Christine Amsden's Blog: Christine Amsden Author Blog, page 44

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Haunted House

Geared for younger children, The Haunted House contains a very simple premise: Your dog chases a cat into a spooky old house. Now, what do you do?

This book gives children the opportunity to make their own choices, and create their own story. If you ever chose your own adventure as a kid, you're familiar with the concept, but perhaps not with this younger version of it.

The first thing I noticed, when I flipped through the book, were large, colorful pictures on nearly every page. The text itself is large, dark, and bold — easy to see so early readers can follow along. (And when a legally blind person says something is easy to see, you know I mean it! ) Most of the pages contain only a couple of paragraphs of text, and there are a lot of choices. After the setup, you get to a choice on practically every page, or every other page. This definitely helped hold my kids' interest!

I read this with my 6-year-old kindergartener and my 3-year-old preschooler (almost 4). They both seemed to enjoy making choices, and the stories ended before they became too long or tedious.

Fair warning: This book is whimsical, to say the least. Many of the things that happen inside that house are random and silly. You might stumble across a unicorn, or end up in a funhouse. If you're looking for logic and cohesion, this isn't going to be a good fit for you.

Some of the paths through this book were great. I particularly appreciated the path solidly built in for children who may be frightened (or who at least keep choosing the "run away" options), to put them at ease. If your child chooses to run away, the book will let him. Here's an excerpt: "'Yip! Yip! Yip!' It is Homer. He is waiting for you outside. He is safe and so are you."

I also particularly liked the choice of whether or not to take candy from a stranger. If you do, you get to the only bad ending — you turn into a furry turtle. So, bad but silly, and a gentle lesson.

My only reservation about the book was that many of the endings really were random, and basically without consequence. A few too many of them had you waking from a dream. (Then again, one is too many for my taste…this may be my adult writing "rules" getting in the way, but I really dislike that kind of ending.)

I made the mistake, after reading through a couple of scenarios with my kids, of going through the other choices myself all at once. Don't do this. I highly recommend you enjoy this book with your children, letting it be silly, and letting them enjoy the fact that each time they read the book, it is a little bit different. This was about the perfect reading level for my kindergartener. My preschooler also enjoyed it, but it probably helped that she has an older brother to emulate.

Note: This book was reissued by Chooseco in 2007. It was originally released in 1983, under a different cover. Both text and pictures have been updated in the latest version.

Rating: 4/5

Title: The Haunted House

Author: R. A. Montgomery

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Choose Your Own Adventure

Last week, when I reviewed Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?, I mentioned my love of "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, but I had no idea that the old series was back, this time published through a new company called Chooseco. A representative of the company contacted me after seeing my (fairly negative) review of the zombie book, wondering if I'd like to give their new zombie book a try, and of course I did! (Note: I am under no obligation to give a positive review, and wouldn't have accepted the books if I were.)

But wait, it gets better! I mentioned that I have a 6-year-old at home, so Chooseco sent me two additional books geared toward a younger audience. I started reading "Choose Your Own Adventure" in late elementary school, so I didn't even realize there were books for younger children. Well, they had them back then, and they have them now — they're called Dragonlarks, and they are designed for young elementary school children. They're safer (with no truly bad endings), shorter, and contain more pictures.

Here are the three books I received:

I've already read through The Haunted House with my kids a couple of times, and will have the review up later this week. Today, I just wanted to share my excitement over the rebirth of this series, and the fact that I can already read it with my kids!

I admit that I'm a little nervous about reviewing children's books on my blog. I'm sure you've noticed that I usually stick to adult or young adult (teen). But I do have children, and I read to them, and I have some definite opinions on which ones I like, so I suppose that makes me qualified to give an honest opinion. (At least, that's what I tell the people taking my workshops when they feel nervous about critiquing other's manuscripts.)

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Tips for Writers: Giving Books Away

A few years ago, before we moved to the Kansas City area, my husband and I had a moving sale to get rid of all those things we didn't want to drag 300+ miles to our new home. One of those items, an old console TV, had been given to my husband for free, and he was perfectly willing to "share the love." As the morning progressed, the #1 question we received was: "What's wrong with it?" Finally, I took down the free sign and put up a sign asking for $15. The next thing we know, we find an interested buyer. My husband says, off-hand, that we wouldn't mind giving it away for free, but the man is satisfied with his $15 prize.

Why, might you ask? Well, I can only offer theories, but this is what I think happened: Often, free equates to worthless in our minds. Cheap, on the other hand, can be seen as a good deal to the right person.

Which brings me to my tip: Don't just give your book away from the start. It may seem tempting, with eBooks being so cheap to distribute, to simply hand out a thousand copies and then hope word gets around. The trouble is, those copies might not even get read, and they certainly won't be a priority to the reader.

Let's say I downloaded your free book onto my kindle, and then bought another book for $1.99. Well, I've got almost $2 invested in that other book, so I'm going to be tempted to read it first, to get my money's worth.

That isn't to say you shouldn't give some books away. In fact, you definitely should! But you need to give them away carefully, and in exchange for reviews. It is the reviews that will get people talking about your book. Get a "buzz" going, so to speak. That buzz is going to convince people to pick up your book *and read it*, at a reasonable price.

It is also a very good idea to "give away" the first chapter or so. You can just post it on your web site, as I have done, or allow readers to download it. This gives them a preview, and hopefully, gets them hooked.

Hypocrisy disclaimer: I am planning to give away the eBook version of Touch of Fate next week for "Read an eBook Week." This is not a new book. In fact, I signed the publishing contract for this book 6 years ago this month. It was published in 2007. My goal isn't honestly to sell Touch of Fate, but rather to boost name recognition, especially in preparation for the new urban fantasy series I have coming out next year. I'm not sure if the promotion will accomplish that goal or not. I'll be sure to blog about it afterward and let you know.

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The Art of Rereading

I have been caught up in a frenzy of re-reading lately, which I confess is why my book review section has been a little thin. When I looked back over my last few reviews I cringed to see so many negative or lukewarm reviews. It made me feel like a horribly picky or pessimistic person who can't find the joy in anything. It's not true! We all have slumps, don't we?

It is precisely on the heels of such a slump that I tend to reread. I'm falling back into my comfort zone and seeking a familiar friend. I'm not taking risks.

Oh, I'll take more risks soon! How boring would life be without giving a few new things a chance? But today, I'm reading Blue Skies by Catherine Anderson for the third time. It's the story of Carly Adams, a woman blind from birth, suddenly blessed with her vision and then, just as suddenly, finds it slipping away again. In chapter one, the naive woman is pursued and seduced by cowboy Hank Coulter during her first trip to a country and western bar. He's drunk and she falls for his corny lines. Luckily for her, Hank isn't as big a jerk as he seems that first night, and things work out for the two of them. I like Carly's determination. I like that Hank is an honestly nice guy. I'm drawn into the world of a visually impaired women because I, too, am visually impaired. I know what's going to happen next, and I don't care. I'm willing to relive it.

There is an art to rereading that I have discovered over time. Not every book is a candidate for rereading, and it doesn't have anything to do with its initial rating. Some of my favorite rereads are three-star wondering: Fluff books that nevertheless maintain their appeal again and again. On the other hand, I've read five-star books I would never want to read again, despite how amazing they were the first time.

Knowing which books to reread is the first trick to the art. Strangely enough, memorable isn't always the best qualification. I like to reread books I vaguely remember enjoying or finding entertaining, but with details that elude me. I recently reread a series of books by Tracy Ann Warren that fit this bill perfectly — three-star reads all. I knew going in that I would like but not love them, and that was okay.

I actually reread romance more than any other genre for this very reason. I find many of the stories so similar anyway that the details of any individual books (unless it's a real standout like Blue Skies), tends to slip through my fingers.

Well-loved books need more time before they can be reread. It needs to have been long enough that some of the details become blurry, and the emotional connection slips back to, "Yeah, I remember loving that book." I had a terrific time rereading most of Judith McNaught's collection of books after 16 years (I read them the first time as a teenager). I enjoyed them afresh, almost as a new person myself. I plan to reread several of her books again over the next few years.

Then, of course, there are the ones you've reread so many times you've just about memorized them, ie Harry Potter. "The Dursleys of #4 Privet Drive were happy to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much…." I haven't read this series since the last movie came out, and I think, if I want to truly enjoy it again, I will need to wait a decade or so. Perhaps I can enjoy them with my kids.

 

 

 

 

So, to summarize:

1. Rereading is a mood, not just an action.

2. Rereadability is not directly related to your initial rating of a book.

3. To get the most out of a reread, allow the right amount of time to pass — less for those fluffier, forgettable books, more for the ones that completely stole your heart.

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Tips for Writers: Take Your Artist for a Walk

If you're reading this right now, perhaps it is because you've run out of steam or inspiration, and have sought refuge among someone else's words. Don't get me wrong — I'm happy for you to take refuge in my words, especially in my books, but not because you've run out of steam or inspiration for yourself.

Instead of looking at words, why not strive to become a part of the world you try to create with those words? Go outside and take a walk. Engage your senses while you do so — hear it, smell it, feel it, taste it, and see it. Or stop for a minute, close your eyes, and just be it.

Whatever you do, don't come back inside until you know what you need to do next. The computer screen doesn't hold answers, but maybe the world outside does.

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Book Review: Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books as a kid. I devised a system of numbered bookmarks that I inserted every time I had to make a choice, to make sure I ended up reading through every path. (Although the first time through I always tried to make the "right" choices.) Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? is a choose-your-own-adventure story for adults, and so, armed with fond memories, I prepared to love it.

I didn't. Maybe I wasn't in a silly enough mood that day, or maybe my expectations were off, but I only ended up reading through one path of this story, and didn't even feel tempted to go back and try another.

The biggest problem, I think, is that the humor failed for me. As this is incredibly subjective, it may not fail for you, but to me it felt dry and forced. It also relied heavily on a knowledge of New York City that I don't possess.

I was hoping that as a mature version of the old series, this would allow me to make choices based on information and logic. Instead, the choice points seemed random to me, with one option no better than the next. In between choices, meanwhile, "I" did a lot of things I don't think I would do, making me want to argue with the narrator!

This was silly. If you're in a silly mood, this may be a good book for you. As for what it's about, the title really says it all: Can you Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

Rating: 2/5

Title: Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

Author: Max Brallier

ISBN: 145160775X

Published: February 2011

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Can I Change My Mind?

Yesterday, I picked up a book I read before. I didn't realize until partway through that I had read it before, and when I did, I went to goodreads to see what I originally thought.

One star. Unfinished. I lambasted the thing.

And the thing is, I can't disagree with anything I said in that review, but yesterday, I finished the book, and thought it was okay. Not great, but if I were to review it today, I'd give it three stars, noting some of the same problems but adding that it was a decent fluff read.

The worst thing is, I read it in October of last year — yeah, four months ago. So I suppose I could add to the negative side that it was incredibly unmemorable, but that still doesn't explain my extreme dislike for the book at the time, or what might have changed in only a few months.

I guess it's really true, for those of us writing and publishing books, that luck and timing are a big factor. Something that might strike me today, I might have felt eh about if you showed it to me yesterday. Where's the objectivity?

And which is more honest: My initial opinion, or my new opinion? Can I change my mind?

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Book Review: Warrior's Woman

This book was unequivocally awful. Painful. Wrong. So are all of Lindsey Johanna's books, for that matter. Sometimes the wrongness works for me, and other times it doesn't. This time, it didn't.

The trouble? I'm a science fiction writer. Johanna Lindsey isn't. She's a romance writer. This was a bodice-ripper in space.

We meet Tedra, incubated on a world where babies are no longer born. All right…I'll give you that. Brave New World did much the same thing. Here's where you lost me: Tedra is a virgin on a world where sex is required by law. If she doesn't lose it to someone soon, a computer will select a man for her, and he will rape her. Um….

She's in security, tall and strong, and is apparently reluctant to "sex share" with the puny men on her planet who she could probably beat in a fight. Or so her very attractive male friend explains to her even as he tells her how good he would make it for her.

Enter some really contrived takeover of her planet, led by giant warriors armed with swords. Tedra escapes, and travels to the original homeworld of the warriors, in search of backup.

Challen finds Tedra dressed as a man and carrying weapons, two things that bother him very much. Women on his world are protected by men. They do not carry weapons. They wear their man's color, unless they want some other man to come along and take them. They have never met anyone from another world, and he does not believe her stories.

Okay, backwards male-superior society. Check. You knew it was going there, right? And Challen can beat Tedra in a fight — go hormones!

Oh, but she needs punishing. For her own good, of course. Men punish women so that the women will not endanger themselves. They so hate to do it, because they're honorable, and don't like to hurt their women, but it must be done. And how, might you ask, is it done? With fists or sticks? Oh no, nothing like that. Women are punished by men who drink a potion to dampen their lust, then they are driven insane with unfulfilled desire. Challen felt unbelievably bad the next morning.

No, seriously. Unbelievably bad.

Aside from that, there was this incredibly annoying sentient computer who I wanted to unplug. She never shut up. Never.

So yeah, I read what? And why didn't I put it down? Now, there's the question to ask…because many of Johanna Lindsey's books are this way for me. Some of them, I even love to hate. I can't honestly say that about this one, possibly because the science fiction writer in me couldn't handle it.

If you'd like to read a bodice-ripper set in cheese, I mean space, and you can turn off you brain for a while, you might like this.

On second thought, I do mean cheese. And there are green fuzzy things growing in it.

Rating: 2/5

Title: Warrior's Woman

Author: Johanna Lindsey

Genre: Romance/Science Fiction

ISBN: 0380753014

Published: June 1st, 1990

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Should I Chnage my Blog Theme?

Be honest!

I chose the "messy desk" when I was preparing to launch The Immortality Virus because I couldn't decide if I was a scifi writer or a fantasy writer, but I know my desk is always messy. The real trouble I have with the messy desk theme is the cup of coffee off to the side. Every time I see it I think, "That's so not me!" I don't drink coffee, which might not be a big thing, although there is a lot of tea drinking in my new Cassie Scot series.

As for genre, Cassie Scot adds romance to the mix, making it even more difficult to choose a theme based on genre, so I've decided to ignore that. Now, I'm thinking about natural themes (since I've become something of a naturalist) or colorful themes or maybe soft, mysterious themes.

So, should I change my theme?

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Self Publishing: Don't Make Me Read Your Slush

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