I had someone message me on Facebook today and tell me they enjoyed Haunted Lake and that they were going to write a review. I was so happy that I had to hop on over to see it. Well, when I got there, it hadn’t come through yet, but I saw a review that was written yesterday. A review that made my heart feel good. Then the other review came through. I’m not going to quote the two reviews in their entirety because they are both long. And that sounds kind of, I don’t know, bragging or something. And I don’t usually list my reviews anywhere like many authors do. But I just wanted to share a little bit of what was said, simply because I’m SO deliriously happy about the reviews. This is what can sometimes jump start us as writers if we’re struggling.
The review by B.J. Robinson (the person who contacted me) says this: “I loved the characters John and Daniel and the heroine, Rachel.” and ” I loved the way the author wove in the theme of friendship and how powerful friendship is.” and ” If you want to be scared and love ghost stories and mystery, check out Haunted Lake. You might learn how to brave a few demons of your own.”
And the review, by Genevieve, that I didn’t know about that surprised me. See, I’ve often wondered whether or not readers could relate to my characters. I’ve had a couple of bad reviews that say they couldn’t relate. But when I read this…well, you can see why I feel good about the characters in Haunted Lake. “It had me in tears from the emotion that poured from the pages. Emotion is this author’s strongest quality in her writing. She conveys emotion so clearly and realistically that it is almost impossible to not act like an Empath and feel the emotions at the same time as the characters. Her writing, like a lot of great writers, makes you feel like you ARE the characters, but at the same time aren’t.”
/end of squee
I know we shouldn’t, as a general rule, read reviews. I used to get depressed over bad ones, but I know that reading tastes are subjective, and not everyone will like all books. I just hate the reviews that are kind of nasty. But when I know for sure I’m getting a good review because someone contacts me, I can’t help but go look. And what a surprise to find I got two good reviews two days in a row. So here’s a question for my fellow authors. Do you read your reviews and do you let them affect you?
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