Review Posted, Review Received

I’m back from vacation and already back into the swing of things. (sigh)

I love being at the beach, and I’m already missing it. To me, there’s nothing grander than sitting on the porch overlooking the ocean and hearing the waves roar and crash. It’s a nice background to writing.

While I was gone, my review of Stays Crunchy in Milk by Adam P. Knave was posted over at SF Reader Reviews. I loved the idea of this cereal box story, chock-full of 1980’s pop-culture references, and looked forward to reading it. But the execution fell flat for me. A child of the 80s who spent the majority of his existence in front of the TV or playing popular video games may enjoy it.

— and —

I posted a short time ago that Anna Marie Catoir mentioned on her blog (Anna Marie’s Corner) that Blood Soup was on her wish list. Since reading and reviewing is what Anna Marie does, I had no problem sending her a review copy.

And guess what? She loved it.

Anna Marie’s review begins with a quote from Blood Soup:

“…he found the literature could sometimes take his mind off the pain.”

She writes:

“Now there is a true statement. You can always find them in good fiction.

This was a short novella of my favorite sort. I couldn’t see the conclusion from the opening, there was recompense paid at that end, and just enough open-endedness to let the imagination fly.

This novella covers a lot a time, but never feels fractured or too compressed. It also feels like it belongs to a different time. I don’t mean it’s the historical setting. Harmon’s story feels like it belongs to the myth and legend class of stories or maybe just a scary tale told in the dark. I loved its dramatic feel (in the theatrical sense).”
What a great feeling! Not only did she rate Blood Soup 4 out of 5 but she called it “good fiction.”

Read the complete review here.

What a way to make my day. Thanks, Anna Marie!