Posts Tagged ‘short story’

Spring Semester 2014: Pre-Semester Countdown

Posted: January 4, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
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I’ve done the last of my pre-semester shopping, so it’s time to write a post about what’s going to be happening to me this semester at Ohio State University. My college life and my writing have often been intertwined since I got to school here. When my grades are good and life’s going my way, my writing has done well. When life’s tough and I’m not doing so well grade-wise, my writing has suffered (or worse, my writing hasn’t even happened because I just don’t have the time or energy to write! That happened last semester). Which is probably why I write these posts at the beginning, middle, and end of each semester, because both are so essential to each other as I try to become the writer I’ve always dreamed of being.

In terms of classes, all but one of them are devoted to the study abroad trip I’m going on this summer. The study abroad trip visits England, France, and Germany, and we’ll be intensively studying World War II. With that in mind, many of my classes are focused exclusively preparing for the trip. I already took a general World War II class and a History of the Holocaust class in past semesters, so the number of classes I have to take have been pared down. Still, there are a few I still need to take: one is a special History research seminar, in which we’ll be covering various WWII-related topics and then do research projects around that (I’m assuming). Another History class is devoted to the rise of America as a world superpower from 1921 to 1963 and hinging around the US’s involvement in WWII (I guess a semester of prep for studying World War II abroad just wouldn’t be complete without one course that’s America-centric in nature). The other two classes are French classes: one is a course on French-American relations throughout the years. I’m pretty sure this’ll involve everything from the various wars the US and France have both been involved in since the French and Indian War as well as such silly topics as “freedom fries” (the latter is actually in the title of the class, if I remember right). The second course is a course in learning everyday French and learning how to say “Thank you for your help”, “Where is the bathroom?”, and “I would like a Belgian waffle. Oh your wife is Belgian? Cool! Tell her I love the waffles and chocolates!”

 

The beach of Normandy. We’ll be studying D-Day this semester and visiting the beach during the trip. Can’t wait!

 

In addition to the French class, I ordered some software off Amazon last night that’ll teach me to speak German. Not only will this be relevant to the trip, but it might be relevant for a future story and it doesn’t hurt to be able to speak Hebrew, French and German when I apply for jobs in the future. I’m actually looking forward to learning the language, and the software I got received some very good reviews on Amazon, so I hope I’ll really be able to utilize it. I also plan to apply for several scholarships and get the funds I need to travel abroad. I hope I can get a ton of scholarship money! Otherwise it might be difficult to go on the trip!

The only class I’m taking this semester that isn’t related to my study abroad trip is an English course for my English major. Specifically, it’s an English 4597 course, which is one of those courses all English majors are required to take at some point late in their college careers. Fortunately they offer several different varieties of this class, so I ways able to choose one that worked with my other classes and sounded interesting: Deaf Literature and Deaf Culture (when I tell people I’m taking this course, they ask me if I mean “deaf” or “death”. Considering that it’s me they’re asking, it’s a relevant question). It looks pretty interesting, and we have some very interesting books, including a children’s book that intertwines illustrations with prose into two different narratives. Not your average children’s story, to say the least.

I’m also working about ten to twelve hours a week at the Financial Aid office this semester, just like I did last semester. With busy season over, the office should quiet down a little. Still, there’s a literal mountain of work to get done, and I’ll be working through some of that mountain every time I step into the office. I don’t mind though: the work usually isn’t too bad, the people are great, and I’ve come up with some great ideas for short stories and novels while restocking the copy paper or sifting through some recently-scanned documents (so if you think a job will sap you of your creativity as you try to create the ultimate story/painting/poem/etc., here’s an example to the contrary).

And finally, I just want to fill everyone in on my social plans and my writing goals for this semester. I hope to be able to hang out with my friends a bit this semester, just like I did last semester, but I also want to socialize more and do new things. Last semester I joined the science fiction club on campus, but I was so busy I was only able to come to two meetings. I hope to attend more often this semester. I also would like to go to events in and around campus and meet new people. And who knows? I may even try to start a relationship of the romantic nature this semester. Don’t know if that’s possible or if I’ll have time for that, but I can try.

So looking forward to finally getting Snake done and published. I hope plenty of people read it.

And as for my writing, I plan to finish Video Rage‘s first draft either this weekend or in the coming week. I’m almost done with one of the chapters and after that there’s only two more to go. I already have the ending planned out, I just need to get there. And after I finish VR, I’ll take a short break from writing before getting to work on several short stories. Over the past semester I’ve come up with over sixty ideas for short stories, but I’ve been so busy with school, work and VR I haven’t had the time to write any of them, so I want to get some of them out of the way this semester. And after I’ve written enough short stories that I’m satisfied and submitted a few of them to magazines and other publications, I’ll take another break before I get back to work on my other WIP Laura Horn, which I hope to finish up before the fall when I start a new novel for my senior thesis.

I also have plans to edit VR when the time comes, start the basis of a new collection of short stories, write several articles to Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, and of course to finish the final draft of Snake and get it ready for publication. My friend Angela Misri is almost done giving me feedback on the book, and after she’s done I’ll interview her about her work, including the publication of her novel Jewel of the Thames, which is coming out sometime this spring. It’s going to be a great semester!

Now though, I have to go on a short shopping trip and then make dinner for myself. Afterwards I plan to do some last-minute preparations for the new semester before retiring for the evening. So with this, I wish you a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow, my Followers of Fear. Wish me luck in the new semester as I take on the world, prepare for my trip, and try to fulfill all my dreams. It’s going to be hard work, but I’m so ready to take up the challenge.

See you in eight weeks when I let you know how I’m doing.

2013 In Review

Posted: January 1, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Happy New Year!

As always, WordPress sent me an email letting me know how my blog did this past year. This year, my blog was viewed enough times to fill the Sydney Opera House about four times. That’s great…but I wish I was good enough to fill the Sydney Opera House just once! Honestly, where do they get these statistics?

But I digress. The point is, another year has come and gone. And to quote Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That sums up just about every year I know, but it’s pretty accurate. A lot happened this year to me, including two of my books getting published; I moved into an apartment with a friend and learned some more of the tribulations of the adult world; I was accepted into the study abroad trip I’ve been aiming for; I started my third year of college; I began writing and then administrating for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors; and a whole lot more that I won’t put on my blog but were important nonetheless.

All in all, a crazy year. Sometimes all that was going on threatened to bury me, while at other times I felt like I could do anything. I had my highs and my lows, like anyone else. But I managed to get through them and I came out stronger for it.

Reborn City

And now for my new year’s resolutions: I resolve to be a better writer. I resolve to get more people interested in my work and even in reading it. I resolve to finish Video Rage (probably happen in the next week or so), get back to Laura Horn and finish that up (shouldn’t be too hard, considering how quickly I tended to write the chapters), finish the final draft of Snake (hopefully sometime in the next couple of months) and publish it by the end of the year (I hope), write a whole ton of original short stories and publish some of them (fingers crossed on that one), start whatever novel will end up being my senior thesis in the fall and maybe a few other projects. I resolve to improve my craft and to help others improve their craft in my own small way. I resolve to grow this blog and Self-Published Authors Helping Others Authors. I resolve to fulfill my dreams of being a successful novelist.

I resolve to be a better person. I resolve to work on my personal flaws and try to improve. I resolve to be a good student, a good scholar of English and History, a good roommate, and a good worker. I resolve to be good to my friends and family and love them as much as they love me. I resolve to go to Europe for my study abroad trip this summer and learn as much as I can on World War II and the Holocaust. I resolve to keep my grades up. I resolve that my conduct in life is exemplary.

With any luck, you’ll be reading about a guy called the Snake soon.

I resolve to read a lot of books, see a lot of movies, and binge on too much TV. I resolve to keep my bank account in order. I resolve to eat healthy and stay healthy. I resolve to…are you still reading this list? If you are, you have the patience of a monk.

All in all, I plan to make 2014 better than 2013. So this year, my Followers of Fear, I wish you luck and I hope we get to share a ton of great experiences together. Happy New Year!

Is This Me Or Someone I’d Like To Be Someday?

Posted: December 31, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Reflections, Writing
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My roommate got me into watching Chuck on his Netflix, so I didn’t get as much writing done in the past few days as I would’ve liked. So I’m going to take this opportunity to discuss something I’ve noticed lately before the clock strikes twelve and a new year begins.

Sometimes I look at the rough draft of Video Rage I have in front of me. I look over what I’ve written, I nod at the points that I think are good, I edit something when I see that I’ve made an error or a mistake. And then I ask myself, “Did I really write this? It seems so much better than my work has been in the past.” And that’s not me praising my own work (though I’m happy to do that most days of the week). It’s me wondering who’s actually writing this story.

Let me try to explain this without sounding like I’m trying to toot my own horn. The other day I was writing a scene for Video Rage where a very important world leader points out several flaws in the story the antagonists over at the Parthenon Company have been telling about the West Reborn Hydras. I’m looking over the chapter and I think to myself, “Are you sure you wrote this, Rami? It’s a lot better than  scenes you’ve written before, it reads like a sci-fi version of a scene from Scandal, and it’s almost good enough to be of that quality.” And looking over the entire novel so far, I’m noting a quality in the writing that puts it a level above its predecessor Reborn City. I especially notice these differences in portions where I expand upon the world of RC, in scenes dealing with the interpersonal relationships between the characters, and in those moments when I add items or elements on the spur of the moment that vastly change how I see the scene playing out.

And it’s not just in VR. Two nights ago I had an idea for a short story. I’m writing the idea down so I don’t forget it, and I’m noting how I’d like to write it, how I’m going to be drawing on elements or techniques I noticed in some of the short stories I read this past semester, how the man focus of the short story is going to focus on the inadequacy of the male lead. And as I finish writing the idea down, it hits me that the idea is a lot simpler but also a lot better a short story than anything I’ve ever written before.

I’ve always written short stories like novels, except I’ve got to figure out how to tell the story in less than 10,000 words, so it better be a brief story. Not the best method for writing short stories, is it? In fact, I’ve realized that for ages, but I didn’t know any other way to write them, so I’ve been writing them that way for years. The way this short story goes is very different though. If I had to describe it, it’d be taking an idea, telling a simple story based on it, and centering the focus on the reactions of one character to events around him, drawing on the numerous short stories I read this past semester and the techniques that those authors used to tell those stories.

Trying to explain it here, I know I’m not doing the best job of it. But that’s the closest I can come to. And I know that if I can figure out how to write this short story and others like it, I might be able to step my game up a little and become a much better writer.

And as I write this, I wonder if I’m getting closer to the writer I want to be. One who is able to tell a deep, meaningful story, one which draws the reader in, holds them in terror and in awe, makes them feel for the characters a deep attachment, and causes them to think about the story long after they’ve finished reading it. I’m still a long way from that author I’d like to be, but I’d like to believe that I’m making some headway to that goal based on the maturation  I’ve observed in my writing.

Well, I guess editors and reviewers to come will tell me so if I’ve made any headway to that goal. In the meantime, I’ve got three chapters of Video Rage left, and I’m going to try to finish them before school starts up on Monday. Wish me luck.

Oh, and before I forget, I want to wish all you Followers of Fear a Happy New Year. Your continued support makes it possible for me to keep writing, blogging, and publishing, and it’s your continued support that makes it a bit easier for me as I work to achieve my dreams and become a successful horror author. I wish you all a great year in 2014 and I hope everything goes your way with all your goals and projects.

See you next year!

Daisy: Amazon Reviews

Posted: December 29, 2013 in Review, short story, Writing
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daisy-cover

Some of you know about my short story available for ebook, entitled Daisy. I published it well before I ever published The Quiet Game or Reborn City as an experiment to see what would happen if I published something on Amazon and on Smashwords. Even I admit, I didn’t think it was one of my best works. I wrote it back high school after having a very vivid and disturbing dream, and was determined to see it published one way or another. Why would I do that if I know it’s not one of my best? Maybe because that dream was pure gold for coming up with a creepy story, maybe because I wanted the dream to be a prophecy of things to come. Who knows? All I know is I published it and sold about 219 copies, most of them through Smashwords because it’s free-of-charge there.

Well, since it’s publication it’s got a couple of reviews, most of them through Amazon, and to my surprise most of them are good. I’ve posted already about the one review that I got through Smashwords, so I’d like to dedicate this post to the ones through Amazon. The oldest review, entitled daisy-short story, is three stars and written by Richard Warren, who is my grandfather and is not afraid to criticize my work if he feels it’s inadequate. Here’s what he had to say:

Interesting, but could be better.  Holds the reader, I would like the story to be longer & a bit more in depth

I think when I wrote this, it was in the days where I was afraid to write short stories over five-thousand words because I was afraid that they’d be rejected for length regardless of the quality of the story. That might explain why it’s not very lengthy or in-depth, Grandpa. Still, I appreciate the feedback. The next review comes from Lorna Dounaeva, another independent author and blogger here on WordPress. Giving Daisy a whopping five stars and entitling her review Scary short story with some great touches of realism, here’s what she had to say:

When a young girl, Marie is abducted by a stranger, she knows she has to figure out a way to escape. She manages to get out of the room where she is being held, but the man, who calls her ‘Daisy’, thinking she is his lost love, has boarded up all exits. Marie is left with a terrible dilemma – should she make a run for it, or hide in the building and wait it out? How long will she have to wait before the man lets his guard down and she gets her chance to escape, and how will she survive in the mean time?

Sounds like the blurb for a movie, Lorna. Thank you for your review. And most recently, we have my cousin A. Frankel, who just gave Daisy a five star review (which makes me wonder if she’s just being nice or if she really feels the way she feels about it). Entitling her review Very creepy, this is what she had to say:

  This book is scary! Don’t read it late at night or you’ll be up all night! It was a good book–very well written

I like the idea of being able to keep someone up all night just by my scary writing. And I’m glad you think it’s well-written. I really appreciate it, A. Frankel.

But like I was saying earlier, I didn’t think much of this short story even though I decided to publish it. So when people actually take the time to read it and post a positive review, I not only feel grateful, but I also feel slightly bemused that people think so highly of it. I guess it’s true what they say: every author is the worst judge of their own work. But really, thanks to all the people who’ve post reviews of Daisy on Amazon. It means a lot to me and I always appreciate your feedback.

If you would like to read Daisy, it’s available from Amazon for ninety-nine cents and from Smashwords for no charge. If you like it or hate it, please make sure to post a review on either website and let me know. I always appreciate feedback, as this post has shown. Have a lovely day, everybody.

I Just Got On WattPad

Posted: December 27, 2013 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
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As you’ve probably figured out from the title, I just got a WattPad account, which means I’ve got another way to release my written work to the world.

You are probably not wondering why I decided to get a WattPad account. However, you’re reading this post, so I’ll tell you anyway. I’d heard of WattPad before, but only in passing. I wasn’t really sure what it was. And then someone posted on Facebook an article about how this British girl a little younger than me had posted a novel of hers on WattPad, gained 19 million likes, got a publishing contract, and then two books later was put on TIME Magazine’s list of 16 Most Influential Teens. My reaction to that article: “Holy s**t, I’ve got to at least check this WattPad thing out.”

So if you haven’t heard of WattPad before, it’s a website where members can upload stories for free viewing and readers can give comments and feedback. So essentially it’s like a blog for storytellers, in some ways. And apparently some of its most popular stories are uploaded by writers in their teens, so as a writer just barely out of the teens, I think I might have a chance.

Of course, the website has its controversies. Stories uploaded onto WattPad are not copyright protected like a blog post or a story published through a magazine or a publishing company. So anything published on WattPad could potentially be stolen by some nefarious person or persons who might try to make some sort of profit or gather a following using another person’s work.

Still, I want to try and see if I can spread my work to new audiences through WattPad. And I’ve heard some other authors have had some success with the format, including a few friends of mine. If it can potentially help me further my writing career, I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t try it out.

If I publish anything through WattPad, I’ll make sure to post about it here and include a link to the story. I think I’ll start with excerpts from my already published books, and then maybe upload a few original short stories when I have them and when I want to upload them. And with that, I ask of you all one favor: wish me luck as I try to get used to this mew platform for spreading stories and writing and try to utilize it in the best way possible.

Good night, Followers of Fear.

 

Is Amazon Going On A Witch Hunt?

Posted: December 24, 2013 in Journalism, Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Normally I don’t wade into censorship debates, but this story caught my eye and I thought it would make for interesting discussion. Now, a lot of authors, especially self-published authors, have noticed that in the past couple of years there’s been an explosion in demand for erotica titles, and many self-published authors are making a lot of money by writing these works, which sometimes involve violent encounters between the characters. And lately there’s been a rising trend in what is known as cryptozoological erotica, which is sexual encounters between humans and legendary beasts such as Bigfoot and others (I know, right?). The example used in the story I’ve linked to is Virginia Wade’s Bigfoot series, which has been downloaded and read by enough people to make me wonder whether I should at least dabble in the erotica genre.

However, authors of these and other erotic works have been finding their works taken off the digital bookshelves by Amazon and other sites as of late:

In October, the online news site The Kernel published an incendiary story called “An Epidemic of Filth,” claiming that online bookstores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, WHSmith, and others were selling self-published ebooks that featured “rape fantasies, incest porn and graphic descriptions of bestiality and child abuse.” The story ignited a media firestorm in the U.K, with major news outlets like the Daily Mail, The Guardian, and the BBC reporting on the “sales of sick ebooks.” Some U.K.-based ebook retailers responded with public apologies, and WHSmith went so far as to shut down its website altogether, releasing a statement saying that it would reopen “once all self-published eBooks have been removed and we are totally sure that there are no offending titles available.” The response in the U.S. was somewhat more muted, but most of the retailers mentioned in the piece, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble, began quietly pulling hundreds of titles from their online shelves — an event Kobo coo Michael Tamblyn referred to last month as “erotica-gate.” 

The crackdown was meant to target the obvious offenders — ebooks like “Daddy’s Birthday Gang Bang” and others that fetishized incest and rape — but in their fervor to course-correct, the online bookstores started deleting, according to The Digital Reader blog, “not just the questionable erotica but [also]…. any e-books that might even hint at violating cultural norms.” That included crypto-porn. Wade’s sexy Sasquatch, not unlike the elusive hominid beast of legend, vanished without a trace.

Now, there’s been a lot of talk about censorship such as this over the past couple of months. Authors of a lot of works that have been taken down have accused Amazon of not taking a good look at their works and using very vague criteria such as the titles of the books to judge whether or not they are offensive. Amazon’s wording of its policy as to what constitutes “offensive” doesn’t seem to help its case: “What we deem offensive is probably what you would expect.” Giving that people generally have different expectations on what is considered offensive, there’s been a lot of cries that Amazon is only answering to the expectations of a certain segment of its customers. And by having to modify titles or edit their work to be acceptable to these vague standards, they are losing customers and revenue. As one author complained:

Author Emerald Ice (a pen name) — who lives in southern Illinois with her husband, a Catholic high school teacher — is less concerned about offending Amazon browsers than being overlooked by potential paying customers. The first three books in her Alien Sex Slave Series — “Alien Love Slave,” “The Sex Arena,” and “Alien Sex Cove”— were runaway hits, she says. At least until Amazon pulled them from distribution and requested changes, once again citing content guidelines. That’s how “Alien Sex Slave” became “Sidney’s Alien Escapades.” “I hate it,” she admits of the new title. “I came up with it because I was in a panic about the books disappearing.” Her sales have since plummeted, and she isn’t surprised. “If I was a reader searching for hot alien sex books, I wouldn’t look twice at something called ‘Sidney’s Alien Escapades.'”

On the other hand, Amazon and other bookstores like it are private businesses. They can decide what items to have on their shelves and what items they want nothing to do with, especially if a large enough percent of their customers threaten to boycott the site if they hold items deemed “offensive” by whatever criteria these people use. So if Amazon deems a work or works unacceptable and uses no other reason than it threatens their own revenues, then that’s their choice, and there’s not much an author can do to fight back (unless you start a humungous letter writing campaign with a lot of your close author friends and a ton of fans, but that might be difficult to pull off).

Now, my own views on censorship is if a creative work isn’t blatantly encouraging hatred, violence, or other despicable deeds or beliefs, then it should at least be considered as a work allowed to be sold, distributed and enjoyed like any other work. And as much as I don’t like to speak badly about Amazon (mostly because it’s where most of my sales and reviews come from),  I have to admit that they should take a deeper look at their work in order to decide what is offensive and maybe revise their content policy to something that’s not so vague. At the same time, I should advise authors to be careful that the work they write might not be accidentally encouraging rape, incest, or other objectionable acts or could be misconstrued as encouraging those acts. I’m not trying to stifle your creative work, but it might avoid some grief later on if you make sure that someone can’t point to a particular passage of your work and show that it is terribly objectionable.

If you have anything to add to the discussion, please let me know. What do you think constitutes as an “objectionable work”? And do you think what Amazon and other booksellers is doing is justified, or are they overstepping their bounds or being unfair in their attempts to filter out unacceptable works?

Also, that comment I made about dabbling in erotica, in case any of you were wondering: I don’t know how I’d feel about writing an erotica story. If I did though, I’d be honest about it if I decided to publish it, even if I published it under a pen name. Anne Rice did that, and if she can do it, why can’t I? Besides the fact that she’s a huge force in the world of writing and I’m still trying to claw my way up, I mean.

The Quiet Game: Review No. 8

Posted: December 22, 2013 in Review, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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Another review has come in at Amazon for my collection of short stories, The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. This one comes from Jeff D., who is a fellow Ohio State student, a coworker, and a friend of mine. He finally got around to reading The Quiet Game, and he wrote a review on Amazon tonight, which he gave five stars (Thank you Jeff D., if you’re reading this!). The review, which he titled 5/5, read as such:

5 wonderfully crafted tales! I purchased this as an eBook originally and put off reading it for quite a while, I really wish I hadn’t waited. Sometimes when one purchases a collection of short stories you expect some of them to be less entertaining or of lower quality than the others, but none of these disappoint. Well worth the money, especially considering after you read each story the author gives you creative insight into what inspired him to write each tale, which is really wonderful.

Jeff D., this is probably one of the best reviews I’ve ever received! I’m glad you think they’re all extraordinary stories. And best yet, Jeff D. says he’s going to buy a print copy of Reborn City when his next paycheck comes in. Oh, I can’t wait to sign that copy!

If you’re interested in checking out The Quiet Game, it’s available on Amazon and on Smashwords in both print paperback and e-book formats. And whatever you think, please let me know by leaving a review. Good reviews, bad reviews, I don’t care. I love getting feedback from readers. And if you like The Quiet Game, check out Reborn City, also available from Amazon and Smashwords.

An Idea From A Gift

Posted: December 21, 2013 in ideas, Living and Life, short story, Writing
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This weekend I spent part of it with my dad and my sister at my dad’s place. I needed to pick up my suit for a friend’s wedding and I wanted to attend my friend’s aufruf* at his synagogue (plus who doesn’t love spending time with their family? Don’t answer that question). While I was there, I received a Hannukah gift from a friend of the family who has known me since I was a baby. I wasn’t able to get the gift until now because the gift came after I left for campus. I was surprised but happy to get the gift and I wondered what she’d gotten me this year.

This friend, who I’ll call T, always sends a small but very interesting and unusual gift. This year was no different, and it’s by far the most interesting, unusual, and amazing gift I’ve ever gotten from her. A small human heart, made entirely of graphite. A working pencil in the shape of a heart. Take a look below.

graphite heart

I was so amazed when I saw it. It’s so amazing, it’s so macabre, it’s so…me. T knows me, God bless that woman. And I didn’t even know it was possible to carve graphite with such detail. I’m glad to get it. However, I’m not sure I can use it. In fact, I’m afraid to take it out of the box and touch it, let alone use it as an unusual pencil. Still, I think I will keep it. The heart is so my style, and best of all, it’s inspired an idea for a short story. Nothing can be bad if it inspires an idea for a story. I’m not sure what sort of story yet, but I have a feeling a similar graphite heart will be bringing something not human to life. Isn’t that terrifying?

So I’m going to add it to my list of short story ideas (about sixty story ideas so far. Where will I find the time to write them all?), and then I’m going to call up my mother while there’s still time. I need to get T’s contact information (I don’t have it, if that’s not obvious), and tell her that she got me an amazing gift.

Good night everybody!

*Aufruf: a celebration in Judaism the Shabbat before a wedding. The groom (and in some congregations, the bride) are called up to the Torah to do some special blessings and readings, and get a few special blessings in return. Often candy is thrown at the newlyweds after they have finished the blessings and the kids go to get as many sweets as they can get. Didn’t expect to get a lesson on Jewish custom today, did you?

The Quiet Game: My Seventh Review

Posted: December 12, 2013 in Review, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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tqg cover

They say that 7 is a very lucky number, and I have no doubt about that right now. I just got my 7th review on my collection of short stories, The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. This review comes from A. Frankel, which stands for Amy Novak Frankel, my third cousin and a dear friend., and she gave it five stars. In a review titled A really good book from a new author, Amy says this:

“I thoroughly enjoyed each of the short stories in this book and look forward to reading more from this author.”

Well if I remember Amy, you said that you bought all my books (which is just the two), so I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about Reborn City. I spent four years bringing that to the printed page, so I’d love your opinion on it. And thanks for the review once again. I’m averaging about 4.3 out of 5 on Amazon now.

If you’re interested in reading The Quiet Game, it’s available in both e-book and print paperback from Amazon and Smashwords. I hope you enjoy reading it and whatever you think, please don’t hesitate to leave a review. I’m always happy for feedback, positive or negative.

Two New Reviews!

Posted: December 6, 2013 in Novel, Review, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Today I woke up to a wonderful surprise: I’d gotten two new reviews on Amazon, one for each of my books. Both come from the same reviewer, username Enji, which makes me happy as I’m glad that anyone would read both of my books and also review them. But then again, I know who Enji is offline and I know she’s supportive of me and my writing, so that might explain it.

tqg cover

First, let’s start with The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones, which now has six reviews. Enji gave it five stars and titled the review Loved the Uniqueness of Each Story. Here’s what she had to say:

“I liked that each story was unusual. I think that the book was appropriately named. I prefer chilled bones rather than scared out of my whits since I am a bit of a chicken.”

Chicken or not, I’m glad you plucked up the courage to read the book Enji and I’m glad you enjoyed them. Also, I still get to maintain a 4.0 average on Amazon, so I’m all the happier that you read it.

Reborn City

Next, Reborn City, which now has two reviews. Enji also gave RC five stars (moving its average to a 4.5 out of 5) and titled her review Fantastic (which is the catchphrase of my favorite Doctor). Here’s what Enji wrote:

“As a reader who does not read books in this genre, I must admit that I could not put down the book. I attribute this to the talent of the author. I am looking forward to reading the next books published by Ungar. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy action with  features of supernatural powers and sci-fi.”

Oh Enji, I think I’m blushing a little. And I’m happy to hear you couldn’t put it down. It’s always great to hear that from people who read your work. And I hope to have another book out soon, I just don’t have a definite date yet. But thanks for reviewing Enji. It means a lot to me.

If you’re interested at all in reading The Quiet Game or Reborn City, or you want to give either of them to a friend, or you just want to support me because you’re extremely nice, both books are available on Amazon and Smashwords in print paperback and e-book formats. And if you like or hate what you read, please let me know. I don’t mind feedback, positive or negative (though I haven’t gotten much negative feedback yet).

I have some work to do, so I’ll be signing off now. Thanks for reading, and I hope to post again later. Have a lovely weekend, Followers of Fear.

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