Best Story of the Year Goes To A Darling Secret!

I'm delighted to announce that A Darling Secret won Best Story of the Year from Fantasia Reviews! I'm incredibly honored to win this title for the second year in a row. Thank you to everyone who has read my books and supported me. You guys rock!

"A Darling Secret Is A Darling Finale" - Fantasia Reviews The Final Book in the Strange Luck Series

"Winters has always had a knack for setting a convincing stage, and this work is no exception. Then she takes it a step further, twisting the whole thing about and giving us something of a surprise, demonstrating more than just her world building, but her ability to tell a darn good story."

"Holding nothing back, Miss Winters has become more imaginative and daring in her storytelling, building a world, slowly disarming us and allowing us to appreciate the boldness of the world that she has built. This marks the darkest entry in the series, though it is no less fantastic."

"A Darling Secret Is A Darling Finale." 

Read what else Fantasia Reviews had to say about A Darling Secret in their lovely review.

Fantasia Reviews - Best Story of the Year

This morning I learned that Fantasia Reviews named The Nightmare Birds Best Story of the Year! I am incredibly honored and thrilled to have even been nominated. What a truly wonderful thing to wake up to on New Year's Day. I am especially touched by these remarks:

"While both Strange Luck and The Nightmare Birds are fantastic, we believe The Nightmare birds to be superior, which is quite the feat for a sequel."

"Miss Winters advances Daisy to the point of almost being real."

"While Miss Winters is a talented writer, her greatest gift is her ability to weave a
believable and beautiful tale."

You can read more about the awards and check out the other nominees here. Congratulations to all my fellow winners!

Thank you so much to Fantasia Reviews for honoring The Nightmare Birds with this award!

The Nightmare Birds Is A Book of the Year Nominee!

The Nightmare Birds is a Fantasia Reviews Book of the Year contender!!!

I'm so incredibly honored that my book was nominated. It seriously means the world to me that people are enjoying my stories. For all of you who've supported me by reading my books, writing reviews, or even reading this blog post, a great big THANK YOU!!! Your support is greatly appreciated.

Until the winner is unveiled at the end of December (fingers crossed!), please take a look at some of the other books in contention for this prize.

Book Impressions - Fantasia Reviews The Nightmare Birds

"An impressive addition to the series."

"Fun and beautiful."

"Her use of the language, the pacing of the story, the imagination behind her imagery, each is admirable in their own right, but together pushes her strong narrative to be even greater."

Wow! I'm beyond thrilled about this review. Reading reviews like this makes it all worth it. :D

Read what else Fantasia Reviews had to say about The Nightmare Birds in their five-star review!

The Art of the Review: What Makes a Book Good? - Guest Post by Fantasia Reviews

Have you ever wondered what specifics a book reviewer looks for in a book? Or, what makes the difference between a one-star review and a five-star review? You're in luck! Fantasia Reviews has graciously written a guest post for The Golden Cricket about what makes a good book.

The Art of the Review: What Makes a Book Good?

Three components go into writing a work of fiction: creativity, skill, and a message. Creativity comes from the mind of the author, in a work of fiction, particularly speculative fiction, this is where the world is built, characters are born, and a story is made. The skill of the author comes into play as they construct their prose, it is those words, those lines, which breathe life into a work; they give the author’s thoughts form. Finally, there is the message; the intent and the worldview of the author that inevitably and indelibly mark any work that they create. These forces together give us a work of fiction, but rating such a work can be tricky, as mastery of all of these elements is difficult, but credit should always be given when it is due.

The story is the narrative of a book, and of all three components, is the easiest to assess. When looking at any story, we look at originality, plausibility within the bounds of the world, and cohesion. Originality is easy to judge. We ask ourselves, have we seen anything like this before, and if so, where? If the answer is yes, and it often is as there is little new under the sun, we try to see how the author made the story their own. What did they add? What did they remove? How do the characters grow and change? The more original ideas the author puts into a story, the better it will be. Multiple plotlines can add depth and complexity, combining old and worn-out stories into something new and exciting. A good story is original and interconnected. It does not rely on tired tropes and instead forges boldly forward, unapologetically, giving us something to enjoy and love over and over again.

An author’s writing style can be a matter of taste, but certain fundamentals can be followed. Now, this is not a tutorial on how to write, so we will not delve too deeply into good writing practices, but we can tell you what we look for in a well-written book. It should be spelling and grammar error free. Nothing breaks immersion like a misspelled or misused word. That being said, nobody is perfect. The occasional error is expected, but repeated mistakes will annoy readers. You should have a developed vocabulary that is appropriate for the target audience. Juxtaposition is a great word but probably does not belong in middle-grade reading. Of course, simple and repetitive language can and will bore readers. If you frequently find yourself repeating words or using the word ‘thing,' you may want to consider breaking out the thesaurus. Readers want to be entertained not frustrated or anesthetized.

The most subjective of all of the components is the message, i.e. what does the book say to the reader? Whether the author means for it or not, a bit of their worldview makes it into their work. There is nothing wrong with that, so long as it does not come across as if the work was meant to proselytize. Themes will also often come through, whether intentional or unintentional. Now, some of this will be lost on some readers, because not everyone reads books for the same reasons. As reviewers, though, we love robust themes, compelling conflicts, and the ability to relate aspects of a book to our lives and world events. When properly executed, you can expose readers to ideas that they had never considered before, or make them see an issue from a new perspective. Now, this does not need to be a goal for the author; it is up to the reader to make these interpretations, but inspiration can be added with a deft hand. Interpretations may even vary from reader to reader, and that is fine too. What matters the most is that the author is bold enough to inject this kind of material into their narrative. Often, the strongest messages can be controversial or even upsetting to some. Examples of issues worthy of exploration are racism, misogyny, and the dichotomy (or lack thereof) of good and evil. Now, not all authors set out to send a message, and that is fine too, but a well-crafted message can only serve to enhance the experience of a strong narrative.

 

When we write reviews, we take all of this into consideration. To rate a work on one metric would be disingenuous since so much goes into writing a book. Authors have different strengths and weaknesses. Some are great storytellers, but their writing skills are lacking. Others may have degrees in literature, but lack the creativity to make something great. We should congratulate these people on their strengths, but their weaknesses should be exposed, as reviews are as much for the author as they are the reader. In the end, we all just want to read a good book.

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Thank you for sharing this informative article. I've had my books reviewed by various book bloggers and it's always surprising when they don't list what/how they are evaluating your work. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you're trying to determine if they would even like your book in the first place. That said, I really think that other authors out there will greatly benefit from your post. I know I certainly did!

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Fantasia Reviews is comprised of a group of fantasy authors, and readers who love to give reviews to works they find are undiscovered, underappreciated or just the books they love. If you think your work is appropriate, you can contact them here.

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Book Impressions - Fantasia Reviews Strange Luck

"A fantastic story. Miss Winters has woven a tale that will enthrall readers and leave them begging for more."

"She paints in broad strokes and fine details, giving us food for thought and imagery to fawn over – we loved it."

"Miss Winters possesses and abundance of talent and imagination that she has poured onto the pages of this book to deliver something that is not only delightful, but worth reading, and that is a rare talent indeed."

I'm absolutely ecstatic about this review!!! These kind words mean the world to me :)

Read what else Fantasia Reviews had to say about Strange Luck in their five-star review.