Monday, July 30, 2007

And The Winner Is...

A hearty congratulations to ollie1976 (jen), the winner of the Boston Bonus Basket drawing! Jen, email me at allieb@allieboniface.com and we'll work out the details. Thanks so much to everyone who left comments last week to help me celebrate the release of One Night in Boston.

And speaking of which, here's an interesting thing: someone has already reviewed it, at the MBAM website. Unfortunately, that person only gave it 3 stars out of 5. Here's the comment, in full:

"Good plotline and well-written but I think it would have been better if it focused more on the present w/ the 2 leading characters."
OK, well, yeah, it's a 24-hour novel, so to get some info across, there are flashbacks. And hey, my editor liked the technique. Still, at first I was like, what? 3 stars? That's 60%...or a failing grade. Terrific.

Then I had to back up and remember a few things.

1. No author gets 100% 5-star reviews from everyone. Thanks to the amazing human brain and the variety of human opinion out there, some people will like your work, some people won't, and many will probably fall somewhere in between.

2. I'll take the "good plotline" and "well-written" comments anytime. A lot of the stuff that gets published isn't.

3. I really, really enjoy writing. Somewhere in the last few weeks, with all the hype of my release date and promoting my novel, I haven't had a chance to write very much at all. And you know what? I miss it. Yesterday I sat down for a solid few hours and wrote 1000+ words on my current WIP. And it was so joyful. I have to remember that while publishing is nice, and reviews will be up and down, the craft of weaving a story is my first love.

So that's what I'm off to do now, more work on One Night in Memphis (and hey, no flashbacks in this one!). What are you up to today?

7 comments:

ollie1976 said...

wow-a great surprise! I've emailed you.
-Jen

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

I wouldn't worry about the review, since it was only critical about something that I would call a personal preference. You were complimented on what really matters-- good writing and good plot.

Great job!

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed you already received a review at the MB&M site. I only received one customer review on one of my three books and it was from a friend. And a lot of people will love the flashback technique and her review will help to sell your book.

Congrats on a reader liking your book enough to leave a review!

That's terrific you got some writing time in yesterday.

Unknown said...

I love reader reviews, even if they're not all that great. At least it means someone is buying your book and looking into it.

Much Love Always,
Rose Marie Wolf
www.rosemariewolf.com

Rebecca said...

it's not too bad a review....I got one on the mbam site with only 1 star!!!!

I'm sure you'll get some raving reviews that will completely make up for it.

Unknown said...

"I really, really enjoy writing."

That's all that matters, yes?

Alice said...

CONGRATULATIONS to Jen! :D

I agree with Nicole and that's what I was going to say...

Happy writing, Allie!