYTELLING... 