Review #3: Dying to Get Published, by Judy Fitzwater

Review #3 - Dying to Get Published, by Judy Fitzwater

Genre - Mystery (humorous)












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I must admit that I haven't read a full length fiction novel that wasn't some how connected to a romanctic plot in quite some time.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good suspense book but I like to also have a romantic subplot as well.  With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  This novel was highly entertaining and quirky.

Synopsis
The novel Dying to Get Published briefly lets us into the world of Jennifer Marsh, an unpublished and sometimes ditzy writer whose mental capacity I often questioned--with good reason--throughout the story.  She craves seeing her name on the cover of one of her many unpublished works and has a desperate desire to succeed almost to her own detriment.  Jennifer works out a scheme in her mind that seems to be the plot from one of her books and she allows herself to become swept away with carrying it out, all the while enlisting the help of others.  The eight unread manuscripts rivaled only by an equally tall stack of rejection letters are her driving force in plotting a murder that she's too nice to carry out, all in the name of fame.

Review
As stated earlier Dying to Get Published is quirky and filled with many funny, head shaking moments.  I originally decided to get the book strictly based off of the title and cover.  I mean really, what aspiring writer struggling to get their name out there can't identify with a fellow writer who goes off the "deep end" just a little in the name of success.  I believe the writing bug probably makes everyone slightly loopy.  With that being said although there wasn't a huge amount of romance I enjoyed reading this book and felt that the author wrote a solid story, with a nice pace.  The interaction between Jennifer and her writing critique group as well as her unknowing partner in crime Sam Culpepper was really well scripted throughout the book. The only thing I wasn't completely sold on was some of the office scenes towards the end of the book.  It just didn't feel completely believable to me.  Overall it was a good read.  This book is the first in a series of six of The Jennifer Marsh Mysteries and I would absolutely recommend it as a funny mystery novel to pickup.

Author's website: http://www.judyfitzwater.com/

New reviews in the works

Good morning and happy Wednesday all! Taking a break from my yearbook advisor duties and working on 3 new reviews #amediting SFL later

Review #2: You Can't Plan Love, by Synithia Williams

Review #2-You Can't Plan Love, by Synithia Williams

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality Rating: Sensuous

     Amazon - Buy Now

Can I just say I love "discovering" new authors.  I thoroughly enjoy being surprised by a new writers work to the point of looking forward to finding and reading more of their books.  While awaiting the new release of a tried and true favorite author, it's so nice to stumble upon or be introduced to a new author or an existing author whose work I've never had the pleasure of reading.

I've been in the midst of editing and re-editing my current project, however I decided to reward myself with a "little" reading time.  BIG MISTAKE. :) After winning, You Can't Plan Love in a blog contest I had been eyeing the book on my Kindle Fire off and on.  Finally I decided to read a few pages of the first Chapter and from there I was hooked.

SYNOPSIS:
The story centers around Kenyatta Copeland and Malcolm Patterson.  Kenyatta has allowed herself to be swayed by passion and emotions so much in her past relationship disasters that she is now determined to play it safe and stay away from men who elicit any degree of lust and desire from her traitorous body.  She is engaged to Brad, a man that she is not in love with, all the while pining away for her boss Malcolm.  Malcolm is doing his own fair share of lusting over Kenyatta but is determined not to engage in an interoffice affair.  All bets are off once he finds out about her engagement and he becomes determined to show her all the reasons why she should give them a chance.  Kenyatta soon realizes that her plans to play it safe in a marriage that would be built on security and convenience may not be safe at all.  After just a taste of passion in Malcolm's arms, Kenyatta remembers all the reasons why she should trust in her heart once again.

REVIEW:
This was a very well written book, with great character development and an overall interesting and entertaining plot.  The author was able to weave a believable cast of characters together in a sensual romance that kept me turning the page to find out what would happen next.  I loved the chemistry between Kenyatta and Malcolm and how it always seemed to be simmering below the surface.  The twists and turns of the story kept things at a nice pace and I especially enjoyed the ending, which in my mind was NOT the standard cookie cutter happily ever after.  It felt more true to life and I could relate to it more than I can with the endings of some novels I've read.  See HEA: Cookie Cutter Blog  Minus a few minor edit tweaks-that took nothing away from the story-I give this book four stars.  Great writing and a sensual romance novel definitely worth picking up.  You won't be disappointed.

Author's website:  http://www.synithiawilliams.com/

HEA - Too Cookie Cutter??

borrowed from scrabblesense.com

I absolutely, positively LOVE a happy ending.  I mean let's be real, it's what dreams are made of.  Right?  That's why I've always loved reading romance novels so much.  Every little girl starts planning out how her Prince Charming will race onto the scene riding his strapping white horse, razzle-dazzle her, literally and figuratively sweeping her off her feet.  They ride off into the sunset and live HAPPILY EVER AFTER. End Credits.

Okay so maybe it's not quite so simple in romance novels.  You have the tug and pull of two opposing forces: enter hero and heroine.  They spend a portion of the story either denying their love for each other or questioning their love for each other.  Outside forces may be thrown at the couple from every conceivable angle, making an already difficult love feel even that much more impossible.  But somehow they conquer all of those perceived roadblocks and discover, rediscover or finally accept their mutual love, and then they live HAPPILY EVER AFTER.


While I can't live without my regular dose of HEA I don't always enjoy the "cookie cutter" endings that I could almost read in mind without seeing a single word of the last few pages of the book.  Sometimes reading an excellent love story can be somewhat of a disappointment when the author chooses to use what I consider to be a cookie cutter ending.  Therefore reading the last few pages or epilogue is something that is at times no fun for me and I simply scan it rather than reading it.  Yes we all want the couple to end up together and remain deliriously in love, however what I don't think is always realistic is having all of their issues magically just disappear in the span of a chapter that wraps up the story.  What I can appreciate in some of the stories that I've read is when the heroine and hero are comfortable and confident enough in their love to admit that they still have things to work out and work on.  This is in fact more true to life and easier to relate to, even if we are reading a genre based in the fictitious fantasy worlds that we wish we lived in.  Yes we want to escape to a world where love conquers all but love is a work in progress which in my mind means you can love someone and want to be with them but not have every single issue resolved.  Sometimes what we could and should love most about someone is their imperfections and how it shapes who they are.

So am I saying that all HAPPILY EVER AFTER's should have unresolved issues?  No.  Absolutely not.  I am simply saying there could be a bit more variety in the endings.  Even though I want my heroine and hero to ride into the sunset, everything doesn't have to be nice and tidy for that to happen.  They simply have to be willing to work on their love.

Binge writing...is hiding out in your cave the best way to get result

Binge writing. I had never thought of such a concept to apply to a writer’s intense bouts of burying themselves inside their “caves” for extended writing sessions. That is, of course until I came across an article discussing binge writing from the academic writing perspective.

While ever looming deadlines can at times necessitate long periods of “dedication” to your writing, if it comes at the risk of a decline to the quality of your work it may be time to rethink your decisions on how many hours you log, in a given day. You risk both quality and burning out when you binge on any given thing, therefore I must assume that being a “binge writer” is not conducive to being a “quality writer”. I know that that it is necessary to delve into the world of the characters that we are creating but be careful of how often you fully immerse yourself. Creating manageable writing schedules and sticking to them should alleviate the need to place such unreasonable demands on your mind and body. Write, don’t binge.

Editing those beautifully strung together words

Editing. You’re finally finished writing your manuscript and it is in a word, a masterpiece; but you’re faced with that dreadful moment when you must part with your words. All those beautifully strung together words that you labored over tirelessly now have to meet their demise. Word to the wise. Don’t fall so in love with your words that you’re not willing to part with them when necessary. This just draws out the inevitable. Regardless of if it’s in the best interest of meeting word count quotas or in tightening up your story, editing is a necessary evil. Self-editing can actually be pretty enjoyable if you allow yourself to *gasp* dare I say, perfect “perfection.”

While I realize that we all embody in our own minds, all that is perfect in this writer’s world, we’re not judged by what we think we know, but rather what we present to readers and writers alike. In order to take the necessary steps forward in being a successful writer, whether it is fiction or nonfiction you must first realize that any well written piece can become an excellent work if you simply allow yourself to edit and be edited.

As a beat writer, a desk editor and now as an aspiring author I have had my own struggles with being edited by others. There is nothing worse in my mind than seeing your work in print and not recognizing it as your own. If your editor gives a 5,000 wc and you decided that 7,000 really tells the story, don’t be surprised, upset or disillusioned about why your favorite scene was cut out and the story was mangled beyond recognition. It only took once, maybe twice for this to happen in college before I learned my lesson. I’m a perfection therefore I always strive to edit myself constantly to avoid having others do it for me. I’m my own worst critic and I’ve always felt that no one could be harder on me than myself. With that said, when you are too close to your work which is usually the case then it’s possible that you may miss some of the small details. In short, when you’ve finished your last rounds of edits and feel that you’ve finished yet another award-winning masterpiece, edit some more.

The Masquerade Crew: Always got a pet project underway? Join the club. MEET @MsQuietStorm81, Our New Crew Member

The Masquerade Crew: Always got a pet project underway? Join the club. MEET @MsQuietStorm81, Our New Crew Member

Now working with the Masquerade Crew as a reviewer.  Check out my new reviewer profile.  Stay tuned for new reviews coming soon.