E.B. Roshan's Blog: This, That and the Other, page 18

Book Spotlight: The Bruised Dream by Alabama Rose

The Bruised Dream is told through the eyes of Sofia, a young girl who is eager to share her close-knit family with children in need. When two young boys, Raven and River, are no longer safe with their own parents, they’re sent to live with Sofia and her family. However, a minor accident on a family outing leads to consequences no one could have foreseen. The family’s dream of giving Raven and River the love and stability they need is indeed bruised, if not shattered, and Sofia suddenly finds herself involved in the foster care system in a way she never would have imagined.

In the end, Sofia will have to choose whether she’s willing to forgive the people who wronged her and open her heart again, or if she’ll allow fear to control her.

It’s painful to think that a system meant for good could cause so much harm. While I would wish that the decision to remove children from their home (or return them to a potentially dangerous environment) is always made with great care by well-informed people, unfortunately, the world doesn’t always work that way, and the right decision is not always an easy one to make.

This heartfelt little story is the work of a very young author—Alabama Rose was only fifteen years old at the time it was published. However, the compassion and wisdom contained in it are worthy of someone much older and more experienced. The book was well-edited, the writing style simple and enjoyable to read, but what really made the story special was the clarity with which the author was able to share her own heart and love for unloved children through a fictional story.

I received a free paperback copy of The Bruised Dream from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. You can get your own copy HERE.

Great Sites: Scribens

One of the best free websites I’ve found for checking grammar and spelling mistakes is Scribens.com. It’s easy to use and very thorough. Misspelled words are marked in red. Problems in punctuation and spacing errors appear in blue. Correctly spelled, but incorrect words (like they’re vs. their) are marked in yellow, and inappropriate verb tenses are green. Simply copy and paste your text into the window provided, and Scribens does the rest! (I would not recommend asking the site to proofread more than 2,000 words or so at a time.)

In addition, there’s a column on the left-hand side of the text window which contains suggestions for how to rework awkward or lengthy sentences, shows which words you tend to overuse, and pinpoints run-on sentences and excessive comma use. You also have the option to replace simple words with more elaborate ones (an opportunity I generally forgo.)

Though it’s a good idea to have a real, live (preferably professional) editor look over your work before you publish, I understand that’s not necessarily an option for everyone. Fortunately, there are sites like Scribens.com which allow even impecunious authors to take their work from painful to (almost) perfect. Give it a shot HERE, with the text they provide, or paste in something of your own.

I’m Pleased to Announce…

…I had the honor to be interviewed by Grace A. Johnson, the talented young author of “Held Captive” and “Prisoner at Heart.” You can read the interview HERE. Be sure to check out the rest of her site as well, including her detailed and entertaining book reviews.

Great Sites: Draft2Digital

To be honest, I don’t have experience with other self-publishing options, like Lulu or Kindle Direct Publishing, but that’s because once I started self-publishing through Draft2Digital, I was so happy with the site, I had no reason to look elsewhere.

First of all, the website is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate. It took me only a few minutes to set up an account, and a few minutes more to upload my text file and cover art, all in simple, clearly-indicated steps. Draft2Digital allows you to convert a MS Word or Open Office document into a high-quality epub, mobi or PDF file with just a few clicks, no special formatting needed.

When you’re ready to publish, Draft2Digital will distribute your ebook to Amazon, Kobo, Barnes&Noble, as well as several less well-known book retailers and online libraries, including the Hoopla library app. All records of books sold and other retail data show up on your Reports page. It’s easy to edit or update your books from your My Books page.

Draft2Digital charges no upfront fees. Instead, they simply take 10% royalties from any books sold in exchange for their stellar services. To learn more, follow this link to visit Draft2Digital’s website and set up your own account: https://www.draft2digital.com

Looking Back…

2020 was a year of many emotions–grief, disappointment and frustration not least among them. However, it was also a year of creative excitement, accomplishment, and thankfulness. In 2020, I published my first short novel, followed by two more. I’m officially hooked.

If I had to sum up 2020 in a single phrase, I think it would be “learning experience.” I learned a lot–and not just about writing. But since this is a writing blog, I’m going to spend the next few posts sharing some of the most useful tools and websites I’ve discovered this past year. I hope they’re helpful to those of you who are, like me, still novices in the massive, exciting business of writing and self-publishing. Stay tuned.

Book Spotlight: Still With Us by Regina Walker

Once again, Regina Walker blends her love of horses (and considerable knowledge about them) with her compassionate understanding of human nature, to create a story of hope and healing.

Still With Us is the story of Ella, a young girl whose pain and fear of rejection has driven her to drugs and dangerous friends. A tragic but not uncommon story, unfortunately, but Regina Walker has handled it wisely, with a great deal of compassion. Despite Ella’s problems and prickly exterior, she was a sweet and appealing character, and I really enjoyed her story, particularly her budding relationship with Tyler (returning readers will remember Cody’s brother from the first book.)

This story took a little longer to get into than the first one in the series. I think that was because it began in the point of view of Ella’s mother, Tammy. The writing felt a bit forced and emotionally distant, as if the author was just getting warmed up. As soon as we enter Ella’s point of view, the story seems to achieve its rhythm, and is a smooth and enjoyable read to the end, with the exception of the few times we jump into other points of view.

I had hoped to read another book by this fine author, so was delighted when I got the opportunity, in the form of an ARC from Booksprout. Find your own copy HERE.

Book Spotlight: The Curse of Kalathan by Kate le Roux

Theo is the eldest of six princes, and thus heir to the throne of the mysterious land of Kalathan. Trina is a prisoner, considered cursed by God because she happens to be left-handed, destined for a life in prison, or worse. The two are unexpectedly, yet quite plausibly, brought together when they are sent on pilgrimage to a distant shrine to appease the god of Victory, a last-ditch effort by Kalathan’s current king to save his country from invasion. The events of the journey, and the nature of what the sacrifice is to be, force Theo and Trina to make some of the most difficult choices of their lives.

Considering the subject matter, The Curse of Kalathan moves at a gentle pace, but it’s never boring. The questions the story raises about faith, tradition, religion and family, as well as the strength and beauty of character both protagonists displayed made for really enjoyable reading. The author also did a fine job of creating a fictional, but still believable, world. Bits of Central Asian culture intertwined with other real-world cultures and the author’s fertile imagination to make a fascinating backdrop for her story. My only problem with the story is, oddly, that all the chief characters made it to the end alive. Ordinarily, this would be a good thing, but considering all the dangers they had to face throughout the story, it was the one element that made me struggle to suspend disbelief.

The book didn’t end the way I wanted it to end, but I understand why it didn’t, and I appreciate the fact that the author didn’t sacrifice the reality of the plot and world she worked hard to create just to give readers a cheaply-won happy ending. All the same, I’m glad there’s a sequel…

This book caught my eye on Booksprout, but the review copy had already practically expired. Thankfully, I was able to contact the author and she provided me with a free copy. The Curse of Kalathan is FREE HERE so get it while you can!

My Ideal Reader

Someone asked, “Would you rather sell a lot of books, or have a lot of readers?” That’s not really a fair question, though. If you’re not selling a lot of books, then you probably don’t have a lot of readers.

The truth is, I’d much rather give free books to people who would enjoy them than sell a lot of books to people who never read them, and I think most authors would. But who are those enthusiastic readers? Who is your book’s ideal reader? That’s a question worth asking, and until you’ve answered it, you’re not likely to know who you’re writing for, or how to find them.

I ran a brief “Ideal Reader Questionnaire” for my own work, and here’s what I came up with.

My books do contain action and adventure elements, but the driving force of each plot is a love relationship, so that plants them firmly in the Romance category. That means my Ideal Reader is most likely a woman. “Woman” is a very broad category, though, so let’s narrow it down further.

My books do contain mild language and, due to the fact they are set in a war zone, have some violence, but since they do not contain extreme violence or explicit sexual scenes, they would be classified as “Clean Romance.” So my Ideal Reader reader is a woman who loves a bit of adventure and action in a love story, but doesn’t enjoy the smut many Romantic Suspense reads contain.

While my stories aren’t preachy, my Christian faith is clearly evident in my writing, which means they would probably be most enjoyed by someone who shares my faith. So my Ideal Reader is a woman who loves clean, faith-based romance with suspense elements.

My writing style is simple and approachable because, while the characters in the stories are mostly adults, I had a younger audience in mind as I wrote. This is not to say adults wouldn’t enjoy the stories, but my Ideal Reader is a 18-25 year old Christian woman who enjoys clean or Christian Romantic Suspense.

Last of all, the love stories the Shards of Sevia series contains all play out against the backdrop of a fictional Southeast European city descending into ethnic-based violence and chaos. This is an environment that I would hope is unfamiliar to most of my readers—but it is also what sets my books apart from other Christian Romantic Suspense, and allows me to appeal to readers who also enjoy Speculative Fiction or Fantasy. So, to conclude, my Ideal Reader is a young Christian woman who enjoys a good love story, but also likes getting out of the box of what’s typical for the genre in order to experience a whole new world.

What Inspires You To Write?

Today we wrap up the “What Inspires You To Write?” series with one final young author. Mischievous Thwapling has this to say about where inspiration comes from:

Pain–Incorporating a type of pain someone I know or one that I’m going through helps me to sympathize or process it.  

Truths–I enjoy weaving in (or trying to weave in) truths into my stories.  I want readers to walk either encouraged or with a thought to wrestle with, like how all of my favorite book series do to me.    

Fun–Yes, I know. This one isn’t as deep or something, but I love writing in itself.  I find the prospect of yanking back the curtain of what I see in my story and clearly transferring it into readers’ mind fun.  I love creating characters and plots and all the stuff in-between when it comes to writing a story.  Like I said, it’s just fun.

Improving My Skills for Life–My mom’s college professor once told her that you should write everyday to improve/keep your skills sharpened.  I like to write as much as possible so that it can be a place I’m strong in.  

Being Creative–With a little time and thought, I’m eager to see what creativity can spill onto the page–or, er, the screen perhaps.  I prize being able to exercise God’s good gift of creativity! 

Glory–When I go on a hike, a walk, or when I’m in my own backyard, or even just looking at the rosy-cheeked faces of my siblings, God’s glory cries out at me, like it says in the Bible: (New Living Translation) “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” ~Romans 1:20.  I love portraying that beauty in my story.  I love marveling at that.  I love mulling it over as I write. I love attempting to give the reader a glimpse of the glory that echoes God’s name.  

The Perfect Sentence

If you thought I was going to give you the secret to writing the perfect sentence, you are wrong. My apologies. However, here’s an interesting article on what it takes to create one: What Makes a Sentence a Masterpiece?