Category Archives: book reviews

April 30, 2016

April Wrap-Up

So… April is over. How did that happen? It seems like I was just setting my goals for this month, and WHOOSH. Gone. Time to set some for May.

Crazy.

I know things have been quiet here while I’ve been focusing on my actual writing work, but here’s a quick recap.

LIFE

Drank a lot of coffee. Drank even more tea. Had a CT scan on my head. Bought myself flowers (not related to any of the previous, but it happened).

My province’s budget came out, and includes massive library closures, larger class sizes in schools, and an additional 10% tax on books (when we’re already the Canadian province with the lowest literacy rate, SWEET DEAL). I get that we need money, but the short-sightedness of all of this blew my mind, and there may have been some ranting on Twitter. *cough*

April is still winter here, even though everyone always forgets that and expects it to be spring. Nine degrees one day, snow the next. At least it’s pretty.

I started Couch to 5K training this month, and just finished week three this morning. What I’m doing now wouldn’t seem like a challenge to most runners, but it is for me. I like the feeling of pushing myself through the hard parts and getting the feeling of accomplishment that comes with that. Of course, I’ve thought of a bunch of ways this is like becoming a writer, but that’s a whole other post.

Me and my running buddy after week 3, day 1. The snow caught up with us. 🙂

READING

According to Goodreads, I read/finished four books in April. The first was You Are A Badass, which was a quick, easy introduction to a lot of self-improvement stuff like overcoming hang-ups (big thing for me, still working on that whole fear of success deal), setting goals, affirmations, visualizations, etc. The casual tone was nice, save for the use of “rill” instead of “really,” which made me want to set the book down and back away slowly. I also read Nail Your Story by Monica Leonelle (interesting take on story structure with ideas and worksheets I’ll be using in the future), The Bear Went Over the Mountain by William Kotzwinkle (fun story a friend sent me ages ago and I finally had time to read), and The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski (lovely adventure/fantasy-with-no-magic romance. Slow to start, amazing twists and excitement by the end. Recommended to anyone who likes my stuff). Oh. I also read Hard as Ice by Victoria Barbour (another Newfoundland author). I liked Against Her Rules a little better, but it was a fun romance read with the same NL vibe as that one. I need to add that to GR…

Next up: Beloved by Toni Morrison. I’m not sure I’m ready for this one, but I’m trying to alternate in-my-genres books and not-my-genres books, and this is next up for lit fic. Wish me and my tear ducts luck.

Isn’t this cover adorable?

WRITING

April was an interesting month for my work. Into Elurien, my 50K* contribution to a series of stand-alone novellas by bestselling indie Fantasy Romance authors, is going fabulously. It came back from edits needing a little work, but that went quickly, and it’s now out with beta readers. It’s getting amazing feedback from readers so far. One who loved the Bound Trilogy said she thinks she might like this story even better. I’m completely in love with the characters in this one, and will be sad to let them go. I didn’t even know them back in January, and now we’re almost finished… crazy. But it’s very ready to go, and I can’t wait to see it out in the world.

My other project, The Phoenix Game (working title), is proving a bit more challenging. I didn’t do enough ground-work before I started drafting, because I was trying to take advantage of the weeks I had while IE was out with alpha readers and with my editor. I didn’t get to know the characters well enough, didn’t explore the themes and ideas I’m working with in enough depth, and while my vision for the story is massive and beautiful, the mechanics weren’t quite in place yet. Add to that the challenge of writing in third person when I prefer first (for reading and writing), and what I’ve got so far is 30K words of a book with potential, but that doesn’t have the momentum and keen edge that I want.

So I’m taking a break and reading a bit more on story structure before I continue. Yes, it’s just a first draft, but when I know I’ve made a wrong turn I like to study the map and fix it instead of driving off cliffs, you know?

By the time IE is finished and up for pre-order (May 15), I should be ready to focus entirely on this one. It’s the most challenging book I’ve ever written. A YA story with a potentially complicated structure involving the past and the future (as well as gods and mortals), a deep backstory, themes that I’m still conflicted about myself, and a big cast of characters who are all likely to demand more page time than I can realistically give them when my goal is to keep it around 100K words after edits.

And that’s exciting. It’s wonderful. And it’s a little intimidating when the kids’ summer vacation is just around the corner and I have edits booked for January.

But I think writing is like a game. You level up with each finished project, and while I couldn’t have done this one justice a few years ago, I’m ready for this challenge now.

Screenshot 2016-04-30 14.05.19

So that’s my April. I’m going to go plan for May now. That will include lots of fun stuff for my readers. Not just pre-orders, but teasers, chapter reveals, a character reveal or two, and (if I can find time), maybe some videos for me to post here and on YouTube as I continue to step outside of my comfort zone and do new things.

Anything is possible.

What were your highlights this month?

—

*I know, 50K is technically a novel, but series guidelines permit it. Consider it extra value, as it’ll be the same price it would have been at 30K words. 😉

Leave a comment | tags: books, editing, fantasy, Into Elurien, reading, romance, skeleton key series, writing | posted in about me, book reviews, books, Into Elurien, Jack Attack, Skeleton Key Project, the Phoenix Game, writing

August 17, 2015

Writing Resources: For Love or Money by Susan Kaye Quinn

By Kate Sparkes

A quick book review today, and one that will be mostly of interest to writers.

Okay, almost strictly of interest to writers.

You might be familiar with Susan Kaye Quinn from her book The Indie Author Survival Guide. If you haven’t read it, you’ve probably heard me mention it (assuming you’ve been around long enough. Hi, new guys!). It’s a fantastic resource for any indie writer, whether you’re new to this* or an experienced author looking to brush up on how to approach book production and marketing.

That book is the kind of how-to guide that feels like an older sister (a nice one, not the kind who puts gum in your hair) holding your hand and guiding you through the scary stuff.

For Love or Money is a different beast altogether. It’s not about how to write, or how to publish. It’s about crafting the rest of your career after those first few books, about figuring out what your goals are, why you’re writing and publishing, and how best to reach the top of your chosen mountain.

It’s about writing for love: Telling the stories that move you, the ones you’d write even if no one ever read them.

It’s about writing for money: Figuring out the market and discovering your own voice within a tight genre framework.

And it’s about doing both. Ms Quinn writes “mercenary” fiction (strictly for money) under a pen name, and she talks about finding joy in the work she does there. She talks about taking ideas that you love and shaping them so that they fit the market, thus allowing the books you write for love to become money-makers. And she talks about how it’s just fine to have both kinds of books out there.

I enjoyed this book enough that I read it in a day (during a long reading slump, no less). I’ll share a few of the lessons I took away from it, but it’s definitely worth grabbing a copy and reading it for yourself (though you should definitely read IASG first, as this one refers back to it).

My take-aways:

Not every book has to be a bestseller. When one book (say, a first book) has some measure of success, there can be a lot of pressure to repeat that with every new project or series. It’s comforting to know that if I decide to work on a project I love that might resonate with fewer readers, that’s okay. Writing for love is healthy, and sales will vary over the course of a career.
Writing for the market, aiming to please a larger number of people by writing books that cater to the genre tropes people love, is not selling out. It’s a unique form of creative challenge, and one that can net huge rewards (even outside of the money). There’s nothing wrong with actually wanting to make money off of our hard work, and predicting what will sell isn’t impossible.
I have my whole career ahead of me. If I decide to genre-hop instead of staying with a successful world and premise, that’s okay. It may put the brakes on things, but not burning out is just as important as maintaining sales numbers. Playing in another sandbox might keep me happier, and therefore help me do better and more meaningful work when I do return to the genre and world that kicked things off for me.

That’s not all, but those were the things I most needed to hear.

This book helped be choose the mountain I want to climb: writing stories I want to read, shaped to enthrall a large audience… most of the time. I don’t think I’ll ever be a mercenary writer, churning out dragon porn to make a quick buck (though I could totally kick ass at that, guys). Stories that are purely “for love”, i.e. too non-genre-specific to find much of an audience, will go on the back burner until I’m at a place financially where I can afford for them to flop and not have to stress out about it.

Reading this book helped me step back, look at my career goals, and decide where I want to go.

And that’s huge.

Check out Susan Kaye Quinn’s site here for links.

*New to this as I was the first time I read it, that is. In fact, the IASG, Be the Monkey (Konrath and Eisler), and Let’s Get Digital (Gaughran) were the three books that convinced me that indie publishing was the path I wanted to take, and I’m mind-explodingly grateful to the authors of all of them. If not for these books, Bound could still be making the rounds of slush piles, or badly published and nearly unread. *shudder*

3 Comments | tags: author, for love or money, indie, publishing, recommendation, susan kaye quinn, the indie author survival guide, writing, writing resources | posted in book reviews, Hows & Whys, publishing, writing

January 11, 2015

Chill, Monkey Brain

By Kate Sparkes

Distraction.

We’ve talked about it here before, specifically in terms of me craving it. I can’t help it, you know? My brain doesn’t like to focus. Even when I’m working on something I’m excited about, it’s irresistably tempting to click over to Facebook every five minutes (no exaggeration), or to answer the ping of the e-mail notification just in case it’s a message that will grant me a hit of some feel-good brain chemical, or perhaps give me a novel (ha) distraction.

It’s not just a will-power issue, either. People joke about internet and social media addiction, but it’s not far off. I get anxious and irritable when I’m disconnected, even though I know on a rational level that I’m missing absolutely nothing of consequence.

Seriously, the pictures of my mom’s kitten can wait. He’s adorable… but will still be adorable after I finish working.

But even though giving in to temptation isn’t rewarding 99% of the time, I keep doing it, like it’s a compulsion. An addiction. I scroll through Facebook posts I’ve seen three times already, waiting to see whether something new will pop up. I read Cracked articles that are interesting or amusing, but make absolutely no difference to me in any practical way. My life is not better for looking.

It’s all distraction.

Well, I’m done complaining about it.

This morning I picked up a book called The Distraction Addiction [insert REALLY long subtitle here], by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. $14.99, more than I’ve ever spent on an e-book before, but as of 50% through the book, I think it was money well-spent.

It talks about a lot of things, in a semi-Gladwellian tone: Multitasking (good) vs. stitch-tasking (not at all good), the ways technology shapes culture, mindfulness, meditation, using technology instead of being used by it…

…and Monkey Brain.

From the introduction, emphasis mine:

The monkey mind’s constant activity reflects a deep restlessness: monkeys can’t sit still because their minds never stop. Likewise, most of the time, the human mind delivers up a constant stream of consciousness. Even in quiet moments, minds are prone to wandering. Add a constant buzz of electronics, the flash of a new message landing in your in-box, the ping of voicemail, and your mind is as manic as a monkey after a triple espresso. The monkey mind is attracted to today’s infinite and ever-changing buffet of information choices and devices. It thrives on overload, is drawn to shiny and blinky things, and doesn’t distinguish between good and bad technologies or choices.

Sound like anyone you know? Not a flattering comparison, but an unfortunately accurate one for me.

So as I read, I’m making some decisions. I want to chill my monkey brain. I want to use social media as a tool, not let it capture more of my attention than is healthy.

I want to change the way my mind works, not just fight distraction.

I want to use e-mail as a way to communicate with people who are important to me, not as a means to be fed more distractions.

I want Facebook to allow me to catch up with everyone… maybe twice a day, not every five minutes or when I’m in line at the grocery store.

I want to focus on my work for hours at a time, not in ten-minute bursts.

It’s not going to be easy, but here’s the plan as I see it so far:

Remove Facebook app from my phone. I can still access it via the internet, but it’ll be a little more difficult, and I’ll have time to think about why I’m looking. (Also, I can access my pages here and messages without a separate app. HA.)
Turn off the WiFi when I’m working.
I’m going to *deep breaths* not check e-mails until lunch time, giving me a chance to work without being side-tracked before I even get started. And no Facebook before getting out of bed.
Turn off e-mail and WordPress notifications on my phone. I’ll respond to them, but on my time, not my phone’s.
Get up early every day and try meditation. I expect I’ll be horrible at it, but it sounds like even a little practice at it really helps calm the need for distraction and helps with focus on practical and creative tasks. Ding ding! Just what I need, and this might be the key to the whole problem. And wasn’t mindfulness one of my goals for this round of ROW80? Hmm.
Stop carrying the phone around the house with me.
Stop notifications on Facebook groups that are just distracting me or (occasionally) stressing me out.
Put the phone/computer away when I’m with my family… and take a full break from the internet on Sundays.

And… okay, this might take a while. I’m going to break my habit of checking for reviews on Amazon, and I’m going to not check sales numbers every day. I’m turning my focus back on the work, on bringing my visions to life and putting my stories out in the best way I can, and I’m going to try to let go of the world’s reactions to it.

Whew. That’s going to be rough.

That’s not to say I don’t care whether readers are happy. I do, and I love it when readers are happy. It’s kind of why I publish, and why I do silly things like having an editor. But I don’t think basing my mood or my self-esteem on how people feel about my work (a thing that is not me) is healthy. Sure, good reviews make me feel good, but I can’t accept that boost without also allowing bad ones to make me feel crappy. I’d rather have good feelings come from flow, from focusing on something challenging and overcoming those challenges, from creating something worthwhile and beautiful, and then letting it go.

And also, it’s just another distraction from my actual work and life.

Know what this means for you guys? Nothing, unless you care to join me.

Okay, that’s a lie. It might mean a few, hopefully interesting posts here on how things are going with this. It might mean less angst from me over not being able to focus for crap (YAY!).

It will mean that when you e-mail me with a question, or comment on a post here, or say something wicked on my Facebook page (I do love when you do those things), that it might be a few hours before I respond.

And I hope (God willing) that it will make me a happier, less-distracted, more productive person. I hope it will mean better blog posts and better stories for you all. I hope it will mean a nicer, more focused mom for my kids, and my husband getting a wife whose mind is actually in the same room as him.

Because I’m going to be the boss of my technological extensions*, not the other way around.

Big dreams.

Let the experiment begin.

—-

*You’ll have to read the book for more on that.

11 Comments | tags: e-mail, facebook, flow, focus, management, mindfulness, social media, technology, the distraction addiction, time management, work, writing | posted in about me, book reviews, books, Home Life, Mindfulness

March 26, 2014

WIPpet Wednesday- Feline Photobomb Edition

By Kate Sparkes

I just wanted to take a picture of my new, autographed paperback copy of Evensong for you guys, because I was SUPER excited when it came in the mail this morning. Harriet said, “Nope. PHOTO ME AND LOVE ME AND PET ME.”

And then she purred, and I can’t argue with that. So here you go. Book and cat. Add a cup of tea and you’ve got a perfect afternoon.

I apologize for the hugeness of the image. Apparently WordPress is no longer letting us edit photos down by percentage. Huh.

Note to self.

Aaaaaaanyway…

Let’s get this final ROW80 Update out of the way first, because I’m ending this round on a bit of a cliffhanger.

My editor started working on my book this morning. I have no idea what’s going to happen with that. Could be a wonderful experience, or it could leave me deciding that my leisure hours would be better spent playing Minecraft because writing is just wasting my time and my money. I’m expecting something in the middle, with lots of work to be done at the end but me still feeling like this is a thing I can do.

We’ll see. Right now I feel like I can handle pretty much anything.

In other news, I read Rayne Hall’s Writing Fight Scenes this week, and it was quite informative. I picked it up because I knew mine were lacking something, and I discovered lots of ways to punch things up. Lots of tips, lots of links to videos* demonstrating fighting styles and weapons, and it’s a quick read at a good price. Recommended.

Also still reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I’m FINALLY at the actual story, and am finally enjoying it. I have no problem with the author’s writing style– it’s gorgeous, and I think he’ll be one of few Fantasy authors who won’t make me want to throw the book across the room because I want to skip all of the descriptions (see: A Song of Ice and Fire and ALL THE FOODS). I mean, there are tons of descriptions, but at least they’re interesting. It just took forever to get past the framing. I know, I’m a terrible reader. Maybe “get to the action” has just been drilled into my head so often as a writer that I’m no longer willing to slog through chapters of Not Much Happening to get to the good stuff.

I hate feeling like I don’t have time to just enjoy a long, drawn-out story anymore, but that’s kind of where I am. My attention span is HEY LOOK, A MARMOSET.** That, and my TBR list is so huge that I find myself putting books down and moving on to something else if I’m not hooked right away.

New resolution to work on next round: try to get over that. Slow down, smell the ~~marmosets~~ roses, try to give books a chance.

WIPpet Wednesday

26 (short) sentences from Resurrection for the 26th. We’re heading for the climax here (and the reason I needed that book on fight scenes). Shivva (the vampire) is on the run, trying to solve a mystery of sorts, and trying not to hurt any innocent humans while she does so.

A bell tinkles as I enter the restaurant, a greasy little diner with plastic menus and probably a filthy kitchen. The decor hasn’t been updated since the sixties. That, or it’s a convincing retro set-up. I don’t even care.

“Bad night to be out walking,” says the short guy leaning against the counter. He doesn’t seem to care that his boots are leaving a puddle on the chipped linoleum.

“Yeah.” I count out my buck seventy-five and accept the white paper cup of steaming heaven. The coffee’s shit, of course, but it’s hot, and it helps.

“I’ve got an umbrella in my car, if you want it,” the guy says.

I shoot him an irritated glance. “No, thanks. I’m fine.”

“Not made of sugar, are you?”

“Excuse me?”

He shrugs. “You… you’re not worried about melting in the rain. So you must not be made of sugar.” I roll my eyes, and I feel him watching me as I turn to leave. “You sure look sweet, though.”

I flip him the bird without looking back.

Three blocks later, I’m in an industrial area, enjoying the quiet. A long, high-pitched whistle sounds behind me. I don’t stop, and I don’t turn back, even at the sound of several sets of footsteps splashing over the asphalt. Humans. Bring it on.

Oy. I’ve heard worse pick-up lines, but not by much.

So there you go. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to beta read and/or rip my work to shreds. I’ll try to have that out next week.

For more WIPpet Wednesday fun, swing by our host KL Schwengel’s blog to say hi, click on the link, and be transported to a world of… um… well, I don’t know. I have to go check that out myself.

—

*Useless on my PaperWhite, but good to have available for another time.

**That’s… actually kind of weird.

19 Comments | tags: editing, resurrection, snippet, Urban Fantasy, vampire, vampires, writing sample | posted in book reviews, books, publishing, Resurrection, ROW80, WIPpet Wednesday

February 4, 2014

Book Review: Evensong (Meratis Trilogy #1), by Krista Walsh

By Kate Sparkes

Half of me thinks I should have written this review as soon as I finished reading the book, when the details were clear and the excitement fresh.

The other half remembers that if I’d done that, I’d have been a babbling idiot whose train of thought jumped tracks every few lines, and it wouldn’t have made any sense.

Looks like rationality (such as it is in my mind) won out over enthusiasm this time, if only because I wanted to wait until purchase links were available. You’re all very welcome.

So, Evensong.

Much as I love reading things my friends (real-life or blog) have written, I’m often wary of promising to review things. I’m an honest reviewer, but I don’t like giving less than four stars. This means I get to be all gushy and enthusiastic when I love something (four stars is a “love” from me, BTW. Five just has that extra je ne sais quoi that makes the story eat my brain so that I can’t put it down). It puts me in a difficult spot, though, when a book is good-but-not-quite-there, and I can’t in good conscience give more than three stars. Normally, I just don’t review, but when you promise to do it…

You can see where my reluctance comes from.

But then here comes this Krista Walsh character, and she’s all, “Hey, I’m looking for people to read this ARC and review,” and I’m all, “Hey, that book actually sounds kind of wicked…”

And friends, I was NOT disappointed. All of the stars. *throws them at KWalsh*)

Evensong is the story of Jeff Powell, a fantasy author who gets sucked into his work far more literally than most of us do and becomes trapped there. He meets his characters, who are even more badass, clever, strong and real than he’d ever imagined them, and has to help them out of a mighty sticky situation while trying to figure out whether all of the crap-storm they’re dealing with is actually his fault.

It’s fun, it’s fascinating, it made me laugh and cry. Oh, and it made me absolutely terrified of what I’m planning to do to a few of my own characters in the future. I mean, yes, this is the mark of a great storyteller. Krista Walsh and her characters got into my head and messed me up. I’m scared to write, now, because WHAT IF I’M ACTUALLY HURTING MY PRECIOUS PEOPLE.

I’m not entirely sure I appreciate that, but I can’t fault her for it.

I don’t want to give spoilers. The only other thing I’ll say is that I’m CRAZY HAPPY that Krista Walsh is publishing these books herself, because that means I don’t have to wait FOREVER to get the next one!

Now, you’re all going to have to hold onto your panties just a little longer, because the book’s not officially out until February 10. Here are your purchase links for when the time comes:

AMAZON

AMAZON.CA (Did I mention Krista Walsh is Canadian? *chilly high five!*)

KOBO (That’s right, she’s not neglecting you. GO BUY)

B & N *

Mark your calendars. Read. Enjoy.

–

*Y’know, for your Nook. Your Nook e-book reader. YOUR NOOKIE BOOK READER.

9 Comments | tags: book review, evensong, fantasy, krista walsjh, meratis | posted in book reviews

January 26, 2014

ROW80 Update– Back To Work Edition

By Kate Sparkes

I just had a lovely weekend with my parents. Actually, just a lovely 24 hours– they live about five hours away by car, and they drove out yesterday morning. This was quite the novelty for me. They just moved to Corner Brook early this month, and before that it had been nine years since we lived within driving distance of them.

Well, you know. SANE driving distance.

It was a lovely visit, and it was nice to be able to say goodbye without tearing up. Heck, we’ll probably see them next month!

But… I got nothing done yesterday, and so far nothing today. Obviously I preferred to spend time with them while they were here, but I’m going a little cross-eyed. Things are going really well in my little writing cave right now. Even if I didn’t earn gold stars every day this week, I got a lot done. I’m about 2/3 of the way through the ms, and then I’m not touching it again until after it’s been professionally ~~ripped apart~~ dealt with.

Writing– I’m up to chapter 23 now, got through the whole “change a character’s gender” thing (which made a lovely difference in the feel of a few scenes), and should be pretty well into smooth sailing now. I need to make a few small changes here and there, but I think all of the big restructuring is done for now.

Reading– Read The Sowing by K. Makansi, which is the first part of a trilogy of… novellas, I guess? More like three episodes of one book than three complete stories, I think. This one was heavier on back-story than on action, but I liked the characters and I’m very curious to see where the story is going, so I’ll definitely be picking up the next episodes.

Life– I’ve been quite good about cleaning up this weekend. That had nothing to do with the fact that we had company. *cough* Still, I’m proud of myself for having the place cleaned up enough that my mom didn’t feel like she needed to do it. Doing pretty well with the meal planning. Saw the chiropractor (finally!) on Thursday, and HOLICARP, he’s some kind of miracle worker. He actually got my back to move in spite of the extreme tension in my muscles, and I’m now off of the painkillers completely. I go back on Tuseday for a follow up. SUPER HAPPY. You never know what you’re going to get when there’s only one of anything in the phone book, but I lucked out this time.

I guess that’s about it for today. I have some blog reading to do, and AJ is working tonight, so I’m going to work. The only question is whether to have the Grammies (Grammys?) on in the background while I do so…

What have you all been up to? Did I miss anything important on your blogs or elsewhere? Tell me!

Chillin’ with the family. Literally.

5 Comments | posted in book reviews, ROW80

October 23, 2013

One Last Night (WIPpet Wednesday and ROW80)

By Kate Sparkes

Good Wednesday, friends. Are we all healthy? Happy? Warm or cool as is seasonally appropriate in our parts of the world? Good. Have a seat, and let’s see what we have to share today.

*flips through imaginary papers*

First up: WIPpet Wednesday, and today I’ll be sharing from the first draft (sorry!) of my NaNoWriMo project, which will be further work on the second novel in a planned trilogy. This isn’t your first look at this story; this scene takes place not long after this one, which I posted way back in June.

Let’s have some mood music:

WIPpet math: October 23 = 2+3 = 5 paragraphs from Aren’s perspective.

—

She slipped the chain over her head and rubbed her thumb over the pendant’s surface, admiring it before she let it settle against the skin over her heart. “What do you think?”

“Perfect,” I whispered. I think she knew I wasn’t talking about the necklace.

“The story’s not over, though, is it?”

“Not remotely.”

She left the necklace on all night. Maybe it was all a mistake. Maybe her coming to my room only made it harder for me to leave the next morning. I needed sleep before I started a long journey, but I needed her more. She didn’t have to use words to tell me she felt the same way.

—

*sniffle*

To see what the other WIPpeteers are up to, head on over to the ever-convenient linkie-poo and give them all of your clicks and comment love, and say hi to our host K.L. Schwengel on the way by. To join in, choose a sample of your own work in progress that relates to today’s date, whether it be the chapter or page number, or something more creative. Because, you know.

OK, ROW80 update!

I… I missed my Sunday update again. Oops.

Still not much progress in the writing department, but I did read another non-fiction book. I gave Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World, by Kristen Lamb, five glittery unicorn stickers out of five. It’s a fascinating look at the dynamics of how we interact with people on social media, and it answered a lot of the questions I’ve had about Twitter and other sites. She explains why it’s more important than ever to make a personal connection with people, and how to do that without going crazy. I learned a ton about marketing, and I was entertained the whole time. It’s NOT a book about how to sell books by blasting people away with automated tweets and having a million Facebook fans, and it’s NOT a list of marketing techniques that will be outdated next week. It’s about being real, and I think (based on some of the accounts I follow on Twitter) that this is something we all need. These are tips and techniques that will apply long after we’ve all moved on to whatever the next social media juggernaut turns out to be.*

The chapters on blogging are valuable, too. I was happy to learn that it’s okay that my blog’s not all about writing. In fact, Ms Lamb recommends that we share our other passions and reach out to a wide variety of readers, since they’re the people who might just (perhaps, maybe, some day) decide to check out our books. So if you’ve been wishing I’d quit posting about ponies, Newfoundland, and my failed attempts at gardening… well, I’m sorry.

So yes, highly recommended read for anyone with a book coming out, however you’re publishing. It’s about so much more than just social media, but I’d say it’s worth the purchase price just for the section on “Twitequette,” which should be required reading for everyone on Twitter.

As for writing… well, I made some notes while I was waiting (FOREVER) at the doctor’s office yesterday, so… yay? Maybe this afternoon, when I’ll finally have the house to myself for a few hours… I hope.

—

*Also, tweeting about how much I was enjoying the book got me two twitter responses from the author herself, which was really fun. She walks the talk, guys. 🙂

16 Comments | posted in blogs, book reviews, ROW80, Torn, WIPpet Wednesday

June 27, 2013

Book Review and an Interview… elsewhere

By Kate Sparkes

OK, first of all: I got no writing done in the past 24 hours because I couldn’t stop reading Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth. My mother-in-law likes the TV show, so I thought I’d give the book a try. I did NOT expect to end up on the kitchen floor with a cup of tea and this book, sobbing over the lives of people 30 years before I was born and an ocean away. I laughed, too, and felt afraid, and was amazed by the beauty of humanity (even as I was enraged by its ugliness).

Absolutely phenomenal, and entirely deserving of one of my 5-star reviews (which, like fine china, are saved for special occasions).

THIS JUST IN: It’s a trilogy. Somebody tell my productivity it’s getting a vacation as soon as I get my paws on the other two books.

–

In other news, here’s my interview with Fel Wetzig at The Peasants Revolt. She’s been interviewing JuNoWriMo participants all month; my answers are from back in May, but they still hold. 🙂

http://scotzig.com/2013/06/26/kate-sparkes-junowrimo-interview/

–

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go curl up on my bed and cry again, and then go scream at my library if they don’t have those other books…

3 Comments | posted in about me, book reviews

June 25, 2013

Book Review: Matched

By Kate Sparkes

I finished and reviewed Matched by Ally Condie.

Guys, I’m really surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. I’m usually not a fan of the straight-up love triangle, and this one did make me feel badly for one guy, but at least neither of them was abusive/controlling/disrespectful/etc like you see so often in these settings. I gave it four stars, based entirely on my own reading experience. It was fun, relaxing, and interesting enough that I spent my afternoon yesterday reading it instead of writing. Good enough for 4 stars from me. 🙂

5 Comments | tags: book review, dystopian, Matched, YA | posted in book reviews

May 19, 2013