Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thank You, Amazon Reviewer!

I posted the ABNA reviews I received a couple of days ago, but I can't help but post this one again:  "Very excellent right-out of the gate.  Whether the author can maintain the pace, do the 'King Thing' plus deliver a theme that rocks your socks, remains to be seen.  But all indicators are blinking green for go.  Looks like this one could be the winner in a field that has a lot of competition."

Quite the motivator, that one.  I have no idea who that reviewer was, but if by some weird chance of fate he/she runs across this entry, I'd like to say THANK YOU.  If THE COMING doesn't make it through this round's Publishers Weekly review/scoring, that's okay...being one of the 250 people fortunate enough to have made it to the quarter-finals has provided me with the motivation to keep trying to find that agent, find that publisher, and TELL A STORY that people will enjoy! (or at least creep them out a little!)  Then, when someone asks me if I'm a writer, I can finally say, "Yes."

Saturday, March 26, 2011

ABNA Quarter-Finalist Excerpts Available for Review

The 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) quarter-finalist excerpts are available for review.  To navigate, first cut & paste this Amazon link into your web browser:  http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b/ref=amb_link_355508162_1?ie=UTF8&node=332264011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=top-1&pf_rd_r=0T19V4V63CHE161VRFH4&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=1290344662&pf_rd_i=ABNA

Then, on the left side of the page, you'll see a block called, "Quarter-Finalists by Category."  There, you can download the excerpts you're interested in & provide a review.  For my novel, THE COMING, click on "Thriller and Suspense" and it's #13 (lucky, huh?)

In order to download and review, you'll need two things:  1) an Amazon.com account, and 2) a Kindle reader.  For the Kindle, Amazon provides free PC readers available for download (I downloaded mine last night).  You'll have to click on "Buy Now" to get the excerpt file (don't worry...it's free!)

Now, if you start to read it and find what look like spelling/format mistakes (like words stuck together)...IT's NOT MY FAULT!  Well...not ALL my fault.  Entrants (that's me, heh) had to paste their 5K-word excerpts into a text block...and it completely messed-up all the formatting & spacing.  It took me about 45 minutes to go through & correct what I saw, but apparently I missed some!  Didn't seem to hurt my reviews, though, so I think they must've taken it into account!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Okay...Quarter-Finals. What's next?

Ah, the next step!  Here's what's going to happen from now until 26 April when the 50 semi-finalists are announced (below taken from the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award page):

Quarter Finals (March 22, 2011 – April 25, 2011).

(1) On or about March 22, 2011, we will post each of the Quarter-Finalists’ Excerpts and their associated written reviews online at www.amazon.com/abna. [That should happen soon...]

(2) Amazon customers may download and read any Excerpt, and then write a review and rate the Excerpt using Amazon.com’s process for submitting online reviews (as described at http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/guidelines/review-guidelines.html).

(3) For each Quarter Finalist’s Manuscript, Publishers Weekly will read, prepare a review, and rate each Manuscript on a scale of 1 to 5 on the following criteria:
a) Character development
b) Originality of idea
c) Plot
d) Prose/style
e) Overall strength of submission

(4) The top 50 Entries from each category will advance to the Semi-Finals (each, a "Semi-Finalist")

So, the waiting (and finger-crossing) begins...

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

THE COMING Quarter-Finals Review Comments

Part of making it to the quarter finals is the opportunity to review what some of the judges are saying after reading the 5,000-word excerpt I sent them when I entered the contest (the first 20-or-so manuscript pages)--I have two reviews posted right now, both of which almost made me fall out of my chair!  Once I clicked on the contest link to read my reviews, it took me a minute to figure out that they were actually talking about MY novel!  Even if this turns out to be as far as I go in the contest, it sure makes me happy!  Here's the reviews:

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

Why?
To find out your going to have to read the novel. Since the author did such a bang up job in the set-up, you WANT to read it.
Very economical with the words, getting alot of bang out of just the few pages I've read. The author covers all bases: characterization, setting, and plot/driving in the all runs by his innuendo hint of a supernatural-evil presence.
The hook is solid: story, writing, characters. Although not a fan of supernatural, because of the author's skill at setting-this-up I would be turning pages as fast as the rest of them who breathe life into this genre.

What aspect needs the most work?

The only weakness I can conjecture up, is one without merit/being able to make the unbelievable, believable. This is because the author was in the process of setting the overall presence of Legion; so to believe at this stage is not all in the cards. My biggest concern, is that I generally fall-out of this genre because I just don't join in any leap of faith games.
Still, having played this far, I would continue drawing pages until I folded, or the the author's obvious intelligence & skill of his craft, won me over.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

Very excellent right-out of the gate. Whether the author can maintain the pace, do the 'King Thing' plus deliver a theme that rocks your socks, remains to be seen. But all indicators are blinking green for go.
Looks like this one could be the winner in a field that has alot of competition.
 

ABNA Expert Reviewer

What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt?

The foreshadowing or things yet to come. From the very beginning of the excerpt, you could tell that there were some apocalyptic overtones of things yet to come.

What aspect needs the most work?

I do not think that there was anything that could be changed.

What is your overall opinion of this excerpt?

I thought that this excerpt was extremely engaging and very suspenseful. There were religious overtones, while it was clearly a thriller. I liked the symbolism of the flies and thought that the way they were woven throughout the story (as foreshadowing) was brilliant on the part of the author. I liked the characters as well as the storyline...there was the growing family whose life ended too soon, the young boy who committed suicide, to the "evil" bank robbers. I would have liked to read more of the story to figure out what is exactly going on. I think that a lot of people will enjoy this as a suspense thriller. I would.
 

THE COMING made it to the Quarter-Finals!

Just saw the list--my novel THE COMING was one of 250 entries selected for the quarter-finals in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award!  The next cut (down to 50 entries for the Semi-Finals) will be announced on 26 April)...