Book Review: Angel Sometimes

Angel Sometimes by Helen Ginger is a heart warming, heart rending tale of a young lady from Oklahoma who lived on the streets of Austin at age sixteen. Now at age twenty-two, she has friends, swims as a mermaid in a bar, has a guy, Mac, who's fallen for her (she's not sure if he's in her life plan), and Angel is the go-to gal for other homeless women in trouble.

A brutal beating and murder has Angel and friends on the lookout for a bad guy. Meanwhile, Angel reflects on her life and we learn more about her character, and we're ready to help her face her past. How could her mother have kicked her out? Is Angel's abusive father still alive?

As Helen Ginger writes: It's time to quit planning and go home. To do that she needs three things: a high school diploma, a car, and a gun.

Angel Sometimes is well-written with engaging characters and a heroine with gumption. You will root for Angel, and enjoy the twists and turns of her fate.

I'll Take a Bad Review, Please

Book reviews - I've been fortunate in that I've had some very complimentary reviews written on Amazon, on Helen Ginger's blog, and in Riverbabble for My Zoo World.

However, an interesting article (Dallas Morning News 3/4/12) caught my eye. Jonah Berger, Harvard Business Review, conducted research and found that "even terrible publicity can bolster the bottom line."

His group studied sales patterns for 250 hardcover fiction books reviewed in the New York Times. They used fancy algorithm classifications and came to this conclusion: Good reviews increased sales 32 to 52% across the board. For books by established authors, negative reviews caused a drop of about 15%. But for books by relatively unknown authors, bad reviews caused sales to rise by an average of 45%. Whoa!

The reason - analysis showed that by making consumers aware of a book they would otherwise not know about, even the harshest review can be a boon.

I can understand the rationale and it's especially true with movies. It's easy to dismiss critics - What do they know? They just want some artsy foreign film. How bad can this flick or book really be? I've had friends even give a half-hearted review on a book and then say, "But you might like it." Then indeed it's on my radar.

So, I've been working the positive promotion angle. Is it time for a mud-slinging nasty campaign? Nah - my feelings would get hurt.

Weatherford Workshop - Books 'N Jazz

Stupendous Saturday in Weatherford at the college sponsored Books 'N Authors 'N All That Jazz workshop. A plethora of class choices, meet 'n greets with authors, and words - the glory of words, writing, and publishing.

I started my day with Laurie Moore's Snappy Dialogue class. She's a hoot and I enjoyed her insight on keeping your plot moving along with valuable conversation. Her mysteries don't lag, and the chat is never dull. www.lauriemooremysteries.com

Jazz was the theme of the day and Jazzing Up Characters starred Helen Ginger and Sylvia Dickey Smith. The two tag teamed about digging deeper into your characters, and giving the reader a reason to read your book. Sparkling insights and humor highlighted this class

www.helenginger.com and www.sylviadickeysmith.com

After lunch, a panel discussion turned into a business discussion - self publishing versus traditional, plus marketing via twitter, website, social networking, and an array of circus like promotions. The author give and take was lively, informative, and energetic. The key is to write a great book, then promote the heck out of it, and believe in it and yourself. Thanks to Dave Lieber www.yankeecowboy.com, Mike Kearby, Helen Ginger, Sylvia Dickey Smith, and Laurie Moore.

My final session of the day concerned children's literature. Rickey Pittman www.rickeypittman.com regaled us with poems and excerpts from his childrens' historical picture books. A prolific author, Pittman enthusiastically believes in children literature and the magic of reading aloud to kids. He shared marketing tips and his love of writing.

After the workshop, friends gathered to discuss the day, and agreed that Weatherford College put on an enlightening show and all that Jazz.