Hi  Everybody!

I am excited to tell you that my book, Luke's Tale, is featured on www.BookGiftGuide.com as a Holiday gift pick this season. You can see my book here: http://www.bookgiftguide.com/literary-fiction. I would very much appreciate it if you could take a minute to check out my book, and share this link with your friends and family. Thanks!

All the Best,
Carol

I'll admit it. Out of more than 40 reviews, I received one bad one. You can't win the hearts and minds of everyone, but I have to admit, this one hurt.

Here's what got to me. Nothing else phased me until I got to this comment. "I really resented the mawkish sentiment which had me crying so often. That’s a lousy trick to play on your readers."

What? As a writer I'm not allowed to make you cry? I was crying when I wrote it! Robert Frost once said, " No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader."

Did I intend to purposely provide mawkish sentiment and play a lousy trick on my readers. NO! I wanted my readers to feel! In order to get across any message, I needed to make my readers feel the pain of my characters. And to feel my pain.

The purpose of any writing is to elicit a feeling that causes a response. Often, the experiences of the reader block those feelings, causing the resentment expressed in the critic's quote. Have we not all loved and lost? Do we not talk about it or write about it because it causes too much pain? Doesn't that pain have to come out before it can heal?

I would love to know what you think? When you read a book that causes you discomfort or makes you cry or makes  you think about something that needs to be discussed, do you resent it?

Action Item
Think about my question and let me know your thoughts.

Til next time!

1.     It’s the story of a couple’s journey to find lasting love, and the dog who shows them the way.

2.     The central message is unconditional love. The message is clear. We all place conditions on others whom we love. It is up to us to remove those conditions and love unconditionally. If we do, the world will be a better place.

3.     The book is narrated by Luke, the Dog.

4.     Just like faith, one must suspend disbelief in order to believe… in a dog who can have the thoughts of a human being.

5.     The man and woman in the story are flawed.

6.     The dog pretty much stands for GOD spelled backwards, but this is not a book about religion.

7.     We can only find our way when we are open to facing our past and then leaving it behind us.

8.     The book is not about blindness or cancer. Luke’s blindness and Sara’s cancer are only present to test the conditions that Ashlundt places on them as barriers to love.

9.      Life tests all of us. It’s not so much how we handle it but what we learn from it.

10.  Many people find it a sad story, perhaps because it hits very close to home. It is meant to show people the way to lasting relationships.

I intended to provide a descriptive paragraph under each item on the list. But, I think they can stand alone. They capture the essence of the book, and I hope you will read it.

Til Next Time!
Carol