Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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Hyenas sound pretty eerie sometimes. Am glad it was just a bad dream...a horrible one for a parent! Lol. If you encounter a shark, don't think of me! I'm far too non-threatening for the psychology required when facing a shark! ;) Think about being a lioness or an orca (there's a pod off the coast of California that hunts Great Whites -- you can youtube it), then move as little as possible and stare it down if you can. Sharks are cowards and prefer to attack from behind. If you can make eye contact with it, stare at it and think about how good stark steaks taste and how you are going to eat that shark if he messes with you. They sense all kinds of things and respond to electro-chemical shifts in other creatures. Throw some attitude, even if you're faking it (channel your inner Samuel Jackson), and slowly move away while keeping an eye on the . Also, don't take my word for it (I'm just some rando person on the Internet who is neither a marine biologist nor a shark whisperer), there are lots of officially-sanctioned tips and tricks for dealing with sharks or any wildlife.
PS. Your story of the hyena could be the kernel of a short story. :)
As I read about what to do if I should encounter a shark, I thought: look me in the eye, you shark; I am Samuel Jackson (in that movie where he had only one good eye) and I will risk my eye staring without fear; yes, I have attitude; no, shark, you will not bite me for I will eat you first.What happened? I was pumped up, and you let the air out of me by confessing that you are not an expert on the subject!
If I make it out to California in future, I am going to be looking for a man named David to be my guide on the great shark hunt! So bone up on those officially-sanctioned tips and tricks.
Glad you like the videos guys. The Cornwell one was fairly easy to find, but finding one on Gates of Fire was a pain in the butt. There is no You Tube clip for Gates of Fire. Then I searched Battle of Thermopylae and the clips were either too long or were all connected to the movie 300. Then I searched Sparta and came up against the same problem.
Finally settled on the weapons. :) A short little 3 minute offering that does not include clips of 300.
Linda wrote: "I was pumped up, and you let the air out of me by confessing that you are not an expert on the subject!"Lol. I had to put the disclaimer in there. It would be akin to offering legal advice without a) being a lawyer and b) carrying malpractice insurance or c) clearly stating the information to be mere opinion -- ie. somewhat irresponsible.
Those were just the things I learned from my own research. Thus far I have not been eaten by sharks...despite also having encountered a rather large Tiger Shark while diving in Belize a little over a year ago...which, I must admit, was pretty unnerving...but 'not getting eaten yet' hardly qualifies me as an expert. :)
Well said. I bought Lucretia last night. I want to know about the Borgia family. I think your travels may, in part, be for research purposes. A writer's research is most important to the reader. Through books I have traveled the world over. Even been to heaven and hell.My profession requires that I research and write. My readers are few and limited. It is not likely you have read any of my work, but I shall read yours.
Thanks, Linda. I hope you enjoy it. It's my first real foray into novel writing so I hope the story takes you to yet another part of the world in an interesting time period. :)
Fellow A&M member Margaret read David's book recently, and she really liked it.
Thanks, Terri. The review Margaret wrote is my first officially published reader review and it certainly is a generous one, for which I am very grateful. I hope other people enjoy it as well. :)
I am glad someone from the group finally read your book and reviewed it. It does not matter who the author is, if it is HF, and no-one has read a new book out, many people will sit back and wait for others to try it. Before they jump in.
I guess that's the somewhat agonizing part of becoming an indie author, a drawn out lesson in patience, hope and humility -- as if life doesn't already provide enough of those. Lol. :)Heard this on the radio in the truck earlier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlTJr...
Words to live by for anyone pursuing a creative career/life...and really for everyone. :)
Ha. Yeah. :) Appropriate I guess.I think, though, the unseen lesson when you become an author is that you are treading on ground where a few authors exhibiting bad behaviour can ruin it for all the others.
It is very common on GR for readers to have bad experiences with self pub authors. I am sorry that some bad apples do this, because it makes it harder for authors like you, Bryn and other nice authors in this group, to earn readers trust. And you don't even know why it is happening. Many GR readers have 'author baggage'. :(
:( :( :(Amen. If I weren't one, God knows what I'd think of us. We've seen bad behaviour, David. --If I hadn't seen terrible behaviour by big names with big publishers, too, I'd despair.
I hate it. I hate that the good guys suffer for the sins of others. :( Bryn is right. I have seen big names with big publishers act poorly too, I have been a recipient of a verbal attack by one of those big names myself. Even big names don't like negative reviews. :)
Crikey. Goodreads is a pain today. Won't load and when it does it is slow.Maybe they are trying to fix the bug affecting groups. The one I mentioned the other day where groups all over GR are having trouble opening threads.
I guess it's the trade-off with the marketplace opening up again for independent publishing (the big publishers didn't always run things*) but through social media that there are no PR filters anymore.Readers get to review things in real-time (listeners in music, viewers in film/tv and gamers etc.) and the artists are impacted immediately and directly. I'm sure a lot of authors got 'hate mail' in the old days along with fan mail, but when they blew their stacks and had emotional meltdowns about it, there wasn't an immediate forum for them to do it publicly. At least if they wanted to print a rebuttal in a newspaper or in a magazine, radio or tv interview, there was an unavoidable cooling-off period and some effort to maintain a level of professionalism. Now we get the unbridled version of everyone, readers, writers, reviewers, fans and haters on all side -- humanity in all its ugliness, without that illusory veneer of mock, coached or legally-advised civility.
As the folks who grew up with the Internet (myself included, though just barely) are fond of saying 'haters gonna hate' and even big name authors have their Charlie Sheen moments. Not to defend bad behavior by anyone, but I think the culture of social media like Goodreads or Facebook or Youtube is still working itself out and I believe we have to make an effort not let a few bad apples spoil the barrel. At least the discussion groups tend to have conscientious moderators, but the reviews section is fair game. Thus far I have yet to see anything resembling the vitriol I have observed on the Youtube comments sections, which are caustically amusing if you ever feel like reading some pure vitriol.
Since shortly after I switched from being a Goodreads Member to a Goodreads Author a few months ago, I've become reticent about reviewing and commenting on books as it can invite a lot of ad hominem attacks against one's person and published works from those who disagree with one's comments, which can really negatively impact things. I have no desire to get involved in a 'flame war' with someone because they're madly in love with a book I didn't happen to like. With regards to my own work, I try to keep in mind that there are some very popular authors whose work I respect but do not enjoy -- and there will be readers who don't find my work to be their cup of tea either. Hopefully they don't find it so distasteful that they feel the need to spew bile about it, but it's always possible.
As the new adage goes...haters gonna hate. :)
Terri wrote: Maybe they are trying to fix the bug affecting groups. The one I mentioned the other day where groups all over GR are having trouble opening threads."I encountered that bug a few times yesterday when I was looking through some old posts for a member I hadn't seen for a while. Thanks for the heads up on the glitch.
I wish it were so easy. Lol. I am afraid that authors behaving in awful ways towards reviewers is one way to be a bad apple, but there is more than that going on.I often get the most ludicrous messages form authors. As a moderator and an active user of the site, I cop a lot behind the scenes that people never see.
Things unrelated to bad reviews.
I get SP authors contacting me saying that if I send their book as a recommendation to everyone in my friends list or my group member list, they will support my Group and send invites to my group out to everyone in their friends list. If I do not agree, they will not support the group.
I cannot even count on my fingers and toes the amount of pms I have received from SP authors asking me to read their book. When I most graciously decline, I get abused. Told off. Snapped at.
I often also get messages from SP authors asking me to include their book in the group read polls. When I explain nicely that we can't do SP books in the polls because the book needs to be a book that can be found in libraries, secondhand stores etc..so that people who have little money can join in the read too...and that we also try to choose books that are available in more than one language because we are an international group and in more than one format, paper, hardcover, ebook.
I get no nice responses of 'thanks anyway'. I get no response at all, or I get snapped at or told off.
I am only one of a large community of readers who have to deal with this behaviour...and it all goes towards undermining trust. :(
David wrote: "Terri wrote: Maybe they are trying to fix the bug affecting groups. The one I mentioned the other day where groups all over GR are having trouble opening threads."I encountered that bug a few tim..."
Who's the member?
I kept getting the message that this site may have permanently moved. No forwarding address.I figured this past week of cyber shopping bargains in the USA made everything slow on the net. Warrantless searches may have been a factor. These could be plausible explanations for the troubles we are having.
Cyber Monday...hmmm..that could be a plausible suggestion.An Australian business tried to do a Cyber Monday in one day (I see your Cyber !Monday deals go for longer) about a week ago.
It was the first time this has been done in Australia. They got something like 40 retailers involved. There was a lot of doubt that their site would be able to handle the sudden load...and the doubters (me included) were right.
In the 10 minutes before the 24 hours of deals started, over 2 million people logged on to the site and the site crashed and had to be taken down.
It was an Epic fail. All the retailers that paid the business to be involved are asking for their money back.
Terri wrote: "I get SP authors contacting me saying that if I send their book as a recommendation to everyone in my friends list or my group member list, they will support my Group and send invites to my group out to everyone in their friends list."Jesus Christ.
With real apology to Christians. It's what I say when I'm upset at wrong things in the world, and so to me, it's respect to use his name.
Glad you said. I guess we ought to know about this sort of thing, behind the scenes to most of us.
I found out from some other folks who knew him better he deleted his account. That's the other side of frustration for some, to disengage entirely.Cyber Monday -- that might have affected the servers if people were hitting the pages looking for reviews/references, almost like an unintentional DDoS attack. Oh the Interwebs...
Linda, when you wrote 'Warrantless searches' I was wondering for a moment why the Dept. of Homeland Security would be witch-hunting on Goodreads, then I realized you probably meant unnecessary searches. Lol. Suffice it to say, online privacy issues and unconstitutional government surveillance and the suspension of civil liberties is one of my areas of interest, both from a literary/writer perspective and a political one.
Bryn wrote: "Jesus Christ.With real apology to Christians. It's what I say when I'm upset at wrong things in the world, and so to me, it's respect to use his name.
Glad you said. I guess we ought to know about this sort of thing, behind the scenes to most of us. .."
That's the thing. There is so much going on that the good apple authors don't know about and it is all undermining the trust.
I never say much about it, because it can come across as anti SP author to talk about these things in the open.
I try to keep that element out of the group. By element I mean, the authors who will do anything they feel like doing to promote themselves.
So, :), my advice..patience and patience and more patience. And always conducting oneself with genuine niceness and integrity. People will start to notice that over time..once they decide it is real and not a front. :)
Bryn, Terri, David, these are interesting situations.Be carefull what you put on the web. David, I am worried about my country. Government intrusion into our lives without cause, monitoring e communications, whether random or specified, without a warrant, expansion of eminent domain. It is hard to regain freedom once it is lost.
True. It is always a weird feeling knowing if you use the right word..eg Al Qaeda..and it will pop and be recorded by the super computers.In my opinion I don't mind as it is a matter of National Security, but it is still a strange feeling.
Terri wrote: "I never say much about it, because it can come across as anti SP author to talk about these things in the open.I try to keep that element out of the group."
Understand your stance. Ta for your care not to have an anti-SP feel in the group, while trying to spare us from unethical practices and fly-by advertisers and the rest.
Back to the weather. Bit more like it today.
I had a longer response to this but decided against it...suffice it to say that with existing and proposed intelligence sharing agreements between nations, in the age of international telecommunications, the potential to circumvent constitutional and legally entrenched civil rights to privacy is virtually limitless. It's sad that the response by government and politicians to the advent of the digital age is not to further protect individual privacy, but to create and expand surveillance and policing apparatus instead. As far as I am concerned, National Security is becoming a catch phrase used to justify unconstitutional legislation or government activities. The question no one seems to be asking with all these new 'security' initiatives...do the benefits outweigh the costs or is much of it just a whole lot of 'security theater'? At what point will the entire population be on a watch list of some kind? 2015? 2020? (ironic?) Or will a solar flare knock out the whole grid and we'll end up back in the early 1990s...which I remember as being pretty cool. :)Also
Bryn wrote: "Terri wrote: "I never say much about it...
Understand your stance. ..."
Well, whatever your activities behind the scenes, Terri, this group has a very positive vibe and the people here appear to be respectful and both interesting and interested, so kudos to you for setting the tone and being a tasteful moderator. As an author, hoping people discover my book, I figure the best thing is just to be respectful of people and the group rules while being hopeful and patient and to just enjoy being a part of the community for its own sake. Of course I secretly hope everyone reads my stories, falls in love with them, buys copies for their friends and tells everyone they meet on the street how I'm their favorite author of all time...but I also secretly hope to discover I have Jedi powers one of these days...if only so I don't have to reach for the TV remote. Hope springs eternal!!! Lol ;)
David wrote: "I had a longer response to this but decided against it...suffice it to say that with existing and proposed intelligence sharing agreements between nations, in the age of international telecommunica..."Lol! I also remember the 1990's as pretty cool. Bring on the solar flare! (But does that mean we can go back to the age we were in the 90's..?...I woukd prefer that).
Thanks for the faith and compliments on the group. Dawn and I want to find the perfect balance between people respecting each others opinions (as long as those opinions are not personal insults mind) and writers and readers getting together for the love of books.
I do wish you well with your book. As I do Bryn too. And some other authors that join in here as their 'reader self' more so than their 'writer self'. :-)
Hang in there guys. I have seen authors build a gradual base of good reviews, and it spills into Amazon also. But I have never seen it happen quickly.
:) Thanks for the encouragement, Terri. I was a strictly a reader on Goodreads for quite a while (almost two years) before I decided to publish and switched my profile to 'Goodreads Author' dadadada... ooooh.. aaaaah... To be honest, as an online community, I much prefer GR to FB these days, mostly because I don't really like self-publishing a tabloid of my own life (which is essentially FB in a nutshell) and I value being part of a community that reads books. I have to admit I do like George Takei's posts on FB though -- mostly jokes and funny pictures if you're not familiar with the former Star Trek actor, now FB megastar. Apparently he 'won the Internet' this past year. Oh my! :)
David wrote: ":) Thanks for the encouragement, Terri. I was a strictly a reader on Goodreads for quite a while (almost two years) before I decided to publish and switched my profile to 'Goodreads Author' dadadad..."I adore George Takei... I lot it when his posts appear in my FB timeline.
I had not heard about him...but then I am not on FB and therefore out of the loop. :-)
I could care less-I am old and will not submit to government evil. I will post what I want and if they don't like it-tough. Sad to see America is going the way of ancient Rome.
Terri wrote: "Fellow A&M member Margaret read David's book recently, and she really liked it."I intend re-reading it over my Christmas break. :)
David wrote: "Thanks, Terri. The review Margaret wrote is my first officially published reader review and it certainly is a generous one, for which I am very grateful. I hope other people enjoy it as well. :)"I wouldn't say it was "generous", that implies a certain level of charity to me. The review is how I genuinely feel about the book. It is rare for me to come across a book by a new author that I enjoy as much as I enjoyed that one. :)
I started David's book today. A football game has interrupted my reading. Sorry, David.I respect Margaret for her honest review and statements made in that regard.
Girls, please feel free to give feedback on David's book in the Borgias thread.So that others may see what you thought of it.
David also shared with us some recommendations for further reading in that thread.
You will have to scroll back to Message 20.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
Terri wrote: "Girls, please feel free to give feedback on David's book in the Borgias thread.So that others may see what you thought of it.
David also shared with us some recommendations for further reading in..."
Would you like me to paste a link to my review in there, Terri?
Yes, sure. Go for it.
Thanks so much for the encouragement and support. :)PS. Terri, if you want a chuckle without having to join FB, George Takei's page is public.
You can find it here:
https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei
Just close the 'signup' window that pops up and scroll away to your heart's content. Funny stuff pretty much every day. :)
David wrote: "Thanks so much for the encouragement and support. :)PS. Terri, if you want a chuckle without having to join FB, George Takei's page is public.
You can find it here:
https://www.facebook.com/geor..."
Got to love the door stopper pic. Lols
Linda wrote: "I started David's book today. A football game has interrupted my reading. Sorry, DavidI respect Margaret for her honest review and statements made in that regard."
Lucretia Christmas shopping today. No swimming.:(
Can't wait to get back to David's book. If it is as good all the way through as it has been so far, it is a winner. I am too tired to scroll anywhere, but I did post a comment on Goodreads App about the book: Reads like silk.
The Goodreads Choice Awards have their winners.Here are the Historical Fiction winners.
http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards...
The main Awards page
http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/39...
Goes to show though, a book does not have to be good to win or place in the GR Choice Awards. It is really a popularity contest. There are books winning categories that don,t rate very well on GR....
For example;
The Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling - 49% of reviewers rated it 3 star and less.
The Casual Vacancy
I have scrolled the results in all the cathegories. "50 shades of.." is one of the winners, so I'm not too disappointed to see that I didn't vote any of them.
One of my friends just read it and gave it 3***. she did not like it much, the only good thing was the writing was good. She said the story was depressing and had no really good stuff in it, and had a lot of sex.Ihave no intention to read it, it is not my type of read, and am terribly diosappointed that people judged it on the Harry Potter name.
Today is a sad day for me. One of my special dogs died. Krewe (Too Bug) was only 11 1/2 and I found her dead on my bed this morning when I woke up. I loved her so much, she was funny, mischevious and loving.My heart is aching.
I'm glad A Light Between Oceans edged out Bring Out the Bodies. That 1st has been described as so beautifully written I'm almost tempted to give it a shot. Hilary Mantel's 1st I tried on the stength of the advertising, but for myself, felt it over-hyped.
Bryn wrote: "I'm glad A Light Between Oceans edged out Bring Out the Bodies. That 1st has been described as so beautifully written I'm almost tempted to give it a shot. Hilary Mantel's 1st I tried on the stengt..."Oh thank God! I am not the only one. I could not get into Hilary Mantel's first, Wolf Hall, so ignored the second one.
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
The Berry Pickers (other topics)Fortune's Child (other topics)
Hild (other topics)
Sharpe's Command (other topics)
Edenglassie (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Amanda Peters (other topics)Nicola Griffith (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Bernard Cornwell (other topics)
Allan Hands (other topics)
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I have regularly seen deer walking around the neighborhood up in the hills by the Hollyw..."
You have taken me on several adventures in the last 30 minutes. Thank you.
I will tell you about the hyena. My baby was in the crib by our bed when the hyena starting screaming. I thought my baby was crying for me because he was dying. I could not move to get to him. I fought whatever was holding me , that force that would not let me move to get to my baby and save his life. Finally, something was moving me, shaking me. It was my husband trying to shake me awake. He was saying, "The baby is not dead. It is not the baby shrieking--it's a hyena." I will never like those animals. I can take spiders, don't know about sharks. I have never seen a shark in its natural habitat, but if ever I do come upon a shark, I will remember you.