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I finished it and have to say I warmed up to the character once things started happening and gaining new skills was no longer the focus. I like the sweets-addicted dragon. I like the fact that his decisions get him into trouble with the school. I like the descriptions of the woods and the way he gathers information about the Chandrian. I really liked the forensics as he realizes the house was built above an old fort.

Nix on the 15 year-old being able to fireman carry a fully grown woman out of a burning building (especially since he hasn't grown out of his worn-out shirts and has always been described as scrawny.) Nix on the 70 mile-an-hour horse, where he makes it the full distance in daylight and still has time left to explore. Nix on him being able to walk after riding said horse the above distance and not being a whit saddle-sore. Nix on him being able to construct a ladder to climb up the ley stone even though he only has a ball of string (and used that up to pull the bucket up)

But other than that, the guy is a fabulous writer. Close to flawless, IMO. He just needs a fact-checker.

OK, I'm done bombing New Jersey's thread. I need to let this go. For what it's worth, I'm willing to read the second day of his story. All 700 pages of it.

Fun is always good. I'm prepping to write about Jaylene activating the shield when 64 people lock in for the defense. Good times.

Personally, I think the three arms are kinda cool.

K is correct about drawing the eye toward the MC. And I like how he adjusted the title to correct the perspective.

As to the blurb:

"After discovering that he can enter the World of Books, 15 year-old Tommy Travers has accepted training under the Gifted and now must learn to control his new powers. He has already seen the devastating consequences of ignorance. The repercussions for his past decisions are not over. The escaped wizard Mephitis read his mind. He knows where the Gifted are. If he can just get his powers back the warehouse, the Gifted, the world, will be his. Tommy is the only one who can stop him, but first he must discover the secret that Amelia has been keeping from him all along.

First thought: Too many characters and names in a blurb. Stick to the MC and the villain. Drop Amelia.

Two sentences are vague and could be used to describe just about any book anywhere. They need to be weeded. "He has already seen the devastating consequences of ignorance. The repercussions for his past decisions are not over."

With thinning, here are a few ideas.

Ex: 15 year-old Tommy Travers discovered he could enter the World of Books, but his learning curve unleashed the wizard Mephitis on the real world. Now the bad guy knows who Tommy is, where he lives, and where the Gifted hide. Unprepared and untrained, Tommy is the only one who can stop a man who was written to be without a soul.

You get the idea. Hope this helped.

I've got some thoughts about the blurb but I need a computer to type with.

Funny:-)  I've never had the courage of Janet, to write about blow-to-blow scenes with (R)omance. My characters are adults, and they do what adults do when they are interested in each other, but I'm not interested in someone handing me their copy and having them tell me how awesome it is, only to have them ask where I get my inspiration.

There isn't anything in Dictates at all. Well, except the scene where the group runs into two teens making out on a scavenged couch. That scene was all about using the line where the boy gets his hair tangled and then gets pulled away from the girl, complaining that, "Ow, that hurts!" and having Alda yell, "Try parenthood!" 

Too good of a line. I couldn't pass it up.

It's why I probably would have a difficult time writing Charm's story. Or Katerin's for that matter. Not that it couldn't happen, but soft porn is too tough to write.

I'm reading Name of the Wind, by Rothfuss as my latest project.

Question to throw out there. Who out there is reading something now and what is it? If nothing currently, then what was the last book you read and when?

I'll see about reading ConVent, New Jersey. I'm going to try to read a book a week from now on. It's time to remember how. I went cold-turkey on reading for pleasure when I started writing. Part of it was getting my Master's Degree, but part of it is that I didn't want to give up time that could be used for writing.

Consider it done.

She said out of the house. Not out of the country. Besides, she keeps the quota for the group on this side of the border. Otherwise, I gotta get a passport to collect on my bottle of Aussie wine. Quit trying to lure away the Aussie and turn her into an ice cube!

Jaundice is yellow and the skin / eyes take on the color of Mountain Dew

(Sniff) they grow up so fast...

I'm out of touch due to a moment of insanity. See, I'm on Twitter and I'm following lit agents and publishers. Then I find out that Jollyfish Press has gone under and a publisher that I'm following is talking about freelancing. So I know he's legit. And he reps what I want to write.

All I have to lose is money. And this is a chance to up my game.

So I'm assembling a master copy in Word (ick) and thinning a lot of fat. I'm going through backlogged reviews. Then I eliminated a character (Jean-Marie). Figure I'll give it another day or two and then send it into the ether. Then I'll be back with a vengeance. Well, back to work at least.

Will be interesting to see what he has to say.