4.5 * Review for What goes around comes around

A 4.5 rating...
This little debut novel took me by surprise. And, the setting is in one of my favorite places... England.(smile) This was a very emotional and engaging read from start to finish. If you are a woman who understands what it is like to feel like you've given up your identity once the children were born then you will find it easy to connect to the character of Lily. This book also addresses the issue of spousal abuse and at times I wanted to jump into the book and throttle her husband Greg. I still do! He is an angry, controlling and self absorbed man who cares nothing for Lily's needs and wants. Lily feels unloved, ugly and awkward and her self esteem has taken a beating in an 18 yr. empty and loveless marriage. She is overweight and has a distorted view of herself which is also something most of us women can relate too. How many of us are constantly comparing ourselves to what our idea of a perfect body is supposed to be? When you start checking off all of the flaws it's easy to start to believe that you are not attractive or beautiful... and this is where Lily is at the age of 37. 
Lily eventually decides to take a brave step forward and she decides to join the local gym. Lily is very clumsy and as she's walking through the door she quite literally falls into the arms of... James... a Rob Lowe look alike! Despite her humiliation she presses forward like a soldier! Through her visits to the gym she forms friendships and a kind of second family and we start to see a small awakening for Lily as she begins to build confidence in herself. Eventually she ends up joining in on a weekend of walks in the Peak District with a group of individuals to raise money for a good cause. During this trip she realizes that she is falling for James. Insert steamy love affair... :) 
I am not usually a fan of books or characters that cheat on their spouses. But, in this particular story I was rooting for Lily to find the courage to get out of this abusive and loveless marriage. James was exactly the medicine she needed to start the process of re-discovering herself, her need for passion, and realizing that she doesn't have to just accept her fate as an invisible spouse. This relationship with James gives her courage to finally make that difficult step to ending her marriage. And, I was proud of her for making this decision not because of James but because she knew it was time. 
Just when you think that Lily has it all figured out and we're going to have a nice tidy little Happily Ever After ending... events occurred at the end that both surprised and shocked me... and, yes I am itching to find out just where the author will take us in book two. James was keeping a big secret and Greg ends up getting the last word. But, Lily is still hanging on to hope... 
What goes around comes around is a great title for this book. It is very much about Karma and my only hope is that karma will come knocking on Greg's door in book two! 

If you're interested in reading this book it is available on Amazon for only a dollar! And, it's free to borrow for Amazon prime members. I highly recommend that you give this book a go... it's a great read for that little price tag! And, I think this will be an author to keep an eye on. 

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Right to write

I keep reading debates about writing.  The "proper" writers are indignant at the new indie "authors", who think it's okay to dash off a story and self publish, with no real thought or perceived effort.  They claim they are choking the virtual bookshelves with so much sub standard material, the discerning reader can't find the "proper" books.  Indie authors are deemed not to care about the quality of their output; they don't use editors sufficiently seems to be the primary gripe.

In return indie authors claim there is good and bad writing everywhere.  Traditional publishing routes are not the arbiters of "good" however much they may wish to be - let the public decide, is the cry.

I can see both sides, if I'm honest.  God knows there are a LOT of books out there.  Books are even given away these days.  It used to be only one or two, but now there are hundreds.  My own kindle is full of books I didn't have to pay for, and am not sure I will ever get round to reading.  Some of them are indeed truly awful.  I accept my own first effort left a lot to be desired - particularly in it's need for an editor - but my God, if even I can spot the errors to the extent I can't finish the book then it must be bad.  I understand the challenge of balancing cost of editing cover etc with how much you are ever likely to make on a book, but there is a piece about personal pride, and if you actually expect someone to part with money for a book, then there are some quality minimum standards that should be adhered to.

BUT - the "traditional" authors need to accept the world has moved on.  The virtual world allows a level of democracy (for want of a better word) that means being with a publisher is no longer an entitlement to the highest sales.  

The publishers need to understand digital channel marketing better, while the self published brigade need to invest in the traditional skills of publishing.  Then the public will ultimately decide.  Do they always get it right?  No - just look at some of the talent competitions on TV.  But they are the paying audience, and as we all know - the customer's always right.

So what have I learnt so far

The main things I have learnt are:

It can be hard to hear that not everyone likes your book. It turns out that not everyone is into contemporary adult romances, particularly the adult bit, and particularly if they are still regular church goers.  One of the dangers of telling all your friends you have written a book is that they all then want to support you by reading it, which is great on the one hand but challenging when they were never your intended audience.  Still I can't really afford to be fussy.

Fitting in writing with a full time job and family is hard.  There is just not enough time to do everything, and sadly writing is the luxury pleasure that goes first.  The frustrating thing is that I now have 4 stories buzzing round my head (seriously) that I want to write, and invariably they buzz loudest just when I'm meant to be going to bed.  

The consistent feedback I've had is that the book eases into itself after the first couple of chapters.  Trouble is any potential publishers ask for the first couple of chapters and judge you on that - you see the problem.  I'm working on it for future books.

It's hard to get going outside of the UK - I really have no idea how I'm going to manage that.  

I really struggle with twitter.  I want to like it, but am failing so far.  It feels like a lot of people shouting about themselves, but I'm yet to be persuaded anyone is actually listening.  There are a couple of funny people.  Camel Toe, you've made me laugh more than once, but otherwise I'm at a loss.

Otherwise it's all going well.....

It's hard to write when the sun is shining

That's a bit of a problem, because I really feel Lily needs book 2 to happen, but I have to find the time to do it.  What with the amount of work I have to do in the week, and then the sun seductively shining, forcing me out of the house at the weekend, it's getting hard to find the time unless I give up sleep.  Oh to find a way that meant the writing became self supporting, but I'm nothing if not a realist, so I think I'll just have to enjoy it as a great hobby.

On another note I have finished the kids book I was writing, and I have a few people casting their eye over it as we speak.  Always an anxious moment.  I will let you know what they think when they finally finish.

Hi

So last month I self published my first book - What goes around comes around.  How clever I thought I was, convinced it would be mere minutes before the uk and then the world were appreciating my previously unknown talent.  Several days later and no sales showing I realised there might be a bit more to it.

Firstly you have to tell people about it.  There are SO many people writing and self publishing books at the moment that standing out from the white noise is a significant challenge.  To begin with I just wanted to quietly get some feedback from people who might read in my genre - contemporary romance in this case.  I sent a couple of messages to reliable and honest friends who were excited to hear and full of congratulation.  

"Wait til you read it" I warned them - "you may want to poke your eyes out with blunt pencils."

The wait to hear what people think is agonising I have learned.  I wanted to contact them every five minutes to see what they thought - God I was annoying.  I also learned that not everyone reads as fast as me, or they take their books on holiday to read and "oh we're not on holiday til the end of August."

I promise if I ever agree to read a book for you I will read it fast and I will give you honest feedback and not just tell you what you think I want to hear.

So the feedback when it came was really good.  My insecurities meant I didn't believe it, but what I heard continually was 'it's a good story - a page turner.'  That news, particularly when it came from someone I had been put in touch with who was a friend of a friend, so had no real loyalty to me, made all the difference.  She was a fellow self published author and an English teacher so she did point out I have forgotten my basic grammar skills (O'levels are a long time ago).

My newfound confidence encouraged me to put it out there - I let my friends know.  Scary stuff, especially when your book is a bit steamy in parts and you have to tell your mum.  And still, barring the grammar, people seemed to like the story.  "This is it" I thought, sitting back to watch the sales come in, but no, it's hard to get noticed on Amazon in amongst all the others.

So where am I now?  My reviews are great from those who've read it and chosen to post a review.  My book ranking is still in the high thousands.  I've joined twitter and now have over a hundred followers (@shawhopeful), but find it hard to self promote - I may be too middle class and English, (my mum told me it's rude to brag).  I also find the people who tweet endlessly about their book a complete turn off myself, so figure others might feel the same.

I am in the process of editing and will be uploading a better version with less mistakes hopefully this week ( significant lesson learnt there - get it edited before uploading.). In the meantime I'm still hoping people will discover me.  Any suggestions about what else I should do always welcome.

Be happy

O.C Shaw x