Fair Reviews

Lately I've been reading a lot of one star book reviews. I've become fascinated by what would inspire a person to take the time to write about something they already wasted their time in reading. Mind you, I'm not saying they wasted their time--they're saying it by virtue of their one star grading. In the many reviews I've read the one thing seems to be consistent, the reviewer criticizes the language and/or the sex in the novel.

I don't have a problem with a reviewer calling out an author's misspellings or bad grammar or even a hard-to-read font. There are any number of things that can go wrong with the writing of a novel; anything from head-hopping to tense jumping. I've read novels where the main character had an unexplained name change midbook. All of these examples are reason enough to lose a few stars from a review, but they are not the reviews about which I'm writing. I'm writing about reviews like the one that follows (in part):

I love a good book of betray(al) and hoping the wound come(s) out o.k. but this book was all about one man and see how many male and female he had sex rather runch (raunchy?) to me. I start to hate the main character from chapter 3 if he wasn't beating his wife he was screwing some man in the nasty way.

Note: To avoid changing the focus of this blog I'm ignoring the review author's spelling and grammar mistakes.

I haven't read the novel being reviewed here. The author has four reviews on Amazon, three with four stars and the one star above. As an author I know the importance of book reviews. Over the years, fair negative criticism has improved my writing and helped me grow as an author. Reviews like the one above are not fair and serve no purpose beyond exposing the reviewer.

First of all, if you can form your lips to say (or your fingers to type) " he was screwing some man in the nasty way" you should never read (and review) a novel with a homosexual plotline. Actually, I think you should stay away from novels with any kind of explicit sex because you're probably generally confused.

This review is just one of many one star reviews I've read that under rate novels with explicit sex. If a novel is classified as a picture book, juvenile, or YA (young adult) by all means it loses points for describing adult sex acts. It can lose stars for excessive profanity too.

When I see that a novel is classified as a paranormal romance I expect a certain amount of sex. And I especially expect sex in a novel labeled erotica, but the one star reviews that I've read about erotica novels repeatedly criticize them for being "porn." I don't know what makes one novel pornographic and another erotica. I've heard a lot of explanations, such as, erotica focus more on the story while porn showcases the sexual act. I figure if the Supreme Court can't define pornography, I don't expect Amazon reviewers to be able to nail it.

The solution to this problem seems simple enough to me, I would advise readers who are offended by sex and language to stay away from paranormal romance and erotica, but if you choose to read those novels find a reason to give them a single star review based on something other than the inclusion of sex and profanity. It really is just that simple.

Motherland as Muse

Warning: This post is longer than my usual entry, please bear with me.

I woke up this morning with the realization that, in my quest to get the word out about my paranormal romance series, I've been neglecting a very important rule--know your audience. I've been making a point to mention my Dogon Hunter novels early and often on my Facebook page and through my Twitter account, but with the exception of the ocassional mention on various Delta Sigma Theta and Paranormal Romance sites and pages, I haven't made it a point to single out my unique reader(s). I've neglected the very group most likely to enjoy reading this series as much as I love writing it. (Who? Keep reading.)

This morning I checked THE HUNTER'S SISTER page on Amazon's website as I do this several times a week. It's what I do to see if I have any new reviews. My eyes were drawn to one of my most recent reviews, a four star (out of five) with the title: Engaging story of Vampire Hunters from the Motherland.

The author, "Beaniebaby NYC,″ a self-identified mother of two who gets very little rest wrote:

"Not as fast-paced and violent as my other favorite paranormal stories, but I enjoyed the tantalizing story of the relationship of Adama and mysterious and God-like Ogo. I loved reading the complexities of their relationship to their fiery coupling! Did I mention the Vampire or Sangsue hunting. . . . . (She wasn't impressed with their fighting, which is okay with me because this wasn't that kind of novel. This novel was about the relationships) However I am looking forward to the next installment of the series to answer questions about Adama's relationship with another God and how she copes with her loss."

I focused on this review because, from the title, the author identified herself as being in my target audience: Engaging story of Vampire Hunters from the Motherland.

She identified the origin of these Hunters as being from the Motherland!

What makes my series different from the others is the source material. My series is centered around Africans! Since chameleon skin is one of their magical traits, the Dogon-Hunters don't always look like black Africans but they know who they are and their Malian homeland and religion is never far from their hearts.

I believe my taste runs like the other readers in my demographic, (African American, college educated, middle-aged, and middle-income) I read and write across genres. Judging by the books in my house and in the houses of my friends, at one time we bought a lot of books. Now that many of us are reading on devices, no doubt lately we're downloading a lot of books. Reading paranormal romances I've noticed that the pantheons represented have ranged from Ancient Greek to futuristic societies; Hunters and villains run the gamut from Romans, Norse, Highlanders and even Mayans. They are Chinese, Japanese, Irish, Fae and part and fully turned Vampires. When I started reading this genre, the group I didn't find represented was Hunters that look like me. That was when I decided to use the Dogons of Mali to represent my Hunters. They are an ethnic and cultural group that excited my interest many years prior to writing my first Dogon Hunter romance. They are, as Beaniebaby NYC said, from the Motherland.

Their real story is interesting in so many ways that I'll never have a chance to address in fiction, but I believe and my fans concur that the fictional back story I've created for them is exciting too.

That's my goal today, I'm seeking out the readers who would be interested in knowing there's a series based on an African tribe; a tribe that is said to have understood evolution long before Charles Darwin.

Spread the word

http://www.dogon-hunter.com

Dogon World Building

Greetings and TGIF. I woke up this morning determined to become more active with my readers. I promised myself that I'll try to post here at least twice a week.

Sometimes it's even hard for me to imagine, but I have several fans who love Fox, Ife, the Dogon Hunters, and their families and lovers almost as much as me. My long-time friend, Ann comes to mind immediately, but some women that I don't know personally have contacted me with their pledges of unwavering love as well.

I can certainly understand it there are several series that I love almost as much as my own. Two of my favorites are wonderful world builders and that's a writing trait I greatly admire.

From what I've read of Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling Series she could teach classes in seamlessly inserting vital details. Anna Zaires only has three novels in her Krinar series, but I'm just as impressed with her ability to make a very different Earth seem normal, without the over-explaining that can distract from the story.

Today I just wanted to take a moment to elaborate on something of which I've been asked repeatedly--the chameleon skin effect of my Dogon Hunters. Chameleon is a misleading description because the Hunters do not change with the speed that many associate with the lizard, although they don't change immediately either.

I picture their changing skin to be more like that of a person slowly building a tan. Dogon Hunters' skin will slowly move toward the color of the people around them. Since the world is as diverse as it is, they would rarely be found in an area with just one skin colored population, but if assigned to, say, Norway from Nigeria I imagine it would take several years before the Hunter would appear mixed race.

Unless retired, they would never stay in an area long enough to become as white as a native and, if they're retired and mated, the process stops. I never pictured it as a big part of who the Hunters are, but it has taken on a life of its own.

I hope that clears up more questions than it creates.

I expect to published SCENTED MAGIC very soon. I can't wait to hear from my Sorors about this novel. Two of the main characters are members of DELTA SIGMA THETA.

Until then,

Jackie