Woo Hooooo!!!

OMG! I am so excited.  I just got a 4.5 diamond review on my erotic short, Eternal Obsession!  Snoopy dancing over here.  I have to tell you guys that this couldn't have come at a better time as I am heading off to surgery on Monday and have been a bit of a nervous wreck.

Anyway check it out: http://gotromanceholiday.blogspot.com/2010/10/eternal-obsession-by-dayana-knight.html

D~

Let's Talk Twilight

Writer to writer...

I never really had an interest in the series because I imagined it was geared toward teens, Young Adult which I typically don't read.  I listened to all the hype. I saw all the fuss. I've seen and heard a million reviews from stellar to trashing the author, the books, the editing. But I had no opinion as I had not read any of the books so why would I have an opinion.

I have to very honest here.  I admit I wondered what this author did with her story, how she made her vampires different, what the twist was that shot her to near-overnight success and movie deals! And I will also admit to being a wee bit envious.  Yet I still wasn't compelled to check it out.

Two years later, a co-worker at my day job, actually our office manager who is in her thirties, was totally drawn in and talked about nothing by Edward and Bella with pure AWE.  She was bowled over and living the story.  Mind you, this woman is NOT a reader.  She saw the movie, Twilight and liked it so much, she ran out and purchased the books--the entire series of books. To date she has read the series no less than seven times! 

Now my curiosity peaked and was getting the better of me because I wanted to know how Stephenie was able to draw someone in so deep that they didn't sleep at night because they just couldn't put the book down. She literally came into work happy, smiling and giddy(because of the books) and did I mention totally exhausted.    What is so special about this series that would drawn someone who is not a reader to such total devotion? 

I decided the only way I would find the answer is to take the time to check Ms. Meyer's work out for myself.  So the first thing I did was order the movies, "Twilight" and "New Moon" and I sat and watched both a couple of weekends ago. At first I wasn't so impressed but then something happened. I began to feel for Bella and Edward, and I fell into the story.  Actually swan dived...

The love growing between Edward and Bella was beautifully laid out and  so very tragic--a no win situation.  It just pulled you in so that you wanted the HEA so badly for them. But how can it be? How in the world can these two people so different secure any type of future together. One a mere human and one a monster--a vampire? So there you have it.  You need to keep going in order to see how poor Edward and Bella can make this work.  And it's not as simple as all that. There are so many other factors flying around this story that seem to work for and against the couple.  This author has done her job and done it very well.  Oh, and did I mention, this is not the typical YA.  This series works for any age.  It is such a wonderfully written love story full of sadness, humor, happiness, tragedy, every emotion will be tested and experienced.

Did I mention after I watched the movies, I got my hands on the books as well.  I have completed Twilight and Midnight Sun, which by the way, is a partial manuscript from Edward's POV following Twilight, that Ms. Meyer will sadly never finish because it somehow ended up published on the internet before its completion. Something we writers all fear. You can only read this draft on the website. If you would like more information on this draft please visit Stephenie Meyer's website. I do suggest you read it after your read book I because it gives you Edward's point of view and it will give you so much more insight into how much pain and confusion the brooding Edward is dealing with.

I look forward to New Moon which I will begin to read next weekend. Why you ask would I wait until next weekend to begin the next book?  Well, I read Twilight in five days(I do work a full time job) and Midnight Sun this weekend. Need I say more?  I really need to get some work done *grin*

Next question you may be wondering.  Why am I posting this?  Well, I wanted to give Stephenie Meyer kudos.  She is an exceptional writer of a genre I love, and I hope that someday my work will be accepted and loved as hers is and for good reason. 

If you are skeptical like I was because of what critics or peers are saying about this series, the only advise I have for you is to sit down and read it.  The movies are fine but they are nowhere as deep or well-rounded as the books.  As everyone knows, the books are always better.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and whether you have experienced this series.  BUT and this is a BIG but...Please donot give anything away as I am only just beginning New Moon and do not want to know anything past Twilight or Midnight Sun.  Do not ruin this for me:) My heart thanks you:)

Thank you Stephenie Meyer!

Dayana~

A Word About Reviews...

Sorry, I just couldn't resist:) I've been pulling out the autumn and Halloween stuff for the last couple of weeks so...

I've got what I think is a very important, possibly debatable subject, I'd like to discuss today. It's happened to me on two occasions and it actually happened to a good friend quite recently.

The subject is book reviews.

This is a process we must go through and a nailbiting, edge-of-the-seat wait. We never know when that first review will pop up, and we sure as hell don't know how our heart's work will be accepted. So we wait chewing our nails with bellies churning.

Finally, that first review comes out and you've either gotten notification from the review site, which is how I learned of most of my reviews or we finally find a crumb of info after googling our name day after day. Then we sit rigid afraid to actually click the review to see what it says.

Ohmigod! It's wonderful when you click, finally open your eyes, and read it and find it's a positive review. My first one was a 4 from Manic Readers for Curse of the Marhime. I about fell off my seat. My second review came in from LASR and was a 4.5 and Bitten by Books gave it a 4.5 as well. More came in within the same parameters. So it's all good, right? Technically, yes. But...


I'm sure every or at least most authors out there have experienced the nasty hateful reviewer that seems to blatantly and with malice to trash your book and your talent all at once. Fortunately, mine was not the first review I set my eyes on but it hurt just the same. I've had two reviewers write less than complimentary reviews about two different books, that I know of. I won't reveal the review sites, and I will acknowledge that I understand a review is just an opinion. So I am not putting this blog out to antagonize reviewers' opinions. What I do want to do is give authors who have received less than stellar reviews or feel they have been trashed a different point of view in regards to how they react to the bad review.

Two of my peers recently have written to me about some bad reveiws they received and when I read the reveiws I had to admit they could have been handled a bit differently. For one of the authors, it was her first review! I felt terrible for her, but told her that's just one person's opinion. Though I am sure it didn't make her feel any better. In fact, I know it didn't.

Before any reviewers out there that may be reading this blog react, I myself am a freelance reviewer. So I do have a right to voice my opinion on the way a reviewer approaches a review. But I would certainly love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Again, I will reiterate that I understand that everyone has an opinion and not everyone likes the same things. And to be perfectly honest, I never pay much attention to movie reviews or book reviews because if I did I'd probably never go to the movies or read the book, LOL how do I know if their tastes run along my tastes? Very important point here:)

The two reveiwers that gave me low numbers and had a lot of negative things to say about my books obviously did not like the type of books I wrote(and btw one of them admitted she didn't like the type of romance portrayed). So I ask, why would you read it in the first place? One of the reviewers even got the title of the book completely wrong with the cover art hovering right beside her review! That doesn't give her much creedence at least in my humble opinion.

Now, I'd like to discuss how I go forward with a review job.

If I get into a book that I truly don't like or the editing is really horrific, I stop reading it. I contact the liaison at the site and ask for it to be reassigned, which fortunately, is an option with the review site I work with. Some don't allow it and you must muddle through the review and do the best you can to be honest but not insult or hurt the author. Not an easy task. Why? Because I never want to discourage an author from persuing the craft and destroying any confidence said author has built within his or herself. It is a big step when a writer decides to submit a book. That writer is putting her/himself out there in a big, personal, naked sort of way. If you are not a writer you would never understand.

I will never give a book below a 3.5 because I just don't think it fair to the author. My opinion, my way of doing things. Obviously not everyone's cup of tea.

One of my peers was actually given a 0! How can you possibly give a book a 0? There is always something good to say about something. That is just moronic. The person who did that should not be reviewing books.

I'd like to hear what your take is on this subject. Many authors also review books so if you do, please pipe in. I'd like to know why it is necessary to blatantly ruin an author's work. I can't believe a publishing company would put out a book that didn't have something worth publishing between its bindings. Is it just me?

Dayana~

Curse of the Marhime, Now in Print!

Curse of the Marhime: Excerpt and Reviews

A Wild Rose Press Release: Curse of the Marhime
Book I, The Roma Wolf Tales Series
Print ISBN 1-60154-353-0

Print Release Date: December 12, 2008

Available at:
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon.com

Blurb:
A routine visit to the grocery store and a chance encounter with a psychic plunges Pita Sedgwick into a dark world of shape-shifting, magic, and Gypsy lore. Pita finds herself on a plane to Romania, seeking the answers to her mysterious birth and in search of her biological family.

Fate intervenes in the form of handsome seatmate, Niko Ionesciu. Pita is sure she’s found love and her history. But as her innocent fact-finding mission spirals into a dangerous game of revenge and deceit with the Gypsy Matriarch, the psychic’s words come back to haunt her. Can she trust the people around her with her terrifying secret or will the search for her family end in the ultimate betrayal?

Excerpt:
After two stopovers and one plane change, Pita
settled in for the next leg of the journey. She’d
finished her novel long ago and had stopped in one of
the airport shops in Toronto and picked up a couple
of magazines and another book.

Some passengers looked familiar, but many
faces were different now. Her seatmates, the elderly
couple seemed to be gone or at least not seated
anywhere near her. This plane was a little smaller
and had only two seats on either side of the aisle, the
one next to her remained empty.

Absently, she fingered through one of the
magazines when someone plopped down beside her.
She glanced up into a face whose smile was so
infectious and openly shy, that she instantly found
herself returning the smile. “Hi.”

His hair was dark-blond and longish, not quite
shoulder length. Little crinkles formed at the
corners of his eyes when he smiled, and he had a
dimple on his chin. She had an urge to reach out and
touch a finger to that dimple. God, he is so cute. A
flush of heat exploded in her as her eyes locked onto
his hazel ones.

“Hello,” she said in return and tightened her
grip on the magazine. She wanted to reach up and
push his wayward hair out of his ruggedly handsome
face. And to make matters worse she wanted to kiss
that adorable lopsided smile right off his face. Oh my
god, get a grip. What is wrong with me?

“Don’t let me interrupt you.” He glanced down at
the magazine in her lap. “You were reading.”
Something seemed familiar about him, but she
couldn’t put a finger on it. Pita detected a slight
Eastern European accent. She blushed and
concentrated on closing the magazine in her lap to
regain her composure. Her reaction to him bordered
on odd, and she couldn’t even find the correct words
to describe it. Something tugged deep within her,
some primal response to this man. Bigger than lust.
It unhinged her.

“No, you’re not, interrupting, I mean… I was
just flipping through it waiting for takeoff for
the…um…the umpteenth time,” she smiled again,
hoping to conceal how he unnerved her.

“You’re American?”

“Yes. I’m from Montana.” Pita answered. Why is
it I turn into an idiot around good-looking men? Get
a grip. “My name is Pita.” She extended a hand to
him.

He took it, and Pita felt an odd vibration, a rush
of…power? A surge shot straight up her arm that
washed into her torso. It was the strangest
sensation, not in any way painful, just odd. They
stared at each other for long seconds before he
answered.

“I’m Nikolae Ionesciu, very nice to meet
you. Please, call me Niko.” Again, that shy
disarming smile. He had a small scar on his upper
lip but it only added to his good looks.

Pita blushed again and looked down into her
lap, so he wouldn’t notice. The jolt she felt from the
brief touch was compelling. It vibrated through her
arm like the aftershock of an electrical current. He’d
felt it too, she’d seen it in his eyes. She picked the
magazine off her lap and slipped it in the slot on the
seat in front of her for something to do. No denying
she was attracted to him, but the strange sensation
that passed between them had nothing to do with it.
She knew—no felt instinctively— without a doubt,
this was something entirely different.

“Where are you from? Your accent…” Pita
considered a moment. “Slavic? Perhaps somewhere
near Romania?” She guessed. “My best friend was
born there. Her parents have a similar accent.”

“I was born in Hungary but grew up in Northern
Romania just over the border between the two
countries.” He explained. “I travel between the
United States and Romania often these days.”
“That explains your almost perfect English.”
Pita grinned. She loved the husky timbre of his
voice. Its slightly raspy baritone caressed her
senses—soft, sensuous.

The stewardess passed by, advising everyone to
buckle their seatbelts, that the plane would be
taxiing for take off in a moment.
Pita busied herself with the seatbelt and locked
the little tray in place. Niko bent to place his
backpack under the seat in front of him then buckled
himself in. He pushed back the hair that had fallen
into his face when he’d bent down. Pita wondered
what it would be like to feel that hand touch her
face, her neck, slide down her...

Oh God, what is the matter with me?

The plane lurched forward and began its taxi to
the runway. She relaxed into the seat and waited for
the usual rush when the plane sped up and then left
the ground. Better to concentrate on that than what
she’d been thinking a moment ago.

“Here we go.” He commented.

“Hmmmm…” she responded glad that of all the
seats in the plane his was beside her. The plane
picked up momentum and lifted off the runway and
into the night.

Reviews:
"CURSE OF THE MARHIME was an awesome book…Niko had the right amount of heart and strength to become one of those memorable heroes. I cannot wait for book two!"

Review by ~Megan
Bitten by Books
***
"CURSE OF THE MARHIME has instances that gave me tingling sensations down my spine. I was completely drawn to the storyline and love the little dark moments. From the shape-shifting, the gypsies, and the wolves, I found this an incredible read…If the first book is this awesome, I can hardly wait for the others in the series."

Reviewed by ~Cherokee
Coffee Time Romance
***
"Dayana Knight's CURSE OF THE MARHIME is the first in her Roma Wolf Tales series. With plot twists and turns aplenty, the ups and downs in the book make reading it an intellectual rollercoaster...I just love a book that keeps me guessing and if the first is anything to go by this series definitely will."

Reviewed by ~Valerie
Manic Reviews
***
“CURSE OF THE MARHIME blends a strange, almost magical aura to contemporary times.
Pita Sedgwick has no need of fortune-tellers, but the one that accosts her so adamantly in the grocery store fills her with questions and foreboding. In moments, her ho-hum life begins to change. Ominous symbols reach out from her mostly hidden past.
Throughout, Pita has a valuable friends, unexpected guides… and the love of her life (And he truly is a dream lover: wonderful heroic, and so much more than merely human – but I refuse to give away the magic of this particular secret!) But, will her quest supersede all?
This is not entirely a dark, sinister tale. There are some lighter moments, and certainly some wonderful, heartfelt and heartwarming moments…
In this unpredictable novel of love, desperation, and triumph, Dayana Knight has woven a thrilling and unpredictable tale. The pace is fast, descriptions clear, and the characters – even secondary characters – are wonderfully developed."

Review by ~Snapdragon
The Long and Short Review

Manic Readers Review Curse of the Marhime!

The moment I have been waiting for with both trepidation and immense curiosity has arrived at last. Two nights ago a very good friend and peer, Mary Ricksen, author of Tripping Through Time, emailed me that the first review of my novel went up for the world to see at Manic Readers.

So...
I scrambled to find the site and clicked on the review bar. Lo and behold, there sat my book. After a deep, nerve-quelling breath, I clicked on the book cover and was pleasantly shocked to see first a FOUR STAR RATING! Then an AWESOME write up by the reviewer whose name is Valerie!

My husband hugged me, kissed me and kept saying, "Honey, this is great." But I was reading very slowly taking everything in and hadn't even realized how good and positive it really was.

Thank you, Valerie!

Thank you, Manic Readers!

Thank you, Mary for bringing it to my attention!

Dayana~
Swirls and twirls in bliss as she continues to do Snoopy happy dances around the room.