indie author – Rachel Svendsen

Book Review: “Kell, the Alien” by Darcy Pattison

When I first got my Kindle, I was amazed at how many fantastic books were floating around to download for free. FREE! I went kinda crazy and tried to download all the books, paying little attention to content. I now attempt to be more discerning, but it’s so thrilling to be introduced to a fabulous new author.

If you pay any attention to my reviews, you’ll notice I tend to read a good deal of Middle Grade. This is just as much because I enjoy light reading, as it is that I am searching for gems to pass on to my children when they’re old enough.

And this one was certainly a gem.

Darcy Pattison’s adorable story is about Kell, a young alien trying to navigate life on Earth after he and his parents become indefinitely stranded here. The characters are super sweet and lovable, and the plot is full of innocent fun. Rich Davis’ excellent illustrations scattered throughout the chapters make the story extra cute.

I have already downloaded and started another one of Pattison’s stories, and am only waiting to get the next installment of Kell’s series because I can’t decide if I want it in print or e-book.

I highly recommend getting yourself a copy of the first book. The Kindle edition is still free on Amazon, (which you can read on the Kindle app if you don’t have a kindle).

Download it here! And then let me know if you loved it as much as I did.

Book Review: “Where the Woods Grow Wild” by Nate Philbrick

It doesn’t surprise me that Nate Philbrick is a fan of Lloyd Alexander. I noticed similarities to The Book of Three as soon as I started reading Where the Woods Grow Wild. But the pig keepers and runaway barnyard animals in Philbrick’s tale carried me into another forest for a new adventure I was glad to take.

Nate Philbrick’s YA fantasy novel is the story of Martin and Elodie’s adventure in the dark and fantastic wood that grows across the river from their village. A dangerous wood that most villagers keep at a safe distance. But a terrible accident draws Martin and Elodie closer to its borders until eventually, they find themselves lost in the dark, wild wood.

Three reasons I loved this book.

First, the characters. There were so many fun and quirky characters that just made me smile. I love having what I call “gentle” reads to help me wind down at night, and even though there were some high energy scenes in this story, the characters made it warm enough to qualify for my night read category. Along with fun and quirky, the story also had some steady, mature characters who elevated the flow of the story with their wisdom.

Second, setting. Philbrick has a great ability to paint a scene, and with a book that takes place in such a fantastic world, it was especially fun to be drawn deep into the forest while the author’s pen hemmed me in with trees.

Third, and most important, themes. I loved how Philbrick’s story included a character with a physical handicap, and how he showed the character’s struggles to cope with the everyday hardships that came along with it. The story talked about supporting one another through suffering, overcoming trials, and honesty in relationships.

I highly suggest scooting over to his website to check out his novels, as well as his fantastic artwork (he designed the cover of his novel himself!). He’s also pretty fun to follow on Twitter.

In Other News: My Thoughts on #cockygate

In case you didn’t know, there’s an indie Romance author named Faleena Hopkins who holds a trademark on the word “COCKY.”

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I know, right?!?!

Two trademarks actually, one for the word “COCKY” in reference to her romance series based on the Cocker brothers, and one for the word in a stylized script logo. These were approved on April 17 and May 1 of this year.

With her new certificates of ownership hot off the presses, she allegedly commenced to send threatening letters to other romance authors who have used the word “Cocky” in their titles, informing them that she’s already lawyered up and if they don’t change the title of their books she’s going to take all their profits and their little dogs too.

Now, I’m no lawyer, but I was still dubious of the legality of her claims. If authors can run around trademarking to prevent others from using words whose etymology goes back to the 1500’s then basically the industry is screwed. I mean, what will we name the books? NYT Bestselling author Christopher Rice tweeted, “I’m sorry, but if it’s actually legal to trademark a SINGLE WORD in relation to the title of a work of fiction, or a series of fictional works, then there are going to be three possible titles of novels left, and each one will be composed entirely of contractions.”

I mention his NYT Bestselling status to show that this is not just making waves in the indie community among authors who don’t have the financial means to keep a lawyer on retainer.

Further research led me to a legal post by lawyer Marc Whipple which gives credence to my credulity. I also discovered that the owner of the font she used for her trademark said she had no legal right to do so. Regardless, I just can’t stop asking myself why.

By trademark bullying other authors you alienate yourself from your peers in a community that tends to be endlessly supportive and protective of its own. Like other artists in their fields, writers bolster and encourage each other, even biggies like Neil Gaiman and Maggie Stiefvater send personalized encouragement to newbies. I’ve watched authors tirelessly promote one another on all forms of social media. They read and buy each others books, review, blog, assist one another. Why would she not want to be a part of that? Is she so frightened that her art can’t stand on its own two feet that she feels the need to bash in the knees of her competitors to win her place on the podium?

And if you thought authors were tight-knit, it’s a whole new world of Gordian knot proportions when you get to Romance authors. Their followers too. Romance is a very specific genre with very loyal readership. Why would you want to make waves in that pool? And those waves managed to wet the Romance Writes of America, an organization that supports big names in Romance like multi award-winning author Nora Roberts. RWA leadership has posted on twitter, as well as their website, that any Romance writer (member or not) is to contact them if they have been threatened with legal action for the use of the word “cocky.”

If I were her that would scare me quite a bit.

I went onto her social media to look for her side of the story. The first thing I found on Twitter was her author description which unfortunately makes her seem callous.

I gave her the benefit of the doubt again, that her response to this deluge of negative online attention was to be brazenly confident, and moved on to her Facebook page. I found several posts there where she claimed that she had obtained the trademark because people were pirating her work, trying to tack themselves onto her success with similar titles and book covers. But, let’s be honest, if you stack a hundred romances written by a hundred different authors in a row, they’re all going to have similarities in titles and covers (I know this from working at a library shelving fiction books). The inside is what matters. The outside is just par for the genre course, and most authors roll with it. (This article address this better, and also mentions several other authors allegedly affected by her cease and desist letters.)

Romance books are not really a genre I read, but the idea of all this happening just makes me sad, both for the authors attacked and for the instigator as well. There’s no good end for this. Hopkins is now being personally attacked and bullied by people online. That’s never okay. I don’t care who you are or what you’ve done. Nor do I think it fair that I’ve seen multiple people on twitter saying she should just vanish or never write again. Why don’t we ever discuss forgiveness anymore, or the fact that humans make mistakes? I mean, am I the only one here who’s ever had to learn a lesson the hard way? Regardless, either Hopkins is right and she’ll open the floodgates to a myriad of legal issues for artists everywhere (which is scary), or she’s wrong and she’s just outed herself as a bully to the national organization that supports her genre. Basically, she’s just one tribal council away from being voted off the island.

tenor

And for what? Greed maybe? Fear?

…and possibly some bad legal advice.

Book Review: “Creeping Shadow” by Caroline Peckham

I usually post on Monday, but today is a special Thursday. It is the release date of indie author Caroline Peckham’s YA Fantasy Novel, “Creeping Shadow.”

Here’s a quick no spoiler synopsis:

Siblings Oliver and May Knight find themselves moving in with a grandfather they’ve never met, after their mother’s strange disappearance. As they look for clues to their mother’s wereabouts, they end up finding that their grandfather is a mage and that Earth is one of seven existing worlds. One night, May is attacked in her sleep. A deadly curse cast over her sends both of them on an adventure into new worlds they didn’t even know existed a few days before.

This book is well imagined and beautifully written. I loved the original and magical settings, from the grandfather’s house to Vale, one of the other seven worlds. This book only took you into three of the worlds, one of being Earth, and I can’t wait to see the other ones. That’s not the only reason I’m dying to read the sequel.

To me, this book was part fantasy and part murder mystery with elements inside reminiscent of “Hunger Games” and “Interworld.” I stayed up late two nights to finish it and when I reached the cliffhanger ending, my first thought was: “Wow, this is one of the best Indie books I’ve ever read!” My second thought was: “I can’t wait to read the next one!” My third thought was: “…crap! This isn’t even being released until December…how long am I going to have to wait for the next one?”

Please Caroline, don’t make us wait too long.

Get your copy here for amazon US and here for amazon UK! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂

And stop by Caroline’s website to wish her a happy release day! ❤