Managing Bad Reviews

WAS IT SOMETHING THAT I WROTE? 
by
Cindy McDonald

Sometimes you hit the nail right on the head, and sometimes you hit your thumb! Well, my thumb is pretty red and swollen, and every time I find a new review posted on Amazon for my book, Hot Coco, it begins to throb and ache until I find the courage to read the review.

The fact is that HotCoco is what I call my love/hate book. Some readers love the book, and some readers hate it, and when they hate it—they really really hate it! Gulp!

Okay, so would anyone despise this masterpiece of humor? *Sarcasm*

In my humble defense: not one reviewer has complained that the book is poorly written. Thank God! However, I do get complaints that it is degrading to women, that the characters are just plain stupid, that (and this is a spoiler folks) Mike and Coco never get together, hook-up, or become a couple. I even had one reviewer complain that I talked about the horses too much—the entire series takes place on a Thoroughbred farm...just sayin’.  Another reviewer couldn’t figure out what genre I was writing in. Is Hot Coco chic-lit? Rom-com? Or just a hot mess tossed into the fiction department? Ouch!

Deep breath...

Would you enjoy this book? I have no idea. That said I will tell you that over the two years that poor Coco has been available she has been downloaded (free and paid) over 20,000 times. Yep, you read that correctly—twenty thousand! Hmmm.

True confession: I have considered un-publishing the book because of the nasty reviews, but I have decided that I must take the good with the bad—especially recently. In January a rather big-time reviewer discovered my Unbridled Series. She read the first book, Deadly.Com, and requested copies of the rest of the books. Yikes!

I was beside myself! I didn’t want to send her Hot Coco because I thought for sure that this, the second book in the series, would turn her off and I’d pay a very high price. So I packed up the other three books and mailed them off to her. Well, it didn’t work. She discovered Coco on her own, downloaded it, read it, and absolutely loved it to the point of dedicating an entire week in April on her blog to my Unbridled books. Additionally, she remarked that Coco was her favorite and she laughed out loud through the entire book! What? Someone liked Coco? Seriously?

 Very cool!

Out of the six books that I have published Hot Coco is also my most reviewed book. The other five books that I’ve published stand solid as 4.5 and 4.9 star-rated books. Coco? Well...she is sitting pretty at a 3.4 star rating on amazon and...wait for it...2.86 on Goodreads. Oh well.

Was it something that I wrote? I sure hope so. The truth is I am glad and proud that I published Hot Coco—and she isn’t going away anytime soon. She is a fine second book for the Unbridled Series and the epitome of the well-used statement: you simply can’t please everyone.

Website | Facebook  | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

GUESS WHAT? YOU’RE AN AUTHOR!

A Day in the life of...

Cindy McDonald

Over the course of twenty-six years I was very comfortable with my title: Miss Cindy—dance teacher/choreographer, and after a long and successful career, I decided to make a change. In 2011 I published my first book, DEADLY.COM. I became an author, a writer, a storyteller. Problem was that I still thought of myself as a dancer/choreographer. Nothing had changed and I didn’t give it much thought until I attended a wedding—it was the day that everything changed…

I had just retired from my dance school in May to focus on writing my books, and on a very hot day in June, my husband and I attended my dear friend’s daughter’s wedding. It was an outside wedding and we took our seats waiting for the ceremony to begin when another friend sat down next to me. She asked about my new release and how it was going, and we chatted casually until it was time for the bride to make her appearance. I didn’t give it another thought. After all, I was still just Miss Cindy the dance teacher/choreographer, and then as I approached the cookie table a woman tapped me on the shoulder.

“I didn’t mean to listen in on your conversation,” she began, “but did I hear you say that you are an author?”

I probably looked at the woman like she had just grown another head. What? Am I a what? It was the first time anyone had called me that! It was the first time anyone had even uttered the word. Author…author… I must’ve stood there for well over fifteen seconds staring at her like an idiot because she cocked her head to the side and said to me, “I could have sworn that I heard someone ask you about a book that you’ve written. I love to read, and I’ve never met an author.” Skeptically, she repeated, “Are you an author?”

It wasn’t computing. Yes, I wrote a book, and I had said book published. But I’m a dance teacher, a choreographer, I couldn’t possibly be an …um… author. Finally, my husband spoke up, “Yes, Cindy wrote a book called, Deadly.Com. It’s a murder suspense book. Do you like murder suspense books?”

The woman’s face lit up. “I love murder suspense books! Where can I buy it?”

Yet still I stood there like a total moron, still contemplating her very first question: are you an author? At last I managed to speak. I said, “Amazon… you can buy the book on Amazon.”

Tickled pink that she had actually met a real-live honest-to-God moron… I mean, author, the woman gathered some cookies and returned to her table. My husband turned to me and said, “Well you totally blew that. If she’d have asked you about the dance school, you would’ve given her a business card, directed her to the website, and told her all about it. She asked you about your book and you were clueless. You’ve got to get better prepared, Cindy. She was a potential customer.”

Censored Books—You Betcha!

by 

Cindy McDonald

Ahhh, the infamous “I told you so!” How we spouses love to hear those words spew from our better half’s mouth. Most recently I was on the receiving end of such a scolding when my husband and I attended a luncheon at the nursing home where my mother resides. Let me back-up…

A short time ago I wrote a blog entitled, Crossing the Line. The blog discussed how much sexual content should we authors place in our books. Essentially, how much is too much? I also mentioned in the blog that I am a former dance teacher who now writes books with quite a bit of suggestive material. My very conservative husband is uncomfortable with said content because he feels that my previous position in the community holds me to certain standards that I should be very conscious of.

So, there we were at the luncheon taking our seats along with the other families, when I spotted two of my former students and their parents seated at a table nearby. The two girls were thrilled to see their former dance teacher, and with ear-to-ear smiles, they waved. For the sake of this blog we’ll call the older girl, Susan, who is twelve. The younger sister is ten. Anyway, the luncheon was lovely and when we decided to leave I made my way to their table to say hello. And that’s when it happened. While giving me a hug Susan (12) said to me, “Oh Miss Cindy, I miss you so much. I want you to know that I’ve read all of your books.”

What?!

I was very taken aback. I turned to her mother with wide eyes and if I hadn't quickly slammed it shut, I swear my jaw would've bounced off the floor. I said, “Y--You let her read my books?” Smiling, the woman waved a carefree hand at me and replied, “Oh, don't worry, she's an advanced reader.”

Seriously?

Has the woman not reviewed my books before her twelve year old daughter reads them? I couldn't believe it! Susan then added, “Oh yes, and I understand everything in them, Miss Cindy.”

Okay.

At this point I simply gave the girl another hug, wished them well, and caught up with my family. That's when my husband said, “See I told you! I told you that those young girls from your dance school would be reading your books. That's why you should keep those suggestive scenes in check!”

Really?

I don't think so. I truly feel it is their parent's responsibility to read the book first before passing it on to their pre-teen daughters. I believe that parents need to censor what their young children read just as much as they need to pay attention to what they are looking at on the internet. Having a school district pronounce your child as an “advanced reader” simply means they can read “big words”—big deal! That does not necessarily mean they are mature enough for certain content. Call me old fashioned. Call me naïve. Call me an idiot, if you like, but young people need guidance and mature reading material simply is not appropriate for a twelve year old girl. For that matter my daughter does not permit my grandson (14) to read my books, and the last one, Dangerous Deception, was dedicated to him! I’m not upset—I totally agree with my daughter, and I wish all parents would exercise a little more common sense when it comes to mature reads and the internet, and cell phones for that matter.

Hey, I don’t feel responsible at all for what happened. The titles of the books alone should have been a red flag for the parent: DEADLY.COM, HOT COCO, DANGEROUS DECEPTION, and AGAINST THE ROPES. Lord have mercy, the name of the series is UNBRIDLED! I do not write books with titles like: PATTY’S PRETTY PIROUETTE, or A NEW TUTU FOR TANYA.

Yes, I write suggestive scenes. I like writing suggestive scenes, and I have taken those scenes up several notches in my new series FIRST FORCE that will release in November—Shhh! Don’t tell my husband.

It is up to Susan’s mother and parents just like her to censor their children’s reading material. I’m no longer “Miss Cindy” the small town dance teacher. I am now Cindy McDonald, an author—reader beware.

Cindy McDonald's website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

CREATING IS ONE THING—LETTING IT MARINATE IS ANOTHER

by

Cindy McDonald

 People are always asking me: where do you come up with the ideas for your Unbridled series? I always chuckle a little bit and then I explain: Well, hanging around the backside (stable area) of a racetrack for twenty or so years will give you plenty of fodder for story lines—trust me!

It’s true. So many characters hang out at the racetrack: gamblers, liars, jockeys, agents (yes, jockeys have agents), liars, horse trainers, exercise riders, veterinarians, crazy blacksmiths, and did I mention liars?  There are lots of liars. Oh yes, the racetrack is a treasure trove of characters, and if you are paying close attention (I’m a watcher by nature) they will give you as many storylines as your little heart desires.

Now just to be clear, I have never seen anyone murder anyone else, nor have I been murdered myself at the racetrack, so there is quite a bit of exaggeration placed in the Unbridled books. And although the Unbridled books are fiction, there is a lot of truth that lies between the lines.

Another question people are always asking is: Cindy, where do you find the time to write? The answer is quite simple, I make time. I write everyday. Sometimes I feel as though I am handcuffed to my computer, but like anything else that you want to do well, writing is a commitment.

I love to write in the evenings. It is the quiet time of day, and after I have finished cleaning up dinner, I pour a glass of wine—usually a chardonnay—I never drink red, it makes me sweat. Wait a minute.  Maybe I should reconsider—the sweating might help with those love scenes that I pen.

My stories are taken from the original telescripts that I wrote for the TV drama series, Unbridled. Warner Brothers sniffed around it, but the show never got sold, so my telescripts are excellent outlines. Even with the scripts, it takes me approximately ten to eleven months to write an Unbridled story. After months of writing, rewriting, thinking, and yes banging my head off my desk the manuscript is read to upload it to my editor, right?

Whoa, not so fast—not for me anyway. This is where my writing and publishing habits may differ from other authors. This, my friends, is where patience must persevere, and sometimes that’s a mighty big order.

Okay, take a deep breath, because it's time for the marinating process to begin. Yep, that’s what I said “marinate”. You’re probably wondering if I’ve hit my head off the desk one too many times, not really. When I’ve finished a manuscript I do the same thing most authors do—I start over from the beginning and read, tweak, read, tweak, and then read and tweak some more. And after I’ve gone through this procedure several times I close the file and let it marinate.

I let the file sit for up to six weeks without opening it, without re-reading or tweaking it. But I never stop thinking about it. I keep a notepad close by to jot down thoughts during those six weeks that the manuscript is becoming juicy and succulent. It is definitely an exercise in fortitude, but hey, ya know what? It always pays off in a very big way because when I open the file to re-visit the story, I’m reading it with fresh eyes and fresh thoughts and the results are always well, fresh.

Hurrying my manuscript is never an option for me. I want to make sure that it is a story that my readers would not be able to put down. Every author has their writing rituals, for me it is contemplation. Beyond marinating my manuscripts, I usually take short breaks during the writing of a book as well. Sometimes, I will walk away from a manuscript for a week or so. If I find that I am becoming frustrated with my story, I know that it is time to take off my glasses, turn off the computer, and go for a walk or take my dog, Harvey, for a nice long run. The sunshine clears my head and it feels good to stretch my legs for a while—I was a professional dancer for twenty-six years, I need to move around a bit! But if I return to the problem pages and nothing has been resolved, then its time for a break from Unbridled for possibly a week or so. Honestly, it doesn’t take long until I’m missing my characters and I’m back in the saddle tapping at the keyboard once again.

Yes it’s true, marinating and contemplation is a long process, however I am always pleased with the outcome. I am usually able to publish two Unbridled books per year. How? Well, I am always a book ahead—sometimes two books ahead of what you are finding on Amazon.  Example: the fourth book of the Unbridled Series, Against the Ropes, will release on June 1^st. I am almost half-way through the fifth book, Shady Deals—it will be marinating by July. 

Whew!

I must admit that no dust ever settles on my computer and those handcuffs come in darn handy, too. ;}

Other posts on WWBB from Cindy McDonald:
Memories of Presque Isle
When writing romantic scenes where does one draw the line?
When reviews count for nothing.

Website | FB page | Goodreads | Twitter

Old Age Ain't for Sissies!

An interview with Cindy McDonald

Vic Deveaux’s glory days as a winning jockey have ended, but he refuses to accept that pile of horse hockey!

When the West family asks Vic to take an easier position at their Thoroughbred farm, Westwood, he becomes enraged and teams up with two greedy stable hands in a scheme to kidnap the youngest son, Shane. 

Things turn ugly when Vic discovers that his new-found friends have murder on their minds. Suddenly Vic finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He has betrayed his good friend, Eric West, but will he participate in his son’s murder as well?

Not content to sit at home and wait for her men to bring her brother home, Kate West convinces homicide detective, Carl Lugowski, to check out a hunch at an old abandoned mansion. Soon they’re trapped in a hornet’s nest of a notorious biker gang.

Oh yeah, Vic’s deception has placed the West family in more danger than they know what to do with!

Who is the protagonist; their background? What makes them them?

There are quite a few protagonists in the Unbridled Series, that said let’s just focus on one: Mike West. Mike is the oldest son of Eric West, the imposing patriarch of the successful Thoroughbred farm, Westwood. Mike grew up at the sprawling farm caring for the horses with his two siblings, Kate and Shane.

Mike tends to be on the OCD side. He has a “must win” attitude, and he takes being the eldest of the West children very seriously. He was married to Ava—Unbridle’s resident antagonist—for five years. But her wandering eye and vagina destroyed the marriage.  Regardless, she still owns a piece of Mike’s soul, and no matter how he tries not to, he still has feelings for Ava.

Mike deals with his loneliness by caring for the horses and the stable that he loves.

What are their likes/dislikes? Why do they hate/love character A or B?

Mike has a healthy dislike for Lieutenant Carl Lugowski. Why? Because he is the man Ava sleeps with. Much to Mike’s disgust he finds himself having to tolerate Lugowski more often than not. It seems the two men are thrown together when bad situations arise, and in the Unbridled Series those situations are always a heartbeat away.

When writing romantic scenes where does one draw the line?

by

Cindy McDonald

E.L. James certainly took boundaries to another level but even the most timid romance readers were picking up her books and diving in. The critics went nuts, but hey ya know what? Everyone, yes, everyone, was reading the Fifty Shades trilogy.

I love a well written love scene, and I make a concerted effort to read a lot of them. Why? Because when I write a hot scene I want it to be hot. I don’t want it to fall flat, and for the reader to roll their eyes with a grumbling “Eh…” tumbling from their lips. But not everyone is comfortable writing the kind of scenes like that of Christian Grey’s “playroom”. As for me, I find myself walking a very vigilant line. Let me explain…

When I published my first book, Deadly.Com, I informed my husband over dinner one evening that there were a few “suggestive” scenes within the pages. He stopped with his fork almost to his mouth, looked at me over his glasses, and said, “What do you mean by suggestive?” Uh, oh, I could see this was going to be a problem. You see my husband and his family are an extremely conservative group of people, and I could see in my husband’s face that he didn’t want to have to explain to his family that his wife was writing dirty books. In fact, after Deadly.Com was published and the family read my book, they have never mentioned my writing or my books again. It is sort of a taboo subject at family gatherings. Hmmmm.

Okay, so while I was writing my second book, Hot Coco, my husband decided to broach the very sensitive subject over breakfast on the deck one morning. He very casually said, “I hope you’re keeping those suggestive scenes in check. I mean you spent twenty-six years as Miss Cindy, the dance teacher in this community. People entrusted their children to you. What would they think?”

Wow! That put a whole new spin on writing romance—which is exactly what Hot Coco is, a romantic comedy. And yes, there are suggestive scenes in the book. I was taken aback. Should I concern myself as to the position that I used to hold in the community? Is this a problem for romance writers in general? Are their reputations in the community tarnished because they write books with sex or suggestive moments? I had never thought about it before. When E.L. James’s neighbors see her in the grocery store, are they wondering if her playroom is red? Are they speculating as to how many different kinds of whips she might own? Yikes!

You may be asking yourself, what is this writer going to do? Is she going to allow her in-laws and her former occupation to dictate what she writes? Nope.

When I posted the excerpt from the third book of my series, Dangerous Deception, on my website I featured a very sensual scene between Ava and Lugowski. As a matter of fact, it is also the featured excerpt announcing the book at the end of Hot Coco as well. That said my scenes are of a sultry suggestive nature. I have never written an in-your-face sex scene naming body parts or taking the reader into the steamy tangle of desire between the sheets with the characters—yet.

My Unbridled series has been mainly murder/suspense storylines with one romantic comedy thrown into the mix for fun; however I have an ardent desire to write a romantic suspense series, and have decided to do so in 2013. I have some decisions to make as I write my new series. Will I cross that line to pen those hot sex scenes? Or shall I protect my sweet Miss Cindy dance teacher reputation and remain steadfast on this side of the line: very sensual yet strictly suggestive scenes?

I think through it all an author has to find his/her own comfort level, without becoming too comfortable, too complacent in one’s creativity. I truly admire writers like E.L. James, Cindy Gerard, and Maya Banks. They are able to toss all inhibitions aside and write smokin’ hot romance. I am toeing the line. My eyes are fixated on it like I am waiting for someone to shoot a pistol into the air so that I can leap forward. Can I cross it? Do I want to cross it?

Never judge a book by its cover?

Oh, but it IS judged. So get it right!

by 

Cindy McDonald

I love the cover of Hot Coco. I was thrilled the way the designer, Todd Aune, placed the horses behind my name, and then to make the details complete, he put  Keystone on the saddle towels in the picture—you have to look close, but it is there. Keystone Downs is the fictitious name of the racetrack where the Unbridled Series takes place. This wasn’t the first cover, oh no, we adjusted the design four times before we decided upon this one.

The first one had the same two characters on the front, only she was clutching his gathered shirt in her hands, exposing his chiseled abs, whispering in his ear, as he gazed upon her longingly, clinging to every sultry word. Okay, at least that’s the way I interpreted the pose. It was hot! I was enamored! My publishing manager, Lauren Carr—God bless her—let me enjoy a full day of dancing around my living room in love with the really hot cover for HOT COCO, until she decided it was time to reason with me.

“If that’s the cover you want, that’s fine,” Lauren carefully began, “but I think it projects the wrong image for your book.” She took a deep breath, “This cover will insinuate that there is sex in the story. You don’t do sex scenes, Cindy your scenes are suggestive but not sexual. Therefore, some readers that are looking for erotica will be disappointed, and those readers that are not, won’t read the book because the cover gives them the wrong idea. You will have upset two groups of people that will never buy your books again.”

Drats! She was one hundred percent correct. The fact of the matter is you must choose your cover very carefully. You want to tell a story with your cover, but you don’t want to tell too much, and you certainly don’t want to tell the wrong one.

The back of your cover is just as important as the front. The information on the back can sell your book, or have the potential reader return it to the shelf. Not good.

A good blurb is essential. I’m rather tickled with the summation I’ve written for Hot Coco. It’s short, sweet, snappy, and pretty darned clever, if you ask me—I may be a bit biased. 

Am I thrilled with the blurb on the back of my other title, Deadly.Com? Mmmm, not so much. As a matter of fact, I’ve had people tell me that the synopsis is totally wrong for the book—one person told me that it gives too much away. Uh, oh, there’s something that you really don’t want to do—give away the ending of your book.

Believe it or not some authors have done just that. They write a very detailed synopsis that includes the ending, such as: And in the end, Charlatan wins the race to seize back Westwood Thoroughbred Farm’s reputation! Oh dear, why would anyone want to read the book now when the suspense has been ruined and they know who will win the race, and that Westwood will be exonerated? (BTW, I did not do that.)

Some authors believe that if they write a blurb that includes an uplifting ending, people will want to read the book to see how Charlatan wins the race, and to find out why the horse farm needed to be exonerated. I doubt it.  The reader will most likely bypass the book and move on to another with a synopsis that leaves them wondering how the story will end. It would be a better idea to write: Westwood’s future depends on the mighty grey gelding, Charlatan. But can he pull off the big win? 

Makes sense?

Confession: I keep a print of the original cover for HOT COCO on the bulletin board in my office. Why? Well to tell you the truth, because I really like it, and it was really hot. More importantly it is a reminder that the right cover, conveying the right message is crucial to good marketing.

Website for Cindy MacDonald

When reviews count for nothing.

An article by Cindy McDonald

Confession: 

When Louise emailed me the topic of discussion for this blog as “sock puppets” I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about! 

Sock puppets? Sock puppets? 

Did she mean the puppets that my kindergarten teacher used to make out of her husband’s old worn-out tube socks to help her tell the class a nap-time story? I was most fond of Shari Lewis’ little sock, Lamb Chop—she was an adorable sock puppet—her little curly ears and long lashes and cutesy little lamb voice. Hmmm…somehow I was having a difficult time believing that the sock puppets from my childhood were what Ms. Wise was referring to…and with a little digging, a little Googling, I soon discovered that I was right. Nope, Louise was not interested in a blog about Lamb Chop—maybe some other time.

Please note: This lamb is a stand-in.
The original Lamb Chop isn't available for promo shots. 

Hokay, call me naive or uninformed but I didn’t realize that authors creating anonymous profiles on such sites as amazon and goodreads to write glowing reviews about their book was a problem. However as I read the forums, it soon became apparent that I was uninformed…naïve. 

But is it really a problem?