My Big Honking Thrill

I'll be the first one to advise any artist to take reviews of their work with a grain of salt. One person's opinion. Taste is subjective. However, even though I preach this and believe it, it's still hard not to feel the rush of a good review and the sting of the bad.

My method: Enjoy and celebrate the good reviews forever. Endure the sting of a bad review for a day then shrug it off.

You will never be every one's cup of tea. Even Nora Roberts, whose books appeal to millions of readers, including me, is not every one's cup of tea. I will remind myself of that the first time someone disses my upcoming release Out of Eden. But for now I am reveling in TWO super reviews!

Out of Eden comes out April 1st. But I have been googling for early reviews for a couple of weeks now. As always, it's a nail-biting time for me. I put a lot of sweat and heart into my stories and, dang it, I want people to enjoy them. Aside from a passionate creative outlet, my main motivation for writing is to entertain.

Wednesday morning I came across my first review of OOE. Holy cow. Publishers Weekly. The big kahuna. PW reviews all genres. They receive hundreds of books from publishers every day. It's tough to get a review there, especially for smaller names like moi. I've only been reviewed at PW one other time, years ago. Charmed received a lovely review. It's still a highpoint of my career. But how would I fare this time? I prepared myself for the worst and was pleasantly, wondrously surprised! It's a great review!

Okay, the word 'raunchy' raised my brow. Me? Raunchy? Seriously? But then I considered my secondary plot which consists of seedy elements that I didn't sugar coat. Hence the raunchy reference. I can live with that. Heck, I'm embracing it. This is a stinking awesome review. I'll put the really cool part in red.

-- Publishers Weekly, 2/15/2010
Out of Eden Beth Ciotta. HQN, $7.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-373-77443-2
On Kylie McGraw's 32nd birthday, she drinks too many cosmos and vows to shake up her life. While her brother, Spenser, is off being an Explorer Channel star, Kylie leads a predictable, boring, and sensible life running the family shoe store and dreaming of travel. Former NYPD detective Jack Reynolds, Spencer's best friend and Kylie's longtime crush, has returned to Eden, Ind., as the new police chief. He wants to reconnect with his roots, end a feud with his sister, and make peace with his soul. When Ciotta throws these two well-drawn characters together, sparks fly. A widower with a secret past who helps Kylie change the store into an upscale “shoppe,” a Philadelphia mob boss who needs to right an old score, and the escapades of Jack's cheating brother-in-law turn this campy romance into a well-plotted raunchy adventure. (Apr.)

Well-drawn characters? Sparks fly? Well-plotted adventure? Let's just say I'm dancing on air. As for the second super review, I'll share that next week. I have to spread out my joy. In the meantime, if I do get a bad review, this will sure ease the sting. Thanks for letting me share!

SIS Beth