Indie Book Review - Hush Money (Talent Chronicles #1) by Susan Bischoff

 Set in an almost dystopic America where those born with Talents (ie: super powers) are taken away to camps where unspeakable things happen to them. Joss is a teenaged girl with a tragic past who wants nothing more than to fade in the background. The less she's noticed the safer she and her family are. Enter Marco, a two-bit thug extorting Kat, Joss's new friend and fellow Talent. Can Kat, Joss, and Joss's crush Dylan stop Marco or is Joss's biggest fear about to become a reality?

Hush Money, the first in The Talent Chronicles, reads like a superhero origins story without the spandex suits. The plot may seem familiar, but the strength of the story is in the characters. Joss is a truly conflicted heroine, taught to never get involved or risk exposure to herself and her family watching her struggle to choose between her family and standing up for her friend is what kept me hooked throughout the book. She doesn't always make the choices I want her to, but every choice feels authentic and the character growth evolves naturally throughout the book. Marco, Joss's rival and a truly disturbing villain, was the other standout character. It's not his anger or ability to do violence that makes him so chilling. It's his cleverness. Marco is not your typical dumb bully. He's cunning, narcissistic and as amoral as they come. What makes him even more chilling is when he's juxtaposed with his best friend Dylan's memories of him as a younger, kinder version of himself.

My only real issue with Hush Money comes from the world building. The details given to the reader about this world of super powers is sparse at best and what we are told, that the government takes away Talents and all Talents are afraid of them, seems inconsistent. I'm still not sure if the fear that permeates Joss's life is a symptom of her family's paranoia, the town's refusal to talk about Talents and their fates, or a national aura of fear and suspicion. More details and a more consistent tone would have made the world cohesive and much more realistic.

n the end, this book was a quick tense read with a couple amazing characters and I can't wait to read Out Past Curfew, the second in the Talent Chronicles.  Hush Money is available on Amazon and B&N. 

The Importance of Goodreads

Goodreads is a social site connecting over 13million book lovers. Create a free account to have access to millions of book reviews, suggestions tailored to your preferences, and access to hundreds of lists organized by subject, genre, or just somebody’s favorite books.  You can keep a running tab of books you have read, want to read, and are currently reading and also join a book discussion group that fits your reading preferences.  Also, keep an eye out for giveaways, polls, and contests.

As an author, this is great place to make connections with your target audience.  It’s very important to keep in mind that as a social site specifically designed for book lovers, people come to Goodreads to find books to add to the To Be Read list and also to make reading suggestions—not to be spammed by authors who, justified or not, are just trying to share their great book. The strategy here is to connect to other readers through posting reviews of books you have read, joining a group, and commenting on other readers’ reviews and book lists. There are so many ways to connect!

In addition to connecting to readers through these various measures, you should create an Author Page where you can list your own book(s) and also where to purchase or download them. Every time your earn another connection, that reader will more than likely view your profile and read about your book. By making sure to have a wonderfully written summary that highlights why your book is a great book, that connection will be likely to add your book to their To Be Read list or – even better – purchase your book to read.  Listing your book on your Author Page has the added benefit of keeping track of who is reviewing your book and what they have to say.

Check out our page on Goodreads!

Friday's Round Up - December 28, 2012

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are having fun getting ready for the new year!

Forbes on ebook price wars. (via Stephen's Lighthouse)

Nine tips for finishing that novel (via Cynthia Leitich Smith)

How to keep writing if your schedule changes.

Litreactor has a series: Adventures in Self-Publishing

An interesting list of new small internet publications.  I can definitely see these becoming more popular.  (via not martha)

Have a Happy New Year, everyone!

Indie Book Review - Dalek I Loved You by Nick Griffiths

From the title, most would assume that the entire book is about Daleks and Doctor Who. Instead, Griffiths has composed a series of vignettes about how Doctor Who has influenced his life in so many ways. It is an amusing memoir and a tribute to the sci-fi show Doctor Who. The stories are woven in and out of chronological order giving the reader a broad insight to how exactly Doctor Who shaped the author and led to him seeing the TARDIS and meeting David Tennant. However, the quickly changing settings sometimes made it difficult for me to maintain interest for longer periods and the book felt a little disjointed at times.

As someone who admittedly has not seen much of the original Doctor Who, I really enjoyed the synopses of the episodes and detailed descriptions of leading characters. Names will be familiar to those who have only seen the new rendition of Doctor Who. The stories are often hilarious and mostly interesting regardless of how much knowledge you may have about Doctor Who.

Largely due to its vignette style, this book is best to be read in small doses. Catch a story while riding the bus to work or waiting in line at the post-office this holiday season.  Anyone with a basic familiarity of Doctor Who will enjoy Dalek I Loved You. You can find this ebook on Amazon.

-Patti

Friday's Round Up - December 21, 2012

Once you have a book that is ready to be published, it's important to maintain an effective social media presence (especially if you are e-publishing).  Galleycat has a post with a lot of links on how to use Goodreads as an author. 

Here are some holiday tips for authors from IndieReader.

Kate Elliott talks about reviews.  (via Gwenda Bond)

INDIE ReCon is happening in February.  It will be here before you know it.

Pub Crawl did a list of their best 2012 posts.  They are all helpful!

Congratulations! You finished your manuscript! Now what?

Finishing a first draft is equally satisfying and overwhelming.  It’s hard to know how to feel once this story you created and sweated over for so long is finished. But fear not because you’re not finished! There’s still so much to be done… in a good way, of course!

  Here are a few steps to take after finishing your first draft to make sure your book is ready for the world to read.    1. Take a break – You’re going to be equally elated and exhausted. Spend a few days—heck, how about a week?—letting your brain relax and focus on something, anything, other than your manuscript. Regaining your energy and a fresh perspective is crucial this point.
  2. Read like a stranger – In order to catch any inconsistencies in plot or character development, you need to read critically and not let yourself fill in the blanks. Read slowly and judiciously. Where are the holes? Would a stranger understand why certain things are happening?

“Try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.” —Zadie Smith 

3. Now read even slower…  This time pay careful attention to all the little things the human brain can easily gloss over like simple grammar and spelling mistakes.  Be sure to look for inadvertent tense changes, passive voice, and any instances of not abiding by the all-important rule: Show, don’t tell.

4. Get a second opinion  – Even after two thorough reads, there will still be problem areas. After working with your manuscript so closely, the brain almost becomes blind to mistakes. A fresh pair of eyes, whether they belong to a friend, writing group, or professional editor, will be able to catch these inconsistencies and mistakes. Sometimes criticism can be hard to take but remember – it’s only to help take your great book and make it even better!
 
3. Now read even slower…  This time pay careful attention to all the little things the human brain can easily gloss over like simple grammar and spelling mistakes.  Be sure to look for inadvertent tense changes, passive voice, and any instances of not abiding by the all-important rule: Show, don’t tell.
 
4. Get a second opinion  – Even after two thorough reads, there will still be problem areas. After working with your manuscript so closely, the brain almost becomes blind to mistakes. A fresh pair of eyes, whether they belong to a friend, writing group, or professional editor, will be able to catch these inconsistencies and mistakes. Sometimes criticism can be hard to take but remember – it’s only to help take your great book and make it even better!