Hey guys! Come on in, find a seat, and grab a neat looking drink lol. Today Renee is visiting me. I met her a while back through Cia when I was still writing on Lit. Later on in the post she'll tell you how to enter her giveaway. :)
One
of the things I get asked quite often is how I feel about feedback. Personally, I love getting asked this
question and I know that different authors look at this different ways. Personally, I love to hear exactly what my
readers think, both the good and the bad.
The only thing I ask is that if a reader is going to criticize my
writing, that they make that criticism constructive.
I
fully understand that not everyone is going to enjoy my work. Perhaps my writing style just isn’t a
reader’s cup of tea and that’s fine, but if there was something specific that
my readers didn’t like, I’d love to know.
Perhaps they didn’t think my characters were believable. Rather than just tell me that they weren’t
believable, I’d love to know why. What
about them made it difficult to connect with?
Perhaps the reader felt the plot needed some work? What could have been improved in their
opinion? Did they feel parts were too
hurried? Were there parts that dragged
on for too long? What, in the readers
opinion, could have been done to improve the overall story? These are things
that can help me improve in either future stories or if I decide to go back and
revise the story that is being discussed.
While I may not always agree, these are things that can help me ultimately
improve.
Expanding
on a reader’s opinion doesn’t just apply when dealing
with criticism. When a reader enjoys a
story, I’d also love to know what they enjoyed about it. What about the characters really called to
them? Was there a specific scene that
really pulled them into the story or was it a combination of scenes? What was it about the plot that they really
felt worked?
While
“I loved this” reviews are great to get, they really don’t tell me what I’m
doing right just as “This story sucked” reviews don’t tell me what I’m doing
wrong and what I need to improve on. As
an author, I am always trying to learn and grow. I strive to improve with each story that I
release to my readers and the only way I can do that is to know what I am doing
that works and what I am doing that doesn’t.
With
that being said, I invite all of my readers, whether they are reading a
published book or a free online story to contact me. Sometimes it may take time for me to reply,
but I always reply to my readers. If you
have something you feel I should know regarding my stories, drop me a line, I’m
more than happy to hear from you and there are multiple ways to get in touch
with me!
Facebook: Renee Stevens
Now
for the giveaway! Leave a comment on
this blog, and
your email, to enter for a chance to win a copy of my
eBook! Comments can be left through
Monday, August 19th, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday in the
Wednesday Briefs post. All commenters
will also be entered for a chance to win either a $10 Amazon gift card or a $10
Gay Authors Gift Voucher to be given away at the end of the month on my own
blog, Nature of the Heart!
Blurb:
Cyan
waited years to discover what dragon spirit the fates gifted him with. He
anticipated his first flight, his parents at his side, as he launched himself
into the sky for the first time. Best of all, one day he'd find his mate and
spend the rest of his life with someone by his side. Unfortunately for him,
things didn't go exactly as he'd always planned.
Excerpt:
Cyan gracefully turned to study the world
below him. He was lost in the beauty of his clan's land when he caught the
sound of wings close by. Before he could turn, something large slammed into him
from behind spinning him out of position. As he fought to regain control of the
air current he caught a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye as
another dragon slammed into him from the side. He roared in pain and anger as
the two dragons attacked him. He turned to defend himself just in time to dodge
the second attack from the Red he had been watching earlier.
Cyan hovered in the sky as the two dragons
kept coming at him, trying to slice open his underbelly with their sharp curved
claws. He knew he couldn’t fight them
both; he was already getting tired just dodging their attacks. He flipped around so that he was facing the
ground and tucked his wings close to his body, diving towards the earth far
below. He could hear them following and
barely managed to keep a few lengths ahead as they freefell towards the tree
covered hills. Fear urged him on and he
could feel his dragon’s desire to face the fight but he ignored it. He wouldn’t let the stories about him become
true, no matter what the cost was to himself.
He waited until he was in danger of crashing
into the treetops before he opened his wings and curved his body, sending him
gliding across the top of the canopy before rising back into the sky. Cyan heard the crash and the sounds of
branches snapping and looked behind him, unable to pull his gaze away from the
scene unfolding below. The Red hadn’t
managed to pull up in time and had slammed through the leaves and branches to
land in a heap on the forest floor.
He craned his neck trying to see the other
dragon, but it was nowhere in sight. He
halted his ascent and turned, using his wings to keep him hovering in the
sky. Even with his enhanced vision, he
could barely make out the Red as it shifted into its human form to reveal his
childhood friend, Silas. Cyan screamed
in pain at the sight of his friend’s crumpled form, the guttural roar echoing
across the sky. He fought the urge to go
help Silas and watched as his mate, Neesa, rushed out of the trees and crouched
at his side.
It wasn’t the first time he’d been attacked
by someone wanting to drive him from the area, it was actually something he was
used to. If it had been anybody but
Silas he probably could have shrugged it off, but knowing he’d caused a
one-time friend to be injured made an agonizing pain blossom in his chest. It felt like a fist had been shoved into his
chest and was in the process of squeezing the life out of him.
Cyan knew this wouldn’t be the last time he
was forced to defend himself and realized that it was time; he couldn’t bring
himself to fight those he had grown up with any longer. He had to do what he had been putting off for
well over a year. He had known he would
eventually have to leave the clan’s lands behind and had already searched out a
place, totally isolated and free of other shifters.
He
should have left long ago, but he’d kept hoping that things would change. That the clan would see that he posed no
danger to them and would welcome him back with open arms. A childish fantasy maybe, but one that he
clung to as though his very life depended on it. The grip on his heart
tightened and he fought back tears as he turned his back on the scene below and
headed east to start a new life. A new
life where he wasn’t constantly looking over his shoulder and fighting to stay
alive because of someone’s unfounded fear that he would lose all shreds of
sanity.
Available
For Sale At:
For more chances to win the gift cards and a
copy of my eBook if you don't win here, join us for the rest of the giveaway
tour on the following dates!!
August 24th: The Land of Make Believe "Challenging Fate eBook Giveaway"
August 31st: Nature of the Heart
Amazon Gift Card & GayAuthors.org Gift Voucher Giveaway
Bio:
Renee
Stevens resides in Wyoming with her husband, and while they have no two-legged
kids, they have plenty of the four legged variety. With three canines and three felines, her
life is never boring. When not sitting
in front of her laptop working on her next story, Renee prefers to escape to the
great outdoors.
Renee
began writing in her early teens but didn’t get serious about being an author
until her mid-twenties. Since then she
has written a number of stories, most of which can be found online for
free. She hopes to e-publish a few more
of her works in the very near future.
While
she does have some modern pieces, her favorite characters to work with are
shifters and vampires. When not writing,
camping, or refereeing the critters, Renee spends her time as a Moderator and
the Anthology Coordinator over at GayAuthors.org.
