Tuesday, September 3, 2013

IWSG, Rippln, And A The Life List Book Review!

IWSG: It’s that time of month for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s IWSG. My challenge these days is finishing my current book Escalation. Seems like the Good Lord above has His own timing for the release, which is different from mine. I would have had it out by now. I sometimes struggle with doing things my way. But I understand He has a better idea in mind, so I’ll have to be patient, which I’m sometimes not very good at.
On the upside, I just sent off a large chunk to my editor and finally finished a difficult battle scene that really rocks. This was definitely worth the wait as I added some really cool stuff that would not have been included had I rushed the time table according to my schedule.
Rippln: Has anyone heard of this? Just what the heck is it all about? I received a request to join and did. Not sure why. Could have been the Labor Day wine. But I'm curious if anyone else is on board for this new mystery thing-a-ma-jig.

Review: The Life List Every year I like to read a few books outside of my genre of Action, Suspense, and Science Fiction. I found a real winner in Lori Nelson Spielman’s The Life List. What stood out was the character arc: Will the character grow and overcome in order to solve her challenges?
The conflict in the story is immediate. Brett Bohlinger is at a crossroads. Her recently deceased and beloved mother, patriarch of a successful global cosmetics company in Chicago, has passed. In order to receive her inheritance, Brett’s mother has legally willed her only daughter to fulfill the improbable Life List Brett naively made at the innocent age of fourteen.
Fast forward twenty years: Brett’s didn’t choose her life challenges and she didn’t adapt easily. But she didn’t give up under excruciating circumstances. Her journey was a painful one of fear and incompetence to courage competence. Along the way, Brett had to decide which of her friends were there to help and who would hold her back. We see Brett evolve through her personal trials and the decisions when confronted with choices she must make.

I laughed much through The Life List. And there was an excellent and unexpected ending. The character arc was complete. I can definitely see The Life List being made into a movie.
Take a moment to visit Lori Spielman’s Guest Post earlier this summer. It’s worth your time. Trust me!
Looking Forward: Check back Monday as author Bob Sanchez visits. Bob recently received his 100th Amazon review. That’s huge! I need to start writing more book reviews. Its good karma too.
Question: Did you have a fun and safe holiday weekend? Did you obey the Lava Lamp? What's your IWSG this month? Have you heard of Rippln? Do you write book reviews for Amazon and Kindle?

47 comments:

  1. God's timetable always overrides ours!
    Never heard of Rippin. I would say no just because I barely have time for what I'm doing now. If you join, let us know what it's all about.
    I don't have an Amazon account so all of my reviews are on Goodreads. (My wife has the Amazon account. I have the iTunes account. It works for us.)

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  2. Wow, 100 is impressive. I only have 54, I'm so behind on posting my reviews. Shame on me, I've read many more than 54.

    Congrats on your fight scene, things always happen in the time they are meant too - despite our best efforts.

    Great review, I checked out her guest post - and I admire her stick-too-ittiveness. That's a word right?

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    1. Yolanda, 54 reader reviews is still very impressive! Congrats to you.

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  3. Not heard of Rippin though I have heard of Riffle. Good luck finishing your book.

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  4. That does sound like a good read.

    Yep, sometimes God does edit our timetables--our manmade calendars. Get it, edits, writers? Never mind. :)

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  5. Thanks for this wonderful highlight, Stephen! And gosh... the whole timetable thing is something I struggle with. I know we each have agency, but MAN... I'd really like things to play on my timetable, dang it! :D

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  6. I write reviews on Amazon sometimes. Not for all the books I've read. Just for the ones I honestly liked. Never heard of the Rippin. Best of lucks with your book. Patience is a virtue I'm still working on.

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    1. Al, I only write positive reviews for books I like too. Why write a bad review. Why read a bad book? I don't understand why some people write scathing reviews.

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  7. Hi Stephen. Yes, I write reviews for Amazon etc but only for books I can say nice things about. Never heard of Rippin'. Surely we can't fit in any more social media? Life LIst sounds great. A good laugh is what we need. It wasn't a holiday weekend in Australia. We celebrate Labor Day in May. Had Father's Day on Sunday.

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  8. Rippin?!?! Nope, can't say that I have! LOL!! Hope you enjoy whatever it is! Yay! Take care
    x

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  9. Don't ruse the Muse. I set deadlines for myself and often have to revise. Don't procrastinate either. LOL Take the time to make the book right. Had a safe weekend because we didn't go anywhere. Hubs & I stayed home & packed for our move across the state. I haven't heard of Rippin, either.

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  10. I never write a bad review. I usually put these books down and never finish reading them. If I can't post a three star or more then the book will be shut and given to the library.

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    1. Very gracious of you, Stephen. I do the same. Best of luck with your books. When life settles down, I'm looking forward to reading your work.

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  11. The best of success with your present book, Stephen!

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  12. Congratulations! Wishing you many happy sales.

    My husband got back from Afghanistan on Friday, so we had some amazing family time this weekend.

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    1. Great news on hubby returning! Is he back to stay?

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  13. Yeah, my novel seems to be on its own timeline as well, despite my sitting down and writing every day! But you'll be celebrating that release when it's ready!

    And I have no idea what Rippin is. Must explore.

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    1. L.G., I'll celebrate by doing a month of non-stop promoting. That's my idea of celebrating.

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  14. Love your new banner!
    Yes, God's timing is not mine. Have had to learn that lesson a LOT lately...sigh.
    I wrote about what this group has meant to me.
    Life List sounds interesting...so many books, so little time. I have 87 unread books on my Kindle from the last two years of A-Z road trips...yikes!
    Tina @ Life is Good

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    1. Glad to hear I'm not alone. But once the floodgates open you have to be prepared to receive. And promote. A writer's job is never finished.

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  15. Good luck finishing your book! My timetable is always very different to what actually happens.

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  16. Good luck with Escalation! I'm not good at being patient either.

    Never heard of RippIn. Let us know if you find out what it is. Life List sounds like a good read.

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  17. Thanks all for the well wishes with the book! Much appreciated. Those words of encouragement go a long way!

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  18. Hi, Stephen,

    Yeah, I've been struggling with the deadlines too, but I've given in. I make less mistakes when I'm not trying to get things done in a rush. Sounds like you've been doing some interesting reading and nope, haven't heard of Rippin.

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    1. JL, sometimes it doesn't seem like we're in a rush. It takes an outside source or force to slow us down and male us realize there are other things in this life happening that we need to be involved with.

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  19. Ah yes... sometimes our lives don't fall into line with out plans... both for your writing and for the book reviewed. I think being open minded and adapting is crucial--never be so set in a plan that you have to say 'I failed'--you only want to just adjust your plans.

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  20. The good Lord always has a plan for us, sometime not OUR plan. But we have to be patient. Happy to hear you finished a rocking battle scene, I love them the best in books! Good review on the Life List and good luck to Lori it sounds amazing.

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  21. Yay for nailing the battle scene. It's great when it goes well isn't it?

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  22. Patience is sometimes hard, but you're moving along. Good luck! I do write reviews for Amazon/Kindle and Goodreads. I've been trying to find time even to just write a few lines for every book I read. And I read very fast!

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  23. Well done for getting the battle scene down. I have a fight scene I'm about to dive into... I've not heard of Rippin - but I am apparently very old now because a young work colleague tried to explain Instagram to me the other day :-(

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  24. Stephen, just think how good that final book will be when it is released!

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    1. Diane, it's that hope of the release day that keeps me up and running each day. I'm almost there!

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  25. Life's a funny thing. Just watch. The next three books will come out with ease in 2013. I've just got that feeling.

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  26. I haven't heard of RippIn, I'm still undecided whether I'm curious enough to find out or not lol

    Oh, He does have his own plans, doesn't He? ;)
    I'm sure your book will only benefit, though. That battle scene has me quite intrigued now!

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  27. Wow Stephen sounds like a great book, if your battles rock!
    Congrats on getting it done!

    I just read that book and loved it!
    I like that you read outside of your genre-smart man!

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    1. Ella, I seem to find amazing reads, especially from the, can I say, Rom Coms. Just don't tell anyone I said that.

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  28. Sometimes, there's a silver lining when things taking longer than you expected. That happens to me a lot - both the taking-longer part and the silver linings! I haven't heard of Rippin. I can't even figure out the old mysterious thingamajigs... Lori's book sounds unique and original, and I love that! Thanks for the review. :-)

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  29. I have no idea what Rippln is. Um-ah. But then, I'm still left back in May... at least it's May of THIS year.

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  30. Oh the toughest thing is to sit back and trust that the timing is perfectly planned, known and executed beyond our desires. Such a place of trust. Congratulations!

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  31. Thanks all for stopping by! And check out the links for THE LIFE LIST if you haven't already. You'll be glad you did.

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  32. Okay, I'm game. What the heck's Rippin? Guess I better look it up. You sound busy, Stephen. Congrats on your successes. You're an inspiration.

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  33. Often times our planned schedule is way off God's plan! I've learned (well, still learning) to accept that if it ain't happening the way I expected to, it wasn't meant to be and it was all for the best - the same conclusion you came up will with your book. I've also learned (still learning) to "trust God in all things," which has been my motto this year. :) Writer’s Mark

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  34. Great news about the latest book. Is it so close to done-done you can taste it?

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  35. I have not heard of rippin. Curious about it now. I have not had the time to read lately. The Life List and Escalation (when it comes out ) are added to my "must read" list. I am trying to be open to "things will happen when and how they are meant to" . Patience is something I struggle with as well.

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  36. Really appreciate your review, Stephen. Wishing you the best of luck with ESCALATION.

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  37. God's timetable never seems to line up with mine! I think He's constantly trying to teach me patience. I must not be a good student :)

    Never heard of Rippin. I'll have to ask my teens. I'd never heard of Vines either until they showed me lots of silly home movies.

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