P.A. Wilson's Blog, page 12

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben | book review

This book review, and others I do about an audio book, will include a comment on the narrator.

The narrator for this version is Scott Brick. He brings a tight hard-nosed narration that matches the story perfectly.  He also narrated the previous book I listened to in this series, The Woods.

This book is a complicated weaving of separate stories into a grand whole. The different groups of people are introduced as completely different stories. Each is full of conflict and tension. Then Coben makes some connections, and you think ‘I know exactly what’s going on’. Then he makes a few more connections and has you turning the page – or sitting and listening – to confirm or deny your suspicions.

 FACTS:

Hold Tight

By Harlan Coben

Here’s the bio from Amazon.

Harlan Coben is the bestselling author of sixteen previous novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers “Long Lost” and “Hold Tight.” Winner of the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and the Anthony Award, Coben lives in New Jersey with his family.

Opinion:

This one is pretty gritty, almost noir, but not quite. I like the rawness of the story and the strength of the characters. If you like a mystery that surprises you at the very end, this isn’t for you. Throughout the story, you are carefully led to the right conclusion so that you can enjoy the final scenes as retribution, justice, and hope.

Rating:

The post Hold Tight by Harlan Coben | book review appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

Swamp Sniper by Jana DeLeon | book review

This is part of a series, and when I do a book review on a series I like to wait until I’ve read all the books, but it’s fine to read these separately. Jana does a great job of dropping in a few clues about the back story so you don’t feel lost.  A funny tale with some odd but lovable characters. Murder in a small town – never live in a small town – cute cops, and mysterious strangers.

Facts:

Swamp Sniper (A Miss Fortune Mystery)

Jana DeLeon

Here’s an excerpt of her bio on Amazon.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon was raised in southwest Louisiana among the bayous and gators. Her hometown is Carlyss, but you probably won’t find it on a map. Her family owned a camp located on a bayou just off the Gulf of Mexico that you could only get there

by boat. The most important feature was the rope hammock hanging in the shade on a huge deck that stretched out over the water where Jana spent many hours reading books.

Jana and her brother spent thousands of hours combing the bayous in a flat-bottom aluminum boat, studying the natural habitat of many birds, nutria and alligators. She would like you to know that no animals were injured during these “studies,” but they kept makers of peroxide in business.

Jana has never stumbled across a mystery or a ghost like her heroines, but she’s still hopeful.

Opinion:

I recommend it because it stays just on the right side of farce and I’ll be reading the other ones in the series. I’m curious to find out why Fortune has to hide out.

Rating:

 

The post Swamp Sniper by Jana DeLeon | book review appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

Unbearable Lightness Of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith | book review

This book review, and others I do about an audio book, will include a comment on the narrator.

The narrator for this version is Robert Ian MacKenzie and he does a fabulous job of painting the characters through his choice of voices. There’s not dramatic accent, just a tiny change in tone and you know who’s speaking. He covers a range of voices from six-year-old boys and girls to rough Glaswegian gangsters.

The book is delightful. I’m mainly a reader of gritty mystery or urban fantasy and this is a gentle story of a group of Edinburgh neighbors. Each is given their own story and each story dances around the other to form a tale of love, near death, nationalism, and quirky Jacobites.

 FACTS:

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones

By Alexander McCall Smith

Here’s the bio from Amazon.

Alexander McCall Smith was born in what is now Zimbabwe and taught law at the University of Botswana. He is now Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He has written more than fifty books, including a number of specialist titles, but is best known for The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has achieved bestseller status on four continents. In 2004 he was awarded British Book Awards Author of the Year and Booksellers Association Author of the Year. He lives in Scotland, where in his spare time he is a bassoonist in the RTO (Really Terrible Orchestra).

Opinion:

It’s different from what I normally read, but I find his stories charming. You’ll like this if you liked the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency for it’s characters and little surprises.

Rating:

 

The post Unbearable Lightness Of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith | book review appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

Redemption by C.J. Barry | book review

Redemption is the latest book by C.J. Barry, author of multiple science fiction romance series. As I thought about this book review I had mixed feelings. This is the first of a series of books and I do look forward to the next book, but this one made me wonder if there’s a line between speculative fiction and religious fiction.

For me, this book skated close to the line on religious messages. I liked the concept that there is always time for redemption, but I started to feel like I was getting a sermon in  a few places. That said, it’s a solid romance, and it’s hot. The world that C.J. created is, at the same time, familiar and strange. It has an almost comic book (oops graphic novel) quality.

Facts:

Redemption – book one of the soul series.

C. J. Barry: here’s the bio on Amazon.com

C.J. grew up reading science fiction novels, comic books, and her brother’s Cracked magazines. In high school, a creative writing teacher told her she should be a writer, but she decided to go to college instead. In college, a writing professor told her she should be a writer, but she decided to be a computer programmer instead. A husband, a cat and two kids later, an adult education teacher told her she should be a writer. She finally gave in, and after selling the first novel she ever wrote, decided that all those teachers were right. Nine novels later, she continues to bring her unique blend of high adventure and sizzling romance to her novels.

C.J has won numerous awards for her novels, and is a member of the Romance Writers of America.

By day, she works as a web developer. By night, she dreams up adventures and pens the books she was destined to write.

Opinion:

You’ll like this book if you like stories that present you with romance and fantasy and a helping of spirituality.

Rating:

 

 

The post Redemption by C.J. Barry | book review appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

The Merry-Go-Round by Donna Fasano | book review

The story is labeled a romantic comedy and the humor was not really about the romance so I was disappointed there. This book review reflects my preference for a more complex story. Like most romances, the ending was fairly predictable, and like others, I was disappointed that the whole thing could have been resolved if only they had talked. That said, I read it all the way through and I had some sympathy for the main character as she worked out her problems.

You’ll like this book if you like your romance as the main story. A good light read.

Facts:

The Merry-Go-Round

Donna Fasano: She’s a romance writer with a big library. If you like her writing, there are plenty of books to keep you entertained. Here’s her bio from Amazon.com

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR DONNA FASANO is a three time winner of the HOLT Medallion, a CataRomance Reviewers Choice Award winner for Best Single Title, a Desert Rose Golden Quill Award finalist, and a Golden Heart finalist. Her books have sold nearly 4 million copies worldwide and have been published in nearly two dozen languages. Her books have made the Kindle Top 100 Paid List numerous times, climbing as high as #9.

The genre is straight romance, with a little humor.

 

Opinion:

I did like the story, I just need a little more from a book than one main plot. I think for the price, it’s something I can recommend.

Rating:

The post The Merry-Go-Round by Donna Fasano | book review appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

Ice Diaries by Lexi Revellian | book review

I’m well aware that book reviews are subjective and controversial, so take this for what it is, a bit of a fan gush. I found this book because my sister recommended Remix and I’d enjoyed that so much I bought Lexi’s other books. This one was a nice surprise. While different from Remix and Replica, the writing was still strong and Lexi has a confident hand in developing a world and characters.

You’ll like this story if you like imaginative worlds that could be our future, and you like a love story between two people who aren’t needy.

Facts:

I ce Diaries   

Lexi Revellian: Like many authors these days, she writes in different genres here’s the bio from Amazon.com

“For years, I resisted writing because I knew I’d never be as good as Jane Austen. Finally I realized no one is as good as Jane Austen – I started writing and couldn’t stop. I’ve sold over 64,000 ebooks.

My first two novels are fantasy. The third, REMIX, is contemporary fiction with elements of crime, investigation and romance, and tells what happens when Caz Tallis finds a strange man asleep on her roof terrace. He turns out to be – no, I’m not telling you, you’ll have to read it to find out… My fourth, REPLICA, is a thriller. Beth Chandler is unknowingly replicated in a flawed experiment, and falls for the man who is hunting her double. ICE DIARIES is a post-apocalyptic story with romance and humour. My latest is WOLF BY THE EARS, a thriller set in London.”

 

This may be disputed, but here are the genres I would put the book into so fans can find it. Social Science Fiction, Futuristic Thriller, Romance, Post Apocalyptic

Opinion:

I was entertained. I’m a fan of both genres and authors. It makes me happy when an author crosses the lines of genre. The characters drew me along, and they did form a believable cross-section of reactions to the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it story.

Rank:

 

The post Ice Diaries by Lexi Revellian | book review appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

Hugh Howey the full Silo Saga | book review

I’m not usually one to jump on a bandwagon. Too often I’m disappointed with the result, mostly hay not much wagon. Hugh Howey has gone a long way to restoring my faith in the buzz about new authors. I started with Wool, and could have happily ended there, but was excited when I realized there were other books in the series. I read the first Shift book, then Dust, then I found the other two shift books. The stories are intertwined and it is much better to read in order, but I remained entertained by the stories that were, for me, filling in the details.

Facts:

In order: Wool (books 1 -5), Shift Omnibus (books 6 -8), Dust. 
Author:  Hugh Howey, He has more books to his name, some in different genre. The link is to his Amazon Author Page.
Genre: Science Fiction – not super hard science, more about how people act under stress.

Opinion:

I loved it. The whole series. The people were what brought me into the story. Yes, the science seemed credible. Yes, I can see this happening – thank whoever we don’t have the technology. But the people are so well drawn that I don’t think of them as characters. All of them are committed to what they think is the best for humanity. All of them have good sides and bad.

Rank:

The post Hugh Howey the full Silo Saga | book review appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

Book Reviews | should an author give a bad review?

I post book reviews on Amazon, GoodReads, and Shelfari when a book has entertained me, or provoked me. I do this because I think it helps readers find their next fabulous book. I tend not to do any reviews where I can’t score it with 3 stars or higher. I’ve been wondering if that’s fair to the reader. I’ve build a library of reviews on Amazon, and people have found the information useful, would they find it useful to know when to avoid a book?

I’m going to start posting the occasional book reviews here, and that made me think about my policy. Would I accept books for review? It’s not like my site gets a ton of traffic, but a review is a review. After some thought I decided that I would accept books, but I wouldn’t change my policy. If I can’t say something nice, I’m not going to review a book. 

Book Reviews as I see it

A book review in my mind is about helping the reader. It’s not about writing a thesis, or synopsis, or giving any spoilers. If someone hasn’t read a book, I don’t think it’s fair to tell them what happens – even if the book is 20 year old.

Since I’m focusing on the reader, I think it will help if I break the review down into these three sections.

Facts:

Title – clearly important, and it will have a link to the Amazon store for purchase. I will attach my affiliate code – if I ever figure it out – so I’ll get a couple of cents if someone buys.
Author: I will look to see if the author writes in other genres and provide that bit of information. If I can, I’ll provide the bio.
Genre: this may be tricky but I’ll do my best. It’s more likely to look like a list of tags rather than straight genre.

Opinion:

This is what I think of the book as entertainment. Are the characters engaging, the stakes high, is it a good representation of the genre?

Rank:

I know everyone hates this, but for book reviews this is a great short hand. I’ll rank out of 5 but the lowest I’ll use is 3.

What’s coming?

Next two posts will have book reviews. I’m going to try posting 3 book reviews each post.

If you want me to review your book, send me an email at pawilson@pawilson.ca and we can make the connection.

The post Book Reviews | should an author give a bad review? appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

Lessons I Learned in 2013 | Not another resolution blog

There are so many blogs out there doing RESOLUTIONS. I’ve always figured that if you want to change who you are, you don’t need to wait until year end to make a goal; if you really want to change, get it done. I use the end of the year to reflect on the lessons I learned throughout the year. I do this every week, but year end is a great time to get that longer perspective.

Why reflect on lessons learned?

I’m a big believer in the concept that you will only get what you want if you plan for it. If I want to lose weight, I need to plan my life around different eating and exercising habits. If I want to write a novel, I need to plan out the story and the time to write.

A plan made in a vacuum is better than no plan at all, but one made with a good understanding of where you are and where you want to be, is much more likely to be successful.

Lessons learned exercises are conducted to help understand where you are.

Three lessons I learned

I like doing things in threes. Three lessons every year can be acted on. Three new approaches to life can be accomplished, tested, and ingrained. Too many lessons, and you can start to feel overwhelmed.

Sometimes I start with the lessons I learned and create a plan, sometimes I start with the goal and identify the lessons I learned that fit the goal. What ever way you start, be sure to find lessons that help you move forward. For example, if you want to become an author this year, lessons about managing your time are pertinent; lessons about learning a new technology are not.

My three lessons

One: That I got overloaded toward the end of the year with books for publishing. It meant that I published 3 books in two months, but the quality of the proofreading crashed. I was happy to notice that none of the bad versions sold while I re-proofread and corrected the errors.

Two: That I was looking at marketing in the wrong way. I was trying to develop this fancy marketing plan and I really didn’t have the time or inclination to do it. I started doing a “One New Action” every week, and suddenly the ideas started to come and progress was made.

Three: That I need to be more committed to what I’m doing to make progress. I am a decisive person – I’m happy to make less than perfect decisions if it means we can move forward. The problem happens when I can’t find a way to make a choice.

My plan for 2014

Nothing earthshaking! From the lessons I learned in 2013, I decided that I would stop viewing my publishing schedule book by book . I now know all the books I want to write in 2014 and I can work on all of them when I’m moved by the spirit – and when I’m not. That should prevent the end of year backlog.

I’m also wrestling with a big life decision, one I can’t seem to pick a side. To get this decision made, I decided that there needed to be more than two options.  The reason I can’t decide whether to retire or not is that I love the work I do with my consulting business, and I love the work I do with writing and creating courses. So, there’s option 3 which is starting to feel right. Don’t retire, but only take consulting jobs that excite me.

So those are the lessons I learned in 2013. What are yours? And what are you going to do about them?

 

The post Lessons I Learned in 2013 | Not another resolution blog appeared first on P. A. Wilson.

Creativity is not just about artistry | Ideas that work

I’ve been thinking about creativity for a while. My writing entered a stage of revision and polishing which is where I am most likely to be distracted by new ideas. I’m told that writers are often asked where they get their ideas. If they are anything like me, and the people I know, it’s not about finding ideas, it’s about managing the flow and knowing which ideas are worth exploring.

Where do creative people get ideas?

The short answer is EVERYWHERE. The list usually includes, conversations overheard, inspiration from the classics, new articles, songs. I’ve recently found inspiration in forum comments. The good ones give me story ideas, the trolls give me ideas on how to build characters. Creativity is fueled by the negative as much as by the positive.

As I was making lunch, I wondered what it would be like in a world where you were valued by your imagination – that led to questions of how that world would measure imagination. And then to the question, how would they define creativity. And the to the question, would creativity be valued differently depending on the outcomes.

What is the #1 problem for creative people – and everyone – when it comes to ideas?

It’s being able to manage them.  By that I mean, saving them somewhere so they don’t get forgotten, attending to them at the appropriate time, and knowing which ideas will form the basis of the best work you can do.

For artist, musicians, and authors, the ideas can often just fuel a portion of the overall work in progress. Or, they can be the springboard for that new masterpiece.

For entrepreneurs – yes, they are very creative – it’s about knowing which idea will improve their business, or break into a market, or even create a market.

3 steps to turn ideas into action:

ONE: keep notes about your ideas. It doesn’t matter if you have a notebook, or a separate document in a folder, keeping the idea will let your brain refocus on what you are doing. Remember creativity is 90% perspiration, ideas are the 10% – inspiration.

TWO: assess each idea by asking “what if” or “so what” three times. If you can get three or four steps into the ‘what if’ answers, you may have a useable idea.

THREE: Whether it’s a new book, a new painting, song ,or line of business, feed the ideas occasionally with thought and development to help build the great ideas into great outcomes.

Final thoughts

For me, it’s not about the end product when it comes to assessing ideas. It’s about the journey they will take me on. It’s tempting to jump on each idea as it comes along, but that’s like taking hundreds of first steps on a journey. You are active, but you aren’t going anywhere.

Have a creative year.

 

The post Creativity is not just about artistry | Ideas that work appeared first on P. A. Wilson.