Advice From Editors: Conflicted?

Just wanted to let people know that my new post is up over at the editor co-op blog, The Blood-Red Pencil. Conflicting Advice: Emerging Authors Want To Know! is about what to do when an editor's advice conflicts with your own ideas about how a story should go, or what to do when different editors disagree about a story's construction.

And don't forget to check out Mayra Calvani's interview from yesterday. A great travel story, suggestions for writing book reviews, and advice on how to juggle several genres all rolled into one!

Interview with Mayra Calvani on Community Fridays

Welcome to Community Fridays!

During Community Fridays, I interview authors, editors, publishers, and pretty much anyone else who I can get my hands on from the writing and publishing community. Hope you enjoy, and feel free to suggest new participants. Check out current and past interviews here. Only have a minute? Click here for interviews at a glance.

Today's guest is Mayra Calvani, book reviewer and author of the recently released The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing (and many other books!).

You're currently on a blog book tour for your book The Slippery art of Book Reviewing. How is that going for you? Any tips for others interested in blog book tours? Where was your last stop, and where are you headed next?

First of all, thanks for hosting me on my virtual book tour, Emma. It’s great to be a guest on your blog. My blog tour is going well. It’s been very busy! One thing I would advise anyone considering a virtual book tour is to drop everything else in order to focus on answering interviews, writing guest posts, promoting the tour and interacting with people who leave comments under the posts. All this can be very time consuming! And to think I was considering doing Nanowrimo at the same time. I had to drop Nano on the fifth day of November. It was simply too hard to do both at the same time.

Yesterday's tour stop was at Joyce Anthony's blog. Tomorrow's will be at Broad Universe.

I've reviewed a few books on my blog to date, and it seemed pretty easy. I mean, I've written things such as "I liked this book because it was a fun story about a cool girl going on a grand adventure." Okay, so I admit I'm a novice, and maybe there's more to it than that. Am I at least headed in the right direction? What are the basics that I need to know?

You’re certainly in the right direction, Emma! But there’s a difference between simply giving an opinion about a book (which is also fine, by the way!) and writing a book review—though a book review is ultimately a person’s opinion. A review goes a bit further in that it analyses the author’s writing and style.

A good book review, whether short or long, is a well-written, honest, thoughtful evaluation of a book, one that points out the good and the ugly. If negative, a good review must also be tactful. I usually, though not always, follow a simple formula for a review, something I learned from Alex Moore, Book Review Editor of ForeWord Magazine: An interesting lead or quote; a short summary of the plot (without ever giving away spoilers or the ending); an evaluation supported by examples or quotes; and a recommendation (or not). A review is written for the reader/consumer in mind, and must help them decide whether or not the book is worth their time and money. It goes without saying that a good review should be free of spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. Finally, a good review should engage the reader, should hold the reader’s interest and attention.

Do you have a tip from your book that you can share here? Or maybe half a tip? You know, to get people hooked?

Whenever possible, try to specify the intended readership. Some books are specialized and appeal to only one group of people. Even if the book has some poor qualities, it might still be of interest to some readers. For example, a mediocre novel about the life of a violin player may be of interest to violinists and musicians, something worth mentioning at the end of a non-enthusiastic review.

Another tip: If you read all kinds of books, then review all kinds of books, but if you mostly read books in one genre, then it’s more sensible to only review books in that genre. If you hate fantasy, for instance, then there’s no point in reviewing fantasy books. Your reviews will have more insight, more “meat” when you’re familiar with other authors and books in that particular genre. Your awareness of trends and the current market will allow you to compare the book to others in the same field. Likewise, if you have read many books by one particular author, reviewing a new book by this author will let you place his new work within his other body of work, which is always a good touch in a review.

You've had a few fiction books published. What made you decide to do a non-fiction book? Was it for money? Fame? Intellectual curiosity? Something else?

I know people who have been following my tour will find this answer repetitive… Actually, I came up with the idea to write this book in the middle of the night. I woke up and heard a ‘voice’: You must write a book on how to write book reviews. From that moment on, I was incredibly motivated and didn’t stop until the book was written. Inviting Anne K. Edwards to co-author the book with me was a great idea. We worked superbly together and we able to complement our ideas in order to achieve a more complete final work. What I missed, she brought up, and vice versa. I was also motivated by the idea of writing a nonfiction book and by the fact that there wasn’t any other book available on the subject. But I had never considered doing this until that night.

Within the realm of fiction, you've dabbled in an impressive array of genres. What inspired you to do this? Do you worry that you might get "branded" as a certain type of author, and have trouble promoting all your different works? For example, the children's/Dark romance is an interesting combination. I ask because this is a personal worry of mine!

I know writing both horror and children’s books is an interesting combination, and that it’s then difficult to ‘brand’ myself as a writer—especially since I use my real name for both genres. But I don’t really care about branding. I care about inspiration and writing. I like the freedom to write what I like. Many things inspire me and I just follow that. So it isn’t a conscious decision. I write what I enjoy writing, as simple as that. And I can switch from my horror-writing mode to my children’s-writing mode in a second. No problem at all. I feel totally comfortable in both genres. In a way, it’s soothing and stimulating for the mind, to be able to delve in different genres.

You've traveled a lot, and lived in many places. Did your traveling affect your decision to become a writer? Has it affected your writing? Do you have any fun travel stories to tell?

I’ve lived in Puerto Rico, the US, Turkey and Belgium and I’ve traveled to many parts of Europe and the Middle East. Yes, traveling and seeing different cultures have influenced my writing enormously. Turkey, especially. My horror novel, Dark Lullaby, is set in Turkey and deals with Turkish myths and folklore.

I do have a fun story to tell! When I first went to live in Turkey I was a newly wed and didn’t know anything about cooking. One night we had guests so I decided to make, among other things, a lentil soup. I assumed the lentils were clean and simply ‘dumped’ them directly from the plastic container into the pan. Later, after I served the meal and we were sitting at the table, my guests started to ‘choke’ on little stones that were in the soup. The lentils were mixed with stones! None of the stones ended up in my bowl—they all ended in the guests’ bowls! Unlike in the US, where grains like rice and beans are filtered and cleaned before packing, in Turkey it is the cook who has to do the filtering! My sister-in-law was so kind that, to protect me, she blamed herself. And I, the coward, kept my mouth shut. Oh well, I was only twenty one back then. :-)

Lastly, because this feature is about establishing bonds within the writing and publishing industries, can you name one author, editor or publisher who's doing great things right now, and why?

I know this is self-serving, since this is my children’s book publisher I’m talking about… but Lynda Burch, owner and publisher of Guardian Angel Publishing, has gone out of her way to make the company succeed and we’re getting more attention than ever, especially among the homeschooling networks . We have a wonderful team of talented authors and illustrators and the books have been selling astonishingly well for such a small company. I’m very proud to be one of her authors.

About the Author

Check out Mayra Calvani's website, her reviewer blog and her children's book blog for more information.



© Emma Larkins and Mayra Calvani

Storytime: Trippin' on Thanksgiving Joy

Ned strained to flap his wings in the enclosed space. Tiny white feathers went flying every which way. His eyes darted back and forth furiously as he spoke to his fellow captive, Chuck.

"Okay, so are you all ready? Are you ready? He's there, I see him, he's coming towards me in a great shining ball of fiery light. Get ready now, we'll only have one chance at this, ready, set..."

"Ned, there's no one there."

"What? But the farmer - I see him right there, heading straight towards me... each one of his sixteen arms waving an axe. You're telling me you don't see that?"

"Ned, get a grip! You've got to chill, man. We're still in the truck."

"Okay, okay, gotta chill, got it. I'll take your word for it, Chuck. Help me around so I can get some air. The walls are closing in, man, the walls are closing in."

Chuck fought through the wings, wattles, and grossly over-sized bodies to get Ned to a part of the cage facing the outside. Wind rushed in as they flashed past hills, trees, and rivers. Eventually, the pick-up truck slowed, then came to an abrupt halt. Ned stared out through the wire mesh. His face became calm and thoughtful as he looked up at something that Chuck couldn't see from his position.

"I see it, man. I finally understand..."

"Stop talking crazy. It's time, Ned. Time for our plan. The truck's stopped, and I think they're getting ready to unload. Remember what you said - the farmer lets us out, and we go for the eyes. If we can't reach the eyes, we go for the jugular. If we can't reach that, we go for the knees. Peck, peck, peck and run."

Ned shook his head.

"I can't. I know now what I have to do."

The cages started flying open, doors worked by unseen hands transferring the turkeys into their new, and final, home.

The door to Chuck and Ned's cage opened with a protesting creak. Instead of jumping out, as he had planned so long ago on that gorgeous summer night lit by three and a half blue moons, Ned simply submitted. Chuck froze in horror, and was himself dragged out of the cage before he could put up a fight. The last thing he saw as he was taken away to certain doom was a large billboard. On the billboard, a family of bright-faced, laughing children and adults, cousins, aunts and uncles, cats and dogs huddled around a perfectly roasted and stuffed golden bird. In the background, a family member opened the door to invite a scruffy-looking neighbor to the feast.

"Bring joy to your holidays with Farmer Joe's finest free-run, homegrown, organic turkeys. Best in the business," read the sign.

Chuck shook his head mournfully.

"Poor Ned. He might have tripped one too many times off those funny things that the neighbor boy dropped, but he always had the biggest heart. He'd sacrifice his own life just to bring joy to someone else. Not even death can take away the beauty of that odd but noble bird."

***

Thanks to Mike Cane for his unique suggestions that inspired this story.

Did you like my tale? Want to read more lovely Turkey-Day inspired fare? Hop over to Marvin Wilson's blog to find links to his other victims - I mean, participants.

And to the wonderful people who offered suggestions, here is your challenge, should you choose to accept it: write a Christmas story on your blog! As you can see here, it doesn't have to be at all traditional, or even sensical to work. Gayle, perhaps something about a homicidal Christmas ornament? Mike, with all of your ideas, I'm sure you could work something in. And Larry, you must have a wealth of political tales involving former presidents and the Holiday Spirit! Of course, if any of you wish, you can choose a holiday more suited to your beliefs and tastes. And I'm sure Marvin will let us all know more about this dastardly cycle of holiday stories he's stared.

And the Results for the Thanksgiving Story sre...

The hippie-tripping self-sacrificing turkey! Thanks to Mike Cane, Gayle Carline, and Larry Hodges for your suggestions, and thanks to everyone who commented and/or voted!

The story will be posted on Thursday (Turkey Day!), along with a link to Marvin's site so that you can all go and check out the other stories. Stay tuned!

A Fictional Twist on Traditional Turkey Day and Community Fridays Guest

Marvin over at Free Spirit is offering me and several others a challenge. Way back in the middle of October, Marvin held a contest on his site to select characters for a Halloween story. Then he tricked some of us who entered the contest into continuing the holiday tradition by writing Thanksgiving stories. However, it's been my task to figure out the format and the inspiration for the story.

So I sent out a friendly little request into the interwebs, and this is what I got back:

Mike Cane, political and technology blogger, had a few very interesting ideas, ranging from hippie tripping, self-sacrificing turkey cannibals to shape-changing aliens stuck in turkey form to Thanksgiving being a cover story for the secret war between turkeys and chickens.

Gayle Carline, author and writing blogger, suggested a fantasy story about "a small town [being] terrorized by a serial killer, who turns out to be a turkey with an axe (to grind)," or alternately a real-to-life tale "of cooking all day, having family members show up 3 hours late to dinner (and they've already eaten), and at one point, walking into the kitchen to discover the cat straddling the turkey, gnawing the breast."

Larry Hodges, an expert on political history who's currently working on a novel about the election in 2100, couldn't help but put a political swing on the Thanksgiving story. His version includes Former President Andrew Jackson, thousands of Indian ghosts, and a beheading.

All of these leave me thinking one thing: what's so bad about Thanksgiving? Does everyone really have such bad memories that all they can think about the holiday involves madness and mayhem?

Now comes your part: which story do you want me to write? Leave me a comment, and let me know! Then come by on Thursday to read the story, and stop by Marvin's blog to check out the rest of the Thanksgiving tales.

And don't forget to return for Community Fridays. This week's guest is Mayra Calvani, author of the newly released The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing.