Review of Back To Normal from Dark Diva Reviews!

Just really quick - I'm pretty psyched (especially after whining at Val's) to get a nice review from Dark Diva Reviews (4 and 1/2 Divas)!

I have just a bitty problem, in that when I try to go there, my beautiful Macbook freezes up, and I experience the spinning rainbow pinwheel of death and have to force quit Firefox!

Here's a link, I think: Dark Divas Reviews


And a wintery cookie:

Such a nice review

Yay, me!  

Janna, at ErotRomReader, 

has posted a lurvely review of Ice Cream on the Side.  

You can read it here. 

And because I'm happy, here's a treat.

Fan Letter to an Author Blog Crawl!

Kassa started it, this crawl around the webz wherein bloggers write fan letters to favorite authors.  And she set up a schedule, which you can see on Erotic Horizon's blog  if you click the link in the left column, the one in several colors that says "Blog Crawl" right on it.  If you aren't all the schedule you can still participate.  Just write your love letter and link back to the schedule so others can see what's what.  Or not.  It's a free world.

Thank you to Amy, of My Friend Amy, for tagging me in the crawl. 

Here is my letter, to Charlie Cochrane, author of the wonderful Cambridge Fellow Mysteries.


Dear Charlie,

 It's 2:00 a.m. and I've just finished Lessons in Trust. Oh, how I love Orlando and Jonty!

I have read with great satisfaction every book in this series, a couple of them more than once (to tide me over till the next book).  Sitting down with one of these books is like getting comfy on the couch with an old friend and a cup of coffee, and maybe a few slices of banana bread.

Your writing is so darn clever.  The banter between Jonty and Orlando is precious.  It makes me smile and snicker.   Witty, dry, and quick, I suppose it's what they call English humor.  I find it very satisfying.  And it's not just between our two heroes; family and friends get in on the act as well.

You bring these boys to life with their humor and poking fun, juxtaposed with the serious stuff they carry with them: Jonty's past experience of abuse and Orlando's difficult personal history.  And you have done this through seven books covering several years.  They begin their journey tentatively, as they hold on to their secrets and insecurities.  With each book  they take ownership of their own selves and each other, together and separately.  The mysteries keep me curious, the romance keeps me interested and nothing is static.   By the end of the series we know these men as intelligent but sometimes stupid, reserved but often passionate, humorous and just as much heart-breaking, and always honorable, except when they need to lie.


The way you write their love-making proves that the mind is the most important sexual organ. I, who like to read about sex in all its explicit detail, find myself thrilled with the build-up to and subtle description of Jonty & Orlando's encounters. There is delightful tension and sometimes hunger in the way you write about a touch of a hand, or a look, a scent, a reminder that requires no explicit blow by blow (pardon the pun) to show the attraction between these two .  I look forward to reading your clever descriptions of their sex life, such as:

"He needed all his energy concentrated on making sure he didn’t spoil the match with a premature shot at goal. "



The mysteries stay interesting because you vary their style from book to book.  Jonty and Orlando may be investigating a murder next door, or one that's been unsolved for years. Despite the sometimes gruesome murders that take place within the pages, these are genteel books. I know our heroes will solve the mystery with characteristic attention to manners and shrewd perceptions.

I am happiest with a book that invites me to immerse myself in its world. So thank you, Charlie, for much happiness!

Hugs,
Wren


To visit Charlie's blog, go here
A free short story about Jonty and Orlando can be found here.

Tomorrow, go to Smokin' Hot Books to read the next letter!

Four And A Half Kisses

Jeff, of MichelenJeff Reviews fame, gave Ice Cream on the Side 4 and 1/2 kisses!  You can read it here, along with an interview.

And here's a cookie.

Yay Me - A Review from Val. And why reviewers help writers.

I am happy to link you to a really nice review that Val did of Ice Cream on the Side.  Please go to Obsidian Bookshelf to read it!


The cool thing about reading reviews of my writing is the insights I get.  Val writes:

    ...This gives us a gratifyingly realistic level of detail about Dylan's everyday work, more than we m/m romance readers usually receive, while not slowing the pace of the story.

Note that I am just too new at this writing thing to be aware of that "level of detail" thing (or I'm not that meta-cognitive) but gee, now that you mention it, yeah, I did that.  Mostly because I write what I would like to read.  And there's been many a time when I've read something and wished for more.  More details, description, information, story... just...more.


 Jenre, over at Well Read  Well Read, liked the book but noted a niggle:

    ...It was at this point that I began to find the tone a little jarring with the content.  Dylan is connected to the first murdered man, and the witty asides that had seemed so engaging in the first half of the book made Dylan seem a little cold-hearted and unfeeling when placed alongside murder.  As the bodies pile up, I began to lose a little sympathy for Dylan and his sarcastic comments.

Hmmm. Yeah, okay, I can see that.   I didn't take into consideration how these surprising events might alter Dylan's response to things, or I didn't make it clear just how thick his protective walls are.


At Reviews by Jessewave, Wave said:

    The character that I had the greatest difficulty with was Ian who changed drastically from the urbane, creative professional into a man who lost all control over his emotions, and his behaviour was so extreme that I wondered if this was the same man or if he was schizophrenic.

Ian did have problems and most of the time he just made me mad.  But I can see that I could've given him a little more underpinning, though.


Theresa at  E-Book Addict:

Everything was very believable—not farfetched as I sometimes find in stalking type stories.

How gratifying it was to read that! 'Cause I tried hard on that element and wasn't sure if I was entirely successful.





Rainbow Reviews' Lily:

I really enjoyed the mystery/suspense plot in this debut novel, especially the fact that I was surprised by who the culprit was. It's always nice when the author takes time to make the "baddie" not so obvious.

And again, this is because when I read books where I figure out the murderer in Chapter 1 I get cranky.



Tam of Tam's Reads:

Not necessarily laugh out loud but I really liked Dylan's voice. He was kind of a bit random with his brain always rattling around on seemingly wild tangents.

I'll have to try harder next time.  I'd really like to generate some laugh-out-loud goodness.  It is pretty hard to write.  But the scary thing?  Dylan's voice isn't far from my own.


Erotic Horizon:

I am not a lover of books with too many support cast – but I liked the fact that the author made use of every person she introduced me to and the circle of friend she surround the men with – were easy to love and hate in equal measure.

Not everybody felt this way about the secondaries, but I was hoping to make them a little more than stick figures.  I think if the book had been (a lot?) longer they would have been fleshed out even more.

I probably wouldn't be so glib if I'd received a bunch of negative reviews, but I still would have learned a few things.  I am grateful for the folks out there who do this work.  I'm pretty sure none of them get paid for it, so it's a labor of love that not only helps readers, but authors too. On top of that it forms the basis for a growing on-line community of people who would otherwise be wondering, "Is it just me....?"

M/M Rut Challenge - Review of Vintage

So just the other day Kris, of Kris 'n' Good Books fame, was bored. She came up with a challenge, which you can read about if you click on the m/m rut challenge pic over there on the left.  Your left.

When I noted that I have a very large comfort zone as regards my reading, it was recommended that I try a Young Adult novel.  A few members of the fold recommended Vintage, by Steve Berman.  And since I had a code for a free book on ARe (after that weekend buying spree...) I got it.  It took me a few minutes to deal with the odd pdf format of the book but after that it was smooth sailing.  I started it yesterday, finished it today, and here are my random thoughts:

Why it was out of my comfort zone:  I haven't read any YA for a very long time.  And I am pretty sure I never read YA with gay characters.  Now that I've read so much m/m and also Urban Fantasy, etc., I'm not in a place where YA attracts me.

What I liked:  I thought this was a well-told story.  It was about a boy who can see ghosts, but it was told almost like a ghost story.  The main characters were very well-realized, even with the narration in first person. I appreciated the theme of being attracted to the exotic and dangerous, but finding what you need right under your nose. 

Niggles ('cause I had no big dislikes!): I wish the narrator had a name.  I don't think we ever got to know his first name, and his last name is mentioned once.  It's probably a metaphor for something, but it bugged me.  The resolution with the ghost seemed just a little abrupt.

There, I hope this helps the venerable Kris slough off her boredom for a bit!

The pdf version of the book can be purchased here.

Lovely Review from Jenre

Jenre at Well Read reviewed Ice Cream on the Side. She had some lovely things to say about it. Go and read it. 

I like Jen's review style.  She is very thoughtful, that is, you can tell she's given a lot of thought to what she's saying.  She always supplies the reasoning behind her opinions, which I think is very helpful for the reader.  She is fair and thorough and I'm not just saying this to suck up 'cause she's already reviewed my book!

I don't think I'd make a very good reviewer.  I rely too much on my intuitive nature, which leads me to say things like "I liked it.  I don't know why, I just did!" Still, I think I'm supposed to review the books I read for the m/m romance challenge, so I'll putter along with something - short and sweet - soon.

Lovely Reviews

There have been some more reviews of Ice Cream on the Side.

Lily gave it 4 stars (!) at Rainbow Reviews. She says (in part): "I really enjoyed the mystery/suspense plot in this debut novel, especially the fact that I was surprised by who the culprit was. It's always nice when the author takes time to make the "baddie" not so obvious....When I can finish a book with a smile and happy to have read the story, when I find myself rooting for the guys and picturing their HEA life, the author in my opinion has done their job perfectly."

Mmmmyeah I like that!

And Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos liked the book and is having a contest for a free copy! You have to comment on the post that you want to be included, and you have a chance to win.  Yay!

And here's a little something to brighten your day!