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HH

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Member Since: Sat Jan 03, 2004
Posts: 2,131
Subj: It's usually a positive sign when people read to the end of the volume.
Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 at 04:37:35 pm EDT (Viewed 2 times)
Reply Subj: You'll be happy to know I only saw one typo. Probably happier to know I enjoyed it enough to read it on through to the end.
Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 at 01:11:11 pm EDT (Viewed 448 times)


My editor asks if you could repost your review on the Amazon page listing the book. You might need to excise your comments about Lisette - or offer a very comprehensive footnote.


    Quote:
    I thought the story was hugely entertaining, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it has jumped the list to be my favorite telling of the Robin Hood legend. It was a joy to see how the classic characters all fell into their roles, and unlike some modern "origin retold" stories it never felt contrived, or as if the pieces were being arranged with a crude nudge and a wink at the audience. The flow was quite natural, and the elements of the legend and the characters wove together beautifully, thoroughly convincing me that this is the way they always should have come into being.


Given that I've never had a particular ambition to write a Robin Hood story - this was more by way of a commission - I found msyelf warming to the characters as I went. This is also more polished than my usual PV work, since people were paying for it.


    Quote:
    Most of all, I quite enjoyed the pulp style take on the characters, where the heroes are charming, fun and the reader genuinely enjoys spending time with them, while the villains are cruel, dastardly, and the pages turn from a desire to see them meet justice.


I was trying hard to blend the styles to include that pulp action feel. It wasn't actualy that difficult. Somewhere in the deep literary roots of pulp fiction are the medieval Robin Hood 'gestes'.


    Quote:
    I was, of course, distressed to find that I was 100 pages into it late last night and had come to the realization that the story was going to require many more pages than the book had remaining. Once I was convinced that you weren't going to try and cram a resolution to everything you had set up, I was able to enjoy the resolution we did get. It was a very satisfying journey overall, setting the stage for the more commonly known showdown between the Sheriff and Outlaw.


This might sound familiar. I started out to write one book but as it went on it became apparent that it would require three volumes to do the story justice. The second one is written and is due with the publisher in June, which might put publication date as early next year.


    Quote:
    When I have the time, I will try and write to you with some more critical feedback, and some detailed thoughts on scenes and individual characters.


That would be most welcome. I'm not as experienced at writing novel-length stories as I am at shorter things and I'm still on a learning curve. I have five or six novels sitting on my hard drive but bringing them to a "ready to print" level of finish is still challenging to me.


    Quote:
    (Poor Ros... Not quite Lisette levels, but perhaps far more cruel over a much shorter span. Still, she did well as an impetus to stop playing hero and actually become one.)


We return to Ros in book two. I wouldn't just leave her like that.


    Quote:
    In truth, I'd be hard pressed to find a favorite character... I quite enjoyed the entire band so far. Robin won me over quick enough. Matilda is a really wonderful heroine and does an excellent job of setting things in motion. I'm quite impressed that I enjoyed Will Scarlett as much as I did as well, seeing how no other version of the character has really worked for me.


Another thing that often happens in Robin Hood stories is that pretty much all of Robin's band are together already, or else all join in one event. That can make them pretty generic. I wanted to offer each one of the traditional cast their own intro and little story arc. The only major character missing is the minstrel Alan a Dale, and he's in book two.


    Quote:
    Wonderful job on a rousing debut novel. I eagerly await more.


I can write them faster than the publishers can publish them.






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