My First Review (and Other Stuff)

A couple of site updates. One, I've added a new "feature" in the side panel/bar. The "What I'm Reading" idea I stole from Ex-Everything where she listed all the books she had read during the year. So, I'll try to keep the list current. When I'm done, I'll asterisk the title, signifying finishitude.

Second, my friend Joel had a baby...er...well...Mrs. Joel had a baby, and he's pleased as rum punch about the wee bairn. In fact, Joel has decided that his life is now blogtastic, so I've added a link to his site in the friends area. Read it, if you're like me and nosy curious about the goings-on in the Joel household.

Finally, I got my first review! Well, sort of. I need to asterisk this one as well, methinks.

So, I've sent the manuscript for King of Thistles/King of Shadows to a few of my friends who were foolish interested enough to read it. The only one, so far, to get back to me has been the aforementioned Joel. I consider Joel probably my best friend from the fifth grade (he arrived AND moved away all in the span of that fateful year). We conversed via the post for a few years and then sort of drifted away. A couple of years ago, he found me (thanks to me tricking the people at Classmates.com, so that I could post my email in the "free update section"...I'm so effing clever). We got to talking via email and I told him about the book, so he offered to give it a read, and I sent it to him. He read it. All 1400 pages of it, and he offered some kind words of praise. That made me happy, and thereby got me more interested in working toward getting it out there for more people to email me and tell me how good it is. Or at least that they want to read more.

Now, I, too, am pleased as rum punch.

I did get a "review" of sorts when one of my ex-girlfriends sat down and read the book when it was in its infancy (well, perhaps awkward adolescence), and she offered more criticism than review...as in you should change this and that and maybe fix this. I think her overall view was "it's good...but could be a lot better if you tried harder and made these corrections". So, if by chance you ever read this blog, Julie, thanks. I did take some of your suggestions to heart, and I feel it made a much stronger story overall, especially now that we see more of why the king is spiraling into madness.

So, that's it. A renewed vigor to write. I even have a few notes jotted down about a few things I want to add, shift, change, so even the version that Joel has read will be changed slightly. All for the better.

And that ought to play even better in Peoria.