10 Reasons Your Book Is Not Getting Reviewed (by #BookBloggers) #MondayBlogs #WriterTip

Ten reasons your book is not getting reviewed (by #bookbloggers)

 

Do you keep submitting your books to bloggers, but are yet to have them reply with a ‘yes, I’d be happy to review it?’. Book bloggers do get snowed under, and sometimes state on their blogs that they’re currently closed for submissions. What if this is not the case, though, but you still keep getting a ‘thanks, but no thanks’, or no reply at all?

 

Do any of the following apply to you? If so, it might be an idea to have a rethink.

1. You’ve sent a generic request, without finding out the blogger’s name (forget ‘dear book blogger’!), having a browse around it to see how he/she reviews, and if the blog will take self-published books, or those from independent presses; some don’t.
2. Your request is badly written, with typos, grammatical or punctuation errors, or it’s too informal. You’re not expected to write a business letter, but cracking jokes/trying to be funny is off-putting.
3. You haven’t checked out the genres the author prefers. Or you have, and are trying to squash your romance book with a tiny unanswered question into her preferred category of ‘mystery’, etc.
4. You’ve taken no previous interest in the blog, have never shared or retweeted a post, never read one or commented, not followed the blogger on Twitter (if the blog is promoted via this site), or via WordPress or blogger.
5. Your blurb is badly written, has errors, is too long, is a rambling synopsis of the plot, is too short, or doesn’t adequately portray the book’s genre.
6. The ‘Look Inside’ sample that anyone can read on Amazon has errors. Many book bloggers look at this sample first, and even an out of place comma can put some off. If it has actual typos, grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, forget it. Your first page should ‘hook’ the reader in. It’s also a good idea if you leave all the author notes, etc, to the end, so that anyone who looks at the sample can start reading the book itself more or less straight away.
7. Your other reviews are all very obviously from friends and family – by which I mean all 5*, and all from people who have never reviewed anything else, or only a couple of other products. Most new writers start off by getting friends and family to review, but if they’re all just one or two lines saying that it’s the best book that’s ever been written, it makes you look unprofessional and desperate.
8. Your cover is a free Amazon standard, or very badly homemade. Of course not everyone can afford professional covers, but you can buy them for as little as £30 these days, if you don’t have the skills to make your own. Not bothering with the cover might give the impression that you’ve skimped on the book itself, too. You’ll probably be able to get away with a substandard cover if the blurb sounds really brilliant, but if your book keeps being rejected, it might be worth thinking about making the investment.
9. Your review request bigs the book up, and tells of other wonderful reviews and awards. Bragging doesn’t impress; it has the opposite effect. Do the book blogger the honour of allowing him/her to make his/her own judgement.
10. You have been rude or made bitter comments about other book bloggers online. The internet can be a surprisingly small place, sometimes, and it doesn’t take much to get a bad reputation.

 

Last point:  If someone has taken the time, at your request, to read and write a review, and post it all over social media, have the decency to thank them.  One book blogger told me that about a fifth of the writers she’s reviewed for don’t do this.  Even more staggering, some of them actually ask her to review a subsequent book.  Don’t be one of these people!

If none of those items apply to you, keep trying! If you think a particular book blogger really would be interested in your work, let him/her know why you’ve chosen the blog, and why you think he or she might be interested in your book. Good luck!

Let’s Talk About #BookReviews Day 4

We are well over half way through “Write a book review on Amazon ” month and this week I’ve been supporting the campaign with some book reviewing themed posts.

At some point in book reviewing everyone will come across a book they really didn’t like, could you still write a review and how could you write it?

Negative and Bad Reviews

I can guarantee this is going to cause a scene.

So what do you do if you really didn’t like a book? People who slam a book and its author publically are often called Book Trolls. Like wise authors who have fans who bully anyone who dares to post a low star rated review, are also connected to the troll label. I suspect this is one of the top reasons why people fear to post a review and it damages the industry as a whole.

Firstly put yourself in the shoes of an author, someone who has toiled hard over their book, you don’t know the mountains they’ve climbed to get this far. Personal, physical, emotional mountains, how would you feel if this was your life’s work?

So you can still write a review, it will be challenging. Find points that you did like, perhaps the overall story, a strong character, a funny moment. You might have liked the first chapter, perhaps it was full of promise, even if it all went down hill from there, still say what you liked.

You can say things didn’t work for you like a fight scene or a love scene. Or you had trouble picturing the mystery building. Some fantasy and sci-fi books need to really make the reader understand new imaginary planets and realms. I once read a book which read like an arcade game with characters leaping from level to level in huge cavernous spaces, it felt 2-D and I longed for depth in the form of the descriptions and the senses, like smell and hearing.

My best advice for a book you don’t like, is LESS IS MORE. If I wrote my favourite character was the mother-in-law and she had a minor part in the book, then I’m hoping the author might pick up that the main characters hadn’t hit the mark. If I said I really like the first three chapters, then there is a hint that the rest of the book may not have lived up to my expectations. If you’ve struggled to write perhaps 10 lines then there probably wasn’t much that made you jump up and down, leave a shorter review.  However you still haven’t been rude about the book.

Ultimately the top LESS is MORE tip. If you can’t find anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. A no review speaks volumes. If you’ve been asked to write a review and really feel you can’t, be polite and say the book wasn’t for you. If you bought the book and didn’t like it, move on there are billions more books out there.

A little note to authors.

All authors who put there work out in the public eye, cannot reasonably expect every single person to like their work. We all read a book differently and a range of book reviews and their star ratings is a healthy thing on review sites. I do understand the hours spent on creating a book and often the author is so attached to their work that they cannot stand, that anyone might not love it as they do and see it as they wrote it.

I’ve come across authors who want to disagree with a book review and try to “heavily suggest” that the reader can’t possibly have read the entire book, if they didn’t enjoy, “the romance between the characters”, or they didn’t comment on the brilliant ending. You can’t tell someone how they should read your book.

I have an author who came back to me several times in the last year, to tell me how brilliant some other readers have thought his work, he doesn’t tell me about the other readers who gave it a 3* review as I did, instead he is insistent that I couldn’t have read the book as it was intended, that I “didn’t get it” and I feel he is trying to wear me down, either to withdraw my review or to reconsider. Nope, nada, not happening, don’t do this authors, it makes you look petty and word gets around the book community that you are to be avoided.

Tomorrow I shall be looking at my book community.

Catch up with posts from:

Day 1 here http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-9iV

Day 2 here http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-9iZ

Day 3 here http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-9j2

There’s still time to join the #AugustReviews campaign.

1) Write a review for a book you’ve read,

2) Post it on Amazon,

3) Tweet the URL of the Amazon review and add #AugustReviews and @TerryTyler4

4) Not on Twitter? No Problem, send me the link using the contact form above and I’ll send it on to Terry, she’ll get it up on her Halls of Fame.

Let’s Talk About #BookReviews Day 3 #wwwblogs

August is “Write a book review on Amazon” month and I’m helping support this with a series of book reviewing themed posts.

Most author’s understand the value of  book reviews, our real challenge is reaching the average book reader, for whom writing a book review is not a high priority.

Writing that book review – Rosie’s own Point of View. **WARNING – we’re going in deep**  Don’t feel shocked, below are lots of points to consider, but only use a selection in a book review. Otherwise you’ll feel out of your depth.

So when I wrote my very first book reviews they were only about a couple of lines long. (Good news: Amazon now accepts really short reviews) I would finish a book, think about what I’d read but I only remembered bits especially if I’d read the book over a week or two. I might write something like this “I really liked the American court room drama. There were lots of twists and turns and the ending really surprised me.”

Looking back, all I can say is that it’s a starting place. My reviews slowly got longer and more detailed. However it wasn’t until I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down small notes whilst I read the book that things really took off and I began feeling proud of the pieces I was writing.

Now when I’ve finished a book, there are lots of details for me to fall back on when I go to write a review. You could look at it as writing practise. Or your own form of Flash Fiction. Ask yourself how can I make someone want to pick up this book to read without giving away too much of the plot? You are in fact creating a unique selling point. You have the potential to make or break a sale. Ever thought about yourself being a salesman? I Haven’t until now.

Here’s something else too. If you are a writer yourself or want to be, reading other people’s work is like taking a free writing course. Make a note of styles you like, how did the dialogue work? Too much?  Too little? Did it sound genuine? What voices did you hear in your head as you read the book? Did they have accents because of the way the author wrote the piece? For me ” ‘eh up young Charlie, me lad, how’s tha’ doin’?”  can only be a strong Yorkshire dialect.

 

Take a look at the start of a book. Look at the Title, when you’ve finished the book, ask yourself how the title fitted the book, what expectations about the book does it give you? Book covers sell books. If you are in a bookstore, library or looking at an on-line bookstore, book covers sell books! Think about how you make a choice about a book you know nothing about.

Book genres: You might want to make a note of the book genre and see if you agree after you’ve read it. Many books will cross genres, you might have a romantic mystery, a paranormal thriller, a historical crime, there are very few set genre lines. However when you read books for younger readers these are often more defined, children, teens, young adult, new adult. Even then books will depend on the maturity of the reader.

Let’s begin reading. Did the book begin with a Prologue? Or were you plunged straight into a dramatic opening scene? Which works for you? Your answer might vary depending on the storyline of the book.

Now have a look at the chapters. How does one chapter end and another start? Does it leave you with a “hook” which has you rushing to find out what happened in the next chapter? Or does it have a natural end, one where you feel you can take a break now, get up and make a cup of tea or switch off the bedside light? Every book is different. It will also depend on what mood you, as the reader, are in.  I’ve read books that I can’t put down and have ended up reading long into the night, getting to the end exhausted but on a high from the storyline.

What about a back story? These are used to explain people, places and reasons for the current situations. They can be very useful to flesh out the story and the characters. A Back story can make you have more empathy for a person or a situation. If the book you’re reading has a back story how useful was it? Too much? Too Little? Did it disrupt the main storyline or did it add to the value of the book? Perhaps there wasn’t a back story and you would have liked to know more about the characters.

 

Descriptive words. There’s a lot of talk about over use of descriptive passages. Should you put them in? Are they just filling space? A lot depends on how the book has caught the imagination of the reader. An author writes a book and all the pictures are in their head as they write down the words, but have they successful transformed those images to the head of the reader? Think about this; “Chloe walked down the stairs” what image did you get in your head? “Chloe descended the stairs” Did your image change? ” Chloe took a breath before descending the formidable spiral staircase”, now what picture do you have? Sometimes an author might over-kill a description. “Chloe walked down the twenty-four evenly spaced steps of the stairway, one step at a time”, do you get my drift? – Descriptive words can make or break a picture in you head and your enjoyment of a book.

Book pace. I love Dan Brown books, but sometimes they frustrate me. All the action is in a very short period, often forty-eight hours. His characters hardly ever eat, sleep or rest for a second. The books leave me exhausted. However the style works, Dan is extremely popular. On the other hand I don’t want to be bored reading about every meal break, cup of coffee and bathroom visit, I want to get on with the story. In real life we do all the boring things like eat and sleep, but in books we often want to escape to a more exciting life. Think about the pace of the book, did it work with the story-line?

The Ending. The all important ending. Was the book a happy ever after (HEA)? Did you guess the ending way before you got there? Was there an unexpected twist which left you gasping? Did the book make you sad? Emotional? Did you need a box of tissues? Did you feel you’d learnt a life-lesson from the book? Was the ending a cliff-hanger which leads you on to the next book in the series? Is there an epilogue? The first three Harry Potter Books all have a neat ending at the end of the school term, yet because there are more in the series a reader might look forward to the next book. Towards the end of the series the books certainly enticed me onwards I wanted to know more and when the last one finished I still wanted more.

That moves me on to my last point. Would you ever be able to read this book again? Ask yourself that question. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve read all the Harry Potter series. There is so much in each book that every time I read them I feel like I discover more. The same goes for the Twilight series. In between book reviews I’m re-reading the Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney. These are actually aimed at children (mature readers who can cope with Harry Potter) but I really enjoy them. – So what were your very last impressions of the book? Would you read it again? Or perhaps you could recommend it? Often I’ll end a review with, “This book would suit someone who enjoys….”

Tomorrow I’m talking about bad book reviews.

Catch up with posts from Day 1 here http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-9iV

and day 2 here http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-9iZ

There’s still time to join the #AugustReviews campaign.

1) Write a review for a book you’ve read,

2) Post it on Amazon,

3) Tweet the URL of the Amazon review and add #AugustReviews and @TerryTyler4

4) Not on Twitter? No Problem, send me the link using the contact form above and I’ll send it on to Terry, she’ll get it up on her Halls of Fame.

Let’s Talk About #BookReviews Day 2 #TuesdayBookBlog

This month I’m supporting write a book review on Amazon and I’m helping encourage more reading to post reviews. So this week I’m writing a series of book review themed posts.

With Amazon being a very important online book seller, it is probably the top author hang out and often the first go to place for book buyers. The number of book reviews a book gets are often more important than their star rating in improving a book’s visibility.

So could you write a review for a non-fiction book? Answer yes you can. Ok, Hands up who’s ever read a non-fiction book cover to cover? Hmm not so many of you.

I feel non-fiction needs a slightly different approach.

1) You still need to be armed with a paper and pen to jot down the book title, author, notes, characters and observations.

2) What’s really important is that you get the gist or the substance of the book. Many non-fiction books start out by telling you that you might want to dip in and out of chapters. Good News for a reviewer they give you permission to skip bits that are of no interest.

3) To help me explain, I’ve just grabbed a copy of “Farm Office Handbook” from my shelves it’s written by The Institute of Agricultural Secretaries and Administrators. (I’m a part-time farm secretary here in the UK in case you’re wondering) So I’d jot down book title and who created/ wrote the book.

4 Next look for a  forward or dedication and read it, it often gives you good clues about the book and may sum the whole book up in a few good words which you might be able to use to guide you when you write your own review. But never just copy passages from the forward, write your review and never open the book again, that would be plain rude and disrespectful.

5) Next check out the contents page. Here you’ll find out more about the book. The one I’m using today has a list of 15 chapters ranging from The Farm office, accounting, balance sheets, statutory farm record keeping, staffing and payroll and the Professional Farm administrator (That’s a posh name for my job) At the end of the book are a list of appendix with more details. Many non-fiction books have appendix covering books they’ve quoted from, relevant scientific data, studies, further reading etc. It’s always good to add to your book review that these appendix exist saying a bit about what they are.

6) So back to the non-fiction review. If the subject of the book really interests you, you will most likely read a good 80/100%. make notes on each chapter about what they contain and perhaps write no more than a sentence or two on 5-6 chapters from the book. If you get bogged down in academic details or the subject is written about very deeply and you get lost don’t panic. If you can read at least 50% of a non-fiction book, I believe you can still write a review.  Most chapters will either start with an overview of the subject to be discussed or end with a summary. Use these to find positive points to write about. You can also say; “This book dealt with “X” really deeply” or “There was a great in-depth discussion about….”

7) For a non-fiction review the challenge is to learn something new, discover new people, places and information. You might find a useful website that was mentioned, or a holiday destination, or a museum that would interest you. For instance you might be able to say in your review, “I didn’t know that…” It’s those moments of discovery that you are looking for and can add to your review. Or did the book inspire you do something? When I read  In Praise Of Lilith, Eve And The Serpent In The Garden Of Eden And Other Stories by Susan Scott,  after the first essay I was inspired to go and clean my house and tidy up my garden. I shall say that in my review. I felt so proud of my house after I’d given it some loving attention and it lifted my spirits. It’s little personal details like this that will make a review really genuine.

8) So don’t be frightened of writing a non-fiction review. Approach it slightly differently, with a very open mind. Don’t panic about having to read every single word. Authors of non-fiction may well have an even harder time selling their books that fiction authors. Often their potential customers may come from a very narrow niche, so your review will be valued just as much as a review for a fiction book.

Tomorrow I’m looking at more of an in-depth book review. Missed Day 1? There were some great comments and discussions catch up here http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-9iV

There’s still time to join the #AugustReviews campaign.

1) Write a review for a book you’ve read,

2) Post it on Amazon,

3) Tweet the URL of the Amazon review and add #AugustReviews and @TerryTyler4

4) Not on Twitter? No Problem, send me the link using the contact form above and I’ll send it on to Terry, she’ll get it up on her Halls of Fame.

Readers All Over The World Are Reading for August Reviews – Are You In? #MondayBlogs

August is “Write A #BookReview on Amazon Month”

Readers from all over the world are being inspired to post reviews for books they’ve read on Amazon.

In a Bold attempt to increase reader awareness of the importance of book reviews to all authors, Terry Tyler is leading the campaign to get more people posting those all important reviews on Amazon.

Authors: #AugustReviews is about readers posting a review of a book to Amazon, we would also like to encourage them to share the Amazon Review Post Url on Twitter. An author can take part as a reader, but please don’t use this to promo your own books.

Book Bloggers: We really appreciate your support and know you are likely to already post reviews on Amazon, please keep the Hashtag for Twitter with a link to your Amazon review url only, not your blog post. We don’t want to put off readers who think they need to be a blogger to take part.

We are asking readers to Tweet the url of the book review using #AugustReviews and we will help share and mention you in the August Reviews Hall of Fame.

If you’ve been away for a few weeks and are just catching up here are links to recent Halls Of Fame

August Reviews Because Every Little Helps

August Reviews: The First 5 Days

August Reviews Hall Of Fame Part 2

August Reviews Hall Of Fame Part 3

4 Quick Ways To Write A #BookReview And Overcome Your Fears #MondayBlogs

 

Authors WANT  Reviews

Simple! How many times have you read pleas on social media for readers to write reviews? – Probably Loads.

Does the thought of writing a book review send you racing to the hills? – I can see plenty of you nodding in agreement.

WHAT holds you back?

6 common replies:

I can’t write.

I can’t write paragraphs about a book.

I don’t know what to write.

I’m afraid of what people will think of my review.

I’m an author and don’t want a backlash on my own books.

I don’t have the time.

Let’s turn this around

I can’t write – I bet if you can read, you can write.

I can’t write paragraphs about a book – Good News, Amazon accepts one sentence reviews now as do many other sites.

I don’t know what to write – Ah! Quick Question – Why did you like or Dislike the book? Got an answer? Then you have a starting place.

I’m afraid of what people will think of my review – Facing fears is part of life, it is hard, but I bet you’ve faced much harder challenges. Authors LOVE reviews, other readers also like to read them to see if they agree or disagree. Every reader will get something different from their experience. An honest review from someone who genuinely read the book IS REALLY APPRECIATED.

I’m an author and don’t want a backlash on my own books – This one STOPS TOO MANY AUTHORS from writing book reviews and it shouldn’t. In fact if you are an author, one way to hone your writing skills is to READ, READ, READ and from this you will be noting what works, what doesn’t and you will have all the skill sets to write a review. IF YOU WRITE WITH HONESTY AND COMPASSION I can’t see an author would want revenge or to be labelled a TROLL, these are far and few amongst the millions of authors who GENUINELY WANT A REVIEW.

I don’t have the time – time is what you make of it and those who have this as their reply probably won’t have time to read this post, so we’ll say no more.

So BE BRAVE – make a promise that the next book you read you will write a review.

Not sure which star rating to use? Read more here

Goodreads Ratings                                                                                                                                                          

Amazon Ratings

4 Quick Ways to Write a Review

1. Go to Goodreads or your Amazon account. Start with a one liner. Can you include the genre? The lead characters? The setting? Say “I really enjoyed this book” or “The book didn’t work for me”.
2. As above, this time write 4 sentences. Keep them honest and make them about your own thoughts from the book.
3. If you wrote your review for Goodreads, copy and paste it to your Amazon account. Or vice-versa.
4. Really, really stuck for something to say? Read some of the other reviews for the book, they might jog your memory about a point, but still make your own review honest and genuine.

Finding yourself in a loop of reviewing friend’s books, just so they review yours? Review swaps are never a good idea, they become shallow and very obvious to other readers and you will only end up feeling guilty if you can’t be honest. Draw a line, perhaps explain that you don’t wish to review books for friends and you won’t ask them to review yours in turn unless either party truly wishes to read the book. But that no one should feel obliged to review as a swap. You can still support them by buying a copy of their work, this way their reviews will be from REAL readers who have found and bought their books and in the long term will be the reading audience of tomorrow.

Check out my simple book review templates, written to encourage those NEW to reviewing who need to boost their confidence.

There is NO SELL BY Date on writing a review – read a book a while a go that you ALWAYS MEANT TO WRITE A REVIEW FOR? Feeling guilty that you didn’t write a review at the time? No Problemo! Write this in the opening line “I read this book a while ago.” An author will be SO pleased to get an honest review that they won’t mind if there was a time delay on your side.

Go. Go forth and review.

Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT WILD WATER series by @JanRuthAuthor #TuesdayBookBlog

Today’s team review is from Cathy, she blogs here http://betweenthelinesbookblog.com

Cathy has been reading The Wild Water series by Jan Ruth.

Wild Water begins the story of Jack Redman who works in the Cheshire branch of his family’s very successful estate agency business. To all outward appearances he has it all, the up market car, the big house, a beautiful, if high maintenance, wife and three lovely children. But Jack’s life is thrown into turmoil when Patsy, his selfish and materialistic wife, admits to an affair and leaves the family home with their younger daughter. Jack has felt something was amiss for a while but certainly wasn’t expecting the train wreck which was now his life. And things were getting worse. His father has had a health scare leaving Jack to run both the Cheshire and North Wales branches. Jack is run ragged and very unhappy. Meeting up with Anna, his first love, in Wales, when she lists her farm for sale is the only thing keeping him sane.

In Dark Water Jack and Anna seem poised on the brink of a life together, and Anna’s artistic talent is about to be recognised. But then the past rears its ugly head in the shape of Simon Banks, Patsy’s ex-lover and the father of her first child. He is unstable and a danger to everyone’s peace of mind, determined to be a part of his daughter’s life, regardless of how it impacts on the rest of the extended Redman family.

Anna is feeling overwhelmed and unsure in the aftermath of Jack’s decisions, and their lives become ever more complicated. As the strain intensifies they both make mistakes which causes uncertainty and misunderstandings between them, culminating in a disastrous incident which comes back to haunt them and add to the confusion and turmoil of their lives.

Silent Water sees Jack’s impulsiveness and, mostly unwise, ways of dealing with the ongoing crises continue to threaten his and Anna’s lives together, despite his good intentions. The spectre of Simon Banks is never far away and Jack’s future looks bleak and uncertain. Anna isn’t content to let Jack deal with everything anymore, and takes more control over her life and career. As Patsy’s misery deepens into depression she becomes more calculating than ever, causing havoc without a second thought. It’s seeming less and less likely that Jack and Anna will be able to achieve a happy ever after ending to their turbulent lives.

A story driven by characters who are all very well drawn and real, with deep and complex issues. Their lives are interwoven seamlessly and full of emotional ups and downs. Funny, loveable Jack, who I couldn’t help but sympathise with, while at the same time wanting to shake some sense into him. He cares about those people who matter to him above all else, and wants to do what he believes is best for them. More often than not though, it backfires and makes the situation even worse. Anna, likeable, independent and warm-hearted, never really got over her feelings for Jack, and seeing him again brings back long buried emotions. I was particularly moved reading the scene with Anna and Benson, the labrador. On the other side of the coin is Patsy, manipulative and selfish with no regard for others’ feelings, even her own children. She will go to any lengths to get what she wants. Lottie, and the humorous back and forth dialogue between her and Jack, is brilliant especially as she approaches puberty.

I love the North Wales setting, which Jan Ruth describes in rich and beautifully evocative detail, with a vivid and visual writing style.

An excellent plot which veers into darker territory, giving it an extra layer of tension, depth and drama. The complicated relationships between a great and diverse mix of characters, are credible and feel true to life, portrayed in such a way as to provide an opportunity to experience emotions from the individual’s point of view. The pacing is perfect, allowing the narrative to become continuously more gripping. A wonderfully compelling trilogy, told with humour, compassion and an understanding of the complexities of life and relationships. Great twist at the end too.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT SILENT WATER by @JanRuthAuthor #FamilySaga

Today’s team review is from Liz, she blogs at https://lizannelloyd.wordpress.com/

Liz has been reading Silent Water by Jan Ruth

Silent Water by Jan Ruth

 

The Wild Water series includes everything I desire for a perfect read. It describes contemporary life in all its complexities; love, passion, family connections, humour and tragedy. After the changes in family circumstances brought about by the blossoming romance between Jack Redman and his childhood sweetheart, Anna, when they reconnect in Wild Water, the plot grew menacing in Dark Water leaving readers on a cliff-hanger. Silent Water delivers everything I had hoped for. Events catch up with Jack and Anna and they must decide whether to reveal their secret.

 

Jack Redman can be embarrassing and foolish, but his passion and commitment to those he loves make him irresistible. Anna is quieter and more thoughtful, she takes longer to decide on her actions. The other main characters are also fascinating. Ex-wife Patsy is miserable in her new life in Chester and her depression leads her to be more manipulative than ever, but does she really deserve our sympathy? Jack’s daughter Lottie is hilarious as she enters puberty, acting outrageously to cope with her need for a stable home.

 

In Silent Water Anna matures. She takes responsibility and doesn’t rely on Jack to take care of her. When she realises that he has been keeping secrets from her, she has to decide whether their love is strong enough to survive. And as the storyline winds the threads together, there is a delicious twist at the end.

 

If I worked for a TV company, I would be commissioning this trilogy for a serial. Against the backdrop of stunning scenery in Snowdonia, dramatic events, family misunderstandings, tears and laughter fill the plot. If you haven’t tried it yet, you really must read all three books as soon as possible.

Find a copy of the trilogy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

OUR #Bookreviews in February FLEET LIFE Magazine #TuesdayBookBlog

Once again we have a book review page in this month’s Fleet Life Magazine

To find the online edition go to http://www.fleetlife.org.uk

Load the online directory and fins us on page 34

This month we are giving a shout-out to the following books;

Nagasaki; Life After Nuclear War by Susan Southard

Cry Of The Sea by D.G Driver

From Yellow Star To Pop Star by Dorit Oliver-Wolff

What Jenifer Knows by Wendy Janes

and The Prince’s Man by Deborah Jay

GETTING BOOK REVIEWS by @RayneHall #WriterTips #SundayBlogShare

Getting Book Reviews: Easy, Ethical Strategies for Authors by Rayne Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Getting Book Reviews is a book most suitable for Indie writers although there are some tips for published writers too. Rayne reminds the reader that reviews help sell books and with more people using online book shops for their purchases it is very noticeable that readers are drawn to the books with many reviews. She explains that this is a basic psychological buying factor, people are attracted to what others have and they too want to share the experience.

There then follows easy to read chapters with proven achievable strategies about how to get reviews. These include simple ideas like a polite paragraph at the end of your book asking readers to write a review, using your fans and followers, and asking your beta readers to write a review.

There are also chapters on the muddier waters of review swaps, review circles and paying for reviews. My favourite chapters were the “Approaching a book blogger”, as a book blogger I appreciate an author who is considerate and takes an interest in my blog and stays interested after my review. My other pick would be the “Ways to send a book to reviewers” I am astonished by the number of authors who approach me for a review with only a PDF or Word Document of their story.

I enjoys Rayne’s writer’s craft books because of their simple easy to use advice and common sense and I often recommend them to authors when I feel the advice they offer will be of help.

Reviews help sell books.
When browsing online for their next read, most readers are drawn to the books with many reviews. More and more readers glance at what other readers have to say about a book before they hit the ‘buy now’ button. The more people have read and liked the book, the more they want to experience it for themselves. This is a known psychological factor called ‘social evidence’, and it plays a big role in purchasing decisions.
The more reviews your book has, the better, especially if they are genuine, personal, thoughtful and positive. Reviews can multiply your sales and catapult your book to the top of bestseller lists – but how do you get them?
Perhaps you’re a new author and can’t get those crucial early reviews to start the train rolling. Maybe you’re a seasoned author and your books have garnered reviews, but not as many as you need to break out. Or perhaps you’ve gone the corporate publishing route, and find that your publisher’s publicist isn’t getting your book the attention it needs.
This book shows you many proven strategies to get the reviews your book deserves. Instead of urging you to labour through tedious, spirit-draining procedures, I’ll reveal quick, fun, empowering tricks.
All my suggestions are legitimate and ethical. In this book you won’t find methods for manipulating, faking and cheating. Strengthen your readers’ bond with you, don’t sabotage it.
Most of the methods I suggest are free, although some incur expenses. You will definitely need to spend time. You can apply them all these techniques, or cherry-pick the ones you like now and keep the rest for another time or a different book.
At the end of most chapters, I’m sharing mistakes I made and learnt from. They all seemed a good idea at the time.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads