Review Group discussion

This is a special celebratory, genre specific group. In joining this group you have agreed TO REVIEW ANY ALLOCATED BOOK within the set 12 week limit.

Genre: Literary Fiction
Literary fiction, also known as serious fiction, is a term principally used for fictional works that offer deliberate social commentary or political criticism, or focus on the individual to explore some part of the human condition. Literary fiction is focused more on themes than on plot

Allocation is entirely random and there will NOT be any rearranging of the listing to accommodate preferences. The ONLY circumstance in which you may duck out of giving a review is if YOU provide a stand-in reviewer.

Let’s be honest here – even within the same genre, we don’t all like the same things but we all want reviews. The only way this group can function is if we trust each other to behave honourably. And it IS perfectly possible to give a fair-minded review of a text that does not coincide with our normal choice of reading matter. If you need a few hints/tips, please see this thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Make sure you have an author profile set up before you join and that your book is available for sale on amazon (not pre-0rder).

Please let me know as you sign up if you have been reviewed by, or have reviewed another author in the group. It is permissible to review an author more than once if a different book is available, but reciprocal reviews within the group are strictly prohibited.

Your group moderator will be
Hock Tjoa

Member Links

1.G.J. Griffiths
2.Barnaby Hazen
3.J. Schlenker
4.Elizabeth Hein
5.Lisa Brown
6.Ica Iova
7.Samuel Astbury
8.Allie Cresswell
9.Alex Morritt
10.B.A. Spicer

Book Links
1.So What's Next!
2.Seven Eleven Forgotten and Other Stories
3.Jessica Lost Her Wobble
4.Overlook
5.A Casualty of Grace
6.Resilience
7.Cloud Storage
8.The Hoarder's Widow
9.Impromptu Scribe
10.A Good Day for Jumping

I'd love to be part of this group, please. Here is my author link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
And here is the book link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I would like to participate in this review group.

Here is my author link: Alex Morritt

Here is my book link: Impromptu Scribe



Many thanks,

Alex

I'd like to be involved in this group as well.

My author link - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Here is a link to the book I'd like reviewed - Overlook. The ebook will be 0.99 starting the last week of March.

Hi I'd like to be included with:

So What's Next!


Author link:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Thank you,
G.J.

Hello, I have a Contemporary Women's, Resilience. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Ica, I think three groups is too many.
I've signed you up for two, if you want to be in this one, you'll have to drop one of the others.

Hi Emma, I would prefer to have this one then and drop the thriller group. Please let me know.

Oh, and, BTW, G.J. Griffiths and I have reviewed each other part of other groups.

Done.

Thank you.

I'd like to join this group, please. Hock has already reviewed my book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Welcome back Sam. Hock is modding this one, he hasn't actually put a book in so far, so you should be ok. Thanks for mentioning the clash though.

Please can everyone check that they have no 'clashes' with other authors in the group so we can keep the 'non-reciprocal' rule in tact.

Emma,

Ica has mentioned our past reviewing already and I notice that Sam is now a member also, because he has reviewed a couple of my books before.
BTW is it OK to submit a book in the Thriller section as well?

Yes you can G.J. I'm allowing 'old hands' to join two groups if they wish.
I'll see what I can do to wiggle things around here. Sam will have to review you again, but I think you have enough books to give him a new one.

Just to let you know that I have reviewed GJ Griffith's trilogy already.

Rebecca Yelland

Please sign me up. Here's my link:Dancing at Midnight: The Life of June Parker

Right folks, I've wiggled the list around to prevent any reciprocal reviews. As long as Graham is ok with it, Sam and Allie could review another one of his books. Allie, he does have a standalone not in the 'What if' series.

As far as I can establish, Sam, Allie and Ica have reviewed Graham before, and Graham has reviewed Ica.
Are there any other clashes I need to know about?

Emma wrote: "Right folks, I've wiggled the list around to prevent any reciprocal reviews. As long as Graham is ok with it, Sam and Allie could review another one of his books. Allie, he does have a standalone n..."

Hi Emma,
Yes, I am fine with your juggling act and, as it may keep all your plates spinning while helping to unspin your head, Allie could review "Fallen Hero" instead of the book I submitted above. (Speech tone switched to whispering here: Alex Morritt is hopefully about to review Fallen Hero in Group 92...)

What can I say? So many authors/books - so little time!
Sincere regards, to you Emma,
G.J.

Hi GJ,

Yes, I am due to review 'Fallen Hero' in Group 92 by the 7th April deadline.

Thanks, Alex

Sorted. I just hope anyone else who wants to join the group has never heard of you Graham, no offence.

Emma -- Hi I think I'd like to jump in with "Seven Eleven Forgotten and Other Stories":

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

I've only done novella rounds so far, but this looks like we read one and get one review; am I right? I'm pretty sure I haven't read any of the authors here. --thanks, Barnaby

Its the same set up as all other rounds, read 4 and get 4 reviews.
I'll sign you up.

Emma wrote: "Its the same set up as all other rounds, read 4 and get 4 reviews.
I'll sign you up."

thanks--B

This is my first time participating in a round. I have a few questions.

When are the books assigned to me?
The time period is 4 book reviews in 12 weeks, right?
Any special format/criteria for writing the reviews?

Thanks!

Books are assigned when we have our ten members. There is a link in the sign up message about writing reviews, but no there is no particular criteria about what you have to put in a review, only that they are posted to amazom.com, .uk and goodreads.

Looking at my schedule again, I'm not sure if I'll be able to give this round the attention it deserves. Please remove me from the list. Thank you!

No problem.

I would like to join this group. My book is:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
My author page is: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Thanks so much!

I was wondering, just for fun while we wait for this round to get started, how people are defining 'literary fiction'. I mean, just because books don't fall into the genres covered by the other categories (sci-fi, horror, romance, fantasy etc) doesn't mean they are automatically 'literary' fiction, does it? By the same token, a YA novel, for example, can be literary. What IS 'literary' fiction? Ideas on a postcard, please....

I took the definition in the sign up message from the great god 'Wikipedia'.

Literary is a vague term that means different things to different people. In a nutshell - "literary" fiction concentrates on themes and comments on life/society/relationships/history more than "genre" fiction which is more plot based. Some books are one or the other. Many books are both.

Here is what Wikepedia says:
Characterization[edit]
Literary fiction, in general, focuses on the subjects of the narrative to create "introspective, in-depth character studies" of "interesting, complex and developed" characters.[1][2]
Plot.
Literary fiction does not focus on plot as much as paraliterary (commercial or genre) fiction.[4] Usually, the focus is on the "inner story" of the characters who drive the plot with detailed motivations to elicit "emotional involvement" in the reader.[5][6]

Style[edit]
The style of literary fiction is often described as "elegantly written, lyrical, and ... layered".[7]

Tone[edit]
The tone of literary fiction is usually serious and, therefore, often darker than paraliterary fiction.[8]

Pacing[edit]
The pacing of literary fiction is slower than paraliterary fiction.[8] As Terrence Rafferty notes, "literary fiction, by its nature, allows itself to dawdle, to linger on stray beauties even at the risk of losing its way."[9]

It's all interesting, isn't it? Personally, I've always said that I write literary fiction in which the language I use to tell the story is as important as the story I tell.

Hi Emma,

I would love to be included in this group for A Casualty of Grace.

My author page is Lisa Brown.

Thanks!

One more needed!

In my humble opinion Literary Fiction captures real social issues and means to better understand those issues.

I would like to add my book, if there is still a space.

A Good Day for Jumping

B.A. Spicer

There is! Welcome aboard Bev. We have our ten. I'll sort out the order ASAP.

Ready, steady Go!


start 23-Mar-16
end 15-Jun-16

R1 end 13-Apr-16
R2 end 04-May-16
R3 end 25-May-16
R4 end 15-Jun-16


As AUTHORS you send your book file to:

C-01__ G.J. Griffiths
B.A. Spicer for round 1
Alex Morritt for round 2
Allie Cresswell for round 3
Samuel Astbury for round 4

C-02__ Barnaby Hazen
G.J. Griffiths for round 1
B.A. Spicer for round 2
Alex Morritt for round 3
Allie Cresswell for round 4

C-03__ J Schlenker
Barnaby Hazen for round 1
G.J. Griffiths for round 2
B.A. Spicer for round 3
Alex Morritt for round 4

C-04__ Elizabeth Hein
J Schlenker for round 1
Barnaby Hazen for round 2
G.J. Griffiths for round 3
B.A. Spicer for round 4

C-05__ Lisa Brown
Elizabeth Hein for round 1
J Schlenker for round 2
Barnaby Hazen for round 3
G.J. Griffiths for round 4

C-06__ Ica Iova
Lisa Brown for round 1
Elizabeth Hein for round 2
J Schlenker for round 3
Barnaby Hazen for round 4

C-07__ Samuel Astbury
Ica Iova for round 1
Lisa Brown for round 2
Elizabeth Hein for round 3
J Schlenker for round 4

C-08__ Allie Cresswell
Samuel Astbury for round 1
Ica Iova for round 2
Lisa Brown for round 3
Elizabeth Hein for round 4

C-09__ Alex Morritt
Allie Cresswell for round 1
Samuel Astbury for round 2
Ica Iova for round 3
Lisa Brown for round 4

C-10__ B.A. Spicer
Alex Morritt for round 1
Allie Cresswell for round 2
Samuel Astbury for round 3
Ica Iova for round 4

As REVIEWERS you will receive books for review from:

C-01__ G.J. Griffiths
Barnaby Hazen for round 1
J Schlenker for round 2
Elizabeth Hein for round 3
Lisa Brown for round 4

C-02__ Barnaby Hazen
J Schlenker for round 1
Elizabeth Hein for round 2
Lisa Brown for round 3
Ica Iova for round 4

C-03__ J Schlenker
Elizabeth Hein for round 1
Lisa Brown for round 2
Ica Iova for round 3
Samuel Astbury for round 4

C-04__ Elizabeth Hein
Lisa Brown for round 1
Ica Iova for round 2
Samuel Astbury for round 3
Allie Cresswell for round 4

C-05__ Lisa Brown
Ica Iova for round 1
Samuel Astbury for round 2
Allie Cresswell for round 3
Alex Morritt for round 4

C-06__ Ica Iova
Samuel Astbury for round 1
Allie Cresswell for round 2
Alex Morritt for round 3
B.A. Spicer for round 4

C-07__ Samuel Astbury
Allie Cresswell for round 1
Alex Morritt for round 2
B.A. Spicer for round 3
G.J. Griffiths for round 4

C-08__ Allie Cresswell
Alex Morritt for round 1
B.A. Spicer for round 2
G.J. Griffiths for round 3
Barnaby Hazen for round 4

C-09__ Alex Morritt
B.A. Spicer for round 1
G.J. Griffiths for round 2
Barnaby Hazen for round 3
J Schlenker for round 4

C-10__ B.A. Spicer
G.J. Griffiths for round 1
Barnaby Hazen for round 2
J Schlenker for round 3
Elizabeth Hein for round 4


Please remember the commitment you are making to your fellow group members. If you pull out after the start date for any reason it is the other members who will be faced with the problem of finding a replacement, or missing out on reviews, through no fault of their own. Please don’t ask the moderators to chase after replacements as we just don’t have the time.

It is the responsibility of the author to get their book to their reviewer in a format the reviewer can manage. Everyone must be able to accept PDF. There are no set dates for the start of each round. You can each work at your own pace, within the limits of the round deadlines.

When you have posted your reviews, please post the three links to your reviews in this thread.

All reviews must be posted to GR, Amazon .com and Amazon.co.uk.

Postings to any other sites are by agreement by both author and reviewer.

If I’ve missed something that results in you being asked to review someone who has already reviewed you, please let me know asap.

To exchange book files, my advice is to use PM to give email addresses to each other (save the chance of spammers getting your addies from this open forum). Happy reviewing, everyone :)

Arrgh! I am reviewing a book by G.J. Griffiths at the moment!

I signed up too quickly and didn't check the list!

Bev wrote: "Arrgh! I am reviewing a book by G.J. Griffiths at the moment!

I signed up too quickly and didn't check the list!"

Thanks for letting me know, but PLEASE check in future as I've now got to go back and see if this group will work. Picture me with ten little bits of paper, swapping them around and getting a headache!

It won't happen again. I'm very, very sorry...

I like the grovelling. Keep it up LOL!

I just did a bit more by message. Hope you enjoy it!

You'll have to review another book of Graham's, but it does work.

Okay. So we keep the lists as they are now?

Yep, I've re-ordered them now.

Crack on you literary people!

I'll hang around till your round mod, Hock, shows his face.

Good morning everyone, I just got here. For those who I review, I will check Amazon. If your book is on KU, I will download it from there. If you are a KU member, you can download Resilience here hyperurl.co/al9tez . If not, let me know and I will send you a PDF or Mobi file.
Thank you.

Good to see this group has just started to make the exchanges. This is best done by PM, personal messaging.

Find the person(s) you must send books to or whose books you have to review in item (1) and click on the profile link. Send a message to ask how to send or your preference on receiving.

If this link does not work, look for the person's message in this thread and click on the small image at the top left of each message.

The author has the responsibility to deliver the item to be reviewed so theoretically one could just send the messages to the reviewers, but I personally also send one to authors to specify what format I prefer and the email address the ebook should be sent to.