Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie


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Why “A Healing Touch” Isn’t – or – How to NOT Tick Off Mom

Happy Sunday Authors!

At least it’s a happy Sunday for some of us. Others who shall remain nameless are sulking (Hi, Mom!). Lemme explain.

 

Her Crankiness (hi again, Mom) is miff-ified at authors who waste her time by not adhering to and/or ignoring our submission guidelines when they request a review.

Case in point.

A Big Stretch

Back in August Mom got a review request for a “historical fiction” book “because many people turn to independent reviewers for realistic recommendations on what to read. Considering the current social, economic, and political climate, not only are readers looking for something new and different, many are wondering about young America’s beginnings as a nation. A Healing Touch speaks to this interest.”

We enjoy historical fiction. So we decided to dive in. Only to find out that “historical fiction” is a mighty big stretch for this thing.

Cuz what starts out as a story “of two people blazing trails into the Northwest Territory along the Ohio River in 1796” crashes big time in chapter 22. Here the author seems to forget where she is, jumping from historical fiction into porno. Too bad. It was a pretty good story up until that point.

Bye! Outta here! Doneski! Hasta la vista baby!

“Can’t believe I wasted two days on that,” grumbles Her Crankiness. Cuz there are two things that’ll get your book into the nearest round file (trash can), right off the puppy chow:

  1. Mistreating any animal, especially dogs, or
  2. Crap of the R-rated variety (or worse).

So don’t even go there. Don’t waste our time. It ticks us off. It gets you on our Kitty Litter List. You don’t want to be there, okay? (I’m telling you this so you won’t hawk up a hairball when we pan your stuff  because you didn’t bother to read the submission guidelines. Think of it as a public service announcement.)

Speaking of Which

For the zillionth time, as noted in the first line of our Rating System & Submissions page (for anyone who could be bothered to read it):

We review fiction and nonfiction books rated G to PG-13. We don’t have the time or interest in anything else. (Occasional exceptions may be made on the basis of artistic merit. But that is rare.)

 

Stay Inside the Lines

The novel noted above colored outside these lines. Way outside. And nothing tees off Her Crankiness like authors who can’t or won’t follow simple instructions or who misrepresent their work. She will not be happy that you’ve wasted her time. (Not a good idea. Trust me on this.)

Since you’re still reading, however, you’re smarter than that. You’re up front about your book. Its genre, storyline and content. If you’re honest about that, we like you already. If you’re not, then off to the Big Kitty Litter Box in the Sky with you!

Are we clear here?

 


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BKLBITS Awards! 6 Vastly Over-Rated Books That Fall Flat

 

Ever finish a book and thought:

 “Well. That’s (fill in the blank) hours or days out of my life I’ll never be able to get back”?

Kimber here.

Mom and I have run across some of those lately. They’re the kind of books that epitomize the phrase, “All that glitters is not gold.” Cuz they’re just lousy. Boring. Insipid. Pointless slogs to the Middle of Nowhere. Littered with unsympathetic, cardboard characters we don’t know, don’t want to know, and could care less about.

BKLBITS Awards

Mom and I, we nominate these losers for what we call BKLBITS “awards.” That’s Big Kitty Litter Box In The Sky.

We’re telling you this to save you some time. As in, don’t waste yours on these colossal duds.

Heading this summer’s BKLBITS nominations, all of which earned a one star rating or less, are:

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Calling All Dog Lovers & Other Humans!

We. Are. So. Excited!!

 

Okay, okay. One of us is always excited. The other? Well, whenever she feels excitement coming down the pike, she lies down until the feeling goes away. (Hi, Mom.)

 

Kimber the Magnificent

Anyway, Kimber here. So excited to tell you about a free online event related to one of our favorite books this year, Walks With Sam! Here’s the 4-1-1:

 

Book Launch!

On September 13 at 6:30pm central, there’ll be a free online event to officially launch Walks With Sam.

 

All are welcome. Even cats.

 

Walks with Sam: A Man

Here’s the link:

Walks With Sam book launch.

 

Be there or be a feline!

 

For more, see our review of Walks With Sam, by David W. Berner.

 

Love,

Kimber

XX00


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And Now for a Public Service Announcement…

Bloggers! Readers! Writers! Book and canine lovers of all ages!

Your attention please!

Kimber here. Cuz Mom is going a little bit crazy. Well. I guess I should say crazier than usual. But it’s a good kind of crazy. The smiley kind if ya know what I mean.

Here’s the doggone lowdown on today’s PSA:

We’re overwhelmed. Requests for book reviews have been flooding in like a tsunami. We love it! But we just can’t keep up.

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GUEST POST: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at ‘Walks With Sam’ With Author David W Berner

Good Morning, Friends!

 

Kimber here. Mom and I are delighted to share a guest post by the author of one of our favorite books, Walks With Sam. Sam is a dog. A very astute, reflective dog. Ya know. Like me. In fact, I think Sam’s my new best friend!

 

Anyway, in this guest post author David W. Berner “walks” us through why and how he wrote this rich and wonderful memoir about contemplative walks with Sam. (Psssst! It started with a blog. No kidding!)

 

Walks With Sam will be officially released tomorrow, September 1! Don’t forget the virtual book launch on September 13. Details below!

Take it away, David!

***

An Idea

More than two years ago, I had an idea. What would it be like to reinvent the dog walking experience? Not so much for my doodle, Sam, but for me. All the experts say walking is a meditative, contemplative endeavor. Ask any of the great walkers—Henry David Thoreau, Charles Dickens, John Muir. But this time, what would it be like if the dog led the way? What if Sam was my guide?

 

A Chapter Change

It was a new time in my life, a chapter change, if you will. My only sibling, my younger sister had recently died after a long battle with alcoholism, my mother and father had died years before, and now I was what remained of the family of my youth. What is one supposed to do with that? I was also turning 60, a milestone age, and considering what would come next, how might I move in the world in my final years. A sabbatical from my position at the college where I teach had given me some freedom, and although I had projects to complete—a manuscript to finish and edit—I decided that I would dedicate myself to daily walks to allow my mind to find balance. And Sam, my young dog, would join me. She, too, needed those walks.

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GUEST AUTHOR: The Ultimate ‘Insider’s Guide’ to New York!

‘Mom! Wake up!’

 

“Mom! Mom! Wake up!”

 

“Gah….! Wha… Huh?” Crash. Stumble. Stubbed toe. “Dadgum it!”

 

Mom’s nothing if not quick. Especially when it’s 0500. And I’ve got a  cool new book to show her! It’s like an illustrated time travel thingy. Through New York City! I’m don’t know where that is. But it sounds good. So does a soon-to-be-released book, 400 Years of New York History: A Pictorial Guide.

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ATTN AUTHORS: Kimber’s 8 Book Review Rules

Shhh! Mom’s snoozing. So it’s just us, okay?

Can we talk? Like, about book reviews? Cuz Mom and I are getting flooded with requests for book reviews. We love it! But we also want to be efficient. So we decided to set and clarify some basic ground rules for our book reviews. Here they are:

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Do YOU Know ‘Net Galley’?

Kimber here. Asking what a ‘Top Reviewer’ is? It must be good, right? Cuz Mom’s doing her happy dance. (Why she does this, I dunno. But she also loves asparagus. Sometimes there’s just no accounting for taste.)

Anyway. Mom’s a Professional Reader with Net Galley. Do you know Net Galley?

Mom says Net Galley makes ARCs available to professional readers and helps promote new and upcoming titles. Professional readers–reviewers, media, journalists, bloggers, librarians, booksellers and educators–can join and use Net Galley at no cost.

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5 Sure-Fire Ways to Lose Readers (And How To Avoid Them)

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Public Domain

Kimber here. Mom says it’s time for a little bloggish housekeeping.(She calls it “housekeeping.” I think it’s more like Rants From the Ole Curmudgeon. Don’t tell her I said that, okay?)

But here’s the deal. Mom gets tons and tons of jun… um, stuff in her In Box. Every day. Lots goes straight to the big kitty litter box in the sky. Never gets opened or read. We’re gonna tell you why and what you can do to fix that.

Here are 5 sure-fire ways to turn off readers and put them to sleep (and how you can fix them):

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40+ Book-ish Quotes to Boost Your Instagram

There I was. Stretched out in a pool of sunshine. Working on my tan.  Mom comes along with her mobile Doo-Hickey:

“Smile, Kimber! Sit. Roll over. Lay down. Stay. Say ‘cheese.'”

While the Doo-Hickey is clicking away.

So annoying.

Anyway, Mom says she’s going to “post” the clickey things from her Doo-Hickey. Whatever that means. Then she says:

 “Kimmi, How’re we gonna caption these?”

What “we,” Kimo Sabe?

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