David Burrows's Blog, page 27
August 22, 2014
A Review of Defender of Rome by Douglas Jackson
Defender of Rome by Douglas JacksonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A good book with lots of intrigue. It's set in Rome and the author skilfully handles Nero as a character and how it is not always wise to be in the Emperor's eye. This theme develops nicely in the next book in the series.Early Christianity features in the tale and is handled well and is nicely woven into the plot. A very good read.
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August 14, 2014
Book Review, Hero of Rome -- Douglas Jackson
Hero of Rome by Douglas JacksonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I enjoyed most of this book. It's well written and really conveys the sense of Rome. It's set in Britain in AD about 60. It was complicated by lots of names and most the action was in the early part of the book and the latter, which was a shame as the action was well conceived and well written. The intervening plot was good and a developing love story between the main character Valerius and a local tribes woman. There's contention in the Roman ranks as well as the growing threat from the Icena tribe. The tale is historically accurate (as close as research would allow) and entertaining. I'm currently reading Defender of Rome, the next book in the series.
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August 12, 2014
A review of Karen Azinger's The Knight Marshall
The Knight Marshal by Karen AzingerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another good book, mixing events in the north with those of the south. Again, the Mordant is a great character. I also liked the black blade and the events surrounding that. A little dull in parts as Kath finds herself stranded in the north. Whilst her and her colleagues grow bored, unfortunately so too does the reader. The writer can be forgiven though as the tale collects itself nicely and gathers paces trying to save the kingdoms of Erdhe. Nicely written and very imaginative. Once it got going there's barely a dull moment, some excellent creations and the plot has some nice and unexpected twists. Definitely a Saga for fantasy fans to read. Looking forward to the next instalment.
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A Review of Christian JacQ's The Tree of Life
The Tree Of Life by Christian JacqMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A tale about an apprentice scribe kidnapped in ancient Egypt. I liked the gentle pace of the tale and how Iker's life develops in a series of unexpected events. The writer nicely captures the Gods of ancient Egypt, their relationship with their animal representatives on earth and the people's beliefs. There's a good promise of more to come and definitely an interesting tale. Perhaps too many names starting with S that it did get a bit confusing at times. This will mainly appeal to fans of Egyptian historical fiction.
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August 9, 2014
Meaningless reviews? Are self-published authors deluding themselves rather than the readers
I just went on Goodreads and I was not pleased by a thread where most people are behaving and harmlessly (?) liking other people's 5 star reviews, but what caught my eye was:
"Since you seem to be the newest authors to post, I will connect with you. Here is the link to my books on Amazon. I just gave you a five star, XXXX. I hope you can do the same. Thanks in advance for your time!
ZZZZ - I don't see the 5 star option for yours - only the option to review the book. Do you have a link so I can rate yours without a review? I must be clicking on something incorrectly.
Thanks, YYYY" (Names omitted)
I'm not sure I agree with authors giving each other 5 star reviews. Have I misunderstood this?
All my reviews are very hard earned so I find this rather annoying. This is making the review process completely a waste of time!!
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/66551-how-to-hit-1-on-amazon?comment=103958675&page=49#comment_form
"Since you seem to be the newest authors to post, I will connect with you. Here is the link to my books on Amazon. I just gave you a five star, XXXX. I hope you can do the same. Thanks in advance for your time!
ZZZZ - I don't see the 5 star option for yours - only the option to review the book. Do you have a link so I can rate yours without a review? I must be clicking on something incorrectly.
Thanks, YYYY" (Names omitted)
I'm not sure I agree with authors giving each other 5 star reviews. Have I misunderstood this?
All my reviews are very hard earned so I find this rather annoying. This is making the review process completely a waste of time!!
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/66551-how-to-hit-1-on-amazon?comment=103958675&page=49#comment_form
Review of Karen Azinger's Poison Priestess
The Poison Priestess by Karen AzingerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Skeleton King was always going to be a difficult book to follow. This book was good, but not as good as the previous books. The tale moves south and follows the events in Lanverness. The Lord Raven is a great creation and thoroughly dislikeable. You know there is a comeuppance coming and to be honest, it can't happen too soon. There's more intrigue and courtly goings-on in this novel. It's worth reading and does take the tale forward nicely, but there's less action and magic than in the earlier books. Duncan is another good character. I did find some oddities in the tale, but they didn't detract too much.
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Writing a Book - How to get Published
I will write an article about self-publishing as a route later, as that is my experience, however, I think getting published should be your main priority. If I have made a mistake it was in not exploring all the small publishers. I bought writers_and_artists_yearbook and at the time (1998) I found that there were very few fantasy publishers. I should have persisted and contacted the smaller press.
It is also recommended that you find a literary agent. Again, this aught to be your first port of call. The key is to have an information pack to send off that contains a synopsis and sample chapters (usually the first three chapters). See the pitfalls below before doing this though! Both publishers and literary agents usually request that you include a self-addressed envelope as well so they can return the information and include a reply.
This can be a very difficult process, but stick with it. If you have followed my guidance of starting with short stories for reasons laid out in Writing a Book - How to Start, this should give you confidence that your writing is good and appropriate to submit. Keep trying therefore. J K Rowling was turned down by many publishers/agents who must regret now not taking time to consider her work more thoroughly. When I went through this process I had the nagging feeling that publishers simply transferred my synopsis etc. from one envelope to another without reading it. That publishers etc. turned down J K Rowling perhaps reflects this view. This is a very frustrating process.
The reason for going through a publisher is the level of expertise, otherwise you will need to pay for a book editor, copy editor and front cover artwork. All of which is fraught with difficulties. I have read some very good self-published books, written to a very high standard and that are very professional, and yet many still contain errors. The publishing route, unless you are very lucky, is the most professional route. There are also a lot of people claiming to be experts at editing and you have little or no way of knowing whether this is true. Fortunately, I have had some good experiences as well as some bad ones.
I would suggest writing to both literary agents and publishers at the same time, as this is a long process. Check their websites and check that what they want from you. You need to follow their submission guidance, otherwise they will not consider your work. Their guidance can be very prescriptive so be careful to follow it. An example her is Random House. This is not perhaps the best example as they request that you go via a literary agent, however, that knowledge saves you and them time and money. Avoid having one pack of information to send to everyone. You must vary the information in line with the requirements.
Where to find a publisher or literary agent? The Writers and Artists Yearbook is a good start point although it is updated annually and so you can quickly be out of date. The Internet is a good source of information. Just type Book Publishers to see an extensive list. Fine tune this with your genre (eg Fantasy Book Publishers) and you will get a more realistic list. You can also see who published books that you enjoy by looking in the inside front cover.
I hope this information is useful to you and best wishes. David
Paying for a review -- yes or no?
Book EditingInspiration from ArtworkMaking it interesting
My top tips
Choosing a genre
How to start?
Creating a plot
It is also recommended that you find a literary agent. Again, this aught to be your first port of call. The key is to have an information pack to send off that contains a synopsis and sample chapters (usually the first three chapters). See the pitfalls below before doing this though! Both publishers and literary agents usually request that you include a self-addressed envelope as well so they can return the information and include a reply.
This can be a very difficult process, but stick with it. If you have followed my guidance of starting with short stories for reasons laid out in Writing a Book - How to Start, this should give you confidence that your writing is good and appropriate to submit. Keep trying therefore. J K Rowling was turned down by many publishers/agents who must regret now not taking time to consider her work more thoroughly. When I went through this process I had the nagging feeling that publishers simply transferred my synopsis etc. from one envelope to another without reading it. That publishers etc. turned down J K Rowling perhaps reflects this view. This is a very frustrating process.
The reason for going through a publisher is the level of expertise, otherwise you will need to pay for a book editor, copy editor and front cover artwork. All of which is fraught with difficulties. I have read some very good self-published books, written to a very high standard and that are very professional, and yet many still contain errors. The publishing route, unless you are very lucky, is the most professional route. There are also a lot of people claiming to be experts at editing and you have little or no way of knowing whether this is true. Fortunately, I have had some good experiences as well as some bad ones.
I would suggest writing to both literary agents and publishers at the same time, as this is a long process. Check their websites and check that what they want from you. You need to follow their submission guidance, otherwise they will not consider your work. Their guidance can be very prescriptive so be careful to follow it. An example her is Random House. This is not perhaps the best example as they request that you go via a literary agent, however, that knowledge saves you and them time and money. Avoid having one pack of information to send to everyone. You must vary the information in line with the requirements.
Where to find a publisher or literary agent? The Writers and Artists Yearbook is a good start point although it is updated annually and so you can quickly be out of date. The Internet is a good source of information. Just type Book Publishers to see an extensive list. Fine tune this with your genre (eg Fantasy Book Publishers) and you will get a more realistic list. You can also see who published books that you enjoy by looking in the inside front cover.
I hope this information is useful to you and best wishes. David
Paying for a review -- yes or no?
Book EditingInspiration from ArtworkMaking it interesting
My top tips
Choosing a genre
How to start?
Creating a plot
Fantasy Dreams - Castles
Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers, France. Remarkably similar to Leeds Castle in Kent. I wonder who nicked whose idea? Love the moat. Quite a barrier for any attacker. At Leeds castle the moat is easily drained as it is contained by a soil wall proud of the ground. However, even without the water it would be a significant barrier, several feet of thick sludge.
Extended Version of the Desolation of Smaug - looking forward to it!!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152649304797437
Can't wait for this to come out. 25 minutes extended scenes. Brilliant
Can't wait for this to come out. 25 minutes extended scenes. Brilliant
Who needs fantasy Creatures??
Wow, this is terrifying enough without the need for dragons or demons. No wonder Tolkien had giant spiders in Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion. What is it about them that makes us go weak at the knees. This one is awesome.
