Golden Boxty in The Frypan
Pat Spencer – Author
Amazon – $7.99 ebook/$18.99 paperback – https://rb.gy/gy6ljc
MY BOOK REVIEW
You will never be completely prepared for this story. It’s not written with flowery prose or with an uppity flare. It’s written as intended, with a common air … from a child’s point of view, although not completely … unfolding a tale about common people who want to survive their circumstances and determined to do just about anything to accomplish their goal. But when you’re nine-years-old and left to not only fend for yourself but also for your three siblings while two older ones have all but abandoned you, there’s a desperation hooked inside your soul that won’t let go. Without that hook buried deep, the only thing left to do is die.
Remnants of this Irish family survived and the lessons they will leave within the pages of this book will haunt you for the rest of your life. Each time you think you can’t make it—whether you’re suffering a deadly illness, been abandoned, struggling through poverty, or nasty gossip—you will think of the Ryan family.
It was extremely difficult to stop in the middle of this book, so I didn’t. I couldn’t. Though I thought Pat could have done a better job transitioning most of the scenes, the way it is written wastes no time threading you through the hardships that unfold.
When you buy this book, dedicate the whole day to it. There will be moments when you’ll need to take time to breathe … gather yourself … and for most of you, time to realize it’s not happening to you. Again. Don’t stop until you reach the end. Because it is there, where the light separates the darkness, where you will see sunlight overwhelming the horizon.
It’s not often I recommend books. On my website, you will usually find links to videos and recommendations to reference materials. But it’s rare to hear me say, “This book is good.” And Boxty, as I affectionately call it, is a good book.
Maybe it’s through the lens of my own trauma that I can appreciate what this character and her family went through. Perhaps it’s the trauma I feel all over again every time I see the news. Or just maybe it’s because I want so badly for people to do what’s right. Whatever the case may be, Pat Spencer took me on her mother’s journey and opened me up to a new way of looking at my circumstances, past and present.
This book solidified my ambitious need to be and do better–especially since it’s the beginning of a new year, to be a better example to those around me so I can make peace with what I leave behind. I am also gripped by the fact that we are all, indeed, the same … searching for hope … believing in the Holy One, whether we refer to him in this manner or not, the truth remains — we do search for Him … and we’re always engaged in a frantic search to share our lives with someone.
Among the pages of this book, I was able to experience the prejudice against them without the author screaming and yelling at me about the color of their skin, their intellect, their dialogue or slang, void of name-calling out of retaliation. And more importantly, I walked with this family as they rose again and again to pick themselves up and try again, albeit another route. To go through so much heartache without wanting to return to places and show off your new-found dignity is astounding.
Every person in every nation has been slighted, enslaved, or manipulated and robbed. Golden Boxty in the Frypan proves none of us are immune. But what it also proves is everyone in every nation can also rise above the darkness. There, where the sunlight and darkness divide is a measure of hope free to us all. And like the main character in this book, if you focus on God and the hope he offers, you shall rise as the darkness falls.
Enjoy the read. It will linger within your soul for a long time after …
Donna B. Comeaux
Author
Book Blurbs
One of the hardest things for writers to conquer is writing book blurbs.
It’s hard because we “think” the reader needs to know all the details before they buy our book.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
A reader wants their emotions aroused and to be intrigued and teased. They are on bookselling platforms because they intend to hit that “buy” button. Your job is to entice them to do so on your product.
But how do you do that before they reach the last sentence of your book blurb?
You make them care.
Everything you write in your fiction book blurb should be about the character, including the universe in which they live. As a writer, it is your job to convey to your readers why your character is in the pickle he’s in and why it’s difficult to get out of it, or if, perhaps, he will ever get out of it. You must also let your readers know the possible rewards if he rises above the peril he’s in.
How long should a blurb like this be?
200-250 characters.
What?
Okay, there’s exceptions. But what you don’t want to do is go on and on with long-winded clauses because all that will do is slow the momentum. You must keep your reader hyped up, excited, and twitching to hit that “BUY” button. Don’t concentrate so much on “buzz” words or keywords. Write naturally. And use strong verbs in your blurbs.
And don’t forget the call-to-action at the end of your blurb. For example: “Buy today.” Of, “Don’t miss your chance to experience this journey …”
There are so many more golden nuggets to express about writing book blurbs, but no one explains it better than Bryan Cohen.
Click on the link below and watch an interview with Bryan where he further explains these questions and so much more.
https://www.youtube.com/live/BYbOacJPpIM?si=f0yXBr0TH-vb2DU9
Every quarter Bryan offers a FREE 5-Day Amazon Challenge. Expect homework. They offer support 15 days after the challenge. Go here to find out more:
https://SellingforAuthors.com/Oct
Happy Writing!
Donna B. Comeaux
SHOW don’t TELL
Years ago, in my infancy of writing, I got hammered numerous times for telling my story instead of showing it.
My arrogant self thought I knew what that meant, so I tried again and presented my chapter to a critique group, only to get hammered again and again.
No one likes criticism. We want to walk around with high expectations of warm fuzzies all day long. That’s fanatastical. An illusion. Unreal. And because I didn’t want to deal with reality, I read into my work what I wanted it to say, not what it actually said.
After much bruising and bantering back and forth, I decided to tuck my tail between my legs and go on an avid search of this mysterious premise described as “show don’t tell.”
In those early days, I kept everything—handwritten notes, straggly notes, gum paper with new words scribbled on it, index cards, old books. When going through all of these pieces of paper, I stumbled across an old version of a story I wrote that I had, for some reason, set aside.
Fresh on mind that day was this premise of “show don’t tell.” And as I read through my manuscript one paragraph at a time, I began to see the error of my ways.
Within that old version of my story were numerous gems you and I would normally call a rough draft filled with errors and poor writing techniques. It was a gem of a piece to me because those pages represented my hard work that didn’t have a chance to see the light of day had I sent it to a publisher.
It’s here where I began my metamorphic change as a writer. I methodically sat and rewrote every sentence that explainedmy scenes and began to see how often my characters’ actions told the reader nothing about what was really going on. You were left with no idea how mad or how disgusted or how tense the scene was in the heat of the moment because the writing did too much describing—telling—that, in the end, did very little to evoke emotions.
If what you’ve written doesn’t heighten a reader’s emotions in a particular scene, you are more than likely telling / informing / explaining too much to readers. When, in fact, you need to show them. And once you show them, you will always receive a powerful response from them in return.
If you’ve ever struggled with the “show don’t tell” premise, here is an example of a sentence that might help you understand how to spot the problem with telling.
Notice in the sentence doing the telling that you’re left feeling like you were just informed. You don’t feel attached to what has been said. You don’t have an emotional reaction to this information one way or the other.
Telling:
Lucy Dobbs looked at Christopher as if he had two heads mounted on his shoulders. She gasped before she gave him a piece of her mind.
Showing:
Christopher yelled, “You’re a cheat. You slut.” He looked her up and down and snarled.
Christopher was a liar and would forever be a liar. When he finished his condescending rant, Lucy Dobbs stood still, her mouth agape, her eyes wide. Then she stepped toward him, her shoes pounding the hardwood floor, firm, slow, and deliberate. She stopped, inches from his face, placed one hand on her hip, pointed to the door with her other, and told him, “Get out!”
When you write sentences that show your readers what’s going on in the heat of the moment, you quickly come to a conclusion about the matter because you feel something, you take a stand, you take sides, and your pulse races.
That’s showing!
K.M. Weiland is a very knowledgeable acclaimed author who publishes writing guides, historical and speculative fiction, and who is also a writing mentor. She has several articles and a video on “show don’t tell.” Here are links to her articles:
KMWeiland-Understanding Show vs. Tell
WritersHelpingWriters Show Don’t Tell
I could bore you with numerous examples, but it’s best you extract a sentence from your own manuscript and rearrange it in a similar fashion as you see here and on Weiland’s website. In case I’m not clear here, follow K.M. Weiland’s lead. She’s sharp! When you’re done transforming your own sentences, you’ll witness a more vivid depiction of what’s going on in your scene and without a doubt feel like you’re standing or sitting right beside the character and witnessing what’s going on firsthand.
Happy Writing!
Donna B. Comeaux
Author and Poet
