Losing & Winning

Sharing a commentary (just out) by judge, 24th Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards:

In Losing and Winning, author Thomas W. Devine shows how most people's dream-come-true can turn into the worst nightmare. Readers are in for a treat with this character driven, suspense filled romp around the world.

The product quality is good. The front cover is attractive and gives readers a feel for the international settings in the story. The colours are nice and pleasant. The back cover blurb will intrigue prospective readers enough to make them want to see what the book is all about.

Devine does a nice job of deeply immersed, limited third person point of view. It reads almost as though it's written in first person. This is a feat that not many writers can handle, so great job!

I like the way the main character's insecurities come through, starting with the first page, because it makes him relatable to most people. However, the opening scene goes on for so long that it almost makes him seem too anxious (neurotic?) and not heroic. Cutting about half of his worrying about whether or not he has the actual numbers and what will happen next should take care of this issue.

The dialogue is well written. However, some of the narrative tends to ramble to the point of becoming repetitive. Read aloud some of the paragraphs that follow segments of conversation, and you'll hear it.

This isn't something that would keep someone from enjoying the book, but fixing it will quicken the pacing and make it more of a page-turner.

Anyone who enjoys character driven stories filled with what-ifs will love Losing & Winning. The satisfying ending will send readers back to the store for more books by Devine (go to www.wtdevine.com )
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Published on December 02, 2016 13:42 Tags: competition-judging, novel, praise, suspense
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