Er that's Episcopal Priest, not Episcopalian Priest...picky, picky, picky

full ForeWord Review HERE

7/21/2010 Edit

Well that link seems to have disappeared so here is the review in full:


ForeWord Clarion Review

FICTION

In Between Goodbyes

Christina Wible

CreateSpace

978-1-4414-1832-6

Three Stars (out of Five)

Strong characters carrying heavy psychological baggage feature in this insider’s look at life in New York’s theater district. A touch of mystery makes In Between Goodbyes a fascinating contemporary romantic tale.

Christina Wible’s debut follows the life of Hope Moran, who ekes out a living as a Broadway dresser. A dresser, in theater terms, is one who babysits and coddles and, yes, even dresses a theater actor when a wardrobe change is required. She also moonlights as an Episcopalian priest, filling in for various churches and doing good deeds, particularly among the homeless. One afternoon, she turns to life saving by pushing celebrity thespian Ian Pfeiffer out of the path of a kidnapper’s bullet. His family is not so fortunate; they die in a fiery car crash.

The show must go on. Hope, hired for her expertise in dressing and spiritual counseling, keeps Ian performing. Their close association turns to friendship, punctuated by a brief sexual encounter. As a result of some convenient plot manipulation, Ian heads to Central America to shoot a movie while Hope gestates, delivering a daughter with the help of a circle of women friends. The sense of community and friendship among the theater crowd rings true and adds another layer of enjoyment for the reader. The slightly prosaic mystery concerning the kidnapper offers a little suspense. A niggling problem—Ian’s lack of interest in sex—hovers in the background to be hurriedly resolved as the book ends.

The story of Hope and Ian’s relationship follows an all too familiar pattern: Ian doesn’t know he’s a father, and Hope works hard to keep father and daughter from meeting. Their lives diverge and years later converge again, resulting in a bittersweet ending.

It is the details concerning theater life that save this book from mediocrity. “Amy made her opening speech, and Ian clenched and unclenched his fists,” Wible writes. “He leaned back, and she put her hand squarely in the middle of his back. He leaned harder against the hand and then propelled himself out onto the stage for his entrance. The applause was deafening, and she could see both Amy and Ian struggle to stay in the moment.”

Overall, the writing flows well, but there are a few problems, including clumps of information, poor transitions from scene to scene, and a tendency to tell rather than show. For example, Wible writes, “Hope had last worked with Amy on some children’s musical where Amy was some over-costumed singing animal. She remembered the costume with a skirt so big it wouldn’t fit through the dressing room door, forcing Amy to make up in the dressing room and then costume in the wings.”

Tighter writing, a good editing, and better use of fiction writing techniques would greatly improve this novel. Nevertheless, In Between Goodbyes will be enjoyed by readers who like a good-hearted heroine, a worthy man who stays true to his love, and the smell of greasepaint.

Dawn Goldsmith

Professional Review #1

Excerpt from Forward CLARION Review:

Strong characters carrying heavy psychological baggage feature in this insider's look at life in New York's theater district.  A touch of mystery makes In Between Goodbyes a fascinating contemporary romantic tale. ...In Between Goodbyes will be enjoyed by readers who like a good-hearted heroine, a worthy man who stays true to his love and the smell of greasepaint.

Paid Previews and Reviews

I recently paid for a reputable preview of IBG which will eventually be built into a review of the novel. I’m going to present some excerpts here and number them. The reason for the numbering is that I will take the opportunity in the next few days to point out some of the positives and negatives of having this done.

Paying for reviews is not as spurious as it sounds. With these reviews (usually paid for by the publisher but in my case by the self-publisher), the publisher is able to get word out about a novel through a reputable third party. For the self-published author these are a learning experience as well as a publicity handle. After all, wouldn’t you rather an honest opinion about your book from a disinterested party rather than your great aunt Selma?

Below are the excerpts, somewhat out of context but omitting only those things which are technicalities that are fixable.

(1) The writing is clean and nicely punctuated.

(2) A bit choppy, but a commendable opening. Nicely constructed. Author obviously understands theater and constructs an interesting story premise from page one.

(3) Dialogue is a strength of this novel. Not overbearing but simple and used well to move the story along. With additional editing and tightening, In between Goodbyes might have luck being shopped by a reputable agent.

(4) Would be nice to learn something (anything) about Ms Wible. Her theater background for instance. All of which offers readers potential reason to connect with the book.

(5)With additional editing and tightening, In between Goodbyes might have luck being shopped by a reputable agent.

An Immodest Post

One of my friends asked me what people have thought of my book so far so I gathered these into an immodest post:

"I just wanted to email you and tell you that I LOVED the book In Between Goodbyes. I couldn't put it down and had read it by Tuesday. I saw you at the gathering in Qtown weekend before Easter. If you have some way to let me know when your next book comes out, please do." LJ.

"I really liked that sentence near the end of your book about love meaning paying attention. Works for kids, works for adults. If you didn't say anything else in your book, that alone would have been plenty." CHS.

"I kept meaning to write and tell you that I really enjoyed your book. I finished it in a weekend. Loved it!!!" KD

"This work, this book is wonderful. I am so impressed. The characters are richly portrayed, the story is so poignant. You did a beautiful, beautiful story. I’m now sharing it with family and friends." SD.

Luckily no one has yet told me it sucks and I do have friends that would tell me, believe me.

A momentary ego pause...

Skip this post if you are easily embarrassed by ego trips. :)
Today I got a note from one of my readers who bought the book from me at work. I'm sure most of them bought my book because it sat propped up on my desk for weeks at a time and they were just trying to be polite.

Disclaimer here: I don't report to this person and she doesn't report to me.

This work, this book is wonderful. I am so impressed. The characters are richly portrayed, the story is so poignant. You did a beautiful beautiful story. I'm now sharing it with family and friends.

She had the week from hell last week and took the book with her to bed at 7PM thinking to read herself to sleep. She finished it at 3AM. Sorry about that.