Judy
asked
Kevin Purdy:
I noticed you have great reviews for your Halloween Carol book. As a fellow writer, I like to ask my favorite authors this question: Are you satisfied with your reviews and how do you handle the inevitable negative reviews?
Kevin Purdy
Great questions, Judy. Yes, I am very pleased at the reviews of "The Legend of Decimus Croome." I appreciate when readers rate my books, and I'm even more appreciative when they take the time to write a review. As far as the more critical reviews, I don't mind constructive criticism, but I'm a bit disappointed with a couple specific types of reviews, not only of my books but those of other authors.
First, I hope that reviewers keep in mind the intended audience. For example Decimus Croome is a Halloween book for families. A couple critical reviews on Amazon and Goodreads had a problem that there wasn't more horror in the story. But it is not a horror story. It is a little spooky, a lot funny and mostly playful. It is a book for the entire family, so it was never intended to be gory or gruesome.
The second most frequent critical comment (which means a couple) was about my use of alliteration in the book. Please note that I purposefully used a lot of alliteration as my literary element du jour. I like to sprinkle in an abundance of one particular literary element in each book almost as if I'm designing a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt. As a former teacher, I appreciated when authors did this so that I could teach that element to students before reading the book. Then I challenged them to find the metaphors, similes, onomatopoeias, alliterations, etc as they read the book.
The final critique of my critiques (-: is the comparisons to whatever famous author I was trying to emulate. In the case of A Halloween Carol, that was Charles Dickens. I enjoy reading classic pieces of literature then adapting them for a modern (and potentially younger) audience. But I'm not trying to be that author. I'm flattered that some people would compare me to a master like Dickens, but please don't expect me to be Dickens... believe me... I'm not that author or any other famous writer. My books are for fun, not for immortality. You will find some similarities to Dickens writing style, and even some humorous references to Charles Dickens speckled throughout the book. But please judge the book based upon whether or not it was entertaining, not on whether it was exactly like a certain famous literary master.
Overall though, thanks to all the readers who take time to write reviews. I appreciate them, and other Goodreads users also depend on reviews to make informed decisions about their future favorite books.
First, I hope that reviewers keep in mind the intended audience. For example Decimus Croome is a Halloween book for families. A couple critical reviews on Amazon and Goodreads had a problem that there wasn't more horror in the story. But it is not a horror story. It is a little spooky, a lot funny and mostly playful. It is a book for the entire family, so it was never intended to be gory or gruesome.
The second most frequent critical comment (which means a couple) was about my use of alliteration in the book. Please note that I purposefully used a lot of alliteration as my literary element du jour. I like to sprinkle in an abundance of one particular literary element in each book almost as if I'm designing a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt. As a former teacher, I appreciated when authors did this so that I could teach that element to students before reading the book. Then I challenged them to find the metaphors, similes, onomatopoeias, alliterations, etc as they read the book.
The final critique of my critiques (-: is the comparisons to whatever famous author I was trying to emulate. In the case of A Halloween Carol, that was Charles Dickens. I enjoy reading classic pieces of literature then adapting them for a modern (and potentially younger) audience. But I'm not trying to be that author. I'm flattered that some people would compare me to a master like Dickens, but please don't expect me to be Dickens... believe me... I'm not that author or any other famous writer. My books are for fun, not for immortality. You will find some similarities to Dickens writing style, and even some humorous references to Charles Dickens speckled throughout the book. But please judge the book based upon whether or not it was entertaining, not on whether it was exactly like a certain famous literary master.
Overall though, thanks to all the readers who take time to write reviews. I appreciate them, and other Goodreads users also depend on reviews to make informed decisions about their future favorite books.
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