A couple of book birthdays to announce for May 3rd. David B. Coe’s Shadow Blade, the third in the Justin Fearsson series, and Barb Hendee’s To Kill A Kettle Witch, the fourth in the series.
I have read To Kill A Kettle Witch and found it delightful. Full of magic and intrigue, but also really wonderful in the way the relationships between the characters are portrayed. The romance part is not overdone, nor underdone. It is just right. Although I did read this book as a stand-alone, I highly recommend that you start with the first one. When you buy them in a bundle on Amazon, you can get a really good price. Go check it out, and while you are there, notice that Hendee has a number of other books. If you like to find an author and hang on, reading everything they write, you’ll get a lot of pleasure from Barb Hendee’s catalog.
Much like Hendee’s novel, David B. Coe’s Shadow Blade is part of a series that is best read from book one. I haven’t read this third book yet, but the first two were exciting, fast reads. To give you a sense of it, the recommended book underneath Shadow’s Blade on Amazon is for Charlaine Harris’ Night Shift, which I love. In fact, I will be reviewing the third in Harris’ Midnight, TX series very soon.
I would be remiss if I did not comment on an issue that is making the rounds in writing circles and on Facebook. I was completely unaware of this, but it seems there are readers out there that buy an e-book and then return it, even if they’ve read the whole thing or a significant part of it, and Amazon allows it. Team: this is theft. Writers spend months, even years, writing, editing, anguishing over their prose and then cross their fingers that the book or story will see the light of day. Sales are what pay the bills and ensure that more books and stories are published.
I think the most offensive comment was from a reader who commented that “I shouldn’t have to pay for stories in your head.” Sorry, that is exactly what you are paying for, because getting those stories our of our heads and onto paper is exceedingly hard. Acts of creation, like composing, writing, sculpting, painting and dancing, are just as valuable as computer programming. You are paying for the time, expertise, blood, sweat and tears that went into the creation of that art. If you don’t want to pay for the book, go to the library. That is a perfect way to support the author and not have to shell out cash.
If you agree and want to support writers, especially indie writers and small press publishers, you can sign this change.org petition here.
