2010 was an incredible year. It was the year I became a published author. I can only hope that 2011 turns out even better. I can't complain. Life is pretty good.
The feedback I've received regarding An Angel for Christmas has been amazing. There is always a moment of panic when a new release comes out. I grit my teeth, squeeze my eyes shut, and pray that people like it. The comments I've received from readers have meant so much to me and I'm just over the moon about how people are responding to the story. There have also been some wonderful reviews written up and I can't thank the reviewers enough for taking the time to so thoughtfully critique my novella. Kassa wrote a guest review over at Jessewave, Lisa wrote some lovely things over at Michele 'n Jeff reviews, and Tam, who was so kind in the past to review Just a Summer Fling, was fantastic enough to mention this release as well over at her blog.
Read what they had to say:
I must now indulge in a brief moment of fangirling. Of course authors want review sites to write reviews of their book. And, of course they want those reviews to be good ones. It's one of the best ways to get the word out about a new release and to get people excited about it so they will hopefully buy it. There are a gazillion review sites out there and a lot of them are very good. But Jessewave Reviews is arguably the biggest (and in my opinion, the absolute best) M/M Romance review site. I always thought that if I got a book reviewed on that site I had 'officially made it.' Perhaps silly, but, there you go. So, I basically had a minor heart attack when I found that my very own Christmas novella was reviewed there by none other than Kassa. I have followed Kassa's reviews for a while-- on her livejournal, Goodreads, and on Jessewave. I have always loved Kassa's reviews. She isn't afraid to write a bad review and she always says exactly what she thinks. After reading one of her reviews I feel I can really decide if a book is for me or not. Sometimes I find that review sites almost loose their meaning because every book reviewed gets a 4 or 5 star rating. Kassa is tough, though... and I mean that as the highest compliment. I feel that getting a 4 star rating from her really means something and I feel so flattered that she reviewed my story.
Now that release day has come and gone and the holidays are over I feel as though I can finally draw a breath. I've been so busy, but it's been a good busy. The only down side to all that busy is that writing has fallen by the way side. I can always tell when I've been neglecting my writing because the characters in my head start clamoring for attention and become very impatient with me. ;) A trip next week will find me soaking up rays on a tropical beach (yay!), but once I return to the wintry Northeast (hopefully with a tan!!) I simply can't wait to pull up my laptop and get back into my writing.
My upmost gratitude goes to the lovely folk at Torquere Press who made my dreams of becoming a published author come true and my heartfelt thanks to my readers. Thank you for allowing me to share my stories with you.
I wish everyone a happy, prosperous, and fulfilling 2011!!
Love,
Lily
I followed your link from Kassa's post. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% with everything you said there, and here. 4 and 5-star reviews seem to have become the norm, but getting 4-stars means a lot more when it comes from somebody who rates across the board.
Congrats on such great reviews, and Happy New Year!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Marie!
ReplyDeleteI almost don't even look at the 'star rating' anymore because of the inflation rate. And, one person's 3 stars might be another person's 5! I find reviewers that I can trust the opinion of and go by what they say about a book instead of the number of stars awarded.
Happy New Year to you, too! :)
Aww.. I kind of feel like blushing. That is one of the nicest compliments I've given and really puts everything into perspective. Your experience is exactly what I feel reviews should be - they mean something. When you love a book, that means something!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the incredibly nice words and I'm sorry you were worried. I chose your book because Ami over on goodreads gave it such a glowing review and it sounded quite enjoyable. I finished it and thought to myself "That was a good book. I really liked that." To me, that's one of the highest compliments about books. They've entertained and you end up feeling good when you finish. So thank you for that :) I look forward to reading more of your work.
Congrats on the good reviews and good or bad, people are talking about you right? heheh..
Oh, you are so welcome! And, thank you again for taking a chance on an unknown author! I'm still so pleased you enjoyed it. Ami's review on Goodreads was terribly lovely. I'm so glad it inspired you to give my story a shot!
ReplyDeletehehe. Being scared of reviews had nothing to do with you specifically! I think it's that I'm still such a newbie writer that in some ways I still feel like I'm feeling around in the dark and overly surprised and excited when I get a manuscript accepted or a reviewer likes what I've written, etc. Maybe that feeling never really goes away though...
Thanks so much again and for stopping by! :D