Rhoda Baxter's Blog, page 31
October 18, 2017
Book Review: The Importance of Book Cover Design by J. D. Smith
The Importance of Book Cover Design and Formatting by J.D. Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I picked up this book because I wanted to know what to look for in a book cover – what was good practice, what info did a cover designer need. Also, since I was thinking of putting together some covers for short stories myself.
It is interesting and informative and gives me an idea of what goes into the design of a cover. With book covers the actual making of the cover (the messing around with image manip...
October 11, 2017
Do romance heroines have to be ‘nice’?
Continuing on my tour of blogs – today I’ve over at Short Book and Scribes, talking about the ‘unlikable’ heroine. I don’t find Olivia in Girl In Trouble particularly unlikable, but she’s not your kooky, clutzy, oh-so-nice girl either. She’s outspoken, laddish and confident. I don’t think that precludes her from being liked … or means she can’t have a happy ending. Do you?
Go check out the post here: http://shortbookandscribes.uk/guest-posts/guestpost-rhoda-baxter-talks-about-writing-flawed-h...
October 10, 2017
Diversity in genre fiction. Why I would like to see more.
As part of the promo for Girl In Trouble (which came out yesterday – you can still grab it for 99p if you act fast), I was given the chance to do a guest post on Rachel’s Random Reads. Rachel asked me why representation in fiction mattered to me. You can read my very personal reasons for wanting to see more non-white characters in genre fiction here:
https://rachelsrandomreads.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/guest-post-representation-matters-by.html
And here’s a picture of Girl In Trouble, in case you...
October 9, 2017
Girl In Trouble is out now!
To celebrate the release of Girl In Trouble (the sequel to Girl Having A Ball), I’m having a small blog splash (a blog splish?). To kick things off, there are my own responses to the three prompts:
Both Olivia and Walter undergo changes that they feel are bad, but end up being positive. Have you ever had a blessing in disguise? …
When I was at university (years ago now – before Twitter or Facebook existed!), I was on a four year course. My college allocated accommodation in college owned ho...
October 4, 2017
Book review: Into The Woods by John Yorke
Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them by John Yorke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There are lots of books about the ‘how’ of story. This book is about the ‘why’ of story.
Humans learn through stories. You will always remember a story more easily than a fact, which is why the earliest lessons we learn are through fables and cautionary tales. John Yorke looks at the way stories are structured and draws parallels between the structure of popular/successful stories and the human learnin...
October 1, 2017
Writing confidence vs the Fear
Just one week to go before the launch of my first indie published book, Girl In Trouble goes live. Until now, I’ve been working my way through all the things that have to be done – getting first and second round edits to/from the editor, sorting out the cover, making sure that the backmatter links work, getting everything formatted and uploaded to Kindle, Kobo, Apple etc, sorting out the launch week bonuses. But now. Now the fear is hitting me.
All my previous novels have been published by a...
September 27, 2017
Out of Practice by Penny Parkes
Out of Practice by Penny Parkes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a lovely story! The book is ostensibly about GP Dr Holly Graham, who is new to the village of Larkford and loving it there. But there’s a whole cast of characters who come in and out of the story, all of whom are lovable. My favourite is ice-maiden Dr Julia Channing. What a fabulous character.
It’s a heartwarming small town romance. It touches lightly on social issues so that they are highlighted without the story getting mired in i...
September 20, 2017
Book Review: The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath
The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip Heath
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
We can all recount moments that changed our lives. This book is about those moments – what they have in common, how to recognise a moment and, most importantly, how to create one. There are a range of examples of how ‘moments’ can be used to change things – from teaching, to improving sanitation in the developing world, to turning around failing schools.
The writing style is conversat...
September 13, 2017
Book review: Famous by Jenny Holiday
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
One day, at the height of his infamy, Evan Winslow meets a girl called Emmy. His muse. (except he’s just quit painting).
Seven years later, Emmy has become Emmerson Quinn – mega star. Evan is hiding out, teaching in a small university. When Emmy turns up needing a place to hide, he understands.
The thing I loved about this book is that the characters are so believable. Great dialogue (not snappy for the sake of the one-liner, but genuinely natur...
September 6, 2017
Book review: Altitude by Niel Bushnell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked this up because I met Niel Bushnell at an event and was curious. (Generally speaking, if I get on with people in real life, I tend to like their writing too). It’s billed as paranormal YA, but it’s not what you’d expect. It’s a story about a bully who learns to fly and the disruption that causes to her relationships.
Tam isn’t a nice person. In fact, she’s a bully. Abigail is her on/off victim. The two are bound together by the shared...
