SHOULD AUTHORS COMMENT ON REVIEWS?

"I have seen some discussions about this online and authors get really confused. Inspired by the 3 Stars Rating Event, I decided to create this as an opportunity for us, book bloggers and reviewers, to write our opinion and let the authors know what we expect from the authors when we post a review of their book(s). And don’t forget to answer the following question:"



Should Authors Comment On Reviews?

Hi, everyone! So, should authors comment on reviews? There's two ways to look at this let's go with the Non-Tour answer first! Alright, so I've reviewed a book wither self-bought or asked to by the author, I've send a link back to them so that they can promote the review as well and know what I thought of the book. So far I see no requirement to comment, it's not necessary - but it is nice. Some do it ( :) ), some don't. If someone comments on the entry, then depending on the context of the comment it's the choice of the author to comment or not. ( in this I see no reason to encourage commenting, or prevent it )

Now, to the On-Tour answer! If an author expects and encourages readers to comment then the first rule of Social Networking Etiquette applies, Reply To All Comments - absolutely no one wants to have a conversation with themselves online ( that just makes you feel stupid and ignored ). Firstly, a commenter doesn't necessary expect a reply, but loves it when they get one from the author! This is good Public Relations, this sells your book, this will make people give you a good name when they gossip.

If you decide not to comment you risk the following attached to your name: Unavailable, aloof, snobby, snotty, indifferent and you don't want that wither you're a beginning author or a pro.

Blogging 101 - Rule #1 - Reply to all comments. Easiest way to be liked, to be talked well of and to be recommended.

If you don't comment while On-Tour with For The Love of Reading, I'll cover for you because I follow the First Rule of Blogging. ;) The nicest authors I've ever been On-Tour with have a been commenters.

BLEEDING HEARTS - REVIEW AND GIVE AWAY

"Marek is drawn to Sophie, her light and kindness, a stark opposite of his life as one of the Demivampires, a creature evolving to be a vampire, one of the dead soulless monsters.
Marek suspects she's a Sophia Oracle a woman with the essence of Isis with the power to help the demivampires, to stop the evolution to something straight out of nightmares."

Author: Ash Krafton
Published: Pink Narcissus Press on March 2012
Pages: 370 Pages
Form: E-book (from the author for an honest review)
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Demimonde #1
Amazon: Buy / $ 12.64 (Kindle)
Amazon: Buy / $16.95 (Paperpack) ( EU price, click to see US )
Barnes & Noble: Buy / $8.99 (Nook)
Barnes & Noble: Buy / $16.95 (Paperpack)

Sophie Galen has a great deal of empathy for her fellow man, she's an advice columnist, destined to help people, unable to turn another way, but when she meets Marek she sees a man tortured and dark, and she knows he needs her help, wither he wants to acknowledge it or not.

Marek is drawn to Sophie, her light and kindness, a stark opposite of his life as one of the Demivampires, a creature evolving to be a vampire, one of the dead soulless monsters.
Marek suspects she's a Sophia Oracle a woman with the essence of Isis with the power to help the demivampires, to stop the evolution to something straight out of nightmares.

Bleeding Hearts was absolutely amazing reading experience! Krafton writes with heart, emotions and skill and it shows! I absolutely loved the language, it was perfect, engaging and entertaining the reader. I rarely come across books so well written, but Bleeding Hearts was so enjoyable to read that you could tell the first few pages in that is was going to be great!

The plot was deep and thorough, this book was an introduction to the demivampire world, everything got told, and it was done gradually over time while the plot still moved on and the characters become people instead of staying as just mere characters. I loved the subplot, and it kept nagging in the back of my mind as the main plot proceeded, loved it!

The characters were completely believable, they shared common emotions, big and small and they all became likeable and some lovable. Sophie, in who's point of view the whole book is in, you can't help but love she's generally sarcastic in the wholehearted way and not just when it suits the story. She's really wise and kind, without being a push over or stereotypic oracle. She was so entertaining to read, a superb heroine!

The romance was in the background, there was some but not much, I loved Marek's passion and intense focus on Sophie but seriously who dates and waits over a month to hit the sack together when the attraction so obviously is there. That was the only thing that lowered the rating of this book - I would have wanted more romance, it wouldn't have had to be graphic or anything, but I needed to have it there. But it's no more than a ½ star knowdown as the book is so good even without the romantic element being stronger.

In all Bleeding Hearts was a super read! And I highly recommend it to Urban Fantasy lovers and Sweet Paranormal Romances fans - and if you aren't a lover or a fan but can stand vampires give this ago, the writing is fantastic!

Rating :

The author, Ash Krafton is giving away one e-book of Bleeding Hearts to one lucky reader here so take part in the Rafflecopter! 

If you do take part, answer this question in the comments: 

"Do you like your vampires tradional or with new twist?"

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GUEST BLOG ~ THE FUTURE IN YOUR DREAMS BY CESAR

I have the author of "Book of Prophecies" Cesar stopping by today with a cool Guest Blog titled "The Future In Your Dreams", without much further ado here you go! And if you have guestions or comment don't be afraid to leave them here, theres a good chance to get answers straight from the author!

The Future In Your Dreams

by Cesar

        I would say that more than a fair few people think that foretelling the future is a load of rubbish. Of course I would love nothing more than to sit down and discuss it in depth with them, I love to have the odd philosophical debate. But I have to say that I too, once thought that foretelling the future was just nonsense.

        Let me tell you a quick story about my own experiences that resulted in me changing how I viewed the future. When I was eight years old I was going through a pretty rough time. One outcome was that I began to have re-occurring dreams about a bridge and something floating in the water of a canal. I remember being haunted by these dreams for a long time until they eventually faded away, maybe returning only once a year or so.

        Then in my mid-twenties I had a massive turn of events in my life, an end to a marriage, severe depression and an end to attending church. I even ran away to a foreign country and slept on the sofa at a friend’s house; it was a desperate situation, but three days later, one of my friends went missing and I joined the search party.

        There I was, in the passenger seat of the car and for some unknown reason the memory of that dream came flooding back into my mind. I asked the driver to stop and I got out, and I walked to a nearby canal, which was shockingly similar to my dream, and there I found my friend, not drowned in the water, but at the waters edge planning to jump.

        Indeed many people dismiss dreams all too easily I think, today psychology has taken over to make explanations that has led many people to believe that dreams belong only to the subconscious part of our mind, a wrong assumption in my mind. Dreams have often been called visions in the past, viewed as something that foretold the future, and visions form part of the history of most religions around the world. So next time that you find yourself having a dream, maybe you should write it down, maybe even buy a dream interpretation book, as that very dream may be telling you something about your future.

Niina : I personally do believe in foretelling the future... in fact I tell the future all the time with my tarot cards, it is though, that the future we are going to have changes with every action we take, if we stay inactive our future will be what was once told - but if we take action we begin on our journey to a new future. I love the future, it's intriquining, but I love the Present even more... and I try to make sure it's always a Great one!

Cesar has a very experienced background in the spiritual world. He was brought up in a Christian family, but branched out from that base as he got older, seeking answers about the world around him, and the spiritual world around him. 

In his mid-twenties dramatic events occurred in his life which challenged his very existence, but he learned from these experienced and most of learned that how that life is not just in our own hands. Now Cesar is a firm believer that everyone has their own path to walk in life, and part of that walk is all about the choices that you make. Some people choose a good life and some a wicked life, but most of us live the life in the middle, influenced by the world around us and our own upbringing, Cesar understands that life is simply not black and white.

Website

Buy The Book

Sold in Amazon, B&N and The Book Depository

LIGHT UNDER THE HOUSE (2 BOOKS IN PRICE OF 1)

 

Join the Blitz!

 

For TODAY ONLY, when you purchase Light Under the House by Aaron Drew for just $.99 on Amazon.com, with your proof of purchase, Aaron will gift you another book of your choice valued at the same price of $.99, (exluding Erotica). That's 2 books for the price of 1! So jump on the bandwagon and go get yourself some awesome books!

 

Send Proof of Purchase to bkwalkerbooks@comcast.net with your Amazon receipt and the book of your choice ( title and link ) and preferred email. Once it's been verified, Aaron will gift you your book and send you a personal note of thanks.

 

 

QUEST BLOG : MAKING AN ARROGANT "UPPER-CLASS" MAN LOVABLE?

Let me introduce you to Aurora Lightbourne the first Guest Blogger ever to appear on For The Love of Reading! The next stop on her Virtual Book Tour is at Ink Puddle on Oct. 3rd, where the author stops over at that blog for a guest blog as well, so make sure you don't miss out on that!

A. Lightbourne is the author of Brass Hearts: A Steampunk Fairytale classic Romantic tale, set in a picturesque steampunk world.

"All Dulcy Spry wants in life is to inherit her father's small, family business, and help run it while she waits. But after a fateful encounter with the snobbish Mr Pridget on the roadside Dulcy's best friend, Alise, and younger sister, Rosa, drag the reluctant Miss Spry into high society, where lies, manipulations and family secrets threaten to ruin her peaceful life and cast her into the dismal prison of an unwanted marriage.

Brass Hearts is a Cinderella-esque type story. It is a sweet, old fashioned romance, complete with bad impressions, lies, misunderstandings and social divide."

When asked "How one goes about making an arrogant "upper-class" man lovable?" I have to pause for a moment. I am not sure if Pridget was 'lovable', but I at least hope he was 'likable'.

I think in order to get past the readers', and main character's, first impressions you have to know, and like, the character pretty well yourself. You have to have determined why he would give a bad impression, how it would come about, why would it not iron itself out, what events or people would help instigate it or keep it going and for what reasons.

With Pridget, as you learn during the book, he was raised to be a very serious person, groomed to be the head of a business from a young age. So he really has no appreciation for the value of anything outside of his social/economic circle. He doesn't even really have an appreciation for his own business, his father treated it more as a burden he could not wait to pass of on his son as soon as he was legally able. That doesn't make Edmund a bad guy, just possibly a socially awkward one, especially with those of inferior income. The people he grew up with also fueled his snobbish notions, Synthia Vonn for one.

When he comes in contact with Dulcet for the first time, you have to admit, she did not present a good first impression herself. They both got off on the wrong foot. If they had met for the first time as Alise's mini-ball when Dulcet was all dolled up, clean and presentable, things may have taken a different turn. Especially once her connection got out. But as it was, Edmund had to start appreciating her value in a non-monetary way, which was not something he was taught.

 Little things added up for him. He was wary of her from the start because in his position every woman he came in contact with fawned all over and pestered him once they knew how much money he had. He kept suspecting, and watching out for, her to do the same, but she never did. So while he was watching her suspiciously he got to witness her interactions and start to see how others valued her.

Before he knew it he was doing things he didn't quite understand and tried to make excuses for. But eventually his 'real' nature is revealed, but not to Dulcet right away.

To keep her from noticing his good points too soon I have to keep her distracted. Which wasn't hard with her sister butting in at all the 'good moments' , her worrying over rumors, sidetracked with Deerek, concerned about her sister's interference with Alise and her ever present desire to just get the heck out of there and go back home.

So as far as writing Edmund Pridget; you start out with a basically good guy, throw up  a barrier to his true self with some misunderstandings, acquired social prejudices and general distrust and then slowly peel back the layers to 'hopefully' reveal the real softie inside. And Voila! You got yourself a rich teddy-bear that is wild about your misfit Heroine, and a pretty sweet little romance story to boot.

But only the reader can say if I succeeded in making him 'lovable', why not read it and see for yourself?

About A. Lightbourne : 

I began writing stories almost as soon as I learned to write. From my 1st grade 'journal' full of tales of rabbit adventures to my first full length book at 14.  I have always had a love for writing stories.

Besides words I also have a love for tech. From an early age I built 'bread boards', soldering diodes and components to create such things as a light detecting alarm clock and other such ...useless things.  I moved on to building my first DOS PC at 15. I also graduated School at 15. Later on I became a certified PC tech.

I am happily married with lots of furry little 'children'.  Most of which I raised by hand when a local rescue group or friends brought me orphaned babies to bottle feed.

Most of my writing is SciFi/Fantasy based, and almost all of it contains humor. I like short, fun, humorous stories.

My favorite authors are Jane Austen and Douglas Adams.

I hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it. 

You can visit the author at her website and buy Brass Hearts there as well!

Tour Stops:

September 27 - Guest Blogging at Playground 51 

September 29 - Author Interviewed at The Magic Attic

October 1 - Guest Blogging at For The Love of Reading!
October 3 - Guest Blogging at Ink Puddle
October 5 - Author Interviewed at The Booksisterhood

October 7 - Guest Blogging at Bookish Delights

October 11 - Author Interviewed at Laurie's Thoughts & Reviews

October 13 - Guest Blogging at Librarian Mouse
October 17 - Author Interviewed at The Fairytale Nerd

October 20 - Brass Hearts Review & Giveaway at Reviews By Molly