Jacqueline C. Thomas - Romance Novelist

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What I’ve Read this Month- February 2019

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If your writing you should be reading, period. I read my first romance novel a few years back and I have not been able to put them down. The first romance series I ever read was by author Christine Feehan. The series was about a group of physics who fall in love, not always in the best ways. I won’t lie\ sexy physics are not normally my thing, but I could not put them down. I read through the series in about six weeks. I share this because I think it is important to read in the genre you write in. I also think it is important to read lots of things, not listen to, but actually read. (I am not knocking audiobooks.) The important thing here is to read, just read.

I read a lot. I read for work, for school, and for pleasure. Here is a list of what I read this month for pleasure.

 

Where the Crawdads Sing: by Delia Owens

I love fiction, I read all kinds of fiction. This book came highly recommended to me. I decided to give it a try and I was so glad I did. The book is written with almost poetic-like prose, which normally would turn me off as a reader. I don’t have anything against poetry, I just don’t want to read a novel written in poetry. The story is of a young girl who is abandoned by her family. She is left in her family home to survive off of the Carolina coast. Reading the book, I could feel Owen’s love for her main character. There is a murder mystery and a romance that weaves through the story.

Like the Carolina coast, this story has a unique rhythm all it’s own. What amazes me, even more, is that this is Owen’s first published novel. Let me just say, wow! I would have thought Owen’s has been writing for years. This book is really well written and the story unfolds beautifully. A real treat.

 

The Idea of You: by Robinne Lee

In full disclosure, I have not completely finished reading this one yet. I am two-thirds of the way through. I picked it up because the concept intrigued me, a mom falls for a member of a boy band that her twelve-year-old daughter is in love with. So far it has been a fun read. Lee does a great job painting Solene’s world, a French-American divorcee, living in L.A., owning an art gallery and raising her daughter. The love interest Hayes Campbell, dreamy boyband member and almost twenty years Solene’s junior, is sexy. I love the tension between the two characters Lee does a great job of not letting the reader know who is really in charge, is it Solene the older, wiser person in the relationship or is it Hayes, with his ability to know just what to say? As I said, I haven’t quite finished this one, but it is so good so far!

Beta Read the 1st Draft of Jon Thomas’ Book.

My husband wrote a book! Actually, my husband has written several books. This one has been a labor of love and I could not be prouder of him. The icon above is from our website Anglotopia.

He is asked almost daily, why he loves Britain so much. He explains why and how he came to love that quirky, wonderful nation in this book. The book has taken him almost two years to write as he explains through travel experiences why he loves the U.K.

He has a good edit ahead of him, but I have no doubt that his book will be wildly successful!

Beta Read The Bridgekeeper: by Mathew Warren

This author was the first writer in my life. He has been writing since as long as I can remember. He went through a traumatic experience that threw off his writing mojo. This was the first project he has written since. I love the concept of not being able to rely on the narrator. I don’t want to share too much about it, because it is his and a work in progress. All I can say is that it is a powerful story that I could not put down. Way to flex that writing muscle little Matthew!

 

Toxic Game: by Christine Feehan

This arrived the other night and I could not wait! I preordered this newest book in Feehan’s Ghostwalker series last August. I had completely forgotten that I had ordered it at all so it was a great surprise when it arrived in the mail. I have not technically read it yet. I was all geared up to dig in and tear through it but honestly, I do that and I feel like I miss out. I am going to take my time and read this one. Feehan, in my opinion, is one of the best romance authors I have come across. Her ability to write the chemistry, awkwardness, affection, and love that her characters experience is a true study in the craft of romance writing.

An Open Letter to Beta Readers Everywhere

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(Photo Credit: Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay )

If you have a writer in your life and you are close to them, chances are you have been asked to read and review their work. You are what is known as a Beta reader, the first ones who get to look at new work. I have been a beta reader for the author’s in my life and let me tell you this is never an easy job. Sure, it sounds like fun, reading something someone you know and love has created, but let me tell you the fun is fleeting.

I didn’t truly understand how to be a beta reader until I started writing on my own. Sure I would read and give some feedback when asked, but it wasn’t in depth and more importantly, it was not always honest. At the time I was more concerned about hurting the feeling of the author’s I loved rather than be totally honest and risk hurting their feelings. It wasn’t until I was asking my own beta readers for feedback that I realized I used to suck at being a beta reader.

The first time I asked others to read my work, I recognized the niceties that were being said. I had said the same things. Stephen King talks about writing for your ideal writer, one person that will be brutally honest. I am very lucky, I have two, who are also both authors. I remember when my sister read my first book, she called me and said, “Okay, we’ve got to talk about this scene.”

One of the characters in it has to go buy a car, she’s in college. She chose the car she bought because she told herself she did not need a family car.

My sister was blunt, “college girls are not thinking about family cars.” She was right and she was honest, and it stung. I remember thinking about all of the rationales why my character would have done that, telling myself I was right when I heard my inner voice say, “stop!” My sister was being an excellent beta reader, she was being honest, to the point and helpful. She didn’t call me with hurtful words, she called with a well thought out critique.

The whole experience was an ego check, something I think everyone needs, but no one likes. I learned to shut up, not argue and listen to the advice given. As a writer, I learned that when someone reads your work and does not give constructive feedback, it doesn’t help you grow as an author. It takes more love and care for a person and their work, to be honest with them.

Now when I am asked to beta read, I don’t jump in right away. I ask myself if I can be honest, really honest with the writer. Sometimes I know I can, and other times I can’t so I decline to read. I try to be an active beta reader and give useful feedback. With the author’s permission, I make notes. I want my reading to count, to be helpful.

I always tell my beta readers, “if I don’t know there is a problem, I cannot fix it.” I stand by this. I also prepare myself mentally for a reader to come back and trash the work. Luckily I have never had that happen, but I know it might someday. The point is that both the beta reader and the author are putting themselves out there, in a vulnerable spot.

So that being said here are my rules to test if you’d be a good beta reader.

  1. Can you be honest.. really honest? – If you can’t, don’t read the work.
  2. Be timely- I am terrible at this (sorry Lauren) The author is waiting for feedback.
  3. Be constructive in criticism- Give the author directions to work in
  4. Be detailed- “It needs work,” is not helpful. What exactly needs work?
  5. Be willing to re-read if necessary.