What makes a great book

I am a writer and I also love to read. But lately I’ve been disappointed in the books that are out there, especially the ones on the NYT Bestseller list. I won’t mention author names because I don’t want to have a bunch of angry people sending me hate emails. Honestly, a lot of these books are crap.

A great book should have some substance to it, a plot that I can’t see coming and an ending that doesn’t make me roll my eyes in irritation. I know romance novels need to have happy endings, but I would prefer a happy for now ending to the ridiculous ‘they got married, had babies and lived happily ever after.’ Not believable to me, not even in a romance novel. I want to read a well-written book that isn’t filled with adverbs, passive sentences, head-hopping and repeated descriptions of ‘his stormy blue eyes.’ I want to read about characters that are believable, not perfect. I like to see flaws in the hero and heroine.

I’ve read some really good books lately. And guess what? These books were from knew-to-me authors and authors I know in the small publisher world—not from a best-selling NYT author.

Here is a list of the books I’ve enjoyed recently. All of these books are available on amazon.com.

The Kings Daughter by Miriam Newman (fantasy)

Heart of the Earth by Miriam Newman (fantasy)

Barrenlands, A Changespell Saga Prequel by Doranna Durgin (fantasy)

Dark Desires by Eve Silver (historical thriller/romance) She is a National Best-selling author, but I never heard of her before

Blood Debt by Nancy Straight (paranormal)

Helen’s Daughter by Laura Gill (historical/Bronze Age Greece)

Night of Magic by Stephanie Burkhart (fantasy)

My Familiar Stranger, Order of the Black Swan, Book1 by Victoria Danann (paranormal)

Twilight’s Eternal Embrace by Karen Michelle Nutt (fantasy/ancient vampires)

The Snow Bride by Lindsay Townsend (medieval romance)

Granite Rose by Linda McMaken (historical/Rome)

The Goblin King by Shone Husk (paranormal romance)

There are a lot of hidden gems out there. I’ve learned to pick books based on my gut feeling, not based on number of books sold. I’m not trying to belittle authors on the NYT best-selling list because some of these authors write great books, but number of books sold does not mean it’s a great book. At least in my opinion.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Two mortals are caught in the midst of the battle between the Titans and Olympian gods.

http://kelleyheckart.com/daughter_of_night.html

25 authors who influence my writing

 A couple of years ago, I was asked in an interview to talk about a few authors that I look up to. It wasn't too hard to name a handful, but since then I've spent some time thinking about all the wonderful authors I've read, and why I'm drawn to certain ones over others. I finally narrowed my list to the top 25 who influence my writing every time I put fingers to keyboard along with the reasons why.

My list:

• William Shakespeare because the play’s the thing
• Marion Zimmer Bradley for her version of the 'once and future king'
• Clive Cussler for creating Dirk Pitt, the Alpha hero of my dreams
• Louis L’Amour for the love of a good old fashioned western, and defining, for me, what it means to be a 'real' man and woman
• Homer for the epic stories of Greek heroes and the ultimate journey back home
• Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, and Thomas Paine for their dedication to the fight for independence
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the brilliant mind of Sherlock Holmes
• Charles Dickens for the best of times and the worst of times
• Don Coldsmith for showing me the ways of the Elk Dog People
• James Michener for an epic story of my home state and for the love between McKeag and Clay Basket
• E.A. Poe because I understand what he meant: "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."
• Jane Austen for the dark and brooding Mr. Darcy
• Robert Heinlein for sending my imagination soaring into the future
• Oscar Wilde for being earnest
• Mario Puzo for an offer I can’t refuse
• J.R.R. Tolkien for Samwise Gamgee
• Thomas Keneally, lest I forget that one person can, indeed, make a difference
• Alexandre Dumas for the vengeance of Edmund Dantes
• Victor Hugo because I railed against injustice and wept at the sacrifice of redemption
• Gaston Leroux for showing me what it means to be lonely
• Boris Pasternak for the pain and angst of hopeless, impossible love
• Bram Stoker for the iconic vampire
• Thomas Harris for making me root for Hannibal Lecter
• John Steinbeck for ultimate sacrifice of friendship
• But most of all, William Goldman, for the perfect story of fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, and miracles
Who's on your list?

Until next time,

Kaye

fall in love...faster, harder, deeper with Kaye Spencer romances
http://www.kayespencer.com

Romance novels—Always a happy ending?

Do romance novels always have to have a happy ending? I was thinking about this the other day because some stories just don’t end well. I suppose then the stories wouldn’t be labeled as romance, but as tragic romance. Would romance readers want to read a romance that doesn’t end well? The Greeks had tragic love stories, one of which was Artemis killing her lover by accident, and then there is Romeo and Juliet, one of the most popular tragic love stories.

I have a book coming out that is part of a past lives series. This is a tragic romance because the first time the hero and heroine meet their story doesn’t end well. This has to happen so that they can be reborn and have their happy ending in the other books. I would compare this story to a cross between the Iliad and Romeo and Juliet. It’s a tragic romance set against the battle between the Titans and Olympic gods. My heroine is a vengeance goddess, one of the Erinyes, so that is a clue that this story can’t end well. Even though I knew I had to write a tragic ending, it wasn’t easy for me to do. I decided to add an Epilogue to give my characters the happiness they deserve, and also to please readers, and myself.

Personally, I don’t mind reading romances that don’t end well. Sure, it’s sad when someone dies and the romance ends in a gloomy cloud, but sometimes these heartbreaking stories stay with me longer than the stories that end well. Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but too many happy endings don’t satisfy me.

I realize a lot of romance readers would disagree with me. They need to have that happiness at the end of the romance novel. I don’t want to mislead readers so I’m thinking of putting a warning on this book since I normally write romance with happy, or happy for now endings. I wouldn’t want to get a bunch of hate emails. Or maybe I wouldn’t mind.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in Dark Age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.

http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Grand Passions

One of the best things about paranormal romance, I think, is the grand sweeping nature of the emotions. Against the destruction of worlds, or mighty battles between good and evil, heightened emotions aren’t out of place.

The same sort of sweeping emotions might seem a little stalkerish in a contemporary romance, but against a backdrop where everything is life or death, Edward’s obsession with Bella, or Stefan Salvatore’s passion for Elena, are perfectly believable.

I recently read Julie Kagawa’s The Iron Daughter, second in her Iron Fey series. This is a young adult novel set against the backdrop of a war in the Faerie realms, a war that spills over into the mortal world. If you’re a fan of the Twilight books and haven’t yet read Julie Kagawa’s books, then you should.

Kagawa’s plot lines are intricate, and her world building is superb. But it’s the love story that makes these books such a great read. The sweeping passion is there, the huge sacrifices and struggles are there ... and as with both the examples above, there’s even a love triangle.

There are also quite a few non-paranormal romances where these Grand Passions work equally well. Think of Rhett and Scarlett against the backdrop of the American civil war. Or Jack and Rose against the backdrop of the sinking Titanic.

But do you think Grand Passions like these can work in modern contemporary romances?

* * *

You can find out more about Rae Summers and her books at http://raesummers.wordpress.com

To Read For Better Or Worse

I have done my fair share of crits but needed to know exactly what is expected from a beta-reader. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. I do have to give credit where credit is due and say it was an easy read. Afterwards I spoke with the author about the questions and concerns I had. She was very responsive and I was able to point out things she hadn’t noticed. We discussed what actions would help get rid of some of the holes and things left unresolved. All and all this was a great experience I would definitely do again. So I thought I would give a little crash course on beta reading. Lets start with what a beta reader is and go from there.

Beta Reader:

Is a person who reads a written work, generally fiction, with what has been described as “a critical eye, with the aim of improving grammar, spelling, characterization, and general story prior to it’s release to the general public.”

Why Do Authors Need A Beta-Reader:

A beta-reader is your editor, proofreader and sounding board for ideas. Yeah you have spell check and grammar checkers but a beta-reader goes beyond that. A good beta-reader can point out if your plot has more holes than Swiss cheese. They can tell you if you are using a fanfic cliché, look at technical details like over use of certain words. They can also be your cheerleading section and provide encouragement when you have writers block. Writers with beta-readers will almost always turn out better stories.

What Should A Beta-Reader Expect From The Author:

1: The author to incorporate some changes. Notice I said some.

2: You should expect a thank you note or a thank you in the intro of the book. But this all depends on how much work you put into the project.

3: You should expect to talk to the author. They may have questions about your comments.

4: You should expect the author to tell you their expectations on what you are about to do. If they don’t tell you, ask. You want to be on the same page.

What Should An Author Expect From A Beta-Reader:

1: Communication is key. If you don’t tell your beta-reader what you want, you may not get it. Communicate; it will save you a lot of exasperation and time in the end.

2: You should expect your beta-reader to take your story seriously.

3: You should expect them to be thorough. They shouldn’t just give it a pass and only make one or two comments. They should try and catch as many errors as possible.

4: You shouldn’t expect your beta-reader to find every single mistake. They may miss something. After all we are only human.

5: You shouldn’t expect your beta-reader to comment on things outside of their expertise. If they don’t have the best grammar skills, don’t expect them to catch these errors. Instead, they could look for plot holes, characterization issues and loose ends.

6: Expect your beta-reader to complete the read in a timely manner. Discuss this and come to terms about what time frame you expect.

7: Do expect your beta-reader to be honest. The honesty will help strengthen your work.

8: Do expect some opinions to creep in. Remember opinions are just that opinions. This is where the author makes a judgment call.

9: Expect things to be said about what your beta-reader liked. They should let you know what they think works in the story. That way you don’t loose the good stuff in the editing process.

So now that you know what a beta reader is, here are some tips for being a good beta reader.

Tips For The Beta-Reader:

1: Be specific. Point out the exact spot where things don’t work, not just vague generalities.

2: Make suggestions (Which are free to be ignored) as to how the problem can be solved.

3: Point out the good bits too. You need to point out you favorite part not just for encouragement but so the author doesn’t end up losing the really great parts in the editing process.

Tips For The Author:

1: Thank your beta reader even if what they said wasn’t helpful. They took time out to read your story and for that they should be thanked.

2: Remember what your beta reader said is only an opinion and isn’t gospel. This is your story and you have the final say. On the other hand listen to your beta reader, because what was the point if you won’t take the time to listen.

3: If a suggestion is made you don’t agree with then explain why. It may be that when you explain your reasoning, or the intent, you may be able to figure out between you something that works for you both.

Never take on the role of beta-reader lightly, it is a big project and requires a lot of time. This isn’t nightly reading. It’s very important to the author, you are the first person to look at their story and give them feed back on their work. You are the person that will help them fix all the holes in the story and show them things the may not have noticed.

Authors remember to listen to your beta-reader; they have put a lot of time and effort into reading and trying to help you. Remember to be open to their thoughts, should you change everything they bring to your attention? No, but a good beta-reader can make a great story even better. Talk to them and bounce ideas off them. After all two minds are always better than one.

I recently had a criter advise me to change the POV of one of my chapters and at first I was skeptical. But it took my chapter to new levels, it reads better and is so much more interesting now.

I hope this helped to explain the process of beta reading and the roles the beta-reader and author play in the process.

I also wanted to share I have a new crit group I just opened and we have a beta read section. Something a lot of crit groups don’t have. I am currently looking for new members. You can join by clicking on the Yahoo button to the right. Hope to see you there.

Happy Reading And Writing,

Tabitha Blake