The First Reviews are Great!
Friday, July 18th, 2008
The first two reviews of my sixth Ohio Amish Mystery (Separate from the World – Ohio University Press, July, 2008) have been published – one in Publisher’s Weekly and the other in Kirkus Reviews – and they are both very good. Authors are usually nervous (at least I am) waiting for reviews of a new book, and when they come in, you read them so fast the first time that you don’t really get it all. Good, you’ll say to yourself – nothing bad there. Take a breath. Relax. Now read it slowly so you can see everything that is there.
It’s the bad reviews that cause you to do this. Every author gets one sooner or later, and you just have to learn to accept it. It’s not like there is a suitable place for an author to make counter arguments or complaints. Reviewers know what they like and what they don’t like, and they are good at spotting weaknesses. So, when good reviews come in, it is all the more gratifying.
This time both reviews contained accurate summaries of the plot. The names of the characters were all spelled correctly. Both reviewers understood the implications of the work. In one for instance, it was stated that the story presented “A perceptive look at problems that have no easy solutions.” Hurray! That’s what I set out to do two years ago when I designed the plot sequences for Separate from the World. In the other review, we read: “a convincing plot and credible, sympathetic characters” make this “another winner in this fine regional series.”
So, that’s excellent news. I’ll take these first reviews out on the porch this evening and read them again with a cool drink. There are other reviews to come, no doubt, and I’d like to savor each good one that comes in.
