Val Kovalin's Blog
May 15, 2012
The Wildfire Newsletter from All Romance Ebooks has come out with my gay romance recommendations for April 2012. I will link to the full reviews in a day or so when they appear on the aRe Cafe. But, for now, here is the listing.
Top Pick - Bonds of Earth
Recommended Reads:
Dark Soul Vol. 5
The Geography Of Murder
Scar Tissue
Romeo Club #1: Surprises
Top Pick - Bonds of Earth
Recommended Reads:
Dark Soul Vol. 5
The Geography Of Murder
Scar Tissue
Romeo Club #1: Surprises
The Wildfire Newsletter from All Romance Ebooks has come out with my gay romance recommendations for April 2012. I will link to the full reviews in a day or so when they appear on the aRe Cafe. But, for now, here is the listing.
Top Pick - The Bonds of Earth by GN Chevalier. Historical romance from Dreamspinner Press.
Recommended Reads:
Dark Soul Volume 5 by Aleksandr Voinov. Contemporary erotic thriller and conclusion of series from Riptide Publishing
Geography of Murder by PA Brown. Contemporary BDSM mystery, first in a series, re-released by Bristlecone Pine Press
Scar Tissue by GL Roberts. Recent historical romance / drama stand-alone novella from Seventh Window Publications
Romeo Club 1 Surprises by Brita Addams. Erotic comedy short story, first in new series from Riptide Publishing
Copyright © Obsidian Bookshelf. I don't allow my content to be copied and reposted in full. You may use an excerpt (a few sentences) with a return link, but not the entire post.
Links:
My fiction list at Goodreads.com..My upcoming fiction.My published fiction.My how-to-write articles.As always, thank you for reading!
Top Pick - The Bonds of Earth by GN Chevalier. Historical romance from Dreamspinner Press.
Recommended Reads:
Dark Soul Volume 5 by Aleksandr Voinov. Contemporary erotic thriller and conclusion of series from Riptide Publishing
Geography of Murder by PA Brown. Contemporary BDSM mystery, first in a series, re-released by Bristlecone Pine Press
Scar Tissue by GL Roberts. Recent historical romance / drama stand-alone novella from Seventh Window Publications
Romeo Club 1 Surprises by Brita Addams. Erotic comedy short story, first in new series from Riptide Publishing
Copyright © Obsidian Bookshelf. I don't allow my content to be copied and reposted in full. You may use an excerpt (a few sentences) with a return link, but not the entire post.
Links:
My fiction list at Goodreads.com..My upcoming fiction.My published fiction.My how-to-write articles.As always, thank you for reading!
April 14, 2012
I try to avoid internet controversy because I know we all have enough stress in our lives. But now I need to say something publicly – speaking as a reader, an author, and a reviewer – because I hope other authors will think twice before posting publicly about their hurt feelings when they get a negative review.
Two days ago, one of my favorite Goodreads reviewers posted the following (at this link ): “This was the third time I got attacked for a 1 star review/rating by author, writer-buddies and/or friends […] I`m done! No more one-star star ratings and trying to explain WHY I gave the low rating! My fellow readers and friends have to find out for themselves...
This reviewer has been attacked three times recently for 1-star ratings. I love her reviews and use them for book buying, and I’d regret it if she stopped reviewing. Meanwhile, authors are publicizing their indignation over less-than-worshipful reviews more and more these days. I see it as a huge mistake and harmful for all of us authors.
Even if an author posts only on her own blog, if it’s on the internet, it’s public. And she knows it. And it looks like a passive-aggressive way to get her friends to make their their own public posts, defending her.
An author who is upset about a negative review can privately email her friends for comfort. Nothing wrong with that. But to post her reaction is to go public – obviously, to make a point. Authors who object to negative reviews will lose readers. And I couldn’t care less if they do. They have the right to post whatever they want.
Where I get alarmed is when I hear that a reader has reached her limit with public objections by authors, and is going to quit reviewing. Authors, there are already too many of us. We may outnumber the readers soon. What do you think is going to happen if the readers stop posting reviews?
No more free publicity for us. There will be no reviews out there other than the 5-stars, this was really really hawt! type that draws no fire, and is completely meaningless. Without a range of ratings to give some comparison, the review system becomes worthless.
This means no more reviews for ANY of us authors because of the public objections of a few of us. In our genre, getting a review is the only way to get any real publicity at all. So let’s not piss off the readers, okay?
We authors are paid for our books. So what do we have to object to? We are already compensated. The readers don’t get paid to review our books. They invest their time and effort to review on Goodreads just for fun.
Even though the readers write their reviews for each other and not for us authors, we are still benefiting enormously from their unpaid work. If we authors continue to post public objections to negative reviews, the readers may find something else to do that brings them more satisfaction and less unpleasantness than reviewing our books.
Some authors may say, “But I don’t send hateful emails. I merely point out in a civilized way on my own blog that reviewers should use gentle language in their reviews to show some regard for my feelings.”
First, readers don’t have the time to consider our feelings. They’re working too hard, trying to read and review everything they can in our m/m genre. And we authors should probably get down on our knees and thank our various Higher Powers that the readers (also known as the unpaid reviewers) are willing to review our books on Goodreads – at least for now.
Second, yes, an author can write whatever she or he wants to on his or her blog. But it might not be a very smart idea for an individual author to annoy the readers, and make ALL of us m/m romance authors look like whiny amateurs by association.
The readers don’t owe us authors any special treatment. I don’t think it would take much negative public behavior on our part to make them throw in the towel and stop reviewing for good.
For example, the m/m reading community here on Goodreads could decide to start privately emailing reviews to each other about our books to avoid triggering anymore public outbursts from us. That would result in a massive loss of publicity for all of us since only a fraction of the reading public would be included in those group emails, and no one could just access the reviews online as is the practice now.
We should be doing everything we can to keep them happy. It’s not an equal relationship. The readers are more important than we are.
Readers have the right to make fun of our books. They have the right to misunderstand our books. They have the right to leave a 1-star rating with no explanation, if they want. I have had readers tag my books on Goodreads with “DNF (did not finish)” and “abandoned book” and so forth. I don’t take it personally.
The readers paid money for our books, and the customer is always right. Bad reviews, scathing or otherwise, come with the territory of being an author. It is beyond our control, and therefore we should let it go, stop worrying about it, and stop splitting hairs about, “Well, I don’t object to negative reviews per se but I don’t like a harsh tone or personal remarks.”
Authors, anything goes when we put a product out there for sale. If we are upset about a negative review and need to blow off steam, we can email our friends for sympathy, or talk to our families. We should keep it private (off the internet). Meanwhile, we should be grateful we’re getting reviewed at all.
Two days ago, one of my favorite Goodreads reviewers posted the following (at this link ): “This was the third time I got attacked for a 1 star review/rating by author, writer-buddies and/or friends […] I`m done! No more one-star star ratings and trying to explain WHY I gave the low rating! My fellow readers and friends have to find out for themselves...
This reviewer has been attacked three times recently for 1-star ratings. I love her reviews and use them for book buying, and I’d regret it if she stopped reviewing. Meanwhile, authors are publicizing their indignation over less-than-worshipful reviews more and more these days. I see it as a huge mistake and harmful for all of us authors.
Even if an author posts only on her own blog, if it’s on the internet, it’s public. And she knows it. And it looks like a passive-aggressive way to get her friends to make their their own public posts, defending her.
An author who is upset about a negative review can privately email her friends for comfort. Nothing wrong with that. But to post her reaction is to go public – obviously, to make a point. Authors who object to negative reviews will lose readers. And I couldn’t care less if they do. They have the right to post whatever they want.
Where I get alarmed is when I hear that a reader has reached her limit with public objections by authors, and is going to quit reviewing. Authors, there are already too many of us. We may outnumber the readers soon. What do you think is going to happen if the readers stop posting reviews?
No more free publicity for us. There will be no reviews out there other than the 5-stars, this was really really hawt! type that draws no fire, and is completely meaningless. Without a range of ratings to give some comparison, the review system becomes worthless.
This means no more reviews for ANY of us authors because of the public objections of a few of us. In our genre, getting a review is the only way to get any real publicity at all. So let’s not piss off the readers, okay?
We authors are paid for our books. So what do we have to object to? We are already compensated. The readers don’t get paid to review our books. They invest their time and effort to review on Goodreads just for fun.
Even though the readers write their reviews for each other and not for us authors, we are still benefiting enormously from their unpaid work. If we authors continue to post public objections to negative reviews, the readers may find something else to do that brings them more satisfaction and less unpleasantness than reviewing our books.
Some authors may say, “But I don’t send hateful emails. I merely point out in a civilized way on my own blog that reviewers should use gentle language in their reviews to show some regard for my feelings.”
First, readers don’t have the time to consider our feelings. They’re working too hard, trying to read and review everything they can in our m/m genre. And we authors should probably get down on our knees and thank our various Higher Powers that the readers (also known as the unpaid reviewers) are willing to review our books on Goodreads – at least for now.
Second, yes, an author can write whatever she or he wants to on his or her blog. But it might not be a very smart idea for an individual author to annoy the readers, and make ALL of us m/m romance authors look like whiny amateurs by association.
The readers don’t owe us authors any special treatment. I don’t think it would take much negative public behavior on our part to make them throw in the towel and stop reviewing for good.
For example, the m/m reading community here on Goodreads could decide to start privately emailing reviews to each other about our books to avoid triggering anymore public outbursts from us. That would result in a massive loss of publicity for all of us since only a fraction of the reading public would be included in those group emails, and no one could just access the reviews online as is the practice now.
We should be doing everything we can to keep them happy. It’s not an equal relationship. The readers are more important than we are.
Readers have the right to make fun of our books. They have the right to misunderstand our books. They have the right to leave a 1-star rating with no explanation, if they want. I have had readers tag my books on Goodreads with “DNF (did not finish)” and “abandoned book” and so forth. I don’t take it personally.
The readers paid money for our books, and the customer is always right. Bad reviews, scathing or otherwise, come with the territory of being an author. It is beyond our control, and therefore we should let it go, stop worrying about it, and stop splitting hairs about, “Well, I don’t object to negative reviews per se but I don’t like a harsh tone or personal remarks.”
Authors, anything goes when we put a product out there for sale. If we are upset about a negative review and need to blow off steam, we can email our friends for sympathy, or talk to our families. We should keep it private (off the internet). Meanwhile, we should be grateful we’re getting reviewed at all.
I try to avoid internet controversy because I know we all have enough stress in our lives. But now I need to say something publicly – speaking as a reader, an author, and a reviewer – because I hope other authors will think twice before posting publicly about their hurt feelings when they get a negative review.
Two days ago, one of my favorite Goodreads reviewers posted the following (at this link ): “This was the third time I got attacked for a 1 star review/rating by author, writer-buddies and/or friends […] I`m done! No more one-star star ratings and trying to explain WHY I gave the low rating! My fellow readers and friends have to find out for themselves...
This reviewer has been attacked three times recently for 1-star ratings. I love her reviews and use them for book buying, and I’d regret it if she stopped reviewing. Meanwhile, authors are publicizing their indignation over less-than-worshipful reviews more and more these days. I see it as a huge mistake and harmful for all of us authors.
Even if an author posts only on her own blog, if it’s on the internet, it’s public. And she knows it. And it looks like a passive-aggressive way to get her friends to make their their own public posts, defending her.
An author who is upset about a negative review can privately email her friends for comfort. Nothing wrong with that. But to post her reaction is to go public – obviously, to make a point. Authors who object to negative reviews will lose readers. And I couldn’t care less if they do. They have the right to post whatever they want.
Where I get alarmed is when I hear that a reader has reached her limit with public objections by authors, and is going to quit reviewing. Authors, there are already too many of us. We may outnumber the readers soon. What do you think is going to happen if the readers stop posting reviews?
No more free publicity for us. There will be no reviews out there other than the 5-stars, this was really really hawt! type that draws no fire, and is completely meaningless. Without a range of ratings to give some comparison, the review system becomes worthless.
This means no more reviews for ANY of us authors because of the public objections of a few of us. In our genre, getting a review is the only way to get any real publicity at all. So let’s not piss off the readers, okay?
We authors are paid for our books. So what do we have to object to? We are already compensated. The readers don’t get paid to review our books. They invest their time and effort to review on Goodreads just for fun.
Even though the readers write their reviews for each other and not for us authors, we are still benefiting enormously from their unpaid work. If we authors continue to post public objections to negative reviews, the readers may find something else to do that brings them more satisfaction and less unpleasantness than reviewing our books.
Some authors may say, “But I don’t send hateful emails. I merely point out in a civilized way on my own blog that reviewers should use gentle language in their reviews to show some regard for my feelings.”
First, readers don’t have the time to consider our feelings. They’re working too hard, trying to read and review everything they can in our m/m genre. And we authors should probably get down on our knees and thank our various Higher Powers that the readers (also known as the unpaid reviewers) are willing to review our books on Goodreads – at least for now.
Second, yes, an author can write whatever she or he wants to on his or her blog. But it might not be a very smart idea for an individual author to annoy the readers, and make ALL of us m/m romance authors look like whiny amateurs by association.
The readers don’t owe us authors any special treatment. I don’t think it would take much negative public behavior on our part to make them throw in the towel and stop reviewing for good.
For example, the m/m reading community here on Goodreads could decide to start privately emailing reviews to each other about our books to avoid triggering anymore public outbursts from us. That would result in a massive loss of publicity for all of us since only a fraction of the reading public would be included in those group emails, and no one could just access the reviews online as is the practice now.
We should be doing everything we can to keep them happy. It’s not an equal relationship. The readers are more important than we are.
Readers have the right to make fun of our books. They have the right to misunderstand our books. They have the right to leave a 1-star rating with no explanation, if they want. I have had readers tag my books on Goodreads with “DNF (did not finish)” and “abandoned book” and so forth. I don’t take it personally.
The readers paid money for our books, and the customer is always right. Bad reviews, scathing or otherwise, come with the territory of being an author. It is beyond our control, and therefore we should let it go, stop worrying about it, and stop splitting hairs about, “Well, I don’t object to negative reviews per se but I don’t like a harsh tone or personal remarks.”
Authors, anything goes when we put a product out there for sale. If we are upset about a negative review and need to blow off steam, we can email our friends for sympathy, or talk to our families. We should keep it private (off the internet). Meanwhile, we should be grateful we’re getting reviewed at all.
Copyright © Obsidian Bookshelf. I don't allow my content to be copied and reposted in full. You may use an excerpt (a few sentences) with a return link, but not the entire post.
Two days ago, one of my favorite Goodreads reviewers posted the following (at this link ): “This was the third time I got attacked for a 1 star review/rating by author, writer-buddies and/or friends […] I`m done! No more one-star star ratings and trying to explain WHY I gave the low rating! My fellow readers and friends have to find out for themselves...
This reviewer has been attacked three times recently for 1-star ratings. I love her reviews and use them for book buying, and I’d regret it if she stopped reviewing. Meanwhile, authors are publicizing their indignation over less-than-worshipful reviews more and more these days. I see it as a huge mistake and harmful for all of us authors.
Even if an author posts only on her own blog, if it’s on the internet, it’s public. And she knows it. And it looks like a passive-aggressive way to get her friends to make their their own public posts, defending her.
An author who is upset about a negative review can privately email her friends for comfort. Nothing wrong with that. But to post her reaction is to go public – obviously, to make a point. Authors who object to negative reviews will lose readers. And I couldn’t care less if they do. They have the right to post whatever they want.
Where I get alarmed is when I hear that a reader has reached her limit with public objections by authors, and is going to quit reviewing. Authors, there are already too many of us. We may outnumber the readers soon. What do you think is going to happen if the readers stop posting reviews?
No more free publicity for us. There will be no reviews out there other than the 5-stars, this was really really hawt! type that draws no fire, and is completely meaningless. Without a range of ratings to give some comparison, the review system becomes worthless.
This means no more reviews for ANY of us authors because of the public objections of a few of us. In our genre, getting a review is the only way to get any real publicity at all. So let’s not piss off the readers, okay?
We authors are paid for our books. So what do we have to object to? We are already compensated. The readers don’t get paid to review our books. They invest their time and effort to review on Goodreads just for fun.
Even though the readers write their reviews for each other and not for us authors, we are still benefiting enormously from their unpaid work. If we authors continue to post public objections to negative reviews, the readers may find something else to do that brings them more satisfaction and less unpleasantness than reviewing our books.
Some authors may say, “But I don’t send hateful emails. I merely point out in a civilized way on my own blog that reviewers should use gentle language in their reviews to show some regard for my feelings.”
First, readers don’t have the time to consider our feelings. They’re working too hard, trying to read and review everything they can in our m/m genre. And we authors should probably get down on our knees and thank our various Higher Powers that the readers (also known as the unpaid reviewers) are willing to review our books on Goodreads – at least for now.
Second, yes, an author can write whatever she or he wants to on his or her blog. But it might not be a very smart idea for an individual author to annoy the readers, and make ALL of us m/m romance authors look like whiny amateurs by association.
The readers don’t owe us authors any special treatment. I don’t think it would take much negative public behavior on our part to make them throw in the towel and stop reviewing for good.
For example, the m/m reading community here on Goodreads could decide to start privately emailing reviews to each other about our books to avoid triggering anymore public outbursts from us. That would result in a massive loss of publicity for all of us since only a fraction of the reading public would be included in those group emails, and no one could just access the reviews online as is the practice now.
We should be doing everything we can to keep them happy. It’s not an equal relationship. The readers are more important than we are.
Readers have the right to make fun of our books. They have the right to misunderstand our books. They have the right to leave a 1-star rating with no explanation, if they want. I have had readers tag my books on Goodreads with “DNF (did not finish)” and “abandoned book” and so forth. I don’t take it personally.
The readers paid money for our books, and the customer is always right. Bad reviews, scathing or otherwise, come with the territory of being an author. It is beyond our control, and therefore we should let it go, stop worrying about it, and stop splitting hairs about, “Well, I don’t object to negative reviews per se but I don’t like a harsh tone or personal remarks.”
Authors, anything goes when we put a product out there for sale. If we are upset about a negative review and need to blow off steam, we can email our friends for sympathy, or talk to our families. We should keep it private (off the internet). Meanwhile, we should be grateful we’re getting reviewed at all.
Copyright © Obsidian Bookshelf. I don't allow my content to be copied and reposted in full. You may use an excerpt (a few sentences) with a return link, but not the entire post.
Links:
My fiction list at Goodreads.com..My upcoming fiction.My published fiction.My how-to-write articles.As always, thank you for reading!
March 23, 2012
For those who love lists, there is an update going on at Reviews by Jessewave of the "favorite m/m books" list. But, when you leave your comment, you have to limit yourself to only five favorites. Good luck with that. :D
http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/201...
http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/201...
March 3, 2012
Reach for the Moon is the prequel to Fall Into the Sun, and I'm writing it right now. It features Bobby and Alejo at age 18, taking a road trip across New Mexico in December between their last two semesters of high school. Once again I'm lucky enough to have gorgeous cover art by Jordan Castillo Price.
See how she made the two cover arts and fonts similar (to reflect that both books belong to the same two-book series), but still very different with the colors.
I love the bright colors of Fall Into the Sun, but I love the stark, wintry hazy tones of Reach for the Moon even more. New Mexico really does look like this in the winter.
The greenish white luminosity of the Reach for the Moon cover is just lovely. In the Fall Into the Sun cover, the close-up face is Alejo, but in the Reach for the Moon cover, Jordan is thinking this is Bobby, and I agree. I'm already starting to see him that way! (I'll have a more complete blurb for Reach for the Moon very soon, but you can add it to your Goodreads shelf here: Reach for the Moon).
Copyright © Obsidian Bookshelf. I don't allow my content to be copied and reposted in full. You may use an excerpt (a few sentences) with a return link, but not the entire post.
Links:
My fiction list at Goodreads.com..My upcoming fiction.My published fiction.My how-to-write articles.As always, thank you for reading!
February 24, 2012
Update: I have two fictions that I'm working on simultaneously.
One is a prequel to Fall Into the Sun, featuring the characters at age 18. It's a road trip with elements of mystery. The title is Reach for the Moon.
The second is a standalone contemporary romance titled After You Fall. It's an opposities-attract novel (probably to be the longest novel I've written) featuring an us-against-the-world young couple.
One is a prequel to Fall Into the Sun, featuring the characters at age 18. It's a road trip with elements of mystery. The title is Reach for the Moon.
The second is a standalone contemporary romance titled After You Fall. It's an opposities-attract novel (probably to be the longest novel I've written) featuring an us-against-the-world young couple.
February 3, 2012
Today is the last day to win one of five free copies of Fall Into the Sun. About seven more hours left to go leave a comment expressing interest at Chris's blog Stumbling Over Chaos.
The Goodreads page for the book is here: Fall Into the Sun
The Goodreads page for the book is here: Fall Into the Sun
January 29, 2012
Fall Into the Sun is now available for purchase at both Amazon.com for Kindle and All Romance Ebooks in PDF, EPUB, and PRC, at $2.99 for 41,000 words of contemporary gay romance.
However, there is still time for you to win one of five copies by leaving a comment expressing interest at Chris's blog Stumbling Over Chaos.
(And you can also add the book to your TBR shelf on Goodreads.com).
However, there is still time for you to win one of five copies by leaving a comment expressing interest at Chris's blog Stumbling Over Chaos.
(And you can also add the book to your TBR shelf on Goodreads.com).
January 27, 2012
Fall Into the SunContemporary gay romance
Cover Art by Jordan Castillo Price
Wordcount: 41,000 words
Release date: Jan 30 (but now available on Amazon)
Price: $2.99
Book Blurb:
They should have spent the past 22 years together, but life took some unexpected turns for Bobby Gallegos and Alejo Sandoval. Heartbreak and rejection can harden the hearts of two passionate, stubborn men. One, deeply devout, wanted to attend college. One, who perfected a tough act to deceive his brothers, might have followed his dad to prison. Now, at 40 years old, they maintain a long-distance relationship as sex buddies, who don't quite trust each other.
Their lives have sharply diverged. One is now divorced with two teenagers, who bring him joy and despair. One has just had a near-death experience on the job. When Bobby returns to Albuquerque, he will use sex, persuasion, and memories of their shared past to try to convince Alejo to take a chance on him and reach for the future together that they were meant to share.
Buy at Amazon.com (USA), Amazon.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, and Amazon.es.
Buy at All Romance Ebooks (link coming soon).
Add it to your shelf on Goodreads.com.
Read an EXCERPT (by clicking this link you confirm that you are 18 years old or older).
Reviews coming soon.
Copyright © Obsidian Bookshelf. I don't allow my content to be copied and reposted in full. You may use an excerpt (a few sentences) with a return link, but not the entire post.
Links:
My fiction list at Goodreads.com..My upcoming fiction.My published fiction.My how-to-write articles.As always, thank you for reading!
