Category: Bookish Question

What elements do you think a book needs to be compelling and impactful?

Bookish Question # 299 | What elements do you think a book needs to be compelling and impactful?

Interesting question!

Let’s look at each factor separately, starting with what I think makes a compelling read:

Character

For me, story starts with character. Yes, there needs to be a plot, but I love character-driven stories. So I want to read about relatable and likeable characters.

Familiar

Fiction thrives on tropes i.e. authors using familiar plots and settings to entice readers. I’m not dissing tropes at all. I have my personal favourite tropes (and my pet hate tropes) and will often binge-read a certain trope such as billionaires or cowboys … because I find the tropes compelling and interesting.

Original

But while tropes can be a great way of hooking a reader, it can be difficult for authors to come up with an original spin on a familiar trope. If an author can find that unique hook, then I’m more likely to find the book compelling and memorable.

Writing

Interesting characters working through a familiar story with an original twist isn’t enough. The book also has to be good to read. That doesn’t mean the writing needs to be amazing – some of the most compelling and impactful novels I’ve read have had less-than-amazing writing. But the writing needs to be good enough to allow the story to shine though. And if the writing is amazing? So much the better.

What about impactful?

Lots of books are compelling when I’m reading them. But what additional elements enable a book to make that leap from merely compelling to actually impactful?

Memorable

I read a lot of books. For a book to have lasting impact, it has to be memorable for some reason (and that reason should be positive).

Inspiring

The best books should inspire me in some way. Perhaps to be a better writer, so I can write something equally impactful. Perhaps a book might inspire me to do something differently in live. Perhaps it might inspire me to think about a controversial topic from a different point of view. Perhaps it might teach me something … or inspire me to learn more about a topic.

What about you? What elements do you think a book needs to be compelling and impactful?

Which do you prefer: one or two point of view characters?

Bookish Question #298 | Which do you prefer: one or two point of view characters?

Romance is my favourite genre, and I prefer two points of view in a romance: the heroine and the hero (in that order).

Especially if the book is written in third person point of view (as most are).

If the story is in first person, then I don’t mind if there is only one point of view … but in these cases, I prefer the female viewpoint over the male.

While I enjoy first person point of view, I do think it works better in some genres than others. Women’s fiction? Fine. Rom Com? Fine. Romance? Not so sure …

(There are exceptions. Gabrielle Meyer’s excellent Timeless series has only one point of view character, but she’s living multiple lives.)

Young Adult often focuses on one point of view character, and it does a great job (just don’t write two books in a trilogy from a single point of view, then switch to two points of view for the third book. Please.)

Most other genres benefit from having more than one point of view character … but not too many. One is fine. Two is great. Three is good. Four or more … there better be a good reason for it (and killing off point of view characters is not a good reason).

So one or two is fine, depending on genre. At least, that’s my view.

Which do you prefer: one or two point of view characters? Or more?

Do you enjoy seeing cameos from an author's previous books in a series?

Bookish Question #297 | Do you enjoy seeing cameos from an author’s previous books?

Do you enjoy seeing cameos from an author’s previous books in a series?

Yes 🙂

Character cameos are one of the reasons I enjoy reading series.

One of the things I don’t like about standalone titles is the feeling that I’ve met a bunch of characters I love and knowing that when I close the book, I’m never going to get to see them again.

So I love to read a series where I know I’ll get some nuggets of knowledge about the previous characters in the series (especially the couples in a romance).

Why?

I love romance novels, but we all know romance novels are about the falling-in-love stage of life. They’re not about the being married and staying married stage of life. Romance series give us a chance to see couples live life – the fun parts and the hard parts – and there are good life lessons in those love stories as well.

What about other genres?

It depends. Some genres encourage series take multiple stories to tell the full tale (e.g. science fiction and fantasy. Some genres feature the same main character in different situations (e.g. thrillers). Other series are centered more about a place, and may or may not have common characters (e.g. Gayle Roper’s excellent Seaside series).

I will read standalone titles. But, given the choice, I’ll always veer towards a series because I like to revisit those old friends aka characters.

What about you? Do you enjoy seeing cameos from an author’s previous books?

What's the first Christian book you remember reading as an adult?

Bookish Question #296 | What’s the first Christian book you remember reading as an adult?

I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, so didn’t read a lot of Christian books as a child except for the illustrated Children’s Bible my aunt bought me when I was around eight.

I didn’t read a lot for pleasure during university, even though I lived relatively close to an excellent Christian bookshop.

In hindsight, lack of funds might have had something to do with that …

However, once I started work, I also started visiting the Christian bookshop at lunchtime. And that introduced me to Christian fiction, which I have read voraciously ever since.

Here are three of the earliest Christian novels I remember reading:

This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti (recommended by the aunt who bought me the Children’s Bible), which opened my eyes to the realities of spiritual warfare.

A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers (recommended by my pastor), which my pastor loaned me, and which got me completely hooked on Christian fiction.

Search for Tomorrow by Mary Hawkins, the first Christian novel I read by an Australian author, and one of the first Christian romances I ever read. I guess that means I can credit/blame Mary Hawkins for my subsequent addiction?

What’s the first Christian book you can remember reading as an adult?

Do you want detailed descriptions of a novel's main characters?

Bookish Question #295 | Do you want detailed descriptions of a novel’s main characters?

What’s your view on detailed character descriptions in fiction?

Personally, I’m not a fan of detailed descriptions–whether that’s descriptions or character, setting, or anything else. I’d rather get on with the story. A brief description is fine, but please don’t spend pages and pages telling me things I don’t need to know.

(I don’t need to know the character’s eye colour or hair colour or blood type unless that’s going to be relevant to the story in some way.)

If authors do feel the need to include a description, make sure it’s not the character describing their own eye or hair colour. The only time I think about my hair colour is when I’m at the hairdresser … or deciding I really need to go to the hairdresser.

I do have a bad habit of skimming or ignoring overlong descriptions, particularly if I’ve already formed a mental image of the character. For example, if the author describes the character as attractive with a tidy beard, I have a problem. I do not find beards attractive, so I either have to imagine the character as attractive and cleanshaven, or not attractive.

I mostly read romance novels, so you can guess which one I pick.

As a result, I prefer more vague character descriptions. Tell me what I absolutely need to know, and let me imagine the rest.

What about you? Do you like reading detailed character descriptions, or do you prefer something vague?

What books have you read that are unforgettable?

Bookish Question #294 | What books have you read that are unforgettable?

One of the downsides of being an avid reader is there are So. Many Books. And it’s impossible to remember all the details. This means I only remember the very best … or the very worst.

(But I’m not going to mention them.)

There is also this little issue called age which means I’m more likely to remember a book I read years or decades ago than a book I read last week or last month?

(Or is that just me?)

Having said that, there are a lot of books I do remember for different reasons (mostly good).

Here are a few that have stuck with me over the years:

Danger in the Shadows by Dee Henderson, the prequel to her well-known O’Malley romantic suspense series. I read and enjoyed the whole series, but the prequel and first two books (The Negotiator and The Guardian) were by far my favourites.

Christy by Catherine Marshall, based on the her mother’s story. Christy was is one of the first Christian fiction novels and was later turned into a television series. Now, the annual Christy Awards recognise the best in Christian fiction.

Frasier Island by Susan Page Davis, a military romantic suspense with a very low-key romance, a book I’ve read and re-read because I loved the premise and the characters. I recently re-read and enjoyed as much as I remembered.

Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite by Lianne Simon, a coming-of-age Christian novel set in the 1970s which raised my awareness and understanding of some of the complex issues around gender and God.

And for something more recent, When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer, a unique twist on Christian historical romance (followed by the even-better sequel, In This Moment).

That’s five books I’ve read, re-read, remembered, and enjoyed.

What about you? What books have you read that are unforgettable?

Do you prefer to buy ebooks or borrow them from an online retailer or public library?

Bookish Question #293 | Do you prefer to buy ebooks or borrow them?

I tend to buy ebooks (or get review copies from NetGalley).

I haven’t signed up for Kindle Unlimited as a reader because I already have so many unread books that I’ve bought. I really feel I need to read them first!

(I also should read the books I have before buying more, but that’s a problem for another day.)

I also haven’t signed up for KoboPlus or any other ebook borrowing programme.

I haven’t even borrowed any ebooks from my local library, even though they do offer ebooks on loan, again because I have so many of my own unread books.

Howeve, I have recently been checking out the library’s online collection and there are a few nonfiction books I’m interested in reading … so maybe I’ll request them.

What about you? Do you borrow or buy ebooks?

What is one thing you wish authors knew about their readers?

Bookish Question #292 | What’s one thing you wish authors knew about their readers?

This is easy, and it should also be a no-brainer. After all, authors should also be readers, and it shouldn’t be difficult to switch between reader brain and writer brain.

I wish authors would remember that not all books are for all readers.

We all have favourite genres, tropes, and writing styles, and it’s not a personal attack if someone doesn’t like one (or all) of your books. Some people don’t like romance novels. Some don’t like murder mysteries. Some don’t like fiction at all.

If someone doesn’t want to read your book because they don’t read that genre, that’s okay.

Our job as authors is to find those readers who DO like they genre/s we write, not to castigate those readers who don’t. If you like small-town contemporary Christian romance, then I hope you’ll check out my debut novel, Always By My Side.

I wish authors would remember that we can’t love everything equally.

As soon as you have more than one book, readers are going to compare them and have a preference. The fact they preferred your second book doesn’t mean they disliked your first book (and vice versa).

If you write in more than one series, some readers will follow everything you write and others will only follow one series or genre or trope.

For example, I love Roseanna M White’s spy/investigator novels.

I’ve just finished A Beautiful Disguise, and it was wonderful (my review will post next week). I’ve also read some of her other series and while they are perfectly good novels, I didn’t enjoy them as much as her spy/investigator stories.

I wish authors would remember readers love to read … not write reviews.

I enjoy writing reviews and sharing them with my blog readers (and sharing them on Amazon, BookBub, and Goodreads). But sometimes it’s nice just to read a book and enjoy it (or not), and know I don’t have to write a review.

I do appreciate everyone who has reviewed Always By My Side on Amazon, BookBub, Goodreads, or any other website (especially their own websites), and I appreciate the effort it takes.

Reviewing the books you read on online sites does help readers find books they will enjoy. Reviews don’t have to be long – a couple of sentences explaining why you liked (or disliked) a book is enough.

Even if you don’t enjoy reviewing  books online (or can’t), you can still support your favourite authors by buying their books for yourself or for others, by requesting and borrowing their books from your local library or from Kindle Unlimited, or by telling your friends about books you’ve enjoyed, whether that’s in person or in online groups such as Avid Readers of Christian Fiction.

(And if you live in Australia or New Zealand, remember to add your reviews to Koorong! They’ll send you a AUD 10 gift voucher for every four reviews you write on their site, with a maximum of one voucher per calendar month.)

So that’s three things I wish authors knew (or would remember) about their readers.

What do you wish authors would remember about readers?

Do you subscribe to email lists with ebook deals?

Bookish Question #291 | Do you subscribe to email lists with ebook deals?

Yes. The two main newsletters I subscribe to are BookBub and FaithBooks.

BookBub is the granddaddy of all email newsletters. Authors pay for the advertisements, and it offers one or two free or on-sale books each day for each genre the reader selects. I use it to follow Christian fiction and nonfiction.

I have found I’m not buying as many books as I used to from the BookBub newsletter. I click through to Amazon, but then find one of two things:

  • I already own the book, probably having bought it during a previous BookBub promotion
  • The sale is a Kindle Countdown deal, which means it might be advertised at 99 cents or 2.99, but it’s full price for me (because Kindle Countdown deals are only available to readers in the USA and UK).

FaithBooks is a newer newsletter focusing on Christian fiction. It’s free for authors to advertise, and promotes new releaes, 99 cent ebooks, and sale books. If you like Christian fiction, I do recommend signing up for the FaithBooks newsletter.

I also get emails advertising multi-author giveaways from sites like BookFunnel and Story Origin.

These can be hit and miss—I downloaded half a dozen free books from the last promotion I saw, but didn’t even get through the first chapter on half of them. The plots sounded great, but the writing (and editing) took all the enjoyment out of reading. My initial reaction was that they’d been written by AI, but I also wonder if they might have been ghostwritten. Either way, they show the importance of having an actual human read and edit the output before publishing to ensure the dialgoue sounds something like human speech.

I also subscribe to a lot of individual newsletters—often because I signed up as part of a BookFunnel or similar deal. I probably subscribe to more than I should because I feel guilty for downloading a free ebook then immediately unsubscribing, even if I deleted the ebook after the first chapter.

What about you? Do you subscribe to email lists with ebook deals? If so, what’s your favourite?