My Favorite 2-Star Review

My books have gotten many reviews– mostly good.  I’m proud to say that I have more 2 star reviews than 1 star, more 3 star than 2 star, more 4 star than 3 star, and more 5 star than 4 star.  Some of those are very well-thought-out and some not so much.

I usually try not to look at reviews, but sometimes I see them and can’t help myself from reading them.  I recently spotted the only review for Women of Power on US Amazon.  It’s a 2-star review, but I really enjoyed reading it.  First of all, though it has some real criticism, it is constructive.  Secondly, it has some positive things to say too.

Here’s a part I like.

“The sad part is that this author writes amazingly well. The whole book is modern
language type writing, making it easy to understand. And the author certainly
knows how to craft an action scene. It’s exciting and you’re never lost or
wondering where one character is, in relation to another, or even to the
environment. The author creates great superhero/villain names for the
characters. I’m a big fan of the Atomic Jack-O-Lantern, the name alone tells you
what an awesome character it is. I cannot sing enough praises for this author’s
ability to make me want to keep going one more chapter. Just one more… just
one more… till I suddenly find myself at the end of the book.”

Read the entire review (all 2 stars) here.

The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton on Facebook

The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton now has its own Facebook page.  Follow this link and “like” it.

This page replaces the seperate pages for Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Elven Princess and Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Sorceress.

Astrid Maxxim: Robot Valerie

**** SPOILER ALERT ****

One of the characters in Astrid Maxxim is a robot.  She’s Robot Valerie, imprinted with the memories of Astrid’s friend Valerie Diaz.

Robot Valerie has two purposes.  The first is just that I wanted a robot character.  Orignially she was going to be a robot version of Astrid’s other friend Denise.  I had Denise and Robot Denise for a long time in the draft, but Denise already has a complicated family life, so it just seemed natural to change the robot to Robot Valerie.

The second reason for Robot Valerie was as a plot device.  The bad guys are after Robot Valerie, naturally, because she’s a cool robot.  It’s just one more thing for Astrid to worry about.

For some reason, people just like robot characters.  People generally love Patience in His Robot Wife, and of the comments I’ve gotten so far about Astrid Maxxim, probably 75% talk about Robot Valerie.

Astrid Maxxim

Astrid is the title character and the main character in Astrid Maxxim.  As a character, she has two facets.  On the one hand, she has to be interesting, so she has her foibles and flaws, but on the other hand, it is her eyes from which we see her world.  Therefore, she has to have a solid center.

Astrid is extremely intelligent, but she is also intuitive and empathetic.  She is kind and friendly, but shy and unassuming.  She loves science and technology and is easily frustrated by superstition and silliness.  She is supremely confident about herself, but not so confident in her interactions with others.  This along with a certain rigidness regarding change, I associate with her being an only child.

Astrid is a fun character to write and I hope to do a fairly long series of her stories.  It all depends on how long I last, I suppose.

The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton now at Diesel Ebooks

The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton is now available at the World Famous Diesel Ebook Store.

Eaglethorpe Buxton Updated

A new version of The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton is now available at Smashwords, and will soon be available everywhere else.  If you are one of the 3 people 🙂 who purchased the first version, you can download an error free updated version for free.  The new version is labeled 11-20-12 on the copyright page.

Thanks to Moe the Cat for sending me a list of errata to be fixed (and this is not the first time he’s done so either).  There is a special thanks to Moe, and my son John who performed a similar service, on the dedication page of the new version.

His Robot Girlfriend Soundtrack

Alright, since I’m thinking about soundtracks, how about this for a His Robot Girlfriend/ His Robot Wife movie?

Daffodil Lament – Cranberries

All is Full of Love – Bjork

From a Shell – Lisa Germano

Settle Down – Kimbra

The Greatest – Cat Power

Trouble is a Friend – Lenka

I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked – Ida Maria

This Guy’s in Love with You – Herb Alpert

He Needs Me – Shelley Duvall

Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.

Blood Trade Soundtrack

I usually don’t listen to music with lyrics when I’m trying to write, though I listen to instrumentals.  I do listen to songs when I’m thinking about plots and ideas though and there are a few songs that remind me of events in stories, and that I think would make great soundtracks to movie versions of my books.  Here is what might be included in a Blood Trade Movie.

You’ve Been Flirting Again – Bjork

9 Crimes – Damien Rice

All I Want from You is Love – Let’s Go Sailing

Dirty Laundrey – Bitter:Sweet

I Want to be Your Dog – Joan Jett

Bad Girls – M.I.A.

Paper Planes – M.I.A.

Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon

Paradise – Coldplay

Mad World – Michael Andrews

Little Sister – Queens of the Stone Age

Eaglethorpe Mug

My son, who is the biggest Eaglethorpe Buxton fan, surprised me for my birthday with an Eaglethorpe Buxton mug that he ordered with my promo picture.  He also had made a His Robot Wife t-shirt.  Awesome.

The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton now at Kobo Books

The Many Adventures of Eaglethorpe Buxton is now available for $2.99 at Kobo Books for your Kobo reading device or Kobo ebook app.

Follow this link to check it out.