How To Use Reviews to Find New Authors

By Maggie Faire / Maggie Jaimeson

We all have our favorite authors. You know the one’s I mean, the autobuys, the one that is doing a series you want to be sure to be first in your group to read the next book.  But what do you do when you have reading time and your favorite authors have nothing new ready for you?



Maggie

That’s when you go surfing Amazon, B&N, Kobo or your local bookstore site.  Or maybe you are a GoodReads member. But with over a million books or more available, how do you possibly find something that is special? Here are some tricks I use and I hope will work for you. 

Step 1 – Search by Genre

In GoodReads go to Listopia and look at their genre lists.  These are lists members vote on and they change frequently. There is even a list called “Books I Never Intend to Read.” 

On all of the online book sites you have the option to also search by genre.  On Amazon and B&N, you can type the genre into the search window. On Kobo, on the left side they have a menu labeled “categories” where you can narrow your search.  On Amazon and Kobo, you also have the option of sorting.  I like to sort by “newest to oldest” or “by price.”

Without any sorting, each vendor has a slightly different take on what you get. The Amazon default is price, starting with the free books in that genre first. Everyone else is bestsellers first. So, if you are truly looking for a new author, you want to sort.

Step 2 – Click on the reviews

Whether a book has hundreds of reviews or only a few it is important to evaluate them and make a decision on how the review relates to your specific tastes.  The first thing I do is to read a five star review AND to read a lower review like a two or three star.  Personally, I don’t bother with one star reviews (unless there are a lot of them) because I find those are usually someone who didn’t like the title, the length of the book, or it wasn’t the genre they wanted. 

As I read the reviews I ask myself if what the reviewer likes or doesn’t like match me. For example, if the reviewer says I LOVE a book where the heroine has to choose between two guys, then I know I may not like it. I tend to like books where there is a clear choice early on.  That doesn’t mean it’s a bad book, it’s just not my taste.  By the same token, if a reviewer gave a book a lower rating because they are tired of all the heroes and heroines being beautiful, blonde, and with blue eyes I might also discount that review. I’m a brunette and I like to read about brunettes. But that doesn’t mean I would be upset with a blonde heroine. 

Evaluate several reviews and see if there are agreements between many reviewers. If the majority of reviews are saying this book is a page turner, no matter what the rating, and you love books where the tension is high and you keep turning pages then you may want to give it a try.  If most of the reviewers are saying the characters were boring, or the plot moved to slow, or I had a hard time finishing the book, you probably want to give it a pass. 

Step 3 – Take a chance 

It’s hard to spend your money on a new author. However, for under $5 you can usually find a good ebook to try.  If you like the reviews, but $5 is still too much for you to spend on an unknown author, see if your library has a copy to lend you.  Most libraries now lend ebooks, as well as paper books. 

Enjoy finding new authors to love and sharing them with your friends and family.

About Maggie

Maggie has been writing and publishing for over 30 years.  She began publishing short stories in romance and science fiction magazines and anthologies in the 1980s. She then spent several years writing non-fiction articles and books about technology and learning. She has four textbooks still being used by college students around the world. Now she writes novels under two pseudonyms: Maggie Faire is for her YA Fantasy novels and Maggie Jaimeson is for her Adult Romantic Suspense and Contemporary Women’s Fiction.  You can find all her social media contacts on her websites. 

You can find Maggie’s books available in both ebooks and paperbacks at most vendors and booksellers around the world.

 

Heroes and Heroines, Fictional or Real?

by Diana McCollum

There are so many heroes and heroines it’s hard for me to choose just one. 

On that note, I’m picking my little sister

We were not “girlfriend close” when we were young, because of a seven year age difference.  We always shared a bedroom  and by the time I was fourteen years old, she was seven years old and in my “stuff”.

After we grew up, married, and had children we became friends.  Over the years we sometimes lived close to each other, and sometimes thousands of miles apart.  No internet or cell phones back then so communication was letters and Christmas cards

What I admire her for are the things she’s overcome in her life.  I’m not going to touch on all those things as they are personal and medical diagnosis etc. 

I will tell you she is legally blind in one eye a complication of one of the medical conditions she has experienced.  In spite of that she is a dedicated writer.  I admire that.

Now my sister and I are pursuing the same dream, becoming published authors.  She and our friend, Judith, and I are collaborating on an Anthology to be published in January 2014. 

Sister dearest is one of my critique partners.  Believe me she doesn’t sugar coat anything!  We brainstorm well together, we bolster each other up when we’re down, and we listen to each other.

In my personal life she is my savior, my sounding board, and my shoulder to unload on.  Her advice is always sound and on spot.  My life would be so empty if she wasn’t in it.  She is my best friend, and I love her dearly.

I am popping a virtual bottle of Champagne and toasting you, little sister, for all you are and all you do.  

Oh, yeah, here’s some virtual chocolate too!!  There’s enough for everyone!!

Here’s to you Sister extraordinaire, confidant, best friend, and one of our Blog Queens, Sarah Raplee(McDermed) 

Dracula's Impression on Me

I actually had a hard time trying to decide which hero or heroine was my ultimate favorite. I even had to discuss it with my kids to get their favorites. I ended the conversation with the conclusion that everything I am is found within one fictional character. Dracula.



Dracula is essentially a love story and has influenced all of my ideas of Vampires and love ever-after. If Bram Stoker had never written his Dracula Love Story what would the world be like today? Thinking about it... Vampires would still be the feared bogeyman who comes out at night if you don't behave. Bram Stoker gave the modern world the basis for every dark tormented or immortal hero we as writers love so much.


Would Dracula have railed against his God and been punished if not for the deeply seated love for his wife? No. He would have shrugged off her death and remarried like so many after him. Would Elizabeta been the tragic woman who threw herself to her death because she couldn't even contemplate not being on earth with her true love? No.


Every hero I design follows his deep seated need for his woman weather he wants it or not. Every heroine has the desire to never be without him once she discovers him and will do anything to keep him with her. Just like Dracula and his beloved Elizabeta.


Who is your fictional hero or heroine? Why?

Everyday Heroines

When I discovered “heroes & heroines” was the RTG theme for August, a plethora of names (both real and imaginary) came to mind:  Thomas Edison, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Stephanie Plum, Marie Curie, and Merida—yes, the Disney princess—you got a problem with that? : )

And the names didn’t stop popping into my melon—there are so many people in history and literature worthy of praise. While all these heroines and heroes have influenced or shaped me in some way, what can I possibly write that you don’t already know (or can Google)?

Thus, it made more sense, to talk about a hero of a more personal nature. The police, firefighter (yeah—those hot firemen), our U.S. military and the janitor who cleans my office came to mind. Again, as much as I appreciate these groups and individuals, these are public figures.

So to keep things simple, I decided to focus my hero blog on people I actually know. Who inspires me on a daily basis? The answer was easy.

·        My daughter: she listens, she loves, and makes me glad to be alive.

·        My friends—they gift me with laughter and purpose.

·        And my critique partners! These women give…and give and give and give.

Dictionary.Com defines a heroine as “a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities.” Each of my critique partners exhibits these qualities and more. Believe me, it takes great courage to wade through one of my first drafts. Each of my critique partners also excels at brave deeds, often slugging through an entire manuscript in a single weekend simple because I need to submit on Monday.

So Ashantay, Linda, Lori, here’s to you!  Thanks for being there, thanks for encouraging me during those times I wanted to hurl my laptop into the pool, and thanks for all the hours you expend on my behalf. You’re the best.

And finally, the real hero is my late husband, Jim. Gone now for almost a year, he endured the worst without complaint.

But I’m not ready to write about that…yet.

What about you?  Other than family, who are your day-to-day hero/ines?

How Scarlett O'Hara Determined My Future

I was twelve-and-a-half years old the first time I read "Gone With the Wind" ~ and thirteen-and-a-half when I read it for the second time. I found the 800+ pages of that complex novel far more interesting than math class.

Forty-*scrubs hand over mouth* years ago, I certainly had absolutely no idea what career turn my life would take in my mid-fifties. I had no aspirations of becoming an author. And I didn't realized how Scarlett's saga imprinted the historical romance genre on my impressionable, young psyche. But it did.

Scarlett began the story as a spoiled brat, concerned only with the size of her corseted waist and the attention of the ill-suited Ashley Wilkes. But by the time the Civil War ended, her natural intelligence and steely will have carried her through into adulthood.

Scarlett single-handedly directs the salvation of her beloved home, Tara, doing whatever ~ and marrying whomever ~ she must in order to achieve her goal. The selfish child becomes a selfless woman. At least, for the duration of the crisis.

I was hooked. Historical romance was my genre of choice. But not short little stories with no depth, subplots, or fleshed-out secondary characters. I wanted hefty stories which would carry me outside of myself for several days at a time.

My second favorite author in my life was Kathleen Woodiwiss, the mother of the meaty historical romance. I read and reread her first five novels throughout the 1970's and into the 1980's ~ until raising four children cut severely into my late-night reading abilities.

I didn’t read fiction again until 2006, when I discovered/devoured Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Her influence prompted me to attempt writing my first novel. Ten published book later, I have never looked back.

And all of this goes straight back to Margaret Mitchell's Scarlett. The ultimate flawed heroine, whose character arc is hard to match in any other fictional work of any genre. As much as I wanted to be the rich and beautiful flirt in the green party dress that matched her eyes, I would like to think that I could deliver a baby, drive a wagon out of a burning Atlanta, and keep a plantation going, and a household fed, by my wits and sheer determination alone.

Thank you, Scarlett.

I hope my heroines might make you proud.

*****

Norway is the New Scotland!

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go to KrisTualla.com !!!

Brewing up a Hero/Heroine by Paty Jager

How I brew up a hero or heroine isn't always the same but there are elements that do meld and help me find the perfect blend of characteristics, background, and visual appeal.

All my stories deal with justice. It's a quirk I realize is inherent in me. I want justice to be served or to make it known to others when there has been an injustice. Knowing this, I have certain characteristics my hero and heroine must have that will also give them the same drive to bring about justice or reveal the injustice.

They need to have these traits: Aggressive(not always in an overt way), alert, brave, concerned, determined, honest(if not to themselves to everyone else),intelligent, and stubborn.

When brewing up a character I use the above traits to conjure up their background. The events that happened in their lives to give them some of these traits. And the other traits that make some of the decisions they need to make in the story hard.

Sometimes I'll get a vision of the character, what they look like, how they dress and then I add the characteristics from the visual I see. These are the fun characters because I see them before I know their whole story and usually their name pops in my head when I see them or am categorizing what I see.

There are other times when I know the story I want to tell and then have to brew up the characters. Then I start with the background they need to be part of the story. I find a photo of who I think they are, or type out their visual characteristics. If I'm still at a loss for a name, I'll use their ethnicity to look up names and find the one that fits my character.

Then there are characters like Isabella Mumphrey who came about like this:
My friend Julie and I were driving to a writing retreat and I was lamenting about a book that didn't live up to the hype of an action adventure.

Julie: Why don’t you write an action adventure?

Me: I can’t write action adventure, and I’ve worked hard at branding myself. I write western or Native American.

Julie: So make the heroine have something to do with Native American studies.

Me: I guess that would work. (here my brain started kicking into overdrive)

Julie: Where would you set this story?

Me: South or Central America.

Julie: Why?

Me: I could use the heroine’s studies of Native American Indians as her reason for traveling to countries with drug problems.

Julie: Why?

Me: Because the hero would be with the DEA.

Julie: What kind of heroine will she be?

Me: Scholarly…genius level having graduated with her doctorate at 20 or22.(a light bulb clicked in my head as a slender girl with glasses wearing a long broomstick skirt, tank top, and sandals formed in my mind) Her name is Isabella Mumphrey.

I wish all heroes and heroines came as easy and fast as Isabella did.

Secrets of a Mayan Moon Blurb:

Child prodigy and now Doctor of Anthropology, Isabella Mumphrey, is about to lose her job at the university. In the world of publish or perish, her mentor’s request for her assistance on a dig is just the opportunity she’s been seeking. If she can decipher an ancient stone table—and she can—she’ll keep her department. She heads to Guatemala, but drug trafficking bad guys, artifact thieves, and her infatuation for her handsome guide wreak havoc on her scholarly intentions.

DEA agent Tino Kosta, is out to avenge the deaths of his family. He’s deep undercover as a jaguar tracker and sometimes jungle guide, but the appearance of a beautiful, brainy anthropologist heats his Latin blood taking him on a dangerous detour that could leave them both casualties of the jungle.

Secrets of a Mayan Moon is available at Windtree Press, Kindle, Nook  Kobo . 

Award winning author Paty Jager is a member of national and local writing organizations. She not only writes the western lifestyle she lives it. With fifteen novels and several short stories published, she continues to have characters cavorting in her head and enjoys teaching other writers. 

You can learn more about Paty at her blog; www.patyjager.blogspot.com  her website; http://www.patyjager.net or on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/#!/paty.jager , Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005334.Paty_Jager  and twitter;  @patyjag.