Wow. I am not a newbie, but this article kind of makes my head hurt. JA, its author, is not wrong. There are series I have stuck with because they started well or I was told just get through the first one or two and then it picks up. Of course, I pick up so many books secondhand because I contribute to the creation of so many books - my own and my authors'.
The thing is, a person still has to be discovered, talked about, and passed around the first time. The first book in the series. The first series in the repertoire. If you don't support your local author, they'll think they need to try something else to get your support, and won't write the next book in the series (they always have a sequel in their heads. They know what their characters are doing after THE END. Trust me.) because they think you're not interested. They want to please you. But when you give your support to authors who literally admit that they could turn out shit and outsell the great American novel these days, you're not helping. When you support your friend because they're your friend but you don't read what they write and you have NO IDEA how bad it is, you aren't helping. If you want better, then you need to help be part of that. It's possible, but it's hard work.
Phyl Campbell is Author, Mother, Dreamer, and Dr. Pepper Addict. And you can bet she's procrastinating on writing what she's actually supposed to be writing -- RIGHT NOW.
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Friday, October 14, 2016
Well, it was worth a shot!!
I tried to share a post from my Goodreads Author account -- where I am recognized as an author, not just* a fan.
So I wrote a review of the latest Lisa McMann book I read, and clicked the box to share with my blog and Facebook. So far, neither has posted.
So basically, this is a post created so that the three** of you know that I am writing and trying not to overwhelm with posts. There is lots more I could write about, but I am supposed to be editing.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Word getting done on a Friday night. Funny!!
*Tonight I am done with the words. No offense was meant. Readers and fans are extremely important. What they lack is the responsibility of the profession to post reviews and edit author pages.
**Kidding/not kidding. If it weren't for FB shares, this blog would see very little attention. I almost miss the troll who kept wanting me to buy her dental services. Almost.
So I wrote a review of the latest Lisa McMann book I read, and clicked the box to share with my blog and Facebook. So far, neither has posted.
So basically, this is a post created so that the three** of you know that I am writing and trying not to overwhelm with posts. There is lots more I could write about, but I am supposed to be editing.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Word getting done on a Friday night. Funny!!
*Tonight I am done with the words. No offense was meant. Readers and fans are extremely important. What they lack is the responsibility of the profession to post reviews and edit author pages.
**Kidding/not kidding. If it weren't for FB shares, this blog would see very little attention. I almost miss the troll who kept wanting me to buy her dental services. Almost.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Updated Goodreads Author Profile
Since Amazon now owns Goodreads, I don't often post book reviews anymore. But I am fortunate to have fans, friends, and fellow authors who have friended me on Goodreads and may wish to submit reviews on Goodreads. As a result, I have updated my profile with the new books I have published there.Here is the link:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6025484.Phyl_Campbell
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Review of the Book of Life
Today is Thursday, where I'd normally do book reviews. Yesterday was April Fool's Day, So I didn't do my typical Women Wednesday posting. Last week was Spring Break, so on the whole, I've been a slacker. I could write a book review today, but I'm working on #25Reasons and that's what I need to be doing to meet my goal there. Here's the latest cover -- the ink is still drying on the page I printed:
But if you connect with me on social media (FB), then you'll know I have been very busy with something I'm very passionate about -- supporting people who are being abused by people who don't realize they are in positions of privilege. I know something about this. Two years ago, I wrote When I Say I'm Unchurched, and it means just as much today as when I wrote it. (I just put the title into a search engine, and mine's the first article that pulls up. That's a pretty awesome feeling.) At some point, I need to update that article to direct people HERE and not Wordpress, but that's minor.
Before I was a mother, and before DOMA, I was pretty happy calling out damned liberals from my safe space as a feminist in the Republican camp. I had great respect for Barbara Bush and Elizabeth Dole. I really thought that education and hard work could help anybody become as wealthy or successful as they wanted to be.
Now, more than a decade older, and I hope wiser, I have seen the outspoken powerful minority of the conservative party do things to offend reason -- in the name of a set of religious ideas that I don't share -- while a much quieter majority looks on without stopping the madness. People should be free to celebrate their religion. As someone no longer in practice, let me say how many churchgoers have many privileges they do not even realize they have. My fifth grader was supposed to do a research project on the culture of his family. One fifth of the project was supposed to have been about his religion. I'm not comfortable sticking a label on him for an assignment. He wasn't raised in a church community to know how damning it is to be without one. It was the tipping point reason (not the primary or only one) to take him out of brick and mortar school and enroll him in public school online -- so his grade wasn't affected by leaving out a fifth of his "research project." But then we get into the literature class online and one of the units is "Stories From the Bible." As it turned out, my son enjoyed the stories. David and Goliath. Daniel in the Lion's Den. The Loaves and Fish. Seeing them through my son's eyes helped me see them differently than the way I was spoon-fed them in my religious education classes. I could equate them with the Tall Tales and Legends we had read, and the stories of Roman and Greek gods. Reading the Bible stories did not demand that anyone declare himself Christian or Protestant or Atheist.
People aren't getting how HATE isn't part of the Christian doctrine. Jesus surrounded himself with women, with lepers, with tax collectors, with PEOPLE. All sorts of people. But the stories in the Qu'ran bear striking similarities with the Bible. Many religious texts mirror stories I recognize from the Bible. So I don't like well meaning Christians telling haters to move to Iran. I have Muslim friends. They assume I'm Christian. They're still wonderful to me -- they're wonderful people. I have Asian friends who are forbidden religion. They assume I'm Christian. They're wonderful to me -- they are wonderful people. What most of us can agree on is that the people are fine -- it's the power that corrupts. My decision to remain outside of a religious faith stems from my need to not be corrupted -- to continue to see things in the pure way my son does. It is very humbling to be taught by your child, but it is also very important.
So my Book Review Thursday post is perhaps a book review of the Bible: what it is, and what it isn't. We know that attending church or reading the Bible is not a license for eternal reward in the next world. We can see that child abuse is still abuse. We can see American jails full of people -- many more Christian than any other denomination.We can see that the highest rates of teen pregnancy and divorce are both found in the geographic area recognized as the Bible Belt.
So I hope my unapologetic self will be forgiven when I laugh at people who invite me to their churches while asking me to respect their right to discriminate. I hope they will one day understand why when I hear them say "your post offends me" I want to do more than post to cause them to be offended. Sometimes, I want to punch them in the nose -- but I won't. I want to remind them that I'm still married to the only person I've ever had sex with -- and I'm still married to that person because we mind our own business. We don't judge others. We don't lust after our neighbors or their spouses. We don't care who is sleeping with whom -- we just want to know who's picking up their kids after a playdate or school function -- and if there's a fighting dynamic we need to be sensitive to. It's insulting that they don't care enough about my child not to talk about him or his heathen parents in front of him -- yeah. It's happened. It's bizarre that there are children my son can't play with -- because his parents' (MY) religious views are not acceptable and they aren't (I'M NOT) "good people" -- yeah. It's happened.
I want to rub their collective noses in their privilege -- because they don't understand it. Because of their "deeply held beliefs," they're same people who don't understand feminism. And they can't understand why their deeply held beliefs are so offensive to me. They're a hard group to love.
This month I celebrate 13 years of marriage to the only sex partner I've ever had. So that Bible passage about the stone throwing? I think some people should think about it. And if they claim they have, and maintain their religious right to bigotry, they should think about it HARDER.
But if you connect with me on social media (FB), then you'll know I have been very busy with something I'm very passionate about -- supporting people who are being abused by people who don't realize they are in positions of privilege. I know something about this. Two years ago, I wrote When I Say I'm Unchurched, and it means just as much today as when I wrote it. (I just put the title into a search engine, and mine's the first article that pulls up. That's a pretty awesome feeling.) At some point, I need to update that article to direct people HERE and not Wordpress, but that's minor.
Before I was a mother, and before DOMA, I was pretty happy calling out damned liberals from my safe space as a feminist in the Republican camp. I had great respect for Barbara Bush and Elizabeth Dole. I really thought that education and hard work could help anybody become as wealthy or successful as they wanted to be.
Now, more than a decade older, and I hope wiser, I have seen the outspoken powerful minority of the conservative party do things to offend reason -- in the name of a set of religious ideas that I don't share -- while a much quieter majority looks on without stopping the madness. People should be free to celebrate their religion. As someone no longer in practice, let me say how many churchgoers have many privileges they do not even realize they have. My fifth grader was supposed to do a research project on the culture of his family. One fifth of the project was supposed to have been about his religion. I'm not comfortable sticking a label on him for an assignment. He wasn't raised in a church community to know how damning it is to be without one. It was the tipping point reason (not the primary or only one) to take him out of brick and mortar school and enroll him in public school online -- so his grade wasn't affected by leaving out a fifth of his "research project." But then we get into the literature class online and one of the units is "Stories From the Bible." As it turned out, my son enjoyed the stories. David and Goliath. Daniel in the Lion's Den. The Loaves and Fish. Seeing them through my son's eyes helped me see them differently than the way I was spoon-fed them in my religious education classes. I could equate them with the Tall Tales and Legends we had read, and the stories of Roman and Greek gods. Reading the Bible stories did not demand that anyone declare himself Christian or Protestant or Atheist.
People aren't getting how HATE isn't part of the Christian doctrine. Jesus surrounded himself with women, with lepers, with tax collectors, with PEOPLE. All sorts of people. But the stories in the Qu'ran bear striking similarities with the Bible. Many religious texts mirror stories I recognize from the Bible. So I don't like well meaning Christians telling haters to move to Iran. I have Muslim friends. They assume I'm Christian. They're still wonderful to me -- they're wonderful people. I have Asian friends who are forbidden religion. They assume I'm Christian. They're wonderful to me -- they are wonderful people. What most of us can agree on is that the people are fine -- it's the power that corrupts. My decision to remain outside of a religious faith stems from my need to not be corrupted -- to continue to see things in the pure way my son does. It is very humbling to be taught by your child, but it is also very important.
So my Book Review Thursday post is perhaps a book review of the Bible: what it is, and what it isn't. We know that attending church or reading the Bible is not a license for eternal reward in the next world. We can see that child abuse is still abuse. We can see American jails full of people -- many more Christian than any other denomination.We can see that the highest rates of teen pregnancy and divorce are both found in the geographic area recognized as the Bible Belt.
 |
| Information belongs to the Census Bureau and used only for the purpose of providing evidence of my claim. |
 |
| Information belongs to Gallup and used only for the purpose of providing evidence of my claim. |
So I hope my unapologetic self will be forgiven when I laugh at people who invite me to their churches while asking me to respect their right to discriminate. I hope they will one day understand why when I hear them say "your post offends me" I want to do more than post to cause them to be offended. Sometimes, I want to punch them in the nose -- but I won't. I want to remind them that I'm still married to the only person I've ever had sex with -- and I'm still married to that person because we mind our own business. We don't judge others. We don't lust after our neighbors or their spouses. We don't care who is sleeping with whom -- we just want to know who's picking up their kids after a playdate or school function -- and if there's a fighting dynamic we need to be sensitive to. It's insulting that they don't care enough about my child not to talk about him or his heathen parents in front of him -- yeah. It's happened. It's bizarre that there are children my son can't play with -- because his parents' (MY) religious views are not acceptable and they aren't (I'M NOT) "good people" -- yeah. It's happened.
I want to rub their collective noses in their privilege -- because they don't understand it. Because of their "deeply held beliefs," they're same people who don't understand feminism. And they can't understand why their deeply held beliefs are so offensive to me. They're a hard group to love.
This month I celebrate 13 years of marriage to the only sex partner I've ever had. So that Bible passage about the stone throwing? I think some people should think about it. And if they claim they have, and maintain their religious right to bigotry, they should think about it HARDER.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Work in Progress Friday: Matt Summell Explains Why Writing Is Hard
In a post from a member of the Insecure Writers Support Group, I found this post by author Matt Sumell. I feel this one. I plot and plan now more than I used to, and I'm on my third draft of anything I'm writing the first time my fingers touch keyboard keys to record my ideas. Draft three rarely bares more than slight resemblance to draft one. I spend so much time recovering from memories -- putting experiences into useable art -- and keep my fingers busy without being productive. It happens.
 |
| The road not taken is not the road forgotten. [MorgueFile] |
And it's never the big scary or sad memories. It's the description of someone's hair that reminds me of someone I used to know. It's the color of the sky that I never quite get on paper because it takes me to a different place and time. I get lost there. It's the reason I remember the (really, it's not) silent letter C -- because an ex used to tease me about it -- and other grammar rules that are deeply embedded in my daily usage. It doesn't matter who dumped whom or what the circumstances were. Even the worst date had something funny: the purpose of some lives IS to serve as warnings to others. Looking back, many of my warnings were hilarious.
And then there's the moments where I can't breathe. And it's all these teeny straws that just can't be explained to someone who wasn't there back then. The camel's back is broken, but each little piece of hay seems insignificant for explaining the memory. These little straws have me running for covers and my couch -- or wide awake at 3am, reminding myself to breathe.
And like this blogger, it's why I can say sincerely that although I might have drawn upon some experience in creating my fiction, no character is ME. I mean, they're all me. Jagged pieces of me.
ICYMI: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/65849-why-writing-is-so-hard.html
Phyl Campbell writes fiction, non-fiction, and pretty much whatever floats her boat. She's struggling to finish editing a book of grammar, which just exacerbates all her typographic fears!!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
RIP Bertrice Small & Book Review Thursday
A little late for book review Thursday. Nonetheless:
A literary agent I follow broke the news that romance
writers Bertrice Small died earlier today.
The two Bertrice Small novels I own are Phillipa and Rosamund. Both are historical fiction about
heiresses that came in contact with Henry VIII while he was married to
Catherine of Aragon. If
you’re someone who must read everything about Henry and Catherine, no matter
what, pick these up and enjoy.
When it comes to sex, Small made me feel like a prude – a very
dirty prude. And what was worse was how unbelievable the sex was.
Not unbelievable as in great – just unbelievable.
Does anyone’s penis really work like that? And does any
woman really like that? Really? Her
terminology didn’t just make me blush – it made me laugh.
Don’t judge. Don’t judge. Shame on me for judging (and
mentally getting out the measuring tape in my own bedroom). Nope. No way. Even
thinking like that makes me a dirty, dirty girl.
But what Small did was create historical romances that
allowed people to fantasize about sex while reading under the guise of reading about the time period of Henry and Catherine. It was not unlike watching Reign on the CW (which is off until March 12 -- grrr). Maybe she gave someone
(besides other romance authors) some good ideas. Maybe her push of the envelope
gave someone else the freedom to reclaim sex.
Small has 68 books on Amazon with publishing dates from not
happened yet back to the mid-1980s. That puts her first book out just a few
years after Nora Roberts started publishing. Both were/are prolific female romance
writers, though IMHO, Small could have learned a lot more from Roberts.
But I read both. I took different things from
both. Because of Small, I did not venture into other bodice rippers and other
novels that were listed the genre of romance over another genre. Perhaps that was
“small” of me.
Perhaps one day, I’ll discover whether or not it was.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Book Review Thursday: Among the Hidden Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix
There are seven books in the Among the Hidden series (also known as the Shadow Children Series) by Margaret Peterson Haddix:
Among the Hidden
Among the Imposters
Among the Betrayed
Among the Barons
Among the Brave
Among the Enemy
Among the Free
The main character of the series is Luke, a child with two older brothers who was not supposed to be born and must stay hidden. Hidden children face execution if found in this dystopian YA adventure. And knowing it is a dystopian adventure, it's not much of a spoiler to announce that Luke does break out of hiding and face many perils before, as the final title suggests, he becomes free.
In some books of the series, another character plays lead fiddle and Luke is a background character. All the characters are well developed, so that doesn't negatively affect point of view. Haddix is known for painting many hues of gray with so much color in worlds where the authority only sees black and white. This entire series is no exception to that.
I read the entire seven book series in a three-day weekend. I had started the series in 2002 or 2003, read the first three books, then quit in frustration because I knew the series would not be finished for many years. A year ago, I picked up the fifth or sixth book, thinking I had not missed that many in between -- but I had. So I had to start from the beginning and retrace my steps. It was worth the decade-plus wait. Haddix rarely disappoints.
Among the Hidden is a great series for YA fans of dystopian fiction. There are intense themes, deaths, intrigue, confusion -- you've been warned. There are no easy answers -- and isn't that why we read?
Images courtesy of Margaret Peterson Haddix's website. Haddix is also on Facebook.
 |
| Among the Hidden / Shadow Children Series |
Among the Imposters
Among the Betrayed
Among the Barons
Among the Brave
Among the Enemy
Among the Free
The main character of the series is Luke, a child with two older brothers who was not supposed to be born and must stay hidden. Hidden children face execution if found in this dystopian YA adventure. And knowing it is a dystopian adventure, it's not much of a spoiler to announce that Luke does break out of hiding and face many perils before, as the final title suggests, he becomes free.
In some books of the series, another character plays lead fiddle and Luke is a background character. All the characters are well developed, so that doesn't negatively affect point of view. Haddix is known for painting many hues of gray with so much color in worlds where the authority only sees black and white. This entire series is no exception to that.
I read the entire seven book series in a three-day weekend. I had started the series in 2002 or 2003, read the first three books, then quit in frustration because I knew the series would not be finished for many years. A year ago, I picked up the fifth or sixth book, thinking I had not missed that many in between -- but I had. So I had to start from the beginning and retrace my steps. It was worth the decade-plus wait. Haddix rarely disappoints.
Among the Hidden is a great series for YA fans of dystopian fiction. There are intense themes, deaths, intrigue, confusion -- you've been warned. There are no easy answers -- and isn't that why we read?
Images courtesy of Margaret Peterson Haddix's website. Haddix is also on Facebook.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Book Review Thursday
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| View of my bookshelf. One of them, anyway. |
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| I also want, on this BookReview Thursday, to show some author love to Blogger and Book Reviewer, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| @ThisNerdyGal AKA Ashley Darling. Check out her reviews and stuff. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ashley Darling, AKA @Thisnerdygal. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finally, a local author is putting on a Kickstarter to go INDIE!! So show some love and pre-order | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charity's romantic urban fantasy, FADE INTO ME. Advice? Suggestions? Something you don't want to share with the whole class? Email me, please. (It will be a long time before I put a table in a blog post again, I hope -- this did NOT go well on my end.) |
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