Middle Grade Ninja Episode 59: Author Jillian Boehme

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Jillian Boehme shares tales of being Authoress Anon and running one of the best author resource websites of all time, MISS SNARK’S FIRST VICTIM. We chat about her new novel, STORMRISE, how being a musician influences being a writer, how faith in God can aid the journey to publication, worldbuilding and language in fantasy novels, and so much more in a delightful conversation between long-time… people who blog and like each other’s blogs? Blog-leagues? Blog buddies? Whatever, enjoy the show.

Jillian Boehme is known to the online writing community as Authoress, hostess of Miss Snark's First Victim, a blog for aspiring authors.

In real life, she holds a degree in Music Education, sings with the Nashville Symphony Chorus, and homeschools her remaining youngster-at-home.

She's still crazy in love with her husband of more than thirty years and is happy to be surrounded by family and friends amid the rolling knolls of Middle Tennessee.

A combat warrior will risk everything to awaken the dragons and save her kingdom in Jillian Boehme's epic YA Fantasy debut, Stormrise, inspired by Twelfth Night and perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce.

If Rain weren’t a girl, she would be respected as a Neshu combat master. Instead, her gender dooms her to a colorless future. When an army of nomads invades her kingdom, and a draft forces every household to send one man to fight, Rain takes her chance to seize the life she wants.

Knowing she’ll be killed if she’s discovered, Rain purchases powder made from dragon magic that enables her to disguise herself as a boy. Then she hurries to the war camps, where she excels in her training―and wrestles with the voice that has taken shape inside her head. The voice of a dragon she never truly believed existed.

As war looms and Rain is enlisted into an elite, secret unit tasked with rescuing the High King, she begins to realize this dragon tincture may hold the key to her kingdom’s victory. For the dragons that once guarded her land have slumbered for centuries . . . and someone must awaken them to fight once more.

“Martial arts, a bold girl, a kingdom under attack, magic everywhere―I devoured it in one sitting! This book is one wild ride!” ―Tamora Pierce

JillianBoehme.com

MissSnarksFirstVictim.blogspot.com

NINJA STUFF: An Appropriate Relationship Between Author and Blogger (Part Two)

Last Time on Ninja Stuff: I talked about how authors should better appreciate bloggers for all the hard, usually unpaid work they do to promote books. I stated that I think a writer who requests a blogger to feature them should have the courtesy to promote that post should a blogger agree to do them a solid. I also admitted that I'd been a tad too hasty in commenting on a post advocating for bloggers (whom I love) because I didn't think through the ramifications of requiring authors (whom I also love) to promote posts about their work.

And now the thrilling conclusion...

Today, I want to talk about book bloggers, their relationship to authors, and some behaviors that are definitely not okay. Chief among them is charging or otherwise extorting authors for reviews. Unfortunately, authors are surrounded by folks who want to take advantage of their big book dreams pretty much everywhere they go.

There are probably exceptions (please name them in the comments if you know of some), but I would be deeply skeptical of any blogger or review publication that wanted to charge for a review. As an author I don't consider a review I have to pay for to be worth having.

Certainly, I would never want to be found having paid for a positive review of my book. Whatever short-term advantage such a review might give me would be far outweighed by the potential risk of my having been discovered buying a planted review. I'd rather let one book get destroyed by troll reviewers than risk the integrity of my entire body of work (of which there will soon be one). As a blogger, I don't want people thinking my opinion is for sale (I will give you a totally biased 5-star review for free).

I'm in a somewhat unique position as an online reviewer because I don't actually write reviews in the traditional sense and I'm now an author. I write posts about books, telling you the key details and praising the strong points of each novel. But the following disclaimer has appeared on every Book of the Week "review" I've ever written:

I’ll leave you to discover the negative qualities of each week’s book on your own.

What is that!?! If I tried to get a gig as a professional critic someplace, I'd be laughed right out. What kind of reviewer doesn't write criticism? The kind who writes reviews because he loves books and authors and doesn't care that he's not known for being a hard-nosed critic.

I'm okay with this because there is no such thing as an objective reviewer. Certainly, there are many reviewers closer to being objective than me, but a review, no matter how substantially argued, is just the opinion of the reviewer. Art is subjective, period, end of story. So is its enjoyment.

Bloggers have their own tastes and bias. Some are more objective than others. Over time, bloggers develop a reputation and their readers typically take this into consideration when evaluating their reviews. If a book becomes relevant enough for readers to discuss, a consensus will eventually form, and readers will have their own opinion outside the consensus. Neither my automatic 5-star review or a review written by the author's mom will hold that great a sway. A book attracts readers or it doesn't.

And reviews aren't the final word. I don't care that Bait 3D currently has an average of less than stellar reviews. I loved that movie. 3D sharks in a grocery store is choice entertainment and I'll never believe otherwise.  I would've watched it even if it only had one star and I can't wait for the sequel. Conversely, I still haven't seen The Artist, which won all the academy awards and the hearts of critics everywhere. If it were on, I wouldn't leave the room, but no amount of critical praise is enough to convince me to invest two hours of my life I could otherwise be enjoying Sharknado.

I don't think book blogging should be elite. Some bloggers will rise to greater notoriety than others as will some authors, but all should be welcome. Online real estate is plentiful and cheap, so if you like books, why not stake out your lot? If you're an author thinking of establishing or expanding your online presence, you should absolutely consider starting a book blog because then you'll be part of the solution for authors who need to get the word out. Karma will come back to you when you have a book to promote. Trust me, I know.

There is no one way to run a book blog. Book bloggers don't have to have any special training and there is no uniform code of ethics for online reviewers. Anyone, anywhere can up and declare themselves a ninja just as anyone, anywhere can up and declare themselves an author, and that is a beautiful thing. All are welcome, which means authors will always encounter conflicting submission guidelines and one-off oddities when seeking book promotion.

Therefore, I can't chastise book bloggers for not following the rules as there are no established rules for me to appeal to. So what follows is a list of things I think book bloggers should do to at a minimum:

1. Post your reviews to sites other than your blog. This is a win/win. People aren't searching Google for "Indiana dad who writes zombie books and has opinions on middle grade fiction" (pity). But they are searching for opinions on books and my reviews are more likely to be seen on Amazon and Goodreads than they are at this blog. Esteemed Readers who like my reviews follow me home, which is a win for me. They also encounter my opinion at a crucial location when they're considering purchasing the book in question, which is a win for the author. Win/win. Do this.

2. Be consistent and fair in your treatment of authors. Readers will turn on you if you're rude to an author. If your average review is 700 words, try to maintain that average for books you like and books you don't. If you savage authors for their shortcomings, make sure you're consistently savaging the same shortcomings across multiple books and writers.

3. Write a review submission policy. You can only complain about authors not following it if you  have one. Mine's simple: if it's a middle grade or young adult book, email me. I might say no, especially just now, since having a baby has put considerable restraints on my writing and blogging time. Unless you send me a mass email or form letter (delete!), I usually respond within a week.

4. Be polite and respectful. You don't have to look at books through rose-colored glasses like I do, but writing books is hard. Whatever you're reading, someone, somewhere probably loved it and worked hard on it (maybe not hard enough, but still). You can write that the book is bad without attacking the author personally. You can treat authors of bad books with the same courtesy you treat authors of great books.

5. If an author gives you an interview or a guest post, they are your guest. Treat them as such and be thankful they've agreed to appear at your blog.

6. Maintain an easy-to-search list of links. This is another win/win. Readers will appreciate being able to navigate your site and authors will get more bang for their buck. Not everyone reads a review the day it's posted. The great (and sometimes terrible) thing about online is it's forever. Your review is still valuable to the author two years later, so make it easy for readers to find. When I interviewed Courtney Summers, she was a debut novelist, and her interview has only become more impressive for me to have with each book she's published. If you're interviewing me, keep that link posted as it's a long-term investment:)

7. If an author requests a reasonable change, make it. I've had authors and agents request I update their photos, bios, answers, and other information. If someone writes a guest post for you, then notices an error and brings it to your attention, correct it. The change makes you both look better and you'll develop a reputation for being a blogger who's easy to work with. The writing community is a small one and you want that reputation. If an author requests an unreasonable change, such as please reread my book and reconsider your review, respond and let them know why their request is unreasonable. If the author persists, you have my permission to block them:)

8. Remember that authors are magical. An author is someone stuck half in another world and deserves the benefit of the doubt. Just now I was changing my son's diaper while simultaneously imagining we were surrounded by walking corpses and pondering how we might escape (very practical). I'm not all here and I'm not the only one. Authors sometimes say strange things and behave oddly. So long as they're courteous to you, return their courtesy and understand that an author's aloofness is a natural outgrowth of their profession.


If I think of anything else, I'll update this list later. But I think this is a good start.

I've got one last bit of advice for book bloggers: you're the reporter, not the story. Always remember that in your dealings with authors, even when it gets difficult, and it probably will at some point. Lois Lowery is a big deal author and rightly admired for her contribution to literature (as are most of the authors who've appeared here, but I had to pick one to make this point). Her accomplishments are hers, not mine (obviously). Any glory that falls on me for having had the good fortune to feature her here is reflected glory. I'm just the guy holding the microphone for a greater talent and I do well to remember it.

By and large, authors are very nice people and appreciate their fans. I've had the experience of big time authors being extra nice to me and I highly recommend it as it's awesome. Courtney Summers thanked me in the back of her zombie book (how awesome is that) and of course I thanked her in the back of mine. Darby Karchut's new book, Gideon's Spear, available today, features a blurb from yours truly. Both of these things were a surprise to me as the authors decided to do them without my knowledge and I'm very excited and grateful.

Just yesterday in response to the first part of this post, Hugh Howey wrote on Facebook where my mom could see it that I was an "excellent writer." It made me feel warm and fuzzy because I really admire Hugh Howey and I have his email address. I could bug him right not and ask him to read my book, request that he tell me once again how special I am, ask him to give me writing advice, etc. And he's such a nice guy, he might even do some of those things, but it would be wrong of me to ask.

This is crucial to understand. If you want to piss an author off, impose on them with personal requests. Hugh Howey's time is not better spent placating me. He's a busy guy and I and all his fans are better served if he spends his time writing his next book, which is something we can all enjoy. He's got a website full of great advice to writers. We can all read it. He arranges fan meetings and next time he does one close to me, I'll try to go as I'd enjoy meeting him in person and that's time he's set up in his schedule to do that.

DO NOT DEVELOP A REPUTATION AS SOMEONE WHO EXHORTS AUTHORS. DO NOT ASK THEM TO CRITIQUE YOUR MANUSCRIPT, DO NOT WRITE THEM SIX MONTHS AFTER THEIR REVIEW AND ASK THEM FOR ADVICE. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO THEIR POST AT YOUR BLOG AND THAT IS ALL, AND ONLY THAT MUCH BECAUSE THEY AGREED TO DO IT. YOU ARE BASKING IN REFLECTED GLORY.

That being said, the situation does sometimes get murky, I know. I had a well known author insist on critiquing my manuscript without my even hinting I wanted it, though I did appreciate it (I'm not passing that up). Another author insisted on introducing me to her agent. And I don't mind asking authors if their agents or editors would want to appear here as that's my schtick and the author is totally welcome to ignore the request.

Part of the reason a writer might want to start a book blog is to network and make writer friends. By meeting so many writers, I've found some really cool people I now consider friends. I tried to be brief and respectful and professional in my emails to Lynne Reid Banks, but every time I did, she emailed me back and we had a lovely correspondence that went on for some time and I treasure it. What's key, though, is that correspondence was on her terms. I didn't expect it and l certainly didn't feel entitled to it. It just happened and it was very nice. I don't expect it to be repeated the next time I interview a childhood hero.

To further confuse this issue, I summoned up all the courage I ever had or ever will have, took a crazy leap of faith, and asked Richard Adams to blub my book, and he did. He said he was happy to and I believe him. I don't ask authors who appear here for blurbs anymore because the authors I asked after Mr. Adams did not respond favorably, nor should they have. It was an abuse of my position to ask. As soon as an author politely pointed this out to me, I felt pretty low and I won't do it again.

As I've said, there is no hard and fast code of ethics for book bloggers to follow. None of us is specially trained to do this and most of us aren't getting paid. Mistakes happen. But I think if we book bloggers proceed with the understanding that we're doing this for a love of books and authors and that the blog itself is its own reward, we'll be all right.

NINJA STUFF: An Appropriate Relationship Between Author and Blogger (Part One)

Greetings and salutations, Esteemed Reader. I hope this post finds you well. It's Writing Day, which is how it is I have time to both produce my daily word count for All Right Now (soon to be available) and write this post. The YA Cannibals are all here and for the first time, so is Little Ninja, which means my writing group may get to see me write with a baby in a pouch on my chest before the day is over and witness my full on Dad-ness:)

I stumbled into an online hornet's nest briefly over the weekend, which is good. It builds character:) It's important for me to remember that I'm an online figure (mostly anonymous though I may be) and the things I do online I do in full view of every Esteemed Reader I've ever had or ever will have. That is the reality of being a writer in our time. It's the reason the daring of some of our literature may dip a bit—some pretty wonderful things have been written by some pretty terrible people—looking at you, Hemmingway and Hubbard—but they didn't have to live in public. Today's authors do.

So I read a post by a fellow book blogger about reviews and an author's responsibility to the blogger writing the review. Specifically, her contention was that writers requesting a blogger take time out of their life to feature the author's book on the blogger's promotion platform should reciprocate by using their platform to promote the blog post. Knee jerk reaction: I agree.

Happy go lucky ninja that I am, I commented that it annoys me when authors invite me to dinner and don't pay for their meal, and it does. When Richard Adams was interviewed here, believe me, it was because I asked him:) It was extremely gracious of him to make time for this blog and a fanboy like me. He did not have to say yes. I had nothing to offer him. I cannot imagine his sales have been impacted by little old me, but Richard Adams is a class act and did the interview anyway. He owes me nothing. I owe him. The same is true for all the other authors I've invited to appear here.

The authors who've approached me and requested I review their book and interview them are in a somewhat different situation. I think offering to give me a review copy in exchange for a feature post at this blog is fair. I've been giving away copies of All Together Now to the bloggers kind enough to post about my book.

I flatter myself by thinking I'm an author bloggers don't regret agreeing to feature because I've been on their side of the transaction and I appreciate the effort and sacrifice that go into maintaining a blog. I'm one of eleventy billion indie authors flogging a book about zombies and the blogger has no way to know for sure that my book isn't terrible like so many others.

Giving them a free book is the least I can do and that free book should entitle me only to their consideration, not their guaranteed review, and certainly not their opinion being swayed one way or another—though of course it will be, because by the very act of "meeting" online, I've given them an impression of myself beyond what's available in my book.

No amount of courtesy on the author's part makes up for a terrible reading experience and the reviewer is well within their rights to declare my book awful despite my having been polite and given them a book or even an interview or guest post. It isn't rude or personal. A reviewer who promises their readers their honest opinion about a book should give it (that's not me), whether the author is a class act or a jerkface. If I met Roald Dahl, I might regret it, but The Witches would still be one of the greatest books I've ever read and my impression of his writing is probably aided by the fact that I didn't meet him.

I've given copies of my book to bloggers who to date have neither reviewed it nor so much as mentioned it to their readers. So long as the blogger looked at my book and gave it some consideration, we're square. I used to send books to agents in hopes of representation and it was the same—a moment of their time to consider me is all I can reasonably request in exchange for providing the opportunity. Does this sort of suck for newbie writers? Yep. If you're not used to putting up with some things that suck, you haven't been writing long.

In the event that the blogger who's time I've imposed upon agrees to feature my book, I technically owe them nothing. I've never charged an author for an appearance here (nor will I ever) and I've never paid to have my book featured. A blog post is a mutually beneficial transaction. The blogger needs content. You can't run a book review blog with no books to review. The author needs for someone, anyone to please talk about their book. That these two parties have found each other is a beautiful thing and nobody owes anybody anything.

However, there is such a thing as courtesy and decorum. If someone in life does something nice for you, you do not have to say thank you. But odds of more nice things being done for you are greatly increased if you do. And if you do something nice for someone, it is perhaps understandable if you are miffed should they neglect to thank you. It doesn't change the nice thing you did and you probably didn't do it to be thanked, but the person would likely be closer to your heart if they showed a little gratitude.

So when a blogger features me, I tweet a link to their post, I share it on Facebook, and I link to it from here. I like their reviews on goodreads and when Amazon asks me if their review was helpful to me, I assure Amazon it absolutely was. Perhaps this makes me seem self absorbed, and I am, I am, but I also believe in saying thank you. I do that also, but by promoting their blog, presumably I make at least one or two people aware it exists.

I have a couple fans and if I can send both of them to that blog, thereby benefiting both me and the blogger kind enough to feature me, I say that's a good thing to have done. As of this writing, demands to review my book have tragically not overwhelmed me:) If I were a writer of Hugh Howey's prominence, I might feel differently—but that guy somehow always finds time for his readers and smart writers will emulate the behavior of such a successful author.

I'm not angry at the authors who have had tons of twitter followers and FB friends, none of whom knew I reviewed their book because the author didn't tell them. It would've been nice if they had, but the authors, even the ones who requested my services, were not obligated to. I had the pleasure of reading a book, fresh content for this blog, and usually an interview with an interesting writer. Fair enough.

But I remember the authors who did show their gratitude for my time and am more likely to review their future works. I tell you this because this is a blog for writers and I want writers reading this to recognize this truth as I'm sure other bloggers feel similarly.

The vast majority of authors are wonderful people and if you read this blog, you know I love them. But there are some jerks out there and it's been my impression that the there's a direct correlation between being a jerk and being less successful as a writer.

I had an author beg me to consider their unknown indie book, then demand that I ask him different questions specific to his work than the questions I ask everyone. My response was to politely decline him, but my thought was that if those same 7 Questions were good enough for Richard Adams, you better believe they're good enough for an unknown indie author. When he came back months later with a new book, I declined him without even reading the book's description.

Conversely, the more successful the author, typically the nicer they are and the more I admire them. I met Kathi Appelt at a conference surrounded by writers who thought she walked on water (could be she does), and she made a point to seek me out over all those adoring fans and thank me for my review of The Underneath. She didn't have to do this, but it took all of a minute of her time to do it and it was a great thrill for me, not to mention a crucial instruction on how a great writer ought to behave that I'll never forget.

I've since bought other books by Kathi Appelt and I'm more likely to recommend her over other authors because she created a lifelong fan in a single gesture. I firmly believe that Kathi Appelt is more successful because she makes a habit of doing things like this and creating fans one at a time adds up over a writing career. If you're looking for a fan, you could do worse than a blogger who's interested in books—I'm halfway there already.

Likewise, Hugh Howey wrote me and congratulated me on publishing my first novel. Darby Karchut not only congratulated me, she read the book and reviewed it and now her blurb appears in the marketing. When I think of the sort of author I most want to be, I want to be this Hugh Howey/Darby Karchut/Kathi Appelt type. In the interest of time, we'll leave this point with those three examples, but know that most of the authors interviewed here have behaved admirably.

Other authors have argued with me about my review of their book, which is absurd, because I give every book here 5 stars. Some authors have become nasty when I told them I didn't want to review the sequel as I'd already promoted them once and there were other authors I wanted to feature instead. And some authors have sent me messages that can only be described as crazy pants. If they send me such messages before I write my review, I dump them, but crazy is sometimes hard to screen for.

Bloggers who deal with authors get to chat with some of the greatest people on earth, but they also encounter psychos—which is true of anyone interacting with a wide range of writers. I'm so glad I blogged first before becoming an author as it's given me an appreciation for what bloggers do and too many writers take us for granted. If you want me to take time away from my family and my writing to read your book and promote you in the same space as the fantastic authors who've appeared here, that's not a service you should have to pay for in any way, but it's certainly not nothing and a bit of gratitude goes a long way.

So when I encountered a fellow blogger asking authors to be courteous to bloggers, I resoundingly agreed. We need authors, but authors need us, and as an author/blogger, I need everyone:) The trouble was I didn't consider the post as it was written carefully enough before I commented. This particular post outlined some required things an author should do in exchange for being featured, and that subject is a little murkier than the black and white argument that authors should appreciate bloggers (and vice versa).

Our old friend Mike Mullin corrected me on that score. I've talked a lot about author's behavior toward bloggers, so in the second part of this post I'm going to talk about blogger's behavior toward authors. So stay tuned author friends and blogger friends, during part two remember what an advocate I was for you in part one:)

See you tomorrow, same ninja time, same ninja channel.

Go to Part 2.

Pardon the Dust

This site is under construction once again. If you don't care for the new look, just wait:)

I really liked the fancy format we've been rocking this year... when it worked. The problem is it only worked about half the time, so I'm going for a simpler, easier to navigate site to help Esteemed Readers find their way to all the great writer, literary agent, and editor interview archives. There's a lot of great stuff in those archives and I don't want readers missing it because blogger can't keep their format consistent.

Plus, I'm plotting some big changes around here in the coming months. I'm especially fond of the background, which was illustrated by my best friend and long-time collaborator, Adam Smith.

I think I'll change that background occasionally to reflect the season. From now through Halloween, it's to be grim zombies. I hope you like them as much as I do.

But Ninja, I hear you saying, "didn't you recently write a book about zombies? And now your illustrator friend is drawing zombies? What does it mean!?!"

Patience, Esteemed Reader. All will be revealed in time...

NINJA STUFF: The True Ninja Paces Himself

Esteemed Reader, I have needed a breather. I've taken it and I'm trying to calm down. It is un-ninja like to run around frantically waving one's arms attempting to accomplish everything and therefore accomplishing nothing. I've become increasingly manic and must slap myself and tell myself to breathe, just breathe.

If you're a regular Esteemed Reader, you already know I'm expecting a Little Ninja this year. It's my first at an older age and I'm quite a bit nervous. If life were some feel-good movie about fatherhood like Jersey Girl (which I am now forced to have renewed reverence for as it apparently stared Batman) the next few months would fly by, possibly in a montage set to "Walking on Sunshine" (whoa-oh) and wouldn't it feel good?

There's me driving like a maniac to the hospital, endangering lives because it's always an amusing crowd-pleaser, there's me hyperventilating even worse than poor Mrs. Ninja as she's giving birth, and finally we hear a cry and the camera pans to me and my eyes get all big and the music swells.

Montage 2: Me pushing a stroller, me taking my son camping, to the library, to the museum, us staying up together late working on a project that wins first place in the science fair. And then, later, I bump into you, Esteemed Reader, and I give you a speech about how my life had no meaning until I had a child and now I know true happiness and peace and everyone lives happily ever after and doesn't it feel good, I'm walking on sunshine, whoa-oh.

Alas, life is not a feel-good movie. I blame the government:)

Mrs. Ninja is getting the worst of this pregnancy thing, no argument here, but pending fatherhood has its own issues and stresses. For me, I worry that I won't have enough time to write with a newborn in the house, so I'm writing like a crazy person now and working on projects that aren't this blog, but which will be available for you soon.

Part of what makes me a writer is my capacity for hyper-attention to one thing, like, say, a book. Example: I once spent years learning everything there was to know about UFOs and alien abduction to write an 800+ page horror novel I've been assured by multiple readers isn't very good and now I wouldn't even self-publish it. It was just something I had to write on my way to perfecting my craft and finding my voice.

I've written better books since, none of them about UFOs, but for the two years I was writing that beast I could have quoted you an endless litany of dates and names about a topic that is mostly (but disturbingly not all) pseudo-science at best (as a fiction writer, I don't care about validity of facts). A large part of my brain was completely consumed with testimony from witnesses I interviewed, but most of that junk got jettisoned by knowledge of robots for The And Then Story, and for the past year I've known more about the walking dead and surviving a zombie apocalypse than is really practical to know.

In the event I am ever surrounded by zombies and/or grey aliens, I feel like I have an advantage over the rest of the population:)

This hyper focus of mine also applies to this blog, which is why I promised in my New Year's Resolution to get back to regular posting and then promptly proceeded to set an impossible schedule of five to six posts per week. I burned myself out, of course, and the result was this blog's been relatively quiet this past month. I might argue that as these posts remain popular long after I've written them (I can't believe people are still reading this post about writing stage fright I wrote 3 years ago, but traffic tells me they are), so therefore, it's good I wrote so many posts, even if this blog's schedule has been erratic).

I know enough about being me to know I'm not really going to change. Reading Hugh Howey's I, Zombie taught me that in a way we're all just passengers in the mindless machine that is our body, and I'm going to be me no matter what I do. If you have the stomach for zombie fiction, you should totally read that book.

I can only kinda, sorta hope to control my manic bursts of energy and target them. When a story grabs me, I'm still going to chase after it with wild abandon and when that happens I frequently forget to eat or bathe, let alone blog. When that energy is aimed at blogging, I'm still going to write a whole bunch of posts, and when it's not, I won't.

I can control when I post interviews and reviews. I may not be able to pace myself, but I can pace this blog. I judge it's better to go three weeks with one post a week than to do a week with three posts and then two weeks with no posts. So starting next week, I'm going to be writing more posts than appear here and eventually we'll finish our discussion of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, probably in late 2016:)

Also, Ben Affleck as Batman--not the worst idea I ever heard. He's a rich pretty boy who's dated tons of beautiful women and likes to brood a lot. Bruce Wayne isn't going to be a big stretch for him. I know the internets are all riled up, but I lived through the Joel Schumacher years. Things could be a lot worse and I think Batffleck has the potential to be great.

NINJA STUFF: Thoughts On Blogging

THIS WEEK IN NINJA-ING: Tuesday's Book of the Week is The Shadows: Books of Elsewhere Volume 1, Wednesday we're discussing Chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Thursday author Jacqueline West will face the 7 Questions. Saturday, as ever, we'll be joined by a surprise literary agent. 

A few posts back, I wrote a little about blogging and some of you Esteemed Readers sent comments and emails asking me to post more about blogging. My motto is "if Esteemed Reader wants something, I'll do my best to do that thing (within reason)."

I've not written much about blogging here for two reasons: 1. Our focus is writing and reading books. 2. I'm no expert, which, if you're a regular Esteemed Reader, you already know:)

The reason this blog is anything is due to the authors, literary agents, and editors who've been kind enough to appear here. There are plenty of better, more organized, and certainly more popular blogs and sites out there--you could be reading them right now:)

That being said, I do have some blog experience under my belt now and this site does have a following, however humble. So I'll briefly give you some of my thoughts on blogging, then I'm going to shut up and let the experts talk.

In a lot of ways, this blog has been my writer's journal I just happen to have shared with the world. No one loves this blog more than me and I doubt anyone finds it more useful than I do, because I designed it with me in mind:)

Every interview posted here was an interview I wanted to read facing the 7 Questions I wanted answers to. Every book I've reviewed I did because I thought it would enhance my own knowledge of being a writer. I reread these interviews and follow the links in them to keep tabs on these writers and see what they're up to.

I agree with Ayn Rand to a point (the devil's best lies are based in truth) that there is some virtue in selfishness. I've always believed the best way to write a story is to write the one you most want to read.

I've written bad things before. When Esteemed Reader looks at me with those big puppy dog eyes, a single tear on her cheek, and whispers, "Why, Mr. Ninja? Why did you make it suck?" the only reply I can make that gives me any peace is "I'm sorry, Esteemed Reader. I honestly thought you'd like it because I did."

So that's my first tip: Write what you love and blog what you love. Blogging takes time and effort like writing and if the subject you're blogging about doesn't interest you, you either need to be getting enough benefit (usually monetary) doing it to offset your aversion, or you won't stick with it. I've not made a dime since this blog started, but the knowledge I've gained and the connections I've made have been a reward far more valuable than money.

My second tip for bloggers is the same advice I'd give to writers: if you want to do it, do it. Never mind you're not smart enough, good enough, etc. Do it badly until you learn to do it well.

My first short stories were often not good, but I kept writing them, reading the work of others, and seeking advice and criticism until they've gotten significantly better. There's no way for me to ever objectively judge my writing, but I try to be my sharpest critic as well as my first fan, and the negativist in me concedes that my more recent manuscripts have at least been formatted properly and spell checked, unlike my earlier efforts.

A writer/blogger can be a lot of things, but timid can't be one of them. To write for reader consumption is to put yourself under the microscope. Readers will make judgments about you, fair or not, and as you are not perfect, you will screw up. Over the course of writing this blog, I've put my foot in my mouth, I've been embarrassed in front of writers and publishing professionals, and I'm quite certain I've occasionally come off like a jerk.

Well, if you don't want to risk the likelihood of some failure, stay home. Never do anything and there's little chance of anything happening to you.

For all the times I've written overly long posts and humiliated myself with spelling errors and obvious grammar mistakes, or gone long periods without posting, thereby hurting my readership, I like to think I've said some good stuff and there are multiple posts I'm proud of. I've taken my first steps and fallen down in my journey as a blogger out where everyone can see me. Fortunately, most people don't care:)

There's a reason I address you in every post as Esteemed Reader as opposed to Constant Reader, a moniker I've always found to be a tad presumptuous, even when the presumption is made by the world's best-selling novelist. I call you Esteemed Reader to remind me always that you're out there and what I do, I do to find you, because you're what it's all about.

And also, you're out there.

My third and final tip for bloggers is be as educated as you can be. Just because you've never done a thing doesn't mean no one else has. Read other blogs, listen to the advice of successful people who've gone before you, and learn everything you can. Sort through as much knowledge as you can get your hands on and decide what advice works for you and what doesn't.

To that end, I'll shut up now and finish by leaving you with a lists of resources for bloggers written by far greater experts than me. These are sites I've read and found helpful. Some of them may contain foul language and other malodorous content. The internet is a weird, scary place sometimes, so you watch yourself out there, Esteemed Reader. But I'll do my best to point you in the right direction:

Stuff I found useful:

If you haven't read it already, here is Casey McCormick and Natalie Aguirre's wonderful and incredibly useful blog for writers, Literary Rambles. This is the blog I wanted to emulate early on and where I did most of my agent hunting.

And here are some other links teeming with blogging resources:

 www.spiceupyourblog.com

www.blogtrepreneur.com

www.way2blogging.org 

www.bloggersentral.com

blogging.nitecruzr.net  

www.mybloggertricks.com 

www.bloggerzbible.com 

blog.kissmetrics.com

NINJA STUFF: A New Era of Ninja-ing!

You might've noticed things are starting to look a little different around here, Esteemed Reader. Mrs. Ninja, and one of my critique partners, Jody Sparks, work in SEO, or search engine optimization. Apparently they're very good at it. For more than two years, Mrs. Ninja has been telling me about algorithms and user interfaces and flux capacitors and whatever the heck else is involved in her job. When people ask me what my wife does, I just smile and say, "she wrangles the internets." 

But as I've returned to Ninja-ing full time, it's occurred to me I have a blog that could use some search engine optimization. I have internets what need wrangling! So Mrs. Ninja has been patiently helping me craft a Middle Grade Ninja blog for the modern Esteemed Reader. 

The process of learning content marketing is as difficult and frustrating as leaning publishing, but necessary if I want my voice to be heard--and I do, I do! Eventually, covert government operatives will have read every email and blog post I ever wrote anyway, and I want to leave them a record worth reading!

All this to say, there's changes under way, Esteemed Reader. Old posts are being rewritten in a manner most sinister and Orwellian and YouTube videos are being added wherever I think they enhance. One thing I've noticed  is when folks recommend this blog, they frequently refer to it as a "hidden treasure trove" of interviews.

Perhaps it's all too telling regarding my more megalomaniac motivations that a blog that used to be subtitled "A blog about reading and writing middle grade novels utilizing ninja stealth and skill" is now subtitled "Robert Kent's blog about yadda, yadda." Today, this blog. Tomorrow, the world!!! 

But even so, I don't like the idea of this blog as a hidden trove. Are you kidding me!?! With all the great interviews with writers, literary agents, and editors we're sitting on, Esteemed Reader? We got to share this stuff with the world, man! 

Just think of all the writers we could unite with agents and editors. Think of all the readers who might be united with debut authors. So as I labor to make this blog slicker and to grow it's readership, know that I'm doing so out of a genuine enthusiasm for books and writing and a desire to promote both.

Shameless plug: I've added twitter and Facebook links to the bottom of every post as well as the usual comments option, and I'm going to need your help, Esteemed Reader. I can only promote our authors and their books so far. Tell people we're out here and we've got agents and editors and writers partying with us. 

And I'll do my part.

One thing Mrs. Ninja has made painfully clear to me is my posts are too long (surprise). Apparently the average blog post needs to be between 500-1000 words. My most recent review of The Dark Knight Returns is a whopping 3,200 words, which is perhaps a lot of time to invest and might dissuade certain Esteemed Readers. 

That's all good and well for a post about Frank Miller, who's already a legend, but what about a debut author? What if I just scared off some readers who might've poked about my review and decided to read her book?

Don't worry, my reviews will still be long. Me promising to shorten my reviews is like an obese person promising to lose weight. It's a good idea and we hope they will, but realistically, there are more pizzas in the obese person's future and there are more 3,000 word posts in our future. 

But starting with tomorrow's review of Storybound by Marissa Burton, I'm going to make a conscious effort to be concise. I'm still going to tell you about the book and what writers can take away from it, and then I'm going to stop. Instead of promoting other upcoming interviews, telling you about myself or something unrelated I find interesting, I'm going to tell you about the book and that's it. 

But can I really be trusted not to ramble? Well, like a man on a diet, I have to plan for my success. If you're trying to lose weight, don't hang around a pastry shop--keep yourself someplace conducive to will power:) I'm still going to want to ramble, so I'm setting up a new feature.

Introducing, Ninja Stuff, of which this is the first official post. From this day forward, on a day I don't have an interview or review for you, I'll be posting this column, telling you stuff you may or may not care about and satisfying my need to tell you about it at a designated place rather than taking up time in a poor writer's review and potentially costing them readers. It will be like a blog within a blog:)

From now on, if you want my take on a book, check out the Book of the Week. If you're curious about whatever stuff I want to talk about, check out Ninja Stuff. And it won't be just rambling. If I find some publishing news online or writer resources and want to share them, I'll do it here. I've also got some classic rants coming up I've excised from old reviews. 

Sound like a plan, Esteemed Reader? I know my many patient author friends are relieved I'll no longer be posting Tori Amos songs or reviewing shark movies in the middle of my Book of the Week Reviews:) I'll still compare literature to Batman, of course, but that's just kind of my signature style:)

This first Ninja Stuff post is under 1000 words. Not too shabby, but we'll just see how long that lasts;) 

And as for sharing stuff with you, here's an interview with Stephen King I dig:

Exciting New Feature Coming!!!

Hi there, Esteemed Reader! I'm just dropping in today to tell you how excited I am to be expanding the blog. We've interviewed writers and literary agents and we can look forward to more interviews with both in the coming weeks.

But starting tomorrow, we're also going to be interviewing editors of middle grade books, beginning with the editor of Ashen Winter and the founder of Tanglewood Publishing, Peggy Tierney! She'll be here tomorrow to face the 7 Questions, so make sure you find your way back here.

I love these 7 Question interviews because I think they reveal a lot about our favorite writers and they've helped me to think of literary agents as people rather than gods who reject our manuscripts from the top of Mount Olympus:) I hope you feel the same and that you're as excited as I am to welcome our first editor of hopefully many. I'll see you tomorrow, Esteemed Reader!

New Year's Resolution

Wait, Esteemed Reader! Don't go! I just want to talk to you is all. I know I've made a mess of things between us and I am so, so sorry. But I can change, baby. I can be better. Just give me one more chance. I've missed you.

I know I've said it before. I know I've promised to get back to blogging on a regular basis only to go months between posts. Book of the Week? More like Book of the Never. Linda Benson gave me a free book forever ago and have I reviewed it? No. And she was one of the first authors ever to appear here.

My buddy Mike Mullin's wonderful new book, Ashen Winter, came out in October. I'm thanked in the acknowledgements for writing all over his first draft notes like "make this part not suck" and "should be more like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets 50 Shades of Gray" and "have you considered giving your protagonist superpowers?" Mike took those very useful notes and has written a fantastic sequel to Ashfall. And have I reviewed it? Have I!?!

I've been an absentee Ninja, Esteemed Reader, and you have every right to stay mad at me. I never tweet. I'm never on Facebook. I haven't interviewed any authors or literary agents since I don't remember when. I call myself a ninja, yet I have done no ninja-ing. If a ninja lose his middle-grade-ness, how can he be made middle-gradey again?

But here's the deal: When I started this blog, I was a stockbroker working 40 hours a week in a set schedule and I had no agent or critique partners. So I chased after book reviews and interviews like I had nothing else to do because I didn't. I was posting at a grueling pace that sucked up all my writing time and I loved it. I regret nothing. We got to chat with some of the best writers in the world and literary agents read my queries and responded more frequently because they knew this blog.

But then I graduated from stockbroker to financial adviser to manager and began working 60-70 hours a week, often from home during my blogging time. I got myself some critique partners with manuscripts that needed sincere editing, not just highlighting and reviewing. I got myself a wonderful agent who wanted revisions and new manuscripts done on time (there are writers in this world who apparently do that). In short, Esteemed Reader, I got busy and this blog fell to the wayside.

And I felt guilty about it, I really did. And that made things worse because how could I come back for just a quick post when I'd been away for so long? This blog is my homepage and every time I fired up my internets it would stare mournfully at me, my neglected child. I have this life-changing, mind-blowing blurb accompanying my latest manuscript and when people asked me how the heck I got in touch with this author, I'd explain I used to run this blog... And I cringed every time I heard myself say it. What's this "used to" business?

I'm still Superman! Superman, you'll be great again. You're just in a slump! Say, Jim! That is a bad outfit! Whoah! And now, like a powerless and beaten Clark Kent, I have to go back. I have to! I must hitchhike my way back to my Fortress of Solitude and beg Jorel to give me my groove back.

This has been a terrifying glimpse into the stream-of-conscious thoughts of a grown man in his early thirties who honestly relates his mundane life of giving financial advice and writing his little stories to the epic journey of the great American superhero. Seriously. And I found a real live girl willing to marry me!

I want us to be close again, Esteemed Reader. I've missed you. If you're still there, if there's still any part of you that remembers how great we used to be, let's try it again. I'm coming home, Esteemed Reader. 2013 will mark the return of the Ninja.

And I'm not just saying it, this time. I've switched jobs again to a position requiring fewer hours (and paying more) and I've finished a new manuscript, so I can spare some of my precious writing time. I want to do things different. I've got some great interviews lined up and some wonderful books to tell you about, but I'm also going to post updates about my life as a writer.

I know what you're thinking: why the heck would we want to read updates about you when we could be reading interviews with good writers? That's an excellent point, Esteemed Reader. But this has always been a blog for writers and as a writer I'm encountering writer-ly things on a regular basis you might enjoy reading about. Plus, I suspect I may have some very big (for me) book news to share with you this year which will give me all new insights into the world of publishing I can share with you.

I'm not going to promise to return us to the way we were when we were young, Esteemed Reader. I can't post two interviews and a review a week like I used to. It's too much work and I'll get burnt out. A 500-pound man shouldn't make a resolution to exercise and eat only salad to lose 300 pounds in four months. It's not a realistic goal and he's likely to fail. Rather, he should resolve to start small like eating only three buckets of KFC a day instead of five.

That's how this is going to be. My New Year's resolution is to update this blog more frequently. I'm still going to call them Book of the Week reviews, but I'm only going to review a few books and interview a few authors. We'll have new literary agent interviews as well, but we won't have them every week. I'm not going to let blogging get between me and my fiction writing the way it once did. But I think I can find a balance between blogging all the time and not updating this blog for months.

We can try, Esteemed Reader. If you want to stop by and see me every so often, I'll be here. And I will know that nothing I do this year will be as awesome as this movie trailer:

The Ninja Won the Pot-O-Gold Award!

Big time thanks to my friend Casey McCormick over at Literary Rambles for bestowing on this blog the Pot-O-Gold Award! I’m not sure what it is or where I collect my gold, but it’s very exciting to win:)

Christie Wright Wild created the award and here's the idea behind it:

"The Pot-O-Gold Blogger Award is awarded monthly, by me, to one blogger who I feel has a flair for interesting and helpful content, as well as visually appealing and easy-to-navigate design. In other words, it's like discovering a pot of gold! It's a site you will visit frequently and enjoy swimming around in for a while."

Thank you, Casey!

Here are the rules:

If you receive the Pot-O-Gold Blogger Award:

1. Say thank you to the person who gave it to you.

2. Write a post and include the image of the award, a link to the person's blog who gave it to you, and a link to my blog, WRITE WILD. (Copy and paste the rules in your post.)

3. Award four bloggers this award and tell why each is a Pot-O-Gold! (If you receive this award more than once, you only have to forward it the first time.)

4. Share four simple things about yourself: 1-a time you had to exercise FAITH, 2-something you HOPE for, 3-something (or someone) you LOVE, and 4-a time when you felt LUCK.


FAITH: I'm a writer. I have to exercise faith each and every time I sit down to write that someone, somewhere will want to read what I'm writing.

HOPE: I hope last night's final episode of Big Love was just a bad dream I had and that when I watch the real final episode it will have a better ending.

LOVE: I love Mrs. Ninja. Obviously. And Batman. And you, Esteemed Reader.

LUCK: I feel lucky because I have even more exciting interviews with authors and literary agents to share with you in the coming weeks.

Now then, I guess I'm supposed to choose four bloggers to give this award to. Hmmmm. Well, obviously I follow several writer blogs, so I'll just rule out the blogs of any authors or agents who have appeared here. I couldn't possibly choose among so many fine blogs and in a way, isn't having appeared on this blog award enough? No, I suppose not.

Also, my first choice would be Casey McCormick and Natalie Agguire, but I can't very well regift Casey's award back to her.

So I guess I'll choose:

BabylonSista at Confessions of a Cybernegress because I'm married to her:) You may note her most recent post is about a delicious beet recipe. Beets I ate. What's not to like?

Melina at Reading Vacation because she reviews way more books than I do and her love of reading inspires my own.

Michael G-G over at The Year of Writing Dangerously because of his great reviews of craft books and because I won a book there just a week ago and I really like winning things:)

Bruce at Building Batman. I have never commented on this blog nor reached out to Bruce in any way. But I do love reading about his mission to become Batman and I support this noble cause with all my heart.

That's it for now. I'll be back tomorrow with a new Book of the Week and I hope you'll be here too. And now here's a video of a man with puppets that makes me laugh and laugh:

Book of the Week Review Policy

Hello, Esteemed Reader. My how you’ve grown! I remember a time not so long ago when Esteemed Reader meant just Mrs. Ninja. But more of you Esteemed Readers are finding your way here each week.

Therefore, I have no choice but to write out a review policy, or statement of intent, or blogger’s manifesto, or whatever you want to call it. This is it. You should know that I’m not an objective reviewer and I’ve never claimed to be. I love books, good and bad, especially those written for middle grade readers.

Me reviewing books is akin to the Cookie Monster reviewing cookies: “This good cookie, this also good cookie, this best ever cookie, this even better cookie, etc.”

There is value from criticizing books, but I’ve been on the receiving end of that criticism and it sucks, whether it’s helpful or not. I’m a writer and my intention is to write reviews the way I would want someone else to review a book I'd written. I'm in the business of promoting writers when I can, which is why reviews posted here will be posted on Amazon and Goodreads as well with a maximum star rating.

Here is the “standard disclaimer” that accompanies every review I post: Book of the Week is simply the best book I happened to read in a given week. There are likely other books as good or better that I just didn’t happen to read that week. Also, all reviews here will be written to highlight a book’s positive qualities. It is my policy that if I don’t have something nice to say online, I won’t say anything at all (usually). I’ll leave you to discover the negative qualities of each week’s book on your own.

I think that about sums it up, but let me clarify five things it doesn’t cover:

1. Only published authors are being interviewed and only published books are being reviewed. If you are a self-published author, please don’t ask me to review your book. I’m getting enough requests for reviews now that I’m being forced to turn people down, and I hate doing that. I’m sure there are many wonderful self-published books out there and I’ve read a few of them, but going forward, this is my firm policy.

***Actually, it wasn't that firm. I amended this policy in July of 2013.

2. Given that I’m not objective and I love every book I read, I will be focusing each week’s “review” more on the craft of writing than the book being discussed. Some weeks, I may focus solely on a particular technique the book aptly demonstrates and how an effect is achieved. After all, improving my own writing is my major motivation for writing these reviews.

3. I love promoting the work of debut novelists or writers who haven’t had a lot of exposure online. If this is you, please write me and let me know you have a book you’d like me to see. However, this is my blog and I get to pick the books. I will occasionally be reviewing classic books by writers such as Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, or even J.K. Rowling. I am deaf to your cries of “Unfair!” or “They already get enough attention!” I believe that it is important to read classic middle grade fiction as well as what’s current.

4. Regarding comments, I love to swear with the best of them, but on this blog I watch my language. Please do likewise as younger Esteemed Readers find their way here. Put a really filthy word in your comment and I’ll delete it.

5. Further regarding comments, I ask that you be courteous to each week’s author as I promise you they read your comments. If you disagree with my review of a book, you’re welcome to say so and I hope you will. But don’t be a jerk and if you don’t like a book say why you don’t like it. If your comment is only, “this book sucks,” without a why for the sucking, your comment will be deleted.



And that’s it. Now let’s get back to fun stuff like books and writers and funny Batman videos I find on YouTube:

ENTER THE NINJA

Dear Esteemed Reader,

I’m changing my online presence up a bit. For the past year, I’ve been promoting both my adult horror writing and my middle grade fiction from my website www.robertkent.net, which is just a silly thing to do. The two genres are not compatible.

Hence Forth, I shall be THE MIDDLE GRADE NINJA! Hiya and what have you. This new blog will focus first and foremost on being useful for my fellow middle grade writers out there in the blogosphere. So occasionally I’ll be posting rambles on what I’ve learned with my own writing, but I will more often focus on tools and resources I come across on the internets and would like to share with you.

After a whole year and a half, www.robertkent.net is going away. It was a good website for me to get my online feet wet, but trying to keep that site current with lengthy reviews and essays and fiction has taken too much time away from my novel writing. I think of the old site as a good rough draft.

I’m still going to write reviews, but they will be short and positive. If I don’t have something nice to say about a book, I’m no longer going to say anything. Also, I’ll be cleaning up my language. Rough talk is all good and well for horror writing, but it won’t do for a middle grade audience. So I’ll watch my mouth and I ask that you do the same. ANY COMMENT LEFT CONTAINING FOUL LANGUAGE WILL BE DELETED.

I’m looking forward to this new blog and I hope you are too. In the meantime, as my focus is being useful, I have reposted all of the 7 Questions For Writers Interviews done at www.robertkent.net here. If you haven’t read them, check them out. There’s a list of the interviews to the left. I hope to post more interviews here in the near future. Until then, Esteemed Reader, may your ninja craft stay strong.