• About
  • My Books
    • The Locksmith Duology
    • The Bitter Sea Trilogy
    • Failsafe
    • Insurrection
    • A Ransom Of Flames
    • Free Short Story
  • Newsletter
  • Blog
    • Reviews

Amid The Imaginary

Amid The Imaginary

Tag Archives: Speculative Book Review

The Mage and the Freckled Frog

05 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by amidtheimaginary in Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Book Review, Fantasy, Self Published Book, Speculative Book Review

Mage

Title & Author: The Mage and the Freckled Frog, Craig A. Price Jr.

Genre & Publication Date: Fantasy, May 30, 2015

Book Description: “A young mage is stranded in a strange village when his master leaves him. All that he has with him is his friend Freckles, his pet toad. He wanders the city looking for work or a way out, but discovers that magic is banned, and goes on the run. When a threat enters the city, he must decide whether to continue hiding, or help save the people.”

First Line: Drezzyk Ry’lnak fled the alleys, his long, auburn hair fluttering in the breeze, stumbling when he bumped into peasant after peasant.

My Take: This book was provided to me by the author for review.

At just 1900 words, this was a fun slice of fiction. I happen to love short stories and am ecstatic that the indie world has reinvigorated this form of writing.

Drezzyk is a likable character, if not a touch bumbling. For those unfamiliar, a mage is a person with magic that needs no staff to wield his power (unlike wizards). Drezzyk is a mage-in-training. He’s got the seed of magic in him but it hasn’t quite blossomed yet. There’s a nice character arc for him. He starts out fearful but eventually learns the value of courage.

The core story is a good one but events seemed to happen without any hints dropped along the way. Drezzyk is dumped in a town he doesn’t know by his master. Who is this master? How long had Drezzyk been training with him? Did they not get along? He sees a palace in the distance but doesn’t recognize it. Why not? Usually palaces house the monarchy. How many palaces are in this country/kingdom? Is he from another land? Similarly, when the main antagonists arrive on scene, they show up suddenly with no mention of them beforehand as a threat in this world.

Without any preamble to things, I never felt grounded in the story. Obviously surprise is a great tool in storytelling but it requires finesse so the reader doesn’t feel like they’re driving the wrong way down the highway.

The Magical: Loved the magic in the story and how it was wielded. This was like a mage’s coming-of-age tale.

The Mundane: While it’s important not to stuff too much backstory into a scene, it’s equally important to still sprinkle some in here and there, or hint at it, so the reader feels like they know the character. The absence of backstory disconnected me from Drezzyk. Where is he from? Why does he want to be a mage? I wanted to know!

Summary of Thoughts: Currently it’s $0.99 for the Kindle. I liked this one, though I had a lot of basic questions about the world and the main character that were left unanswered. It has a light charm that I enjoyed but it needs more world building to satisfy. Short stories are in ways harder to write than novels because it has to do the work of a novel in less time. A few adjustments to add an extra layer of detail and this one could be really magical (lame pun intended).

3 Star Rating

Many thanks to author Craig A. Price Jr. for providing a copy of the book to review.

Curious what others thought? Check out Amazon’s reviews here

Want to learn more about this author and his work? Explore his website here

Guest Post: The Do’s and Don’ts of Self-Publishing From a Book Reviewer

27 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by amidtheimaginary in Self-Publishing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Guest Post, Self Published Book, Self-Published Fantasy Blog-off, Speculative Book Review, Tyson Mauermann

My guest today is Tyson Mauermann of the popular Speculative Book Review blog. As a veteran reviewer and a participant in The Great Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, I asked him to share any pointers he had for authors based on his experience reviewing self-published work. Below he provides some great advice:

I have been in the book reviewing game for five years now and I guess some consider me a bit of a pro. It has led to an editing gig with a few authors as well as a job with the up and coming publishing company, Ragnarok Publications. So when I was asked to come up with a guest post about the Do’s and Don’ts of self-publication it took me a little while to actually put together a small list.

THE DO’S

1. Edit. Edit. Edit.

And when you are done with that edit again to be sure. Your book might be the best thing since sliced bread but if I find several glaring errors I will put the book down and do my best to forget about it. My advice is to find a reputable editor. Some charge quite a bit but find one in your price range and use them. Better yet, use two if you can afford it. Aside from grammar they should help you with character development, story arc, and plot.

2. Give the bloggers some love

Early reviews are critical and if you can send the book to several bloggers asking for an honest review, then do it. Ask them if they would be willing to publish their review on Amazon, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Rifflebooks, and Shelfari. As long as the review is honest you should gain a better understanding of your writing. Also, don’t ask the blogger to remove or edit their negative review if you receive one. Not everyone will love your book and a few negative reviews, if they are honest, shouldn’t hurt your book as the reviewers that enjoyed your book will outshine the negative publicity.

It should be noted that I often turn down review requests based on the email an author sends me. If it is full of errors or comes off as unprofessional I tend to delete it and not look back. If the email is professional but I am swamped with books, I find the time to reply back and politely decline their review offer.

You should also make it easy for the reviewer to review your book. Have the book available in several different formats. I don’t accept PDF files as I have a Kindle but other reviewers prefer that format. Pay close attention to the contact page on their blog site. It should help you narrow down their preference and if you can’t find it ask or offer all the formats.

3. Be active

If you want to be successful in the (self) publishing game you need to be active on social media. Facebook, Twitter, and forums like SFFWorld and Reddit are a great place to start. That doesn’t mean spamming every few minutes but getting to know your fan base and taking an active role in the discussions. Places like SFFWorld have a spot to pimp your book but if you engage with the book readers and have something worthwhile to say, you will find them more receptive to trying your book. If you do gain an audience keep them informed and stay active long after your book has hit shelves.

4. Offer some free content

If you create an online profile give them a chapter or two to sample. You can generate buzz and word of mouth will quickly spread to your fan base.

THE DON’TS

1. Don’t respond to reviews

While you may receive a few nasty reviews avoid the temptation to lash out at the reviewer. I have had this happen on a few occasions. One went so far as to email my wife and threatened her to get me to remove my scathing review. Another created a sock puppet army to attack my review. I built my reputation on honest reviews regardless of how personal a relationship is with an author; it is how I became a reviewer. If you engage one reviewer you will get a negative reputation as the reviewing community is a pretty tight knit group and we do talk to one another and keep each other informed of some authors’ behaviors.

2. Search out reputable self-publishing companies

Many authors are very willing to talk to you about their personal experiences with publishing companies. There are a few that you should avoid at all costs and they will help you to sort the good from the bad.

3. Avoid blatant advertising on newsgroups and forums

Join a few sites and take an active role in it and once you have participated for a while, then you can plug your project but don’t go spamming. Nothing turns the community off more than the constant bombardment of your work. You will lose more than you gain.

4. Don’t harass reviewers

My current review queue is well beyond 100+ books. I try to review in the order received but if a book grabs my attention or I have enjoyed the previous book in the series, I will read it next. The reviewer is going to read it, it just may take a while to get to it. We have lives and sometimes it takes priority over your book. If it has been more than six months feel free to reach out to the reviewer but nothing irks me more then an author who expects me to drop everything to review their book. If the email is especially obnoxious I may even put it even further down on the review pile or reject it completely.

5. Don’t skimp on a cover

While it may seem like a bargain to grab a generic cover, a picture is still worth a thousand words. If you find the right cover you will find an audience. Also, don’t choose a cover that will get you banned. If you choose to show nudity on the cover Amazon and other major retailers will ban it. Stay classy.

6. Finally, don’t burn your bridges

You will most likely receive a few letters from agents, editors, and publishers turning down your book. That is okay. Learn from it and move on. Who knows, they may just accept your next book. A scathing letter in reply from a place that turned down your book will make your next endeavor an even steeper hill to climb, which could have been avoided.

sci-fi

About Tyson:
Tyson Graduated from the Eastern Washington University and Evergreen State College with degrees in History, Geography, and Satellite Imagery Analysis. He later went back to the University of Washington to receive his Teaching Certificate and his Masters in Education. After several years of teaching English and History in public schools he was bit by the travel bug and decided to check out Asia.
At present, Tyson is a freelance editor and recently married his beautiful and intelligent wife and looking for gainful employment. 
Tyson was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. He is constantly reading something whether it is fantasy, science fiction, history or a book that attempts to teach him something new. He loves traveling and the occasional cold, frosty beverage.

Amid the Imaginary

I'm a Hapa Haole Hawaiian girl living in chilly Minnesota, reading, writing and working full-time while raising my family.

Available Now!

Follow Amid The Imaginary on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 275 other followers

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

Indulge in your Imagination

amidtheimaginary@gmail.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Amid The Imaginary
    • Join 275 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Amid The Imaginary
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...