Lou Harper's Blog, page 22

Attack of the One-star Bandit

I'm not complaining--some things are inevitable. You walk through a dog park, you'll step in poop. You have your books on Goodreads, sooner or later you'll get hit by a One-Star Bandit. It still can be a shock, especially when your book is still in the editing phase, and not even a single advance copy has been sent out, nobody besides your betas and publisher have read it. Then you check out the person, and it's someone with their profile set to private, and over five hundred ratings to their name at one and a half stars average. Bingo! You got hit by a crusader.

This person clearly has not read your book, or likely any of that five hundred, but they have an agenda, and you are in its path. You start to wonder what it is. Is it about the genre—the person fighting a microscopic moral crusade one rating at a time? Is it something more exciting? Perhaps a frustrated writer down-rating all the books of a publisher guilty of rejecting her/his manuscript? How much time a day this person spends tracking new releases to strike? Does (s)he get an emotional satisfaction out of it?
So many mysteries, so few answers.

Breaking My Own Rules…

…but it doesn't count, because it's not about writing, not mine at any rate.
Over at Jessewave JL Merrow got a nice 4.5 star review on her novella, A Calling for Pleasure . It's a title she got back from the publisher and decided to re-self-publish, and asked me if I could help with the cover design. We kept the font from the original and changed everything else.
To my surprise and delight, the cover got a brief mention at the end of the review: "The cover artist, Lou Harper, has a sly sense of humor. Giggle: look closely."
Can you spot what she meant?

My novel, Lost Stop is scheduled to be published in June ...

My novel, Lost Stop is scheduled to be published in June by Samhain Press. It feels like a million years away, however I got an official blurb already. I'm so glad publishers take charge of it--like so many writers, I suck at blurb and synopsis writing. Behold:
Sam Mayne's life is as dull as the dishwater in his small-town Montana diner, and that's just how he wants it. Quiet, uneventful, safe from his shadowy past. The breezy young drifter who answers his help-wanted ad makes him uneasy in ways he dare not examine too closely. Except he can't help but be pulled in by Jay Colby's spunky attitude, endless stories, and undeniable sex appeal.
Fresh off yet another romantic disaster, Jay doesn't understand his attraction to the taciturn line cook, but there's no fighting the chemistry that lands them in bed together. Where Sam's subtly dominant streak takes command, and Jay delights in discovering the pleasures of his submissive side.
Safe in the assumption their relationship is temporary, neither lover holds back when the heat is on. Until Sam's deadly past catches up with them with a vengeance, forcing him to drop the life he's built, pick up his lover, and run. As danger cuts closer to the bone, Sam and Jay are forced to face the truth. About themselves, about the depth of their love—and the newly forged bonds that are about to be tested to the limit.

The Tricky Business of Reviews

Winter Warmers have received a good number of favorable reviews. I'm truly stoked about it, but it also brings me to the dilemma of how to react to them. It's a potential minefield.

Back when reviews of my first novella appeared on Goodreads, I innocently clicked on the "like" buttons. I thought of it as a gesture of gratitude. Little did I know some reviewers saw it as the author trying to schmooze in hopes of future favorable treatment, while other GR members thought I was shamelessly self-promoting. Duh!

Later on I got to see this issue from the point of view of reviewers and readers, and learned a few things. Obviously, reviewers' main concern is to remain impartial and professional—something much harder to do when you get chummy with authors.

I also discovered readers freak out when a writer butts into their discussion of his or her books, even when said author is being pleasant. I can understand it: it must feel like being stalked. Considering the recurrent author meltdowns over bad reviews, it's even more understandable.

Sure, bad reviews sting, but it comes with the territory. If you can't take them, you best ignore reviews altogether. Authors going after the reviewer only serve to make those authors look like juvenile prats.

Many authors post about good reviews on their blogs. I haven't been able to bring myself to it. It feels like patting myself on the back in public.

So I'm left with one choice: not to respond to reviews at all. Naturally, I've already broken this rule when I posted about May-December relationships, but at least it wasn't about my like or dislike of the review, but my desire to explore the subject it brought up.

I still wonder if some reviewers end up thinking of me as  a snob for not thanking them, but I can't help it. Anyway, reviews are for the readers, not the authors.

The Tricky Business of Reviews

Winter Warmers have received a good number of favorable reviews. I'm truly stoked about it, but it also brings me to the dilemma of how to react to them. It's a potential minefield.
Back when reviews of my first novella appeared on Goodreads, I innocently clicked on the "like" buttons. I thought of it as a gesture of gratitude. Little did I know some reviewers saw it as the author trying to schmooze in hopes of future favorable treatment, while other GR members thought I was shamelessly self-promoting. Duh!
Later on I got to see this issue from the point of view of reviewers and readers, and learned a few things. Obviously, reviewers' main concern is to remain impartial and professional—something much harder to do when you get chummy with authors.
I also discovered readers freak out when a writer butts into their discussion of his or her books, even when said author is being pleasant. I can understand it: it must feel like being stalked. Considering the recurrent author meltdowns over bad reviews, it's even more understandable.
Sure, bad reviews sting, but it comes with the territory. If you can't take them, you best ignore reviews altogether. Authors going after the reviewer only serve to make those authors look like juvenile prats.
Many authors post about good reviews on their blogs. I haven't been able to bring myself to it. It feels like patting myself on the back in public.
So I'm left with one choice: not to respond to reviews at all. Naturally, I've already broken this rule when I posted about May-December relationships, but at least it wasn't about my like or dislike of the review, but my desire to explore the subject it brought up.
I still wonder if some reviewers end up thinking of me as  a snob for not thanking them, but I can't help it. Anyway, reviews are for the readers, not the authors.

Beat Your Winter Blues Blog Tour - Stop 1

January-April 2012

The Beat Your Winter Blues Blog Tour have started today, Sixteen authors will do their best to make your winter brighter in January, February, March, and April. (Unless you’re south of the equator, and then we’ll just be jealous of your summer.) Every Wednesday will be a new stop on the tour (see schedule below). Be sure to leave a comment at each stop for up to sixteen chances at the grand prize: a $200 USD gift certificate to the e-retailer of your choice. Also keep an eye out for links to individual authors’ sites on their release dates for a chance to win some free books.

 
January 18: Favorite Wintertime Activities (hosted by JosephineMyles)January 25: Join us for a January getaway (hosted by AndrewGrey)February 1: Winter in My Backyard (hosted by LouHarper)February 8: “If I could get away right now, I’d go to…” (hosted by EllisCarrington)February 15: Valentine’s Day (hosted by J.L. Merrow)February 22: Authors by the Fireside (hosted by KateMcMurray)February 29: Join us for a February getaway (hosted by Z.A. Maxfield)March 7: Things to Do in a Blizzard (hosted by S.A. Meade)March 14: St. Patrick’s Day (hosted by ClareLondon)March 21: Spring Break (hosted by BlaineArden)March 28: Join us for a March Getaway (hosted by TalesfromtheWritingCave)April 4: Favorite Winter Movies (hosted by StumblingOverChaos)April 11: Signs of Spring (hosted by J.P. Barnaby)April 18: Join us for an April Getaway (hosted by MarieSexton)April 25: Farewell (hosted by JoyfullyJay)April 30: Grand Prize Announcement (hosted by Heidi Cullinan)

Every week we’ll also let you know what books are recently released and about to be released, complete with links to giveaways. This week is full of them!

Beat Your Winter Blues Blog Tour - Stop 1

January-April 2012
The Beat Your Winter Blues Blog Tour have started today, Sixteen authors will do their best to make your winter brighter in January, February, March, and April. (Unless you're south of the equator, and then we'll just be jealous of your summer.) Every Wednesday will be a new stop on the tour (see schedule below). Be sure to leave a comment at each stop for up to sixteen chances at the grand prize: a $200 USD gift certificate to the e-retailer of your choice. Also keep an eye out for links to individual authors' sites on their release dates for a chance to win some free books. Today's post is on Coffee and Porn in the Morning. Hop on over!
Future schedule:
 January 18: Favorite Wintertime Activities (hosted by JosephineMyles)January 25: Join us for a January getaway (hosted by AndrewGrey)February 1: Winter in My Backyard (hosted by LouHarper)February 8: "If I could get away right now, I'd go to…" (hosted by EllisCarrington)February 15: Valentine's Day (hosted by J.L. Merrow)February 22: Authors by the Fireside (hosted by KateMcMurray)February 29: Join us for a February getaway (hosted by Z.A. Maxfield)March 7: Things to Do in a Blizzard (hosted by S.A. Meade)March 14: St. Patrick's Day (hosted by ClareLondon)March 21: Spring Break (hosted by BlaineArden)March 28: Join us for a March Getaway (hosted by TalesfromtheWritingCave)April 4: Favorite Winter Movies (hosted by StumblingOverChaos)April 11: Signs of Spring (hosted by J.P. Barnaby)April 18: Join us for an April Getaway (hosted by MarieSexton)April 25: Farewell (hosted by JoyfullyJay)April 30: Grand Prize Announcement (hosted by Heidi Cullinan)
Every week we'll also let you know what books are recently released and about to be released, complete with links to giveaways. This week is full of them!

A Flash of Slash

It's Slash Month on Chicks and Dicks. Yesterday I posted my personal account of how I got drawn into reading and eventually writing slash fanfiction, and how it lead me to m/m. Today Jo Myles is giving advice to those who contemplate making the same jump.

A Flash of Slash

It's Slash Month on Chicks and Dicks. Yesterday I posted my personal account of how I got drawn into reading and eventually writing slash fanfiction, and how it lead me to m/m. Today Jo Myles is giving advice to those who contemplate making the same jump.

N-ine Words of the Day

The English language is awash in adjectives ending in "-ine." They have Latin origins and usually serve to express their subject's relation or likeness to something, quite often an animal. Canine or feline are the most popular ones, but there are many others. Here are nine lesser-known examples:

pavonine

adjective

of or like a peacock.

porcine

adjective

of, affecting, or resembling a pig or pigs : his flushed, porcine features.

hircine

adjective

of or resembling a goat.

anserine

adjective:
1. Of or relating to a goose.
2. Stupid; silly.

ovine

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling sheep.

ranine 

adjective

 Relating to or characteristic of frogs.

leporine

adjective

of or resembling a hare or hares.

elephantine

adjective

of, resembling, or characteristic of an elephant or elephants, esp. in being large, clumsy, or awkward : there was an elephantine thud from the bathroom.

murine

adjective Zoology

of, relating to, or affecting mice or related rodents.