Reviews

Are you sure that's what you meant to say?

Some time ago, I reported that Due Diligence had received a review which, although favourable, included an horrendous plot spoiler. Despite my best efforts at persuasion, Amazon did nothing about it. I have learned since that Amazon never do anything about reviews like this one.

The advice from other authors is to grimace and bear it, hope that enough reviews come behind it to render it less visible.
This leads me to ponder the whole review situation.
Book reviews have traditionally been written by professionals who are employed by newspapers and magazines to inform reader's choices. These are careful crafted by experienced and knowledgeable experts. Amazon reviews are different. They are written by consumers who know what they like but aren't necessarily  able to bring a great deal of erudition and background knowledge to the job.
This doesn't mean they're not valid, quite the opposite. Amazon reviews are also very important. Most books are bought from Amazon and reviews can make all the difference to that purchasing decision. If someone doesn't like Due Diligence (and yes, there has been one reviewer in particular, check it out at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1909607045/ ) they're perfectly entitled to say so. And, if my instincts are correct, they're more likely to put up a review than someone who enjoyed the book.
So, all I can do is encourage anyone who's read Due Diligence to post a review and remember that the star system is simple:
5 stars if you like it
1 star if you don't

Don't you think you've written enough?

I'm being distracted again, I'll be cuddling a cat if you need me.

Distractions

It's been a while since my last post (sounds like a bugle call) but here I am.
The main reason I've not sat down to update you on my progress (or lack of it) is that things have been somewhat frantic of late. Only now are they beginning to quieten down.

Not all the action has centered around my writing. Not by any means.
The main event has, of course been the wedding. Lots of planning, lots of work, lots of joy. Not much time for anything else and I'm still waking up worried it might all go wrong when it clearly went completely right.

I hardly had time to stop and notice that May 2013 saw me transformed from writer to author to bestselling author.

(Pardon the fuzzy screenshot)

Due Diligence had a spell in the top twenty thrillers and also made the top 100 overall. Several thousand people bought a copy and left lots of amazingly complimentary reviews.

Things have changed. Now I'm writing the third Jenny Parker with the knowledge that I have a readership. There's an added incentive to get it finished. I'm not only writing for myself any more, there are readers out there that actually want what I produce.

So here come the distractions.

Checking my sales every five minutes. Being happy if I've made another sale, feeling slightly disappointed if not. 

Checking the bestseller lists, trying to remember where I was last time I looked.

Feeling happy when I read a good review but not really believing it.

Feeling deeply upset at the one bad review for Due Diligence and wondering if I should ever bother writing anything ever again.

But most of all, Marshmallow.

He seems to think I could be doing something better with my time.

So, if Limited Liability is a little bit delayed, you know not to blame the wedding or even the success of Due Diligence.

It's Marshmallow.