I am working on a sequel to Hallie's Cats.I had so many readers (and reviewers) say they really wanted to see Cal get his own story, I decided to go for it. Cal is getting his own story...and his own woman.
If you have not read Hallie's Cats, you will possibly get a bit lost in the sequel, so I am going to be adding a "prologue" for the Seronta Clan story to my website on Monday. It will give enough background on both stories that readers will know how they came to be, and what their history is.
I have been getting a few complaints about the shorter books, which readers mistake for "Quickies", because folks don't understand Ellora's Cave's length requirements. It goes by word count rather than pages. To quote one reader who was unhappy, "This isn't a Novella...it's a Quickie! It's only 67 pages long! Not worth the money!"
In case the reader who felt that Jillian's Job was "okay, but not as good or funny as I expected. He really does treat her as an arrogant jerk throughout, & if not for the "I've suddenly discovered I've loved you for years" ending I would've been very angry at both of them" is reading this, please understand that every writer has a style, and each writer fills in the reader with many types of information such as innuendo, flashbacks, conversation, etc., which if read quickly and without comprehension, leaves the readers saying "Huh?" I apologize if that happened for you.
Mike Furie is a jerk only because Jillian perceives him to be a jerk for not seeing her as a woman. Jillian vents to her family about how he uses her and treats her, but does he truly do that? How many generous, sensitive things does he do without having to be asked? Like the lost luggage? Or the broken bone? Or the kid with the bike? Or the new satin robe and negligee? Does Jillian allow herself to be used because she is so in love with him? When he takes her to Tahoe, it was because she basically told him she wanted to be seen as a woman, not as a piece of furniture. Up until the night she got snockered and admitted what she felt, he kept a professional distance, despite the fact that he really wanted more than a boss-employee relationship with her. There were so many things that the man did that showed his true feelings, but also indicated that he was a man who couldn't show his feelings easily, that women e-mailed me to tell me they loved him as a hero.
I would say that makes Mike Furie quite a man.
Trashing an author's book on a rating page is up to the reader. But to say that he treats her like an arrogant jerk throughout means you weren't paying attention. Or you stopped reading and only went for the sex scenes. Which is fine, because I always do the same thing. LOL.
Try reading the book again, and read the innuendos, conversations, and flashbacks again. If you still have the same opinion of the book, e-mail me. I will send you a free book under a different title.
Hugs,
Fran
If you have not read Hallie's Cats, you will possibly get a bit lost in the sequel, so I am going to be adding a "prologue" for the Seronta Clan story to my website on Monday. It will give enough background on both stories that readers will know how they came to be, and what their history is.
I am getting up on my preaching stool...
I have been getting a few complaints about the shorter books, which readers mistake for "Quickies", because folks don't understand Ellora's Cave's length requirements. It goes by word count rather than pages. To quote one reader who was unhappy, "This isn't a Novella...it's a Quickie! It's only 67 pages long! Not worth the money!"
In case the reader who felt that Jillian's Job was "okay, but not as good or funny as I expected. He really does treat her as an arrogant jerk throughout, & if not for the "I've suddenly discovered I've loved you for years" ending I would've been very angry at both of them" is reading this, please understand that every writer has a style, and each writer fills in the reader with many types of information such as innuendo, flashbacks, conversation, etc., which if read quickly and without comprehension, leaves the readers saying "Huh?" I apologize if that happened for you.
Mike Furie is a jerk only because Jillian perceives him to be a jerk for not seeing her as a woman. Jillian vents to her family about how he uses her and treats her, but does he truly do that? How many generous, sensitive things does he do without having to be asked? Like the lost luggage? Or the broken bone? Or the kid with the bike? Or the new satin robe and negligee? Does Jillian allow herself to be used because she is so in love with him? When he takes her to Tahoe, it was because she basically told him she wanted to be seen as a woman, not as a piece of furniture. Up until the night she got snockered and admitted what she felt, he kept a professional distance, despite the fact that he really wanted more than a boss-employee relationship with her. There were so many things that the man did that showed his true feelings, but also indicated that he was a man who couldn't show his feelings easily, that women e-mailed me to tell me they loved him as a hero.
I would say that makes Mike Furie quite a man.
Trashing an author's book on a rating page is up to the reader. But to say that he treats her like an arrogant jerk throughout means you weren't paying attention. Or you stopped reading and only went for the sex scenes. Which is fine, because I always do the same thing. LOL.
Try reading the book again, and read the innuendos, conversations, and flashbacks again. If you still have the same opinion of the book, e-mail me. I will send you a free book under a different title.
Hugs,
Fran
Hey Fran
ReplyDeleteOhhh, I love your post. I have to admit, sometimes I skip around to... but almost always I end up going back to reread what I should have done the first time, because I have those HUH? moments. And you're right. Most authors give plenty of hints or tidbits to fill in the stuff along the way. Having read "Dictated by Fate" I know you don't leave important information out. Here's hoping your reader takes your advice and tries again... but the old saying is true. You can't please everyone, and some folks will never be pleased... they curse short books, but then don't buy long.. go figure.
hugs,
Kris
(Oh, and thanks for dropping by... I so love being in orderly chaos.)
You certainly said it well!
ReplyDeleteHave fun writing the sequel to Hallie's Cats. I'm sure it will be awesome.
Style is the secret to a writer's identity. And boy, howdy, I believe having a style is better than having none at all. And there are a lot of authors who do write See Spot, Run and have a large and loyal following.
ReplyDeleteAn author will never please every reader. But those who take the time to write and praise you are the ones whose comments to examine. And forget the others. They need to move on to someone they do love!
Just keep writing, Fran! You are building a loyal following!
Me, included.
Oh, thanks so much, you little darlings! I was venting a bit and it's nice to hear from folks who understand your feelings.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I loved Dictated by Fate...but it has sold a grand total of about 90 books so far, and it was released back in August. Smaller publisher...longer book....costs $7.50 instead of $4.25.
There are so many reasons why a book has low sales. Frankly, the first chapter has no sex in it, and the excerpt over at that publisher's site is simply the first chapter.
I guess without a hot hot hot cover and a hot hot hot excerpt, even the best of books will fall by the wayside and die an early death. I will try to market it myself shortly, and see if sales improve.