Monthly Archives: April 2023

You’ve Got Five Pages, #TheWritingRetreat by #JuliaBartz, to Tell Me You’re Good. #FirstChapter #BookReview #Podcast

Posted on by
3

Do urban adults often use similes such as “like a shipman searching the horizon”? Methinks not.

As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.

Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.

JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES

Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?

Today I snagged from the New Release shelf:

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

Well, what do you know? Here the author from last week’s episode left a positive blurb on the book for this week–⁠The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz⁠.

If you do not see the audio player above, you can access the podcast here.

The opening pages introduce us to Alex, a woman who is hung up on a broken friendship with Wren while attending a book release party for a mutual friend. At times the voice really shines in this prose–a bit immature, a bit creative, but overall unique. Other times the word choices do not jive with that personality–who on earth says “unselfconsciously affable”?

But it was the last paragraph I read that promised redeeming qualities to the voice, for that last paragraph gave us a very clear, colorful picture of just how badly Alex latched herself to Wren. Alex describes all sorts of glittery, beautiful dreams of a friendship with Wren mere moments after meeting her at a job. This not only explains why Alex keeps lamenting the loss of Wren and why she can’t stop thinking about her; it makes us wonder what Wren really thinks of Alex. We could very well be dealing with one character obsessing over another, fantasizing about the scale of that relationship while the truth is quite different. If so, then this suspenseful read just got more…suspensefuler.

No matter what the season brings, keep reading!

Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!

You’ve Got Five Pages, #TheAppeal by #JaniceHallett, to Tell Me You’re Good. #FirstChapter #BookReview #Podcast

Posted on by
7

Unconventional narrative, unconventional fun!

As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.

Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.

JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES

Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?

Today I snagged from the New Release shelf:

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

This review, I’m afraid, is going to be rather short, as this novel is not quite like other novels.

If you do not see the audio player above, you can access the podcast here.

Rather than a traditional narrative and/or paragraph structure, Janice Hallett’s The Appeal is created with emails, text messages, and other media snippets compiled for two lawyers to study in preparation for tackling a murder case. On the one hand, this means we’re not getting any details regarding setting or character appearance. On the other hand, we’re getting a wealth of first-person perspectives over a period of time that *should* guide us readers to the ultimate solution of the mystery.

As a reader, I’m definitely intrigued. As a writer, I admire Hallett taking on this risk. It’s a dangerous thing to essentially tell readers, “You don’t have all the materials. Hopefully, it’s in the right order. Good luck!” It’d be all too easy to just withhold all sorts of things so you can just dump it all in the resolution later. Hopefully, Hallett does not do this. The extra challenge is also to make sure the writing voices for all these characters is consistently different. So far, I couldn’t help but chuckle that one character only writes in two-word responses compared to the gushing emails from another character. It’s an interesting dynamic, and I’ve got to continue at least a bit more into the tale to see where these emails take me.

~*~*~

I just have to add that I actually completed this novel in less than 24 hours. It’s a highly enjoyable read where EVERYONE is an unreliable narrator. You’re trying to piece everything together alongside two young lawyers who are trying to connect details, commissions, and timelines shared within this peculiar little theater group. If you’re keen for a different take on a cozy, then I highly recommend this book.

No matter what the season brings, keep reading!

Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!

You’ve Got Five Pages, #Homecoming by #KateMorton, to Tell Me You’re Good. #FirstChapter #BookReview #Podcast

Posted on by
4

Well, we had a good run. The prologue has returned, and a rambling prologue, at that.

As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.

Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.

JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES

Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?

Today I snagged from the New Release shelf:

Homecoming by Kate Morton

Kate Morton’s Homecoming opens with a woman named Isabel. Isabel is pondering various things while hanging up some bunting for a New Year’s Day family celebration.

If you do not see the audio player above, you can access the podcast here.

The prose itself is well-crafted, and there are certainly some interesting lines that help us feel the weight of natural Australian dangers on Isabel as she’s out and alone. Actually, Morton’s quite good at dropping hints of danger and trouble within Isabel without Isabel actually saying these are troubles–moments relating to her depression, her marriage problems, her desire to do away with her own kids, her “guilty conscience” and her determination to “make things right”–it’s all quite good foreshadowing for SOMEthing to happen. And the prologue does end with the promise of something bad about to happen. The downside, at least to me, comes with how long it takes to reach that moment. We spend the entire prologue with Isabel thinking. That’s it. Now a few pages of thoughts can be well done, for as I mentioned, Morton’s cleverly hiding hints of danger within Isabel’s psyche. But it’s a slow, slow process through all of Isabel’s thoughts, and by prologue’s end I’m saying, “Thank goodness THAT’S over.” That’s not what a writer wants a reader to feel. As writers, we’ve got to make every line count. We shouldn’t need to hide a hint of foreshadowing beneath a mountain of exposition. A little goes a long way, whether one’s writing a short story, a novel, or anything in between.

No matter what the season brings, keep reading!

Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!

You’ve Got Five Pages, #TheWhaleboneTheatre by #JoannaQuinn, to Tell Me You’re Good. #FirstChapter #BookReview #Podcast

Posted on by
3

The voice of a toddler is compelling, indeed.

As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.

Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.

JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES

Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?

Today I snagged from the New Release shelf:

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

We return to historical drama in Joanna Quinn’s The Whalebone Theatre, and know what? I don’t mind.

If you do not see the audio player above, you can access the podcast here.

The story is geared to follow Cristabel Seagrave from toddlerhood to adulthood spying on Nazis in France, so our first impression of the protagonist is her impish, defiant nature. Oh, this kid is great fun, and I wouldn’t mind following the toddler Cristabel around for a whole novel. Quinn does marvelous work as a writer in keeping the prose vivid and active, while also throwing in the occasional childish term like “nothingy.” It’s a lovely balance for adult readers who may not appreciate the quirky language of a child, while also sounding true as a voice for a young character. We watch Cristabel meet her stepmother for the first time, and this occasion clearly marks a strained relationship for the future–any stepmother who refers to a child as “it” is not all that keen on children, to be sure! So while we didn’t see the whalebones just yet, I enjoyed seeing much of Cristabel’s personality and imagination shine through so much in this opening scene. Those are the character traits an author wants to establish early so that the protagonist’s later choices not only propel the story forward, but also ring true to the character we’re happy to know.

No matter what the season brings, keep reading!

Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!