Are Authors Killing Each Other with Kindness?

It’s hard to succeed as an author. It always has been, but in today’s environment, we can find communities of authors under every virtual rock supporting and encouraging one another. It’s a beautiful thing. We don’t have to struggle through the grind of writing, editing, and publishing alone. We can share our struggles, doubts, and successes with each other on our blogs, Twitter, Facebook groups, and so many other places. I could wax poetic for hours about how awesome my fellow authors are and it would be true.

However…

Yes, you knew there was a shoe about to be dropped.

I’ve seen many cases where this mutual support has gone too far. I see people casually handing out five-star ratings and reviews for fellow authors in the name of supporting them and, in some cases, expecting the same in return. A lot of the time, this is done without reading the books being rated. Though innocent enough from the point of view of the struggling author, there can be dire and potentially career ending repercussions to consider.

Let’s take this from the top.

What Do Those Five Stars Really Mean?

When we hand out a five-star rating or review, we are essentially telling the world that this book or story is virtually flawless. The writing shines. The plot and subplots are solid and free of holes or contradictions. The characters come alive. The book is well-edited, not riddled with spelling or grammatical errors. The list goes on.

How many books have you actually read that truly reach that lofty status?

I’m willing to guess not many. I can’t think of a single book that is perfect and I’ve only ever five starred books I thought were so exceptional in most ways that the few flaws didn’t matter. These books are so captivating I could forego food and sleep to keep reading.

If I give a five-star rating or review to someone because I want to support them even though I haven’t read the book or have read the book and it isn’t really as good as all that, I am lying.

Who are we lying to when we give a dishonest review?

The reader. We are lying to the very people we want to draw in and convince to buy our books. The people whose trust we most need to gain.

Supporting Our Customers.

As authors, we need our readers. They are the ones who will ultimately determine our success. When we give a five-star rating or review as a favor to another author, we are lying to their readers. When we accept the same from another author, we are letting them lie to our readers (unless, of course, the book actually is perfect).

This is also true if we pay someone to give us five stars (see Mike Cooper’s post on Why Amazon Reviews Are Not Helpful or this New York Times article In a Race to Out-Rave, 5-Star Web Reviews Go for $5). We are paying someone to lie to our customers for us. Tell me how that can possibly be a good thing.

Who does this hurt?

In the end, it hurts the author. When a reader picks up a book and gives up their valuable time to read it because it has a five-star rating or review then discovers that the editing was atrocious or the plot was full of holes or the writing was simply immature and in need of polish, they feel betrayed. That reader isn’t going to recommend the author to friends and family or read other books by that author. Worse yet, they may leave a scathing review in response because they are rightfully pissed off. Get too many of those and your dreams of being a successful author may go down in flames.

One of the most avid readers I know recently told me that she doesn’t trust book reviews on Amazon anymore for this very reason. When readers stop trusting reviews, reviews become meaningless. Readers will turn to safer options such as familiar authors and publishers or recommendations from trusted friends. Folks, our customers are starting not to trust us already and it hurts all of us.

What can we do?

We have to put our best work out there.

Nobody forced you to write a book. You started with a vision. You put in the time and effort to write it. Why would you sell that work or yourself short? Make that book the best damned book it can be. Invest in an editor. Find a critique group or other people around you who are willing to read it and give real feedback. Then polish, polish, polish until it’s a book you would put in front of a real reviewer without fear.

If you aren’t confident that your book can earn good reviews, then it isn’t ready for publication yet. Your gut is telling you that something still needs work. Figure out what that is and fix it. Then, when the book is really ready…

There are book bloggers and reviewers coming out of the woodwork like termites. Book reviewers are all over the blogosphere and Twitter. There are even blogs dedicated to listing book blogs like the Book Blogger Directory. Put out the effort to contact these people. Find reviewers and even fellow authors who will actually read the book and give you honest reviews. Give them free copies to work with. It’s an investment in your career.

Those reviews might not be five stars and they will probably have some criticisms. That’s okay. It’s part of the job. Not everyone is going to love your work. Nothing will ever change that. If you’re afraid your gentle soul can’t handle criticism, you’re in the wrong line of work. I've gotten some brutal feedback from editors in the past and I know how criticism hurts. I've also gotten fan mail from people who really loved something I wrote. It's worth the pain. Put a stick between your teeth, bite down, and take it. If you learn to move past the initial sting, you can find gems of wisdom in the less positive reviews that will help you grow as an author and make the next book even better (which is another powerful benefit we rob each other of when we don’t give each other honest reviews).

If this is your passion, your dream, then there will be a next book and you don’t want jaded readers immediately snubbing your work because they don’t trust you.

Bottom line:

What seems like an innocent favor can turn into the equivalent of a gunshot to the head for an author’s long-term career. False reviews hurt all authors. If it was worth your time and effort to write a book, it is also worth your time and effort to cultivate an audience for that book that will trust you and look forward to reading more. Seek out honest opinions and strong feedback and your work will always be better for it.

My Beloved Witcher and Me

After the unexpected popularity of my last post, Are You Popular Enough to be an Author?, I’ve decided to possibly alienate most of you today by going into something I haven’t really talked about on my blog. I'm a gamer geek. There, I admitted it. But I am very selective about my games. I like to play RPGs and, as an author, I really want a good story and good characters in my games. When the story and characters are well done, it’s like playing a book. I love it. Probably my favorite games of all time in that respect are The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Why am I so enamored with these games?

1. To start with, I get to step way out of my reality when I step into the role of Geralt of Rivia. Let’s face it, in my normal life I'm not a monster slaying mutant badass who goes around brawling in taverns, saving elves (who will probably return the favor by trying to have me killed), and bedding buxom bruxa.

(Actually, he doesn't bed a bruxa and they were more buxom in the first game, but it had a nice ring to it.)

Geralt isn’t really human anymore, nor is he one of the standard nonhuman races (elves/dwarves) so he often gets shunned by all sides, but they still need him because he’s a monster slayer (and many women, it seems, are secretly drawn to his soft-spoken dark and mysterious demeanor – not to mention some other things).

2. The game world is gritty and complex with a life all its own. I never feel like areas stop existing just because I’m not there. You are forced to deal with political schemes and racial conflicts that have spiraled out of control to the point that Geralt can no longer extricate himself from the chaos. You have to pick sides in conflicts where neither side is clearly wrong or right and the results of your choices have significant effect on later events and the outcome of the game.

3. Combat requires some thought and preparation. You are a monster slayer. Battling beasties is what you’re designed for, but you can’t just run into any battle with your swords blazing and expect to survive. Potions can only be taken before combat and then you can only take so many without suffering toxicity, so you have to choose wisely. There are a variety of approaches you can take to battle aside from just swords, including use of bombs, throwing daggers, traps, signs (magic), and weapon enhancements.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNhXXSGY-6s&w=560&h=315]

There are so many more things I love about this game, not the least of which is that the game studio, CD Projekt Red, actually seems to give a damn about what their customers want and they do a great job trying to meet demands. They recently released The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 with several hours of new content not included in the original PC version. Being the great company they are, they gave that new content free to anyone who already owned the PC game.

That brings me to why I decided to write this now. With all that new content to discover, I’m playing the game again, only on the new Dark difficulty this time (Easy, Normal, Hard, Dark, Insane). Why Dark? Because there are special weapons and armor you can craft in Dark mode that aren’t available in other modes and that’s just irresistible. Given my propensity for dying in this mode, however, I don’t see an Insane play through in my Geralt’s future.

Any other game geeks out there? What is it you love about your favorite games?

Are You Popular Enough to be an Author?

A new and improved version of this blog post can now be seen in the Spring 2012 issue (volume 2, issue 3) of Line Zero, a quarterly independent print journal from Pink Fish Press.

I wasn't popular in school. I don't recall ever wanting to be. As far as I could see, it didn't do the popular kids any good. If anything, they just had more expectations to live up to. My main concern in school was--no, not getting good grades--telling stories. I spent hours and hours of class time working on book ideas, which didn't do much for my grades. Most of my teachers liked me despite that and a few even encouraged me when they found out I was writing books instead of notes (yes, I was in school in the dark ages between texting on cell phones and etching on stone tablets).

When I started college, I took a different approach because then I was actually investing my own money in those classes. Funny how motivating that can be. I still didn't engage much with my fellow students. I had school and a job to focus on and somewhere in there, I had to make time for my writing. Popular wasn't going to get me good grades or the money to pay for the next term and it sure wasn't going to satisfy all the characters in my head.

Somewhere in the last few years, I got the harebrained idea to take my writing addiction and try to make a go at being an author. Only now, it looks like being successful as a new author has become a popularity contest. How many Twitter followers do you have? How many people follow your blog? How many fans do you have on Facebook? What is your Klout score?

I thought going into this that being a successful author was about writing well and telling a great story. I never wanted to be popular and I still don't really. I love the people I've met online, but I have little enough time for my friends and family and my writing as it is. Getting published isn't about me. It is about the enjoyment people get out of reading my work. As far as I'm concerned, if someone likes my writing, that's even better than them liking me.

Don't take me wrong. I do believe that an author should put effort into marketing their books to help with sales in today's environment and I honestly love the idea of being able to connect with my readers (once I have published work to offer them). What I don't get is how that turned into having to market ourselves to even get looked at by an agent.

We aren't our books. It isn't our charming smile and great hairdo that makes someone want to read what we write. Sure, that might lure a few people in, but what will keep them is good writing and good stories. Writing a good blog, doesn't mean you can write a good fiction novel. It means you can write a good blog. Conversely, writing a good book doesn't mean you're automatically a great blogger.

I honestly think the agents and publishers are putting a little too much emphasis on the social media aspect right now. That said, it is what they seem to want, so I am doing my part to step out there and wave my own flag (I just wish it had a skull, crossed katana and perhaps a bottle of rum on it).

If you want to play the game in the current market, you have to jump in the sandbox with the other kids and try not to be voted out. Can you build the best sandcastle? More importantly, does it matter how beautiful that sandcastle is if you open the doors and its empty inside?

see more Five Minute Getaway

Actually, if that's your sandcastle, you may not need anything inside. :)

So now that I have grumbled about social media on my blog (and shared it out to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn because no one would know I was grumbling otherwise) I’ll go back to editing.

I would love to hear your thoughts about the current emphasis on social media for unpublished authors. Can a good social media presence transcend bad writing? Does a poor social media presence mean disaster even if you have an amazing debut novel? Should your social media presence be a major factor for agents and editors considering your work?

Fun with Reading: Eleven Questions

I have several blog posts I want to get out, but it seems as if there is never enough time to write them. Today is no exception. Fortunately, YA and middle grade writer Tami Clayton recently tagged me in the Eleven Questions game, which gets me off the hook for a few days on getting my other blog posts written. Thanks Tami! Here are the game rules:

1. Post the rules.
2. Answer the questions.
3. Pass the questions on to eleven other bloggers by tagging and linking to them in our post.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged.

Now for the questions.

1. If you could live in a fictional world, where would that be?

If the question said fictional universe, I might go for traveling around discovering new places in the universe of Dan Simmons' Hyperion or C.S. Friedman’s In Conquest Born. If I have to choose one world, however, then I would probably go with Anne McCaffrey’s Pern. How can you pass up riding a dragon?

2. Do you prefer to read Fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction. I only tend to read non-fiction when I am researching for one of my books (which is fairly often, now that I think about it).

3. Do you read in noisy or quiet places?

I am definitely a quiet place reader. If there is a lot of background noise, like on an airplane, then I need an exceptionally good book or some headphones. I can read with music playing.

4. Do reviews influence your choice of reads?

I don’t have a lot of time to read, so I am more likely to go pick up a book that gets good reviews from people who have similar tastes on places like Goodreads.

5. Audio books or paperbacks?

Paperback. I don’t drive enough to do audiobooks and I don’t tend to pay as much attention to them if I can be doing something else. A paperback occupies my hands so I can’t be doing other things.

6. What was the first book you remember reading?

That is hard. If we get out of, say, Golden Books, then the first book I can really remember the author and title of was Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce. I read a lot before that. That one just stuck with me because it gave me my first book idea and started me writing.

7. Favorite author?

I don’t know that I have one favorite author. I think George R.R. Martin is one of the most talented authors in recent history. I have always loved the work of C.S. Friedman and she is a role model of mine as a woman who has made a name for herself in both science fiction and fantasy writing. Meredith Ann Pierce will always have a special place in my heart for starting me off on this insane journey.

8. Classic or Modern Novels?

I read mostly modern fantasy and science fiction, though I do branch out to other fiction based on recommendations and occasional whims. Periodically I dive into our big collection of classics as well.

9. Have you ever met your favorite author?

Sadly, I haven’t met any of the favorites on my list.

10. Book groups or solitary reading?

I read alone. Book groups would be driven mad by my pace. It takes me a while, since I only read at breakfast. Although, every now and then, when something really grabs me by the throat, I will read it in a day or two.

11. If you could read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

That is a hard question, especially given how much of what I read is written in trilogies. I’m going to cheat just a little here, since I have this trilogy in a single book, and pick The Last Herald-Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. Read it. It is amazing.

I’m going to cheat again and skip the tagging of 11 more people because most of the people in my circles seem to have already been tagged. However, if you’d like a tag, I’d love to see your answers, so let me know in the comments and I’ll throw in a tag section later.

What book would you read for the rest of your life?

Happy reading!

One New Thing: March 2012

Isn’t it funny how fast a month can fly by. It seems like I just posted my one new thing for February a couple of days ago.

Seriously, if time looked this good flying by, I might actually learn to keep track of it. (Image from London Particulars Etsy shop.)

So what’s new for March? This time I went with the try a new activity option again, an activity I’ve wanted to try for many years now. Iaido.

So, what is iaido?

There are many definitions out there, though they all say generally the same thing. We’ll use this one from FightingArts.com:

Iaido Definition

Iaido is the contemporary Japanese art of drawing the long sword. Iaido contrasts with kenjutsu (combative swordsmanship), techniques done with swords already drawn, and kendo, the Japanese sport of fencing. Basic iaido kata combines drawing the sword with either a defensive block or cut, usually followed by another cut, then chiburi (moving the blade in such a way as to remove blood and tissue) and noto (returning the blade to the scabbard). While kenjutsu and sword-drawing techniques (batto-ho) were originally taught together, they are now usually, but not always, taught as separate art forms. Iaido, as the sword-drawing forms became known in the 1930's, is now used not only to teach sword techniques, but as a form of mental and physical discipline, emphasizing correct technique and form, meditation and character development.

In iaido, you learn the different kata (forms). To give an example, here is a video that shows the first form, Ippon-me – mae. The recording is a little rough, but it gets the idea across.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDfcu9BP5fI]

So, why iaido?

There are so many reasons (aside from the obvious appeal of a small woman wielding a deadly weapon), but I’ll only hit on the major points.

An obvious one is my interest in Japanese culture and history that has led to many things including my learning the language and investing a lot of time in Japanese cinema and music.

Another draw is something that also contributes to my penchant for writing fantasy. I love swords. They are simple, honest, and elegant weapons and none are so beautiful, in my opinion, as the Japanese katana. I mean, look at this thing:

The third and last motivator I will mention is my desire to find something in my life that would quiet the hundreds of characters in my head and help me relax/focus. The complexity and physicality of iaido has proven to be exactly the all-consuming yet strangely meditative activity I was looking for.

But wait! There is an unexpected sword-swinging glorious goodness coming from this new passion. It turns out that iaido is actually helping with the shoulder problem I have been fighting for almost 20 years now. My massage therapist, who sees me every week to keep my pain levels tolerable, is a big fan of how it is helping loosen up the muscles in that shoulder (allowing her to get in deeper and inflict all kinds of wicked suffering upon me).

Now I am shopping for my own iaito (unsharpened sword for practicing iaido). Even with the bokken (wood practice sword), I have found that the simple act of performing the formal bow to the sword at the beginning and end of class has instilled a deeper respect for the weapon. I look forward to building that relationship with my iaito.

Iaido has given me everything I wanted from it and more, including experience with the feel of using a sword and insight into the relationship between warriors and the weapons they wield. Both of which are things that I can apply to characters in my books.

Lastly, for those of you who say there is no practical application to learning sword forms in the modern day, I offer you this:

A Little Bit of Lucky?

The Lucky 7 Meme has been running around my blogging circles and finally struck me, twice, thanks to the lovely authors Jodi Lea Stewart and Alina Sayre. As it is the 27^th today, it seemed like a good day to post my contribution. Here are the rules of the game:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP (If you don’t yet have 77 pages of your current work in progress completed, just choose the first seven sentences.) 2. Go to line 7 3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they’re written. 4. Tag 7 authors, and let them know.

My current novel is a somewhat dark fantasy that actually has no title yet. I have to confess that the lines I am using are from page 7 because page 77 is in the heart of a section I am currently hacking up and reworking (and yes, there are actually 9 lines from the manuscript, but I couldn’t stand ending in the middle of a paragraph).

     “Few Endless warriors could have blocked that strike. You waste yourself in remembrance.” The master spun and began to walk away. “Go back to the ranks and fight with the temporal warriors. You are too broken to be Endless.”

     Deynas dropped to his knees with the sinking of his heart. It could not end this way. “Master Kochan!”

     Kochan stopped at the foot of the temple steps. He didn’t turn.

     Deynas laid his staff on the ground and bowed before it. “Master Kochan, I fight to atone for my failure. I fight to honor the memory of Argus-ra. I want to be to the people what she was. If this is a flawed purpose, then you are right, I cannot be Endless.”

Now for the tagging of the next 7 lucky folks!

• Simon Tall
• Kristin McFarland
• Patricia Caviglia
• Margaret Miller
• Robert "Sharky" Pruneda
• Tod McCoy
• Linda Adams

Happy Writing!

The Masquerade Crew Five Star Review Book Giveaway

The Masquerade Crew is running a fantastic book giveaway. Stop by their site to check it out. Their adventure started a little more than six months ago. Since they posted their first author-requested review on October 1st, they're going to officially celebrate their six month blogaversary between now and April 1st, which is the first day of the A to Z challenge. They encourage you to come back for that because for 26 days in April they're going to post writing tips from some of their followers.

In the meantime, they're kicking off this party with a mega giveaway. Roughly half of the authors of their 5 star reviews have agreed to give away copies of their books. This is your chance to win up to 8 free books. Click on the book covers to go to their review.

A Soul to Steal by Rob Blackwell

Force of Habit by Marian Allen

The Punished by Peter Meredith

CurbCheK by Zach Fortier

H10N1 by M. R. Cornelius

Spirits Rising by Krista D. Ball

Everything I Tell You Is A Lie by Fingers Murphy

Blood Passage by Michael J. McCann

For a chance to win these 8 books, visit The Masquerade Crew's site.

This giveaway is being supported by the following blogs:

M.R. Cornelius The Overnight Bestseller W.H. Cann The Writing World Shannon Stewart What the Cat Read

Who Wants to Live Forever?

Immortality in Fiction:

I write a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy, so the subject of immortality comes up on occasion. I've never been a fan of the truly invincible immortal because, really, that kind of takes all the fun out of conflict, doesn't it. If you want to build real tension, you have to give them some kind of weakness (say Kryptonite or a wooden stake through the heart), but then, technically, didn't you just prove that they weren't invincible.

I much prefer the 'immune to disease and the effects of age, but if you take a fatal injury you’re pushing up daisies with the rest of us' brand of immortal because that provides a lot more tension. However, that's not immortality, at least not according to the first definition at Dictionary.com that defines it as: not mortal; not liable or subject to death; undying.

I have a race in my current novel that is more of the elven extremely long-lived if they don't get themselves killed type. I like this option because it does allow for more tension and gives the characters the brackets of a life expectancy, even if it is a very long one, in which to live, love, and experience their world(s). It takes more courage to face down a foe when you have the promise of a long life that can be taken away.

Immortality and Reality:

Let’s take this hypothetical invincible immortality and apply it to real life. You are going to live forever. That's pretty cool. Remember all those things you wanted to do and see and learn, but didn't think you’d have time for? Now you have all the time in the world.

Only, there are some drawbacks. We'll assume that you can't die from starvation. Great! No need to go grocery shopping. You'll probably want clothing though, and a place or two to live, and transportation and...

Well, that settles that. Unless you're one heck of a smooth talker, you need a job. If you never die, you probably can't afford to retire because you'll need to maintain that car and shelter and replace clothing when it wears out. If your friends and family don’t share your condition, you'll have to watch them die. After three or four hundred years, the whole situation might get depressing and perhaps a touch tedious.

Bring in option number two, immortal with caveats. This might make a story more exciting, but will all the problems of the invincible immortal and the ability to be injured/killed there isn't much appeal to this option in real life.

Personally, I'd be all for a few hundred years in which to experience life. This would be especially nice if aging either stopped at the right time or was drastically slowed. Imagine how many books I could write. :)

Alas, this isn't something I'm counting on becoming an option in the next few days. Don’t give up hope though. Many things can help you live longer. With the obvious healthy living options aside, I’ve heard it said that cats help you live longer. I have three. I'm wondering if this is an all of the time benefit of cats or if it only works when they are purring on your lap. Are they still helping you live longer when they puke on the floor, leave a rodent corpse in your shoe, or need an emergency trip to the vet? And exactly who decided that they helped you live longer anyway?

So now, who wants to live forever?

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L8-FTvSVxs]

One New Thing: February 2012

We’ve had an ongoing goal of visiting one new place every month as a way to experience the world and life in general. Over time, this goal has broadened to discovering a new place or activity every month, opening the door to learning new things and keeping the mind, as well as the body, active. To keep myself honest with this goal, I’ve decided to do a post at the beginning of each month about the place or activity discovered the previous month. This is the kickoff for that. In the past, discoveries have included anything from finding a new place to take the horses or kayaks to going to a new city.

Last month took a new direction. Thanks to the new world of great deals that can be delivered to your inbox through Livingsocial, Groupon, and many other such services, you can now discover a whole variety of new experiences at a discount. How great is that?

In February, I finally took advantage of a Livingsocial deal I had picked up almost a year ago (you can’t rush these things) and set up some introductory ballroom dancing classes with Arthur Murray Dance Studios.  I love music and I have always loved to dance, I’ve just never really known how, so this sounded like something worth trying.

I have to admit that I tried not to like it because, let’s face it, once the Livingsocial deal is used up, you have to pay real money for these lessons. However, after learning the basic steps to the rumba, salsa, waltz, and tango, the whole idea had danced its way into my little heart and I’m sure I could be seen grinning like a fool when I managed my first decent underarm turn. So now, yeah, you guessed it, dance lessons and group lessons every week.

So, who wants to go dancing?

That is my new thing for February. I can’t wait to tell you about March. ;-)

I would love to hear what things you do to experience life. What places or activities have you discovered lately?

For the Readers: Coming Home by April Plummer

I was going to write a different blog post today, but thanks to the evil people of the world who seized my desktop with a tricksy virus, I opted not to risk cussing up a storm on my blog. Instead, I am pleased to introduce a fellow author, April Plummer whose novel, Coming Home, is now available on Amazon.

For years, eighteen-year old Isabela Fuentes worked two jobs to support her promiscuous, alcoholic mother.

After the latest boyfriend rapes her at knifepoint, Isabela throws her few possessions into her car and drives until she reaches Lakeside, Montana, twenty-five hundred miles from New York City’s suffocating smog.

As her bodily scars fade, she takes solace in the nature around her and records it in her sketchpad. It isn't until she begins sketching scenes from her rape that she learns to cope with what happened.

But leaving her mother behind to fend for herself might have been a mistake; and when two strangers appear on her doorstep claiming to be her dead grandparents, they threaten the fragile childhood memories.  Before she can rebuild her life, Isabela must decide to either let her past go or unite it with the woman she’s become.

For the next three days, you can pick up Coming Home by April Plummer free on Amazon.

If you aren’t convinced yet, here is a scene from the book with a brief intro by April.

April: "Here's a great scene and one of my favorites. Isabela is in Montana, and out in a canoe for the first time with her newfound best friend Bethany. The reason it's one of my favorite scenes is because it's just the beginning for Isabela - she's learning to stretch her wings and discovering a purity in nature and her own independence."

 “Okay, so take your oars, and on the count of three, we’ll both start rowing. We have to go at the same pace or else we won’t be able to stay straight. Just go slow and steady.”

“I’m pretty sure I can figure it out.” Isabela watched the oars slip smoothly into the water. The canoe inched forward, barely disturbing the water. At first, it wasn’t as easy as she thought it’d be. The oars were heavy, and she didn’t have much upper arm strength. It was an effort bringing the long, thick pieces of wood up out of the water and pushing them back down, at the same time keeping in sync with Bethany’s movements.

With each row, however, the oars slipped into the water with less effort. Their speed gradually increased as the canoe split the water, splintering the mirrored image of the sky and mountains. Isabela felt her arm muscles getting stronger.

The mountains above were tall yet welcoming. Their curves swept along the edge of the sky in majestic waves, graceful despite their rigid peaks. The rocky ledges overlooked the lake, and fields of evergreens stacked high, their dark green needles stark against the purest blue sky.

“This is peaceful.” Isabela’s voice broke through the rhythmic sounds of the water rushing beneath the canoe and the birds singing their evening melodies as they flew in vague patterns through the air.

“Yeah, it is. It’s a pretty good workout too. Wait till tomorrow. You’ll be so sore you’ll be sorry you did this.”

Isabela shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. This is exactly what I needed."

I asked April to share a little about herself to give readers a little insight into the mind behind the book. Here are some fun facts she gave me.

• From the time I was 19 until I met my current (and final!) husband at age 28, I moved at least once a year, sometimes twice.
• I finished my first, horrible, full-length novel when I was 25, and if there is a God (and I believe there is) NO one will EVER read that. (Unfortunately, it's too late for a few sad souls...)
• I'm a fitness freak and health nut, but secretly I binge sometimes in the evenings on HUGE bowls of air-popped popcorn. No butter, just olive oil, salt, and Splenda. But I'm talking Movie Theater Extra Large, huge. I guess my binges won't be so secret now. :)
• I danced competitively throughout my entire childhood, but now I've got the flexibility of a rock.
• I'm a pretty decent cook, but I never cook. My husband is the chef in this family.
• My greatest joy is my daughter's smile. I may not be her bio-mom, but I couldn't love her any more if I were.
• The best way to spend an evening is outside on a beautiful Friday evening. Picture a glass of wine, my husband and daughter, and chicken slow-cooking over a wood-burning fire. That is my heaven.

Sounds like my kind of evening. Hurry now and pick up Coming Home by April Plummer. I'll be out there downloading it with you.

Happy reading!