• Meh comments …

    4 Comments

    Every once in a while, I google myself just to see what people are saying about the books. Today, I came across a strange comment, posted by someone who has evidently seen/read Karma Girl.

    It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad. It was just what my significant other and I call a meh comment. Roughly translated, Meh means I don’t care one way or the other. Or It won’t kill me, but I’m not overly enthused about the prospect. Like when I ask my significant other if he wants to go to a particular restaurant. Sometimes, he looks at me, shrugs, and says Meh.

    What I read today was definitely a Meh. It wasn’t a scathing review, but it didn’t make my day be a barrel of sunshine either. But, I’m going to let it go and hope that the good comments will outweigh the Meh ones.

    So what do you do about Meh comments? Scathing reviews? Do you fight back or let them slide? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • I’m an Amazon addict …

    4 Comments

    Okay, I have to confess something.

    I’m completely addicted to Amazon. More specifically, to checking my sales numbers for Karma Girl. I know, I know, it’s not even out yet. It won’t be out for three more months (May 1 to be exact). But evidently, Amazon keeps track of pre-orders and posts those ranks too.

    Right now, I am #711,130 in Books. That’s up from the 1.3 million range I was in last week, but down from my high of 400,000 and some earlier this week. Since I don’t know exactly how many books Amazon is selling, I don’t really know what my rank is.

    How many books would you have to sell to get into the top 10,000? The top 1,000? The top 100? A girl can dream …

    Maybe I’ll check it again in a few minutes … just in case it went up …

    What about you? Do you obsess over Amazon rankings? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • A reader comments on superheroes …

    10 Comments

    On one of my Web pages, I invite people to e-mail me and tell me who their favorite hero is and why. Well, I got my first e-mail about superheroes today. rvarnum writes: 

    How do you choose just one? I will have to go with Storm of the X-men. She can control the weather. The amazing gift and the character’s morals make her really intriguing and paralleled to mother earth. Who does not fear wild storms? She is badass!

    I totally agree. Storm is definitely one of the coolest characters around. But I have to say that my favorite is Wonder Woman. She gets to wear a tiara, plus she has an invisible jet and a lasso of truth. How cool is that?

    I’m also rather fond of Rogue, Batman, Spider-Man, and, of course, Wolverine. 😉

    Who’s your favorite hero or villain? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • 799 and counting …

    Finished Ask the Parrot by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake).

    It’s about Parker, the coolest, calmest, coldest thief ever. When we last saw Parker, in 2004’s Nobody Runs Forever, he was climbing up a hill, trying to evade the police.

    Ask the Parrot picks up right where the last book left off. Parker gets to the top of the hill, where he runs into Tom Lindahl. Tom has a grudge against the racetrack where he used to work because he blew the whistle on some illegal activities there, and the higher-ups fired him. So, instead of turning Parker over to the police, Tom brings him in on his plan to rob the racetrack. Parker, needing some cash and a place to hide after the botched job of the last book, agrees. What follows are a series of twists and turns as Parker tries to keep one step ahead of the law — and some local folks who are just a little too interested in him.

    I really enjoyed this book … until the third part. Then, Stark veers away from Parker’s point of view and delves into what the other characters are thinking and doing. We don’t get to see Parker for several chapters. There’s even a chapter from the parrot’s point of view. It was … strange. But Stark got back on track in the last fifty pages, and Parker got to go through with the racetrack job. With a few complications, of course. 🙂

    This is one of my all-time favorite series. I love heist books, and Stark delivers plenty of thrills and chills throughout the course of the Parker series. There are double-crosses and botched robberies and successul getaways galore. Oh yeah, lots of people die, too. If you like hard-boiled crime with a memorable anti-hero, you’ll like the Parker books.

    So, thumbs-up.

    What about you? What are you reading right now? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • For those of you keeping count …

    70,965.

    That’s my final word tally from Jan. 3-12. I did one draft of 40,160 words and another one of 30,805 words.

    And I’m spent.

    Now, I have to look at these craptastic drafts and see if there’s anything there worth working on further …