Something unique for Valentine's Day

Yes, it's just around the corner, and yes, I'm going through a rather anti-consumerism phase that coincides with the secret greenie novel I'm just completing (though I'm always happy about consumerism that involves my own books - same too I think for authors of anti-consumer books! May as well be honest about it.) and with the completion of my Marketing degree (I'll never go to the dark side, even if the cookies are good).  But I will say that a) greeting cards tend to be ridiculously over-priced and mostly get thrown out, and b) good poetry lasts, has a transformative effect, and basically is wonderful value however you look at it.  Especially when it comes in such a pretty, and inexpensive package (with such beautiful artwork - Vicki Thomas is a star).  So to appease my super fantastic marketing partner, and also to offer something just a wee bit better than artery clogging chocolates, or landfill clogging cards, I thought I'd reprint a review of the book of love poetry I wrote with Carolyn Howard-Johnson.  Free ebooks for the first 3 people who email me and ask for one.  Happy Valentine's Day all you lovers out there. “Love is the voice under all silences, the hope which has no opposite in fear; the strength so strong mere force is feebleness: the truth more first than sun, more last than star...” ee cummings


Reviewed by Molly Martin

Cherished Pulse: Unconventional Love Poetry
by Magdalena Ball and Carolyn Howard-Johnson
with artwork by Vicki Thomas
Paperback: 36 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1449546052, Oct 2009

Magdalena Ball presents the first 10 poems; from the haunting lyric found in ‘The Ocean,’ strength of ‘Great Sky,’ and stark reality of ‘Dark Matter,’ poet Ball moves the reader toward her final though provoking reflective work; ‘Baker’s Dozen’. Other titles by poet Ball include; Event Horizon, Personality, Body Language, Aurora, Galactic Collision, and Oubliette.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s poems begin with the delicate refrain found in ‘A Woman's Heart.’ ‘Dreaming Lilacs,’ move the reader into a scented, heart felt remembrance before moving on to a playful stanza ‘Hallmark Couldn't Possibly Get This Right.’ Poet Howard-Johnson’s last offering is a poignant introspective ‘Loving Lance.’ Other titles by this poet include; Watching My Daughter Say Goodbye To a Fleeting Love, Another Day, déjà vu?, Discovery, From the Observation Deck, LA Love Story.

Poets Ball and Howard-Johnson have joined forces to create an oeuvre of exquisite work. Readers are offered a rhythmical extravagance as Ball and Howard-Johnson draw upon their journey of life to give rise to an tour de force of superlative work. These bards have crafted an admirable read for their target audience of those who enjoy lyrical offerings. Readers are sure to be captivated in a most charming manner while reading the words offered by this pair of sensitive, forthright women whose evident ardor for life is aptly captured on the pages of this work.

Cherished Pulse Unconventional Love Poetry is a pleasurable collection of buoyant, spirited poetry sure to pique the interest of the most discerning reader who is looking for a nice afternoon’s read. Each of the verses is a true delight. There is something for everyone. Language use is not predictable, nevertheless Cherished Pulse is an invigorating read of agreeably constructed stanzas presented in a satisfactorily rounded assortment. The reader will be drawn into the verses’ rich stitching of sentiment, passion and sensation. Magdalena Ball and Carolyn Howard-Johnson move the reader along an voyage of poignant remembrance and encouraged expectations through the panorama of emotive setting. The authors have shaped a enticing publication of some of their most excellent compositions. Verses entice the reader with a multiplicity of intensely felt verses penned about human emotion. Fervor for life surges from the page as these rhymes are enjoyed. Verses filled with tenderness, perceptiveness and consideration are included. Those who are admirers of poetry and those who are not, are certain to find much to enjoy Cherished Pulse. Everyday issues of life tuned into an appealing work is not an easy task. Ball and HowardJohnson have succeeded admirably.

Cherished Pulse is meant to be read and then re-read as longing and inclination strikes. Each rhyme only gets better. The work lends itself well to the gift book tuck in market. Enjoyed the read, happy to recommend. A delightful read for all poetry lovers whiling away a lazy afternoon in the porch swing with a tall iced tea or mint julep nearby.

Twelve years online. Why review?

2012 is the 12th year that The Compulsive Reader has been in operation. In Internet terms, that's a long time!  So I thought it might be appropriate to explore the question - why.  Why do I do it?  Why review?  Before I hop into it, I thought I might explore why not. There are some good reasons not to write book reviews.  The first is that it's time consuming - I can spend many hours on a single review.  Generally speaking, I don't get paid for it.  The time I spend writing reviews is invariably time taken away from writing other things - such as my next novel, poetry, some other piece of nonfiction (perhaps a paid commission), or time with my kids, working my reasonably well paid day job, etc.  Managing a review website is also time consuming.  Each review is personally edited by me, set up by hand, and hand coded - with images and links sourced, and an overall consistency maintained with each one, regardless of how they are submitted.  I respond personally to every review request (and I get hundreds each month), vetting and distributing them to reviewers where appropriate and of course, I can spend many many hours researching for an interview and conducting them.  So, back to the original question.  Why?  The simplest answer is always the same - love.  The following bullet points explain why I love it:

• Reviewing a book is like a second, deeper, more interactive reading.   I'll often finish a book - especially a complex one, and not feel like I'm quite finished with it. It isn't until I do a final revisit and analysis where I begin to understand what worked for me, what didn't, and what the ultimate value of the book was for me.  I think back on the many books I read in the years BR (before reviewing), and I can't actually remember some of them.  I remember everything I've reviewed - the characters, the plot, the settings, the voice, the point of view - it's all part of my active memory because of the extra, engagement after the reading.  To me, the review process has now become an integral part of my reading process.
• I've got a habit to feed.  I can pretty much request any new title that I want and get it sent to me by the publisher.  This may seem like a minor payment for many hours of work, but as someone who tends to buy books as gifts, I know exactly how expensive a new book is (in Aus, it can be exorbitant - the last book I bought for my son was nearly $50).  Being able to get in fast on those authors whose work I will always read and even obtain an Advanced Review Copy (ARC) is a pretty compelling perk, especially if I get to have a conversation with them afterwards about the book.  
• Fame, glory, and a following.  The respect that comes with being a known, oft-cited reviewer is often well above that which I receive as a lowly author. The 'following' aspect is actually a kind of community of people who are united solely through the love of reading.  That kind of camaraderie is pretty wonderful.  Yes - I'm talking about you - you're wonderful. 
• Finally, because it feels like a good deed in the service of books and authors.  As the points above show, I definitely get something personally valuable out of reviewing, but in the bigger scheme of things, I also get to showcase and help promote some utterly wonderful books that might have otherwise skipped the notice of the general public.  My focus is always on quality, so I can add a tiny bit of 'non-commercialist' weight on the side of the literarily wonderful.  That kind of positive power, however small, is probably enough on its own to keep me reviewing. 

So there you have it.  Welcome to year 12 (2011) of The Compulsive Reader.  We've got 2,670 reviews in the database (and I've got 10 still in my in-box to set up).  That's a lot of words, and plenty more to come.

Happy Holidays (Virtual Mince Pies)

To all you lovely readers out there, I just wanted to wish you a very happy holiday with a plateful of virtual mince pies that I baked up just for you (my kids will eat them on your behalf).  I wish you a relaxing holiday with plenty of time to catch up on your favourite books.  What will you be reading?  I've got a stack that includes: Selected Poems of Dorothy Hewett (Kate Lilley, ed), The Vintage and the Gleaning by Jeremy Chambers, The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi, Sustenance by Simone Lazaroo, and Singing the Coast edited by Margaret Somerville and Tony Perkins, all of which I intend to read through January.  See you in 2011 with a swagfull of  reviews and interviews that include most of the above people and thanks to all of you for your support and participation this year.  For the full recipe and a little background on the pies, visit: http://www.redroom.com/blog/magdalena-ball/mince-pies-height-summer

Coffee with that Expresso Book?

It isn't exactly dinky, but there's something a little evocative (and scary - new technology is always scary) about being able to walk into a bookshop or library, and print out any book in print in a few seconds and watch it construct in front of you.  The latest version of Espresso Book Machine® 2.0 is just 3.8 feet wide by 2.7 feet deep by 4.5 feet high (that's even shorter than I am).  You can watch a video of a book being made at The Expresso Book Machine Channel. It's pretty cool and looks a little like a big photocopier (what will they be able to expresso next?).  So will this be competition for the ebook?  Will it help authors and publishers who couldn't otherwise get shelf-space in the big chains?   Only time will tell.  I know from personal experience that book buying, particularly in a shop, is often based on serendipity - you grab what's featured, on sale, being talked about, has an evocative cover.  None of these things are conducive to using the expresso machine.  The initial launch of the book machine at Angus and Robertson in Melbourne was not a success.  However, the new machine is lighter, faster, and might be a bit cheaper.  If those things come together with the increasing cost of property, warehousing and shelf-space, then perhaps this can be a win-win for everyone who loves and lives by books.  I have to admit that I often spend many hours searching for particular titles for gifts, and knowing I can pop into my local and get anything within a few minutes, at a good rate (that's probably fairly key), would be great.  As an author, if I knew I could send readers to their local shop for a copy of any of my books, or do a reading anywhere I might happen to be visiting at the drop of a hat, with no stock and still have infinite numbers of copies to sell, then this would be a significant win.  Still, the machines retail at about 100k, which equates to a lot of stock, so probably only the big guys would have one, and those big guys might end being the supermarket or chains like Wal-Mart or Target, which would be good for authors like me, but maybe not so good for those cozy little shops down the street that know you like a friend and make wonderful suggestions.  Not that I can think of any in my area that haven't gone under to Borders or A&R.  Alas.  The future marches on. 

Indie Books Holiday Giveaway Event

Over at A Word Please, the marvellous Darcia Helle is holding an Indie Books Holiday Giveaway with over 76 titles (including a number of my books) from 47 authors.  I know you all like giveaways, so I thought I'd include a little link here and let you know that the event runs throughout the month of December and is open worldwide.  Do drop by and enter - you only need to fill in a form at the site.  What's an "Indie book?"  It's a book published by a publisher that is "independent of the major conglomerates that dominate the book publishing industry. Independent book publishers include small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors."  (that's from the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG) website).   Because they tend not to have shareholders and high sales targets, Indie publishers often have more flexibility to be creative, innovative, and can work more quickly over longer periods of time than the conglomerates.  They are often more author friendly (especially for authors who aren't celebrities) and tend to be more focused on quality than on names or sales, and keep keep the whole industry more honest and reader/author friendly.  Of course their promotional budgets are smaller, so you might not see them in Walmart or your local supermarket, but rather in good bookstores (the kind that focus on books) or in shops like Amazon or via publisher sites.  Why not do something a little different this year and seek out smaller press, independent titles for gifts and your own reading.  You might be quite suprised at what you can find and you'll get that nice glow from knowing that you're supporting the book world in maintaining an all-important diversity.

Character Auction

  

Authors for Autistica are running a fantastic character auction on ebay, featuring over 20 best-selling authors.

People can bid to have their name in the upcoming novels of  Ken Follett,  Roopa Farooki,  Glenn Cooper, Hari Kunzru, Darren Shan, David Mitchell and more.  In a second auction, authors including  R J Ellory, James Sallis and L C Tyler will give unpublished writers feedback on their work.  

The link is:  http://members.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=autistica_charity and the auction ends this Sunday.

All funds raised will go to autism research.   It's a good cause and an interesting opportunity - some are even offering you the option to determine whether your character is good, bad, or neutral. 

Guest post: Basic Flash Fiction Writing by Dianne G. Sagan

My guest this month is Dianne G. Sagan, author and speaker. One of her books is a collection of 100 word flash fiction tales. She and four other women from her critique group wrote these stories over a matter of months. Each set of stories shares four or five common words 

Basic Flash Fiction Writing

Flash fiction is a term for short stories that are no longer than 1,500 words. Some are even termed micro- or mini- stories because they are no more than 100 words. It’s important to remember that each story must have all the same requirements as a longer piece – characters, scene, conflict, resolution.  Each flash fiction story must include the story elements that are included in longer pieces: setting, plot, characters, conflict, and resolution. Have fun with it. 

STEP I: Decide what you want your flash fiction story about. If you have a favorite genre like mystery, thriller, or romance, then write a story in that genre.

STEP 2: Write down some notes to get your story arc started. It can be an informal list of ideas to include in the story. 

STEP 3: Write a short bio of your main character and antagonist or villain. This helps you develop your characters.

STEP 4: Write a first draft of your story. Allow yourself to write whatever comes out for this first draft. Then, put it aside for a little while so you can come back to it with fresh eyes.

STEP 5: Read your story and see what works and what doesn’t. Clarify anything that seems confusing. Be sure to check for spelling or grammar mistakes. Share it with some fellow writers for feedback.

STEP 6:  Now, rewrite your story with the revisions and corrections you decided on from the original draft. Remember the key is to use a few words and still tell a good story.

For another interesting author interview, drop by Virginia Grenier's blog where Darcia Helle will be talking about her latest book.