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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Guest Author Shannon Phoenix

Today I have the pleasure of having Author Shannon Phoenix here
at my blog on her tour for A Wolf's Song.



One of the questions that I am frequently asked is about 'how do you handle negative reviews?'. This question is a fair question, and it's one that applies to everything in our lives, I think. We get 'negative reviews' in everything from our jobs to our children to our spouses and on through to when our plants die. I don't think a review gets any more negative than that one!

I have been fortunate, both in my fan fiction and in my regular writing, in that I have had just wonderful readers. My negative reviews are quite few, and I think in part because at least with fan fiction, standards are pretty low... it's not hard to stand out in some areas just by almost doing things properly. On the other hand, most people who read my stories are repeat readers, and they are of a certain high caliber.

That being said, I have gotten a few. I haven't gotten any "you suck, die in a fire" kind of negative reviews... not in my writing career, anyway. But I have gotten some that state, for example, that the book is confusing, that I didn't tell them what was going on, or that the individual simply didn't care for or find the story interesting this time.

When that happens, it helps me to first take a moment and ask myself a simple question: Is this about the story, or is this about the reader? Frequently, I find that there may be merit in the statement, but not always directly. For example, the criticism that some things aren't explained in the story had merit. On the one hand, I had forgotten an important detail that was chopped out with a bad first chapter. So there was merit to the comment there. I must say, though, that what the reviewer didn't recognize was that this is partially my writing style in that story.

My stories and writing methods tend to vary greatly from story to story, and in this particular story, I was writing from third person, and following one individual at a time. What thoughts they had, how they felt, and what they experienced. When doing so, however, the perspective was limited to that person's. So what she knew, the reader could know... what she didn't know, the reader wouldn't find out until she did.

Furthermore, A Wolf's Song is part of a series. That means that there will be unanswered questions. It's not the preferred romance genre 'stand alone' series style. It's the first book in a definitive series, in which A will lead to B, and in its turn, B will lead to C.

There are times, however, that criticism is earned. It's usually these times that it hurts the most. We all experience embarrassment and hurt; but I try to do the best that I can to learn from it and apply it. Politely rendered commentary, be it praise or constructive criticism, is how I learn. It's how many of us learn.

So those who review rather than simply reading and walking away have my gratitude. Every time that a person reviews for the better or worse, in my personal opinion they improve me as a writer. One teaches me and the other motivates me.

If you ever wonder whether or not to take your time to write a review, I say to go for it. Perhaps you'll help make their next novel a greater success. It should go without saying, however, that politely rendered constructive criticism is always preferable to "die in a fire, ur book sux."

Two thumbs up for those who take that moment to review. It takes months to write the book, that few seconds out of your day can make all that toil and trouble worth it. A smile a day keeps the cat away, or  something of that sort.

Shannon


A Wolfs Song.jpg


A Wolf's Song
Shannon Phoenix
Supernaturals Now; Book 1
Genre: Paranormal/ Shifter Romance, contemporary
ASIN: B007WA33AK
Number of pages: 254

Book Description:

Hamish hasn't been interested in love since his beloved wife died four hundred years ago. He knows that it's impossible for her to reincarnate, but he hasn't been able to let her go. Until now.

When he meets Desiree in Colorado, Hamish can't resist her. When she moves to Vermont to work, she's right in his back yard. He sets about winning her, ready for a future with her.

Yet his past won't let that happen. The mother of his children wants the contract they signed three hundred years before to be fulfilled. Hamish must mate with her and she must bear a werewolf son. Until the contract is fulfilled, Hamish must commit himself entirely to the raising of their child--twenty years without any romantic entanglements.

To make matters worse, she intends to use Desiree to make him even more miserable. She demands that Desiree be the one to sentence him to a fate that will tear Hamish away from her forever.

Even while they face this dramatic mess, Deathwalkers are converging on them for an unknown purpose. Evil, malignant monsters, the Deathwalkers will stop at nothing to get their hands on Desiree. Desiree must confront her own past as well as Hamish's, escape the Deathwalkers, and find peace with herself. Hamish must realize his love for Desiree before he pushes her away forever.

Can Desiree defeat Hamish's past and bring hope to an entire race?


Warning: Contains intense open door love scenes between a woman and her sexy werewolf lover. This book is not erotica with a plot, it is a full length novel that includes sexual encounters. It's primarily a love story. 

Author Bio: 
Shannon Phoenix always wrote stories. She watched the characters take on their lives within her mind, and began to write down what they were doing. She would write the stories and then let them go. But a few years ago, she got caught writing those stories. You know... those stories.
To her surprise, the person who found her stories loved her characters as much as Shannon did. She tentatively allowed others to read the stories, as well, and it was from that first foray into the scary world of letting others read her 'little tales' that Shannon Phoenix Books was born.
Shannon lives in New Hampshire with her husband, her daughter, and their family cat. Her full time job is parenting, her part time job is as a mother's helper to a family friend, and her passion is letting the characters in her mind out on paper--or keyboard, as the case may be.
Welcome to Shannon Phoenix's Books. May you find the magic in your own life.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829040.Shannon_Phoenix


A Wolf's Song tour giveaway 5 ebook copies of A Wolf's Song tour wide




a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks for being here today, Shannon!!

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