I Want You To Love It

[blairmacg]

I want you to love Sand of Bone.

Yes, of course I want folks to buy the book, but I want you to love it even more.

If you love it, you’ll stay up later than you should to read just one more chapter.  You’ll suck in a breath when the unexpected happens.  You’ll smile when one Blade tries, awkwardly, to flirt for the first time.  Your muscles will tense and your pulse will quicken when the fight begins.  You’ll let out a long breath of relief when someone at last understands.  You’ll feel joy and betrayal, anticipation and dread, satisfaction and hope.

You’ll finish the story and want more, and spend time thinking about what will happen next because the “more” isn’t available yet.

I’m working on that more right now, my darlings, because I love this story.  I want you to love it with me.  The greatest motivation is knowing others love it, too.

If you haven’t picked up Sand of Bone yet, you can now find it at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.

And, of course, it’s also still available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Comments

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Even though I've already read it, I'm going to pick up my own copy when I get paid.

FYI, it has come through as an Amazon recommendation for me.

Oh, and I totally understand wanting people to love your story. (And I think they will!)

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

If folks love it, then I did my job well. :)

While at GenCon, Brad Beaulieu reminded me of something Tim Powers taught us at Writers of the Future: "If you think it's 'good enough,' it isn't." I try to keep that in my mind, and always strive to go beyond "good enough."

(And if you like Sherwood's INDA books, you might like Brad's books, too. Epic fantasy with a Russian flair!)

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Now, see, I fight with the "good enough" point. For me, it's never good enough to even let it out the door to beta readers.

So, how do you balance "good enough" with being pleased with something you've created? What's the fine line there, do you think?

Oh, thanks! I always appreciate book recs!

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

What Tim was referring to was, partly, the writer content with placeholders, obvious plot turns, and cliché characterizations, but mostly the underlying attitude of "Hey, that's good enough, I don't need to work any more on that scene."

"Good enough" is mashed potatoes with butter. Awesome is mashed potatoes made with garlic-infused butter and parmesan cheese and white truffle sea salt.

My guess, based on what I've seen of your writing, is that you passed "good enough" some years ago. :)

My beta readers are the ones who help me balance things, truly.

Knowing how much Sand of Bone changed since I wrote it, it would be easy to hold on to it and keep changing it for another two, three, five years. But I see my novels as, in some ways, cooking projects. Along the way, I can do all sorts of things to balance flavor and spice and texture... But I do reach the point when cooking it any longer will spoil it completely. So I tuck in to the meal--the best I could make the particular meal--then start again with recipe perfection.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I am pretty sure I am going to love it. I wish I had a time turner, so I could be reading it right now. It'll be a while before I get a chance, but I am *so looking forward to it*.

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

I so hope it lives up to the expectation!