Reviews (XV)

Badger "Badger" (South Carolina)   Posted on Goodreads
This review is from: Shadows of the Past (Kindle Edition) 

Carmen Stefanescu demonstrates an appreciation of language that weaves beautifully through the pages of Shadows of the Past. She pins together stories of two women, one from the late Middle Ages and the other a modern business woman, and she does this in a way that defies traditional character roles. Her smooth transitions between the time periods in which these women lived blend their passions and heartaches, as if only days separated them. Neither is able to rid herself of her past, Genevieve from the memory of her brutal father and then the equally harsh Abbess, and Anne from a lover's betrayal.

And then there's that forest, with its haunting silence where even dried leaves crush quietly beneath their feet, and the hounds of Hell circle just out of sight. But, they can't resist the urge that draws them deeper and deeper into it, that dark place where nightmares live.

Stefanescu spices the plot with Old Bertha. Her potions and spells rival Shakespeare's witches; although, she never dances around the cauldron. But, dance or not, she seems to bring Genevieve equal measures of hope and despair. Perhaps the same is true for Anne with Neil. Therein lies the charm of this love story, nothing and no one is fully good or bad, not even the heroines. And, that makes them relatable to all of us. Well, maybe the Abbess was all bad.

In all this, a romance crosses the ages, crosses centuries, without fading or losing any of the fire that sparked it. For a tap on your heart and a tingle in your spine, right down to the last page, I invite you to join Genevieve and Anne in their joys and sorrows and, yes, their fears in this tightly-written story. 4 Stars

Book Reviews (IX)

Book Review:  

How to Write a Novel in 90 Days by Conrad Jones

As a published author myself, I was interested to read another fellow author's opinion. I have read a number of How to Write/Publish/Advertise/Market your book guides. How to Write a Novel in 90 Days is another one on a long list.

The main idea here is that you have to be diligent and keep reading and writing. That you have to understand that once you write the words The End on the first draft of your book the task is not over. I agree with the concept that rewriting is a difficult discipline to master. Patience and a great deal of luck are also necessary.

While I agree with many things the author shares with the readers/ budding writers there are others I don't see as being a must. Shakespeare never visited Italy and it was no obstacle to write The Merchant of Venice. So I don't think you should write only from your personal experience. Imagination plays an important part and don't forget there are so many sources of information nowadays. But I absolutely agree with the concept of 'using hooks.' You should never end the chapter without a hook. You should keep the readers interest alive and make them want to keep reading.

Nowadays publishers advise you not to start your book with landscape/ weather descriptions. That's way many present day novels plunge readers in the middle of the action. It has become a sort of requirement, though some readers may find it confusing.

All in all, Conrad Jones's "How to Write a Novel in 90 Days" is an interesting guide and many may find it useful. It deserves Five Stars.

Reviews (III)

December 9, 2012 - by Paulette Mahurin (http://thepersecutionofmildreddunlap.wordpress.com/blog/)

Excellent Story Telling

Carmen Stefanescu’s Shadows of the Past was a great read that I enjoyed from the first page through the last sentence, that I was sorry to see end; I tried to savor this one, make it last, that’s how entertaining a read it is. The author writes a tightly worded, intelligent, story, a story within a story, then and now, from a past that needed resolution in a modern day couple.

The dreams and visions the protagonist, Anne, experienced set the stage for the unfolding of a story, brilliantly told, moving through her as a past life apparition, Genevieve. The character development of Anne and her partner Neil, and other story counterparts is really well done, but the star of he story is the tragic Genevieve, as if taken from the pages of Shakespeare, one can not imagine less unfortunate issues to befall a human being, and in counterpoint is the lusciously evil antagonist the Abbess, who you read page after page hoping she gets hers.

The pages invite the reader in with a wanting to know what is going to happen to Anne, to Genevieve, and page after page as the tension builds the reader is not disappointed. This is an excellently crafted work, by an author who clearly knows how to write, who understands literature, and knows how to tell a compellingly great story. I loved this one.  (original post)