Reviews: My Most Convincing & Most Confusing – Penny Grubb

Author, Penny Grubb, reacts to her most convincing and most confusing reviews.

In a conversation at a book event, a reader asked this:

“When did you live on Orchard Park?”
When Penny said she had never lived there, the reader was insistent:
“You must have, or very nearby. You couldn’t have got to know it, else.”

The reader was referring to Falling into Crime, a collection of the first three novels in Penny’s Annie Raymond, Private Investigator series, which features Orchard Park as a key location.

Buy Falling into Crime

Penny’s reaction?

“I had never lived on Orchard Park, which is an estate in Hull. In fact, I’ve never lived in Hull, although I worked there for many years. I let the reader assume that I’d lived nearby because I was delighted with this feedback. I did a lot of research to get the vibe right. Orchard Park was a key setting for some of the action in the early Annie books.

“It’s a complex area of Hull. To those who don’t know it well, it has a bad reputation. To those who live there, although they don’t deny its negative aspects, it has another face. As one of the characters in the book points out to Annie, you will find areas of Orchard Park where parents are happy to let their children play outside, secure in the knowledge that neighbours will keep an eye on them; something hard to find in more affluent areas.”

On the other end of the reviewing spectrum, Penny encountered her first 1-star Amazon review with Buried Deep, the fifth book in the Annie Raymond series. The review read:

“Really good story but the package was all torn when it arrived.”

Buy Buried Deep

This wasn’t the literary critique one might expect, but Penny took it in her stride:

“This was my first 1-star review. They hadn’t bought the book from me. I had no hand in packaging it. These things happen. I’m pleased they enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed writing it. The review was later taken down. I don’t know why. I didn’t object to it. People sometimes go to the 1-star reviews to see the worst of something before they make up their minds. As a 1-star review, I was happy with it.”

The Annie Raymond PI series currently includes seven novels, plus one “detour” novel following detectives introduced in Buried Deep. The most recent release was Boxed In, and a new instalment is in the works.

Read the opening chapters from Penny Grubb’s books.

Read more about Penny Grubb HERE. 

Hornsea Writers at The Summer Creative Weekend

 

Hornsea writer Shellie Horst is holding workshops for local writers who want to develop their stories at the town's creative festival.

Shellie, a creative writing tutor, will use her lived experience as an author, and freelance journalist for The Holderness Gazette, to lead a two-hour writing workshop for budding writers to shape their stories.

It’s the ideal opportunity to put a draft together. Writers can continue to work on their creations through the summer before submitting them for publication. 

Organised by The Hornsea Collective, the weekend is designed to highlight the creativity on offer through the unique independent businesses in the town.

The workshops will be part of the Summer Creative Weekend at Hornsea Village on Saturday July 12 and Sunday July 13. The Creative Weekend is suitable for the whole family. Creative writing workshops are available on both days from 1-3pm. Shellie will also be on hand to talk all things Hornsea Writers and HumberSpeculative Fiction.  

Book your place online via https://hornseavillage.com/events/creative-summer-weekend/ or pop down on the day. 

 

 

Shellie Horst is a freelance writer, author of speculative fiction, and a tutor. Find out more about her work at https://shelliehorst.com  

How To Get The Best From A Book Event

Late last year, members of Hornsea Writers joined an initiative hosted in the cafe of Rhapsody Coffee in Bridlington to showcase – and sell – paperbacks from local indie authors. The organiser, Graham Smith, recently stepped up marketing endeavours by introducing an afternoon’s Meet The Author event on the first Saturday of the month.

Joy Stonehouse led the way in February, and I took the March date. But what to do to give it the best chance of success? Liaise with the organiser and prepare! 

Splash your name and book covers.

The organiser wrote an article for the local free paper in Bridlington. I live just down the coast so wrote a short piece for my town’s free paper, and for another covering a market town and villages west of the venue. 

I kept them short, and sent them in early with a choice of book covers – colour catches the eye better than headlines or, unfortunately, authornames. If your piece is used, email a short message of thanks to the editors. You may want to use their paper again in the future. Cut down the info for use on the internet – Facebook, Reels, TikTok… whichever you frequent.

Check out the venue and its clientele. 

If you live close enough, this is a must. For a start, you need to know the availability of parking. What is the age range of the venue’s clientele? Will they be interested in your book/s? How can you make them more interested?

Eye-Catchers.

Readers are wary. Natural curiosity is balanced against the chance of feeling pressured into an unwanted purchase, even if the novelist doesn’t intend it. Eye-catchers offer a bridge.

Bookmarks are great if you’re writing a series – covers on one side and a line or two of info on the other. I write in disparate genres so find a postcard works better. In the past I’ve created a 3-fold leaflet in Word and run off 20 or so copies. In a café environment, whose gaze isn’t drawn to colourful reading propped by the condiments? Ask permission first, and collect the discarded afterwards.

The header image to this post was created in Word, printed on A4 photo paper, and slipped into a plastic sleeve with cardboard for stiffening. It stood on my table flanked by two of my paperbacks, to be seen from a distance while prospective buyers decided whether to approach.

Lastly...

Take spare books; these can always be carried home. As it happened, the organiser wanted to replenish stocks. I had pre-printed two copies of a Delivery Note and merely completed it in ink. Job done, no hassle, and no additional carriage costs. 

Enjoy your couple of hours. Chat about the venue, the coffee, the weather. Occasionally you’ll be asked to chat about your books. Make it relatable: Oh, I wrote The Forever House after scraping wallpaper and finding a message on the plaster! People are there to relax, so have a laugh.

Karen Wolfe – with her humorous dog-whisperer cum detective novels – will be at Rhapsody Coffee, 85 High Street, Bridlington, on Saturday 5^th April, 2-4pm. Laughs definitely included. 

Linda Acaster writes Mythic Fantasy to Historical Romance to chilling Horror and a Psychological Thriller. And a Western. But I didn't go into that at the venue. It would have needed too much explanation.  

Catch my books at Amazon