Friday, February 19, 2010

My Big Honking Thrill

Friday, February 19, 2010

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

14 comments:

kristan higgins said...

You go, Beth! Congratulations!

SIS BJ said...

Hi Beth

WooHoo!!! Congradulations. That's a GREAT review.

Beth Ciotta said...

Thank you, Kristan! I know you know how good the GOOD ones feel. :) Seeing great promo ad reviews on your latest, 'The Next Best Thing'. Woo-hoo!

SIS Beth

Beth Ciotta said...

Thanks, BJ! I'm still floating!

SIS Beth

SIS Brandy said...

That is amazing. I am so happy for you!! Can't wait to read this one.

Sisters-in-Sync said...

So happy for you! I'm sure there will be more to come. Congratulations!

SIS Bren

Amanda Roberts said...

Congratulations on the great review, Beth! As one of your biggest fans (cross my heart), I can't WAIT to purchase and read OOE. Even the acronym looks sort of like 'ooo-eee, this book is HOT'! And I'm sure it is!

Tori Lennox said...

That's awesome, Beth!!!

Tracy Cooper-Posey said...

Congratulations on the great review - and with PW, too!

Cheers,

Tracy

Beth Ciotta said...

Thanks, Brandy! I'm looking forward to you reading it, too!

Brenda... I hope you're right. :)

Amanda... Awwww. *sniffle* Thank you!

Tori, thanks for happy dancing with me.

Tracy, color me shocked. But happy! Thank you!

SIS Beth

C.H. Admirand said...

Fab review, Beth. I'm glad I saw your note on Facebook.

Mega-congrats,
Colleen

Brooks said...

Wonderful, Beth! You deserve this. :)

Chris Behrens said...

Now Beth, you know PW only said all that because it's true :) When you hit the big tine, don't forget us little people you knew along the way...*smirk*

Beth Ciotta said...

Colleen and Brooks, thanks so much for the support. Love seeing you both here!

Chris, 'big' is relative. *g* Where I am now feels pretty special... not that I don't ache to explore the stars. No worries. You're all invited to join me on the ride!

SIS Beth

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