Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
Josh wrote: "Jordan wrote: "But I just don't understand reading a second book if I didn't like the first book. Oh well. ..."
I don't think it would hold true if you actively disliked a book. But let's say you..."
There is an author right now, who shall remain nameless, whose writing I really dislike. But I genuinely want to like this person's writing because overall, it's meant to be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it simply doesn't work for me. Having said that, I'm going to read the second book in this person's current series, once it is released, for several reasons: (1) the character on whom it will probably be based was actually sort of compelling; (2) there was an unresolved mystery in the first book, and I'd sort of like to know whodunit; and (3) I'd like to give this writer the traditional third shot (I read part of her first book, which wasn't part of a series, but I DNF'd it because I disliked it so much -- at least I finished the first book in the new series, but that was mostly because I borrowed it, and I never waste a borrow). :-)
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I don't think it would hold true if you actively disliked a book. But ..."
Okay! And there are always outliers. :-)
Plus, I noticed on Audible I had a reviewer who hated the first of my audio books she (he?) tried. She went on to try two more books. Personally I wondered why she was wasting credits on stories she was clearly not going to enjoy, but on she went. Writing negative reviews in her wake.
So clearly some folks are slow to make up their minds. Or even if they do make up their minds, they are a glutton for punishment. OR they enjoy writing reviews -- there is also that particular and fascinating element in our brave new publishing world. People do dearly love expressing their opinion.
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Heh. I'm not sure if I'd find behavior like that funny, scary or irritating?
Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Plus, I noticed on Audible I had a reviewer who hated the first of my audio books she (he?) tried. She went on to try two more books. Personally I wondered why she was wasting credits ..."A little of all three, IMO. Plus you could add in annoying as all Hell to the mix! :)
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Mildly puzzling, I guess. I know those types of reviews do no harm because they're too idiosyncratic. No one is not going to buy my books based on her review. Anymore than someone WOULD buy my books based on a review that said I LOVE JOSH LANYON COZ HE ALWAYS PAINTS WITH BLUE.
Uh...that's nice. :-D
I don't think that's a reader who can be swayed books 3-5 though. And yet it's a reader who keeps "reading." So there are always those outliers.
Josh wrote: [C]learly some folks are slow to make up their minds. Or even if they do make up their minds, they are a glutton for punishment. OR they enjoy writing reviews -- there is also that particular and fascinating element in our brave new publishing world. People do dearly love expressing their opinion.":-)
I really am opinionated as all get out, lol! But truly, it's not about writing reviews, mean or otherwise. Life is too short. It's about being fair. This author is new, and like I said, I actually want to like her. I can see her being a super fun storyteller, but she isn't there yet for me. I'm simply hoping that the stuff I dislike will smooth out over time. So I'm giving her that time. Just not unlimited time. :-)
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Yes, I think this an aspect of new publishing where social media maybe plays a part. All this interaction and information has to have an influence.
If you think about it, now days we have a chance to form an opinion about the author even before we read the work! That's relatively new.
And I think it can work in both positives. If someone seems engaging, likable, and the work is promising, I think maybe they get extra chances with readers.
And if they come across as arrogant, unlikeable, egotistical, they could conceivably have readers ready to dislike their work before it ever appears.
It' such an interesting development.
"Josh wrote: "Plus, I noticed on Audible I had a reviewer who hated the first of my audio books she (he?) tried. She went on to try two more books. Personally I wondered why she was wasting credits ..."I can see why someone might listen to three of your books and be annoying along the way. I did the same thing to another author before giving up on him (well, I didn't listen to his books -- I read his books). If someone is established, and everyone in the world says, "Oh, he's wonderful, you have to read him," if you read one book and dislike it, you might think, "I picked the wrong book. Let me try another." So you pick a second. If you dislike it, you might think, "Oh, maybe there is something wrong with me -- everyone loves this guy! I'll try one more time." If you dislike the third book, then you finally decide, "Nope, nothing is wrong with me. This author and I just don't mix."
Or, maybe if you take that approach, you're just indecisive and bizarre. ;-)
I know a few authors I keep giving the benefit of my doubt about their books because I like them, I sometimes interact with them, and they are fun and good people.Reading a so/so book once in a while is not gonna kill me. I read 'em fast enough, on to something better. :)
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LOL. Blue is a beautiful color... ;-)
Can't help thinking of one of my favorite Picasso quotes, though:
"If I don't have red, I use blue."
Aaaaanyway, I totally see what you mean. :-)
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I'm quick to make up my mind, so maybe I'm impatient with that kind of thinking?
BUT I will say this, it depends on WHY I didn't like a book. Music is more straightforward in that sense. But a story...maybe you didn't like the plot. Maybe you didn't like the character dynamic, so yes, there could be reasons assuming you like the author's voice or you liked some of the characters and some of the dynamics and so forth. If you hate everything, then that's a pretty good indicator that it isn't the particular work. That author is just not for you.
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Also, I tend to hate the stuff everyone LURRVES, so I'm always prepared to BE the outlier. :-)
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Reading a so/so book once in a w..."
People do read voraciously now, and even though fiction sales have slipped a bit in the past couple of years, in general people are reading more. Or at least sampling more. I think low ebook prices have made readers more willing to give certain books and certain authors a try. And then maybe a second try.
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LOL. Blue is a beautiful color... ;-)
Can't help thinking of o..."
:-D
Regarding series, if the first book didn't work for me, I'm less likely to move forward. (I'm an outlier--Widdershins and Cut & Run didn't work for me, so did not progress forward in either series. I know both books worked for many others though, so I do recommend checking them out for yourself.)I think it's good to give an author another chance though, because sometimes it's not the writing, but the tone of the specific series that might not be working for someone, so it can be good to try something else by that writer to see if the style works in a different setting. (I love Rhys Ford's Cole McGinnis Mysteries series, but couldn't get into Sinner's Gin. Am still looking forward to checking out her new one though Fish & Ghosts. It sounds pretty nifty.)
Meg Perry's Jamie Brodie's Mysteries is a good example for me of a series that didn't blow me away at first, but was engaging enough to keep going, and now I'm really looking forward to future installments.
Josh wrote: "Music is more straightforward in that sense."Totally agree. If I don't like your voice, I don't like your voice, and I pretty much decide that right away. By contrast, there are very few authors whose writing styles just -- out of the box -- don't work for me. I'll give most writers multiple chances if they are baseline competent. (Oddly enough, Hemingway fell into the "immediately dead to me" category. I know, sacrilege. :-) It probably happened because I exposed myself to him when I was a kid, and I had infinitely less patience back then. I am, however, an educated person, so I will force myself to go back to him one day.)
Josh wrote: "Although for me, it's probably worked the opposite way. Because there is so much to read now, I probably give fewer chances than I used to."I am like that. I sample a book whose blurb catches my interest, but if the sample doesn't work, I think why should I read a badly written book when there are so many good ones telling a similar story better. So I am a harsh mistress in that regard :).
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Cut and Run didn't work for me, but because I loved the premise so much, I bought a couple more of the books (but then never tried them). Then I got into audio books and I saw Roux had the series in audio, so I started listening to one, and it was quite a bit better than I expected. I never finished but that's more to do about finding time to listen to audio. I currently have seven and a half started audio books!
And I do plan to eventually finish them all!
Josh wrote: "Also, I tend to hate the stuff everyone LURRVES, so I'm always prepared to BE the outlier. :-)"This has definitely happened to me. I try to read a few reviews with different ratings and pick out the things that sometimes make a read better or worse for me and go with them as my determining factors. Captive Prince is a recent example. The writing talent is great but I just didn't click with the story/characters like so many seemed to do.
Josh wrote: "Although for me, it's probably worked the opposite way. Because there is so much to read now, I probably give fewer chances than I used to."
I feel the same and try to stop myself from making quick decisions on which books to read and buy. Not always easy. Thankfully I've been really lucky to have enjoyed the vast majority of authors new to me that I've read this year - my first yr in this fab M/M world, awww LOL - including you. :)
Did the kiss-ass meter go off? I hope not LOL, twas sincere. :D ;)
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Totally agree. If I don't like your voice, I don't like your voice, and I pretty much decide that right away. By contrast, there are ve..."
Yes. The more defined the author's voice and style, the more it is likely a reader could be turned off by voice alone.
This is one of the arguments against developing a unique author voice. That distinct voice can become such a powerful element -- even a character -- within the story. And it conceivably gives readers one more thing not to like.
Josh wrote: "ttg wrote: "Regarding series, if the first book didn't work for me, I'm less likely to move forward. (I'm an outlier--Widdershins and Cut & Run didn't work for me, so did not progress forward in ei..."I think after she started writing on her own.... or at least the Cut&Run books she wrote on her own she did mature in her writing. Therefore her last two Cut&Run books are my favorites.
While I do love Caught Running and think that one by Roux and Urban is fantastic I think writing with another one must be in a way restricting.... the pair has a certain mold and maybe it's hard to break or grow out of it. I don't know....
Ame wrote: "Josh wrote: "ttg wrote: "Regarding series, if the first book didn't work for me, I'm less likely to move forward. (I'm an outlier--Widdershins and Cut & Run didn't work for me, so did not progress ..."I liked Cut and Run because of the characters, but had problems with the writing style. I liked the guys so much I continued anyway though. And in my opinion the writing gets better for each book.
Anne wrote: "Ame wrote: "Josh wrote: "ttg wrote: "Regarding series, if the first book didn't work for me, I'm less likely to move forward. (I'm an outlier--Widdershins and Cut & Run didn't work for me, so did n..."Yeah, me too. The plot are sometimes all over the place. But I do like the first one a lot because of the chemistry between Ty&Zane and first meet etc. Parts of it I've read time and again.
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Restricting in some ways, liberating in others. I think writing partnerships are fascinating.
Anne wrote: "I liked Cut and Run because of the characters, but had problems with the writing style. I liked the guys so much I continued anyway though. And in my opinion the writing gets better for each book. "
I agree completely. As much as I love Ty & Zane, I can't re-read the first book, compared to every one that follows, it's just not very good. But what kept me reading were the characters. Not just Ty & Zane, but all of the secondary ones that populate each book, especially once Ty's family and his Sidewinder team came into play.
Sometimes I'll keep reading an author or a series because I like the idea behind the story more than the story itself, sometimes because I like the author's style, and sometimes it's the characters that are better than the story they're stuck in. In any of those cases I'll try, try again. But ultimately, it's three strikes and you're out.
I agree completely. As much as I love Ty & Zane, I can't re-read the first book, compared to every one that follows, it's just not very good. But what kept me reading were the characters. Not just Ty & Zane, but all of the secondary ones that populate each book, especially once Ty's family and his Sidewinder team came into play.
Sometimes I'll keep reading an author or a series because I like the idea behind the story more than the story itself, sometimes because I like the author's style, and sometimes it's the characters that are better than the story they're stuck in. In any of those cases I'll try, try again. But ultimately, it's three strikes and you're out.
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I think that must be the wisdom behind the 3 - 5 rule. If a series doesn't capture you by book three, it's seems unlikely most readers will keep trying.
Ame wrote: "I think after she started writing on her own.... or at least the Cut&Run books she wrote on her own she did mature in her writing. Therefore her last two Cut&Run books are my favorites."I might be the odd one regarding the Cut&Run series. I only got into it after I gave the first book a second chance. Then I loved it. But when the writing team split up it never was the same for me. I had liked the grittiness of Zane in the early books, his tormented self. Later, when Ms. Roux started to write alone imho his personality vanished. The two characters sounded too much alike and I couldn't read on because of all the crying and general sappiness. *sorry* Never got through book #5 and never tried the books after that one.
Anne wrote: "Ame wrote: "Josh wrote: "ttg wrote: "Regarding series, if the first book didn't work for me, I'm less likely to move forward. (I'm an outlier--Widdershins and Cut & Run didn't work for me, so did n..."I wasn't super excited about Cut and Run either, but I have the second one, so I'll read it at some stage. Lots of folk seem to think it gets better, so I'm game!
In other news, I started The Rifter today! I'm not halfway through the first book yet, and I am already excited about it. It does appear that the fuss is warranted. I love it!
I found an unexpectedly fun book, Brainy and the Beast by J.M. Cartwright. Henry and Nick learn to negotiate a relationship for the first time while Nick takes care of his nephew and watches after his father's health.I like books like this that take you into the relationship as the protagonists learn how to put up with each other.
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I can't imagine it improving any in audio. But now that it's being pubed by Riptide (?is that right?) they could conceivably edit the heck out of the first book and repub it someday. Then I might give it a chance.
I've often said I would never co-write anything, but now I'm beginning to wonder what would happen if my urban fantasies met someone who was good at world building.
I cowrote a fanfic story via the post office when I was in high school and it was not a good experience. But we didn't know what we were doing. Now, after hearing how others have successfully cowritten things, I would like to give it a try.
The rights to Cut & Run still belong to Dreamspinner Press. Abigail Roux is now publishing C&R series at Riptide, but she doesn't have the rights to the earlier books yet.I enjoy the books well enough. I'm not a huge fan, but I read 'em as they come out since they are fun for the most part.
I would have been definitely in the category of "tried it, didn't like it, move on" at the start of this discussion. However, ttg's comment made me stop and reconsider ("I love Rhys Ford's Cole McGinnis Mysteries series, but couldn't get into Sinner's Gin"). There are some authors who I love, consider almost auto-buys, who have written series which I just didn't like. So if that had been the series I tried first, I'd have written them off as an author I didn't like. If I think about why I liked some series but not others by the same author, often it's to do with themes or tropes that I don't like very much.
I still think that if I didn't like book one of a series, I won't like the rest so wouldn't try again. However, on the basis of my own experience, I might try the same author writing a different book or series. It depends why I didn't like the first one I tried. If it was the writing itself I'm less likely to try again.
Really? I liked Sinner's Gin better than the first Cole McGinnis book.
I like the Cut and Run series but I do prefer the later books especially Armed & Dangerous
. My favourites from Abigail Roux are
and
. I recently read
and didn't like it much.
Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I like the Cut and Run series but I do prefer the later books especially Armed & Dangerous. My favourites from Abigail Roux are [bookcover:The ..."I really liked Armed & Dangerous, especially because of the crossover characters from Warrior's Cross which i also liked.
I read Touch & Geaux yesterday. It did keep my interest probably because it's still Ty&Zane and i want to know what's up with them, but i didn't like it as much as books 2-6 in the series. There was still some of that signature banter, but very little, and the conflict seemed over the top.
It's funny how everyone's opinions seem to be all over the place. I didn't care much for Warrior's Cross or Gravedigger's Brawl. I love the Cut & Run series for Ty and Zane and the other characters and their chemistry, not so much for the plots. I thought Shock & Awe was pretty good but it didn't blow me away. The series has potential, though.
I didn't like Sinner's Gin or Dirty Kiss, either.
Alison wrote: "Anne wrote: "Ame wrote: "Josh wrote: "ttg wrote: "Regarding series, if the first book didn't work for me, I'm less likely to move forward. (I'm an outlier--Widdershins and Cut & Run didn't work for..."I need to start The Rifter. I read the first one a while back but wasn't in the mood to continue. In fact, there are a number of long series I want to read but keep putting off for some reason.
When we are talking about Abigail Roux, I just re-read According to Hoyle and it was as wonderful as the first time I've read it. I wish she could start on the sequel soon (she planned a trilogy, but she has to clear some rights issues first).Oh, and yes, I really liked the crossover with Warrior Cross. I mean Ty and Julian... great stuff. ^^
Now, I'm eyeing Screwing the System by Josephine Myles. Has anyone here read it?
Lady*M wrote: "Now, I'm eyeing Screwing the System by Josephine Myles. Has anyone here read it? ..."I liked it! But Myles can pretty much do no wrong in my book. All of her books are really good. I loved The Hot Floor.
Lady*M wrote: "Now, I'm eyeing Screwing the System by Josephine Myles. Has anyone here read it? "I've read a few of Josephine Myles' stories and it's been pretty much hit and miss for me. I liked Barging In, for example, but this one would go toward the miss category. It's well written, but i didn't care for the MCs, yet it was sort of intriguing too.
I really enjoyed Warrior's Cross. It's my favorite of her work. The Cut and Run (for me) series is all over the place.
Carlita wrote: "I really enjoyed Warrior's Cross. It's my favorite of her work. The Cut and Run (for me) series is all over the place."Warrior's Cross is one of my favorites. I really liked the MCs. And the puppies! I found it sweet and heartwarming :-)
Susinok wrote: "Really? I liked Sinner's Gin better than the first Cole McGinnis book."I liked Sinner's Gin very much, but had to ask myself what happened to Whisky and Wry, the no 2 in the series. Clumsy language and a villain so over the top he wasn't scary. While reading it, I kept thinking she must have put forward an unedited version on Amazon by mistake.
I liked Dirty Kiss well, and also her fantasy book, Black Dog Blues, but she is not consistently good in my opinion. But I will give her more chances, I like the idea behind the Sinner's Gin series, and hope book 3 will be more like book 1.
Lady*M wrote: "When we are talking about Abigail Roux, I just re-read According to Hoyle and it was as wonderful as the first time I've read it. I wish she could start on the sequel soon (she planned a trilogy, b..."I'll have to try According to Hoyle. :)
I liked Screwing the System. I really liked The Hot Floor, too. I'm hoping to get to Merry Gentlemen this week.
Lady*M wrote: "When we are talking about Abigail Roux, I just re-read According to Hoyle and it was as wonderful as the first time I've read it. I wish she could start on the sequel soon (she planned a trilogy, b..."Myles rarely goes wrong for me. I love her language and characters, usually older/younger, establishment/free spirit. Screwing is a great example of her work. It's been a while but I think the blurb was a little misleading.
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I've read a few of Josephine Myles' stories and it's been pretty much hit and miss for me. I liked..."
I bought Barging in from Josephine Myles in Manchester and I'm planning to read it during the Christmas holiday. I'm glad to hear you liked it, KC. :-)
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I don't think it would hold true if you actively disliked a book. But let's say you thought a book was okay. Not a bad time waster, but you didn't think about the characters after the story ended, didn't want the T-shirt, as it were. For those kind of series and books, the magic would take place -- if it was going to take place at all -- around books 3 - 5.
The fact is, most series DON'T take off.