Steven E. Wedel's Blog, page 37
October 25, 2011
Review: The Dark Sacrament: True Stories of Modern-Day Demon Possession and Exorcism
The Dark Sacrament: True Stories of Modern-Day Demon Possession and Exorcism by David Kiely
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a really good book. It was limited to cases in Ireland, and all are pretty recent, as in the last 20 years or so. The narrative voice overall was very good, something you often don't get with these kinds of books. The authors approached the subject like journalists, reporting on the events, interviewing the participants, and not as googly-eyed...
October 19, 2011
Review: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It wasn't a bad read, but I never really felt connected to any of the characters. The narration seemed to hold the reader at a distance. When I put it down, there was no compulsion to get back to it, other than a stubbornness to finish. And yet, it wasn't a bad story. It certainly has some strong themes — mostly the search for yourself — and it a nice period piece, though typically depressing pretty...
September 25, 2011
Thoughts on Becoming a YA Author, Part 2
Well, I knew it was inevitable, and it happened less than a week following After Obsession's publication. Someone accused me of selling out.
Selling out. Let's think about what that means. I typically think of selling out as giving up your moral principles and simply doing something for monetary gain, or some other personal gain. Considering that my half of the advance for After Obsession was more money than all my other books combined has earned me, one might think the accusation of selling o...
September 17, 2011
The Big Time
As an author working in the small presses, I always had to do my own marketing, my own promotion, making contacts, sending books for review, setting up signings and providing books, then letting the bookstore take a cut of the sales. As a result, it was important to monitor the reviews of my books. Also, because small press publishers are busy and sometimes not great record-keepers, I keep track of my sales as best I can through various avenues.
With the release of After Obsession from...
September 10, 2011
Review: The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was only my second Neil Gaiman read. After finally reading American Gods earlier this year, I wanted more. Now I have to wonder why it took me so long to finally begin reading Gaiman. This was a fantastic, imaginative, and compelling read from beginning to end. I highly recommend it. I think it might be classified as a children's book. It has some scary imagery in it, but overall it isn't too much for middle...
September 5, 2011
Some book updates
After Obsession is now available in the United Kingdom. Yay! And we're just eight days away from the American release. Yay! (You can still pre-order the American hardcover.)
The blog I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read posted an interview with me and Carrie. This was previously only available in the advance reading copies. As you can tell, we had a lot of fun with it. You can enter a contest to win one of those ARCs while you're there.
Have you seen the awesome trailer for After Obsession?
This is...
Review: A Modest Proposal
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pray none of our humorless politicians read this essay!
August 29, 2011
Review: Lonesome Dove
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book would have been a slam-dunk five stars if the ending hadn't made me so mad. The story is so rich, so detailed, so enthralling, that for most of the 900+ pages I knew it would have a five-star review from me.
::::SPOILER ALERT:::::
It was the lack of closure that just ruined the ending for me. Yeah, maybe it was saying something about Call's character. He kept saying the other men couldn't do anything without...
August 27, 2011
Read an interview; Win an ARC
My critique partner and long-time friend Gayleen Rabakukk has posted an interview with me and Carrie Jones over on her blog. Being an excellent journalist, Gayleen has done another good job. If you spread the word about her blog, where she's always reviewing young adult literature, you can win the ARC of After Obsession I gave her to review.
Here's the link to Part 1 of the interview.
And here's the link to Part 2.
Have fun and good luck!
Tagged: advance reader copy, after obsession, arc, book r...
August 21, 2011
Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As an AP English teacher, I'd heard colleagues snub this book pretty often, complaining that the writing was bad, the story was bad, etc. With that, and a huge TBR pile, anyway, I put off reading it for years. My mistake. Sure, it's written for a younger audience, but I found the writing to be very good and the story was engaging and lays the groundwork for what I assume will be the more complex...
