Book Promotions discussion

Hello, I’m looking for honest reviews of my new dark fantasy novel, Enter the After, in exchange for a free copy. Please inbox me if interested, and I’ll send you a link to a free Kindle or iBook download. Or if you are a U.S resident and would prefer a paperback, please supply your mailing address in the request. See details about the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Enter-After-Pa...

Patrick -- happy to read and review. I'll buy it, no need to give your work away.

Thank you Brad, I appreciate that very much! Happy reading.

No problem — just started it. First person present tense — interesting choice.

I don’t usually write in the first person, but the story is very personal, so it just came out that way. The first chapter is almost 100% autobiographical. Thank God that the rest of it is pure fiction!

I finished the first three chapters last night. I hope to complete by mid-next week. Sort of quoting Harlan Ellison here: "Writers take tours through people's lives, to include their own." I do the same in my own work, sometimes borrowing and then expanding on something from my own life or someone close to me.

Sounds great, thanks again!

Patrick: Work has been a bit crazy, so I am not likely to finish before next weekend. I am at Chapter 22 (Hotter). Just didn't want you to think I dropped the ball.

Brad

No problem Brad, there’s no rush. Thanks for the update.

Patrick:

As authors, our books mean a lot to us, so I will cut to the chase. I enjoyed the book. The opening chapter was quite good and the final third of the book (as the trio are actively on their quest) was a good ride. I do have some things I would have liked to see and things I thought could have made the book better. I will save those for this “discussion” but my review would read as follows:

We all look for different things in a book. I personally look for characters that are interesting and that I care about. I’m also looking for a story that propels those characters forward on a journey and let’s those characters grow. Enter the After scores high in both those area. Patrick Keithahn takes the reader on a journey – it’s both a physical and psychological journey and one worth taking. The pace really picks up during the final third of the book and provides enough action and suspense to make this a compelling read.”

Now for a few constructive comments (author to author). I really liked the Celeste character and might have enjoyed a bit more backstory on her along the way. That would be hard given that the book was in the first person of Zak, but I found her more intriguing than Zak in some respects and wanted more. I found the chapter headings problematic. The chapter titles were just too blunt for my tastes and sometimes gave away where the chapter was going. That’s a very minor criticism but one I thought I would mention. Lastly, Zak himself, while a good guy, was a little too weak for my tastes. I wasn’t looking for a superhero or anything but I (like Celeste) just wish he was a bit stronger sometimes. I liked him, but just wanted a bit more from him at times. All of these are minor critiques. I went through the final chapters very quickly because I was enjoying it a lot. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it.

I purchased the book on my IPhone via the Apple store so I will see if I can review it on Amazon (I can always buy the Kindle version). I will also post a review on Goodreads. Hope this helps.

Wow, thanks Brad! I really appreciate honest criticism and compliments, and you provided a good dose of both. I’m a relatively new author, and constantly in pursuit of ways to improve, so this feedback helps greatly. It’s funny, my own wife thought Zak was an extreme wimp, so I knew others might feel that way, but I decided to keep him wimpy because some people just are. (Myself included, at times.) But it’s useful to see what kinds of things turn people off in one’s writing. I have a crew of people read my stuff for such things before publication, but it’s also a subjective process. Anyway, I’m grateful for your efforts, and I’m fine with wherever you manage to post your review. Thanks!

Patrick: By the way, in my book of short stories (Blurring The Lines) there’s a story about what comes next called “Moving on From Nowhere”. If you care to check it out, let me know what you think. My stuff is pretty “out there” — so you are forewarned 😳. Regardless, best of luck with whatever you do next.

Brad

Thanks Brad, I’ll check it out, I like out there stuff!