#ReaderReviewsMatter: Be the Returned Voice

There's a lot of talk about the Reader and Author relationship, but I wonder if sometimes that idea is mistranslated. Sometimes, there is a sense that a novel is like a monologue performed in front of a silent audience.

There is no doubt readers engage and connect, and words have the power to move and to evoke strong emotions, (I'm a reader first and foremost too and I have been moved to shout and cry and laugh) but it is almost always an internal transaction, making the relationship between reader and writer, paradoxically, the most intimate and the most distant.

But when internal absorption and translation suddenly becomes and outward expression; a communication of empathy, and resonance, and feeling, then something truly wonderful happens - a dialogue is born. A two way running stream of understanding and sharing. That is the moment of magic to an author. It's like a voice travelling back from a distant planet - and the sound of that voice is all it takes to keep that writer creating and sharing.

Today, the first reviews came back for 'When Sorrows Come' and they have literally stopped me in my tracks, they've caused me to reflect on where I am an author and how I move forward. I guess you could call it the sudden onset of an existential crisis - but that can only be a good thing, right?

So if you have read something that moved you, made you cry, hit home, made you laugh, gave you hope, made you feel just a little bit less a crazy party of one, then reach out and tell the author, write a review, drop them an email, write them a letter. Be the returned voice, because your voice matters.  #‎ReaderReviewsMatter

If you're interested in reading 'When Sorrows Come' it is out on January 14th 2016 on Amazon Kindle exclusively for a three month period, after which it will be available on all eBook platforms. Paperback copies will also be available on Amazon and direct via the website. www.katiemjohn.com

#UpperYA #ContemporaryRomance #Relationships #MentalHealth #Survival #Hope #Love #Loss #SubstanceAbuse #SelfHarm

'When Sorrows Come' deals with some complex issues which are not suitable for younger YA readers.

PRE-ORDER LINKS

UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B016P1X4I2
US http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016P1X4I2

 

The Salem Witch Society by K.N. Shields

The Salem Witch Society by K.N. Shields
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't too sure when I first started reading it. I though the style was a little clunky and for a novel published by such a prestigious publisher, I thought that the editing had not done the author's story justice - however I persevered and I'm really pleased that I did. The storytelling and the characterisation in the novel are really good and I particularly enjoyed the refreshing and complex character of Percival Grey.

The links to Salem (which as suggested by the title is meant to be the main underpinning of the book) didn't quite fit as well as they might and if I'm really honest, I skipped over some of the faithful reproductions of the original trial notes as they got in the way of the story; it was a bit like the author really wanted to demonstrate the detailed research they had done and was afraid that we might miss it, even though it was artfully woven into other parts of the story.

I shall definitely be buying the second book as the character of Percival Grey really captured my imagination and I want to read more. This is a recommended read although it didn't blow me away.


View all my reviews

Review of 'Forbidden' by Tabitha Suzuma

This is one of the most fascinating, - under-the-skin books I have read in a long time. It left me feeling totally desolate at the end and challenged my whole sense of morality.

To be honest with you, the reason I purchased 'Forbidden' was a little whimsical. I was in my local Waterstones - in the YA section as to be expected - when I caught sight of the book 'Forbidden'. In itself it was little out of the ordinary; black cover, single gripping image (all a little pastiche of the Twilight graphics). If it had just been this on the cover I would have probably passed it over but there was also a bright purple sticker that stated 'Not Suitable for Yonger Readers'.

In the end I purchased it purely out of curiosity - What did a mainstream published YA book with an appropriacy warning actually look like? I knew from the blurb that it was a rather controversial subject matter, and the publisher has made it clear exactly what difficult subject the book deals with. What it doesn't warn you is that this book might just break your heart.

I'm not going to give the traditional kind of review about this book - you need to discover it properly for yourself - or maybe not.

It is a shocking book - it does not hold back on the description of physical intimacy. Primary genitals are named bluntly and actions are lingered over. There is explicit language: the F word is woven throughout (this didn't shock me particularly as I work in a London Comprehensive School and have a very realistic understanding of teenage language.)

Set in London, in the kind of community it is, makes this book very close to home for me. The work I have done with young people over the years allowed me to both fully recognise the scenario but also feel acutely disturbed by it. The depiction of the mother and homelife is incredibly crafted and portrayed - and is sadly not as fictional as it might first seem.

'Forbidden' does have questionable suitablility for a younger pre-18 audience. It breaks most of the rules of YA fiction and yet its truthfulness is something to be praised. I applaud the writer's and publisher's bravery, but wonder if I would, in truth, feel happy about my daughter reading it in her teenage years.

It's a definite 5 STAR (But your life might just be a little happier for not reading it.)