…or is it, or am I, really?
Before I begin this update I wanted to just post a note about the recent lack of ‘Various Artists’ podcasts release. There are two more recorded and ready to roll but I have been going through a bumpy patch personally and wanted to take some time for myself.
Something had to give and I decided to just take a break from the editing and release of the pods for a few weeks. There have been three released and it’s been two weeks since the last release, so I may just skip next week and start the series again after that. I don’t know how interested people have been in the podcasts but even if it’s just one person I feel obliged by politeness to say sorry and give an update.
So.
I read reviews of my books. Not always but every few weeks I’ll have a glance. Some people are very precious about reviews. I’m sensitive to criticism in some ways, in others I’m not. I wanted to share this review posted recently on Amazon about ‘Mablethorpe’, my second ‘thriller’ ‘novella’ I guess are the sub categories it falls into.
So here goes with the review, posted by ‘Mozza98’ with a star rating of 3.
“This novel was incredibly written; emotive and scenic, the characterisation was perfect and, living in Mablethorpe myself, gave off a sense of dark humour to me.
I enjoyed every page… until the ending. Although the novel will inevitably stay with me for years, I was incredibly dissatisfied with the ending, as it left much to be desired for me personally.
Despite that, I would still recommend this as a read, due to its compellingly dark nature.”
There are also some lovely and honest reviews on Amazon for the book from the local book club.
I did a talk there when the book was released a couple of years ago (it’s actually the second anniversary of its publication date!) and there were some very good points raised in conversation. I was able to answer some queries and yes, there were questions about the ending.
Without wanting to give away a spoiler to anyone yet to read it, I did have the ending clear from the start. It was always going to end that way. I knew it would be divisive because of the investment readers make in characters and their journeys.
The story is very dark. You would have to read it or know the premise of it to understand why it is dark, and understand how as a writer you have to get into that head space. I wanted to explore that idea of a small community turning against each other and I wanted the ending to be something that stayed with the reader. In doing that I had to accept that it would be divisive, and it was risky because I knew it would also present further questions that would not be answered by the story.
It was my intention for it to be a standalone story although there have been some requests for a sequel.
Mozza98, if you’re reading this, I would love to discuss the ending with you (if so, please get in touch!) and I thank you wholeheartedly for your feedback!
