cj Sez: I found the questions below at another blog and thought
what a great idea. So, here are some questions for you authors and
readers.
What makes you want to buy a book – the cover or the blurb on the back
of the book?
For me, it's both. As a reader the cover has to grab me, then the blurb has to make me want to know more about the story.
When you get into a story, what keeps you reading? Is it the bad boy hero or the tough, strong-willed woman or the cast of characters that help push the story forward?
Heroine or hero, I have to find a plot. I like to find humor and some quick repartee in even the darkest of moments. When my heroine is about to go where she’s shouldn’t go and has never been before, I want the scene to be scary, yet challenging but not convoluted. Does that make sense?.
For me, it's both. As a reader the cover has to grab me, then the blurb has to make me want to know more about the story.
When you get into a story, what keeps you reading? Is it the bad boy hero or the tough, strong-willed woman or the cast of characters that help push the story forward?
Heroine or hero, I have to find a plot. I like to find humor and some quick repartee in even the darkest of moments. When my heroine is about to go where she’s shouldn’t go and has never been before, I want the scene to be scary, yet challenging but not convoluted. Does that make sense?.
What makes you like one author more than another?
I’m a wordsmith, but I’m not into graphorrhea*. That is, I love being enchanted by an author’s
* graphorrhea \ı graf-ә- rē-ә \ n : mental disorder marked by the writing of a long succession
of meaningless words. “A novel of such
great length and of so little worth could only have been written by someone
caught in the grip of graphorrhea.”
If you’re into reading a series, when do you get tired of it…or do you?
I’m not usually a series reader because that requires I read the novels in a specific order. That’s not to say I haven’t gotten caught up in a series. As long as the author keeps the story line and characters fresh, I haven’t had a problem reading a series. It’s when a series gets formulaic, the story line get stale, and the plot threads take the same direction over and over that I’m no longer interested in reading the next book.
Which brings me to reviews: Do
you take the time to write a review?
Constructive feedback is manna to writers who have spent
hours, days, months, or years creating their story. Amazon, Facebook,
Goodreads, etc., we watch these sites religiously because we want to know our strengths
and our weaknesses . . . no trolls, please.
As an author, I look at the questions I've just explored and realize they are
really questions I need to ask readers, because the answers would contain lessons I need to
learn.
How about you? How would you answer these questions? So leave a comment, already.
In the meantime, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll
try to do the same.
cj
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cjpetterson@gmail.com
CJ, I identified with your answers right down the line. Did I see your badge fly by at New England Crime Bake last weekend? Sorry we didn't have time to talk. It was a good conference for me. --kate
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