Rod Raglin's Blog

My short story, Cryptic Messages, has been reprinted in Metastellar Magazine. You can read it here: https://www.metastellar.com/fiction/cryptic-messages/

“Ernie’s been receiving cryptic messages from an anonymous source alerting him to attend a meeting he knows nothing about. He’s inclined to ignore them but as the date gets closer, the message are appearing more frequently–online, voicemail, even as graffiti, and becoming more urgent. He knows it’s a prank but what would be the harm to check it out?”

MetaStellar is an online publication focusing on horror, fantasy and science fiction, launched in September 2020, founded by a dozen speculative fiction writers, editors and artists from around the world. In May of 2023, we became the second most popular science fiction and fantasy magazine on the Internet, with over 120,000 visits per month, according to SimilarWeb.

For more information visit their website at https://www.metastellar.com

or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MetaStellarMagazine

#readers #readingcommunity #shortstories #speculativefiction @metastellar #freeshortstory

An invitation from Elevate London Book Club to the spotlight my novel, The Thin White Line

In the previous blog post, I engaged Book Market Architect Sophie, who promised to “step in to redirect the light” by providing “recalibrated positioning” that would result in “measurable traction, stronger reviews, organic engagement, and renewed sales cycles”.

Here’s another approach from Cristina Joy, who invited me share my novel, The Thin White Line – Culture War with Deadly Consequences, with Elevate London Book Club.

“Hi Rod. One of our readers loved your book The Thin White Line. It really stood out, and I think it deserves more readers who will truly connect with it.”

Cristina went on to explain that Elevate London was a book club where readers come together because “we love stories that make us laugh, think and feel something real.” What makes their group special is that books “are discovered naturally. Readers share what moved them and those titles often become community favorites.”

They run casual Book Spotlight chats amongst themselves and have “a relaxed conversation about your book and your writing journey. No pressure, just real talk with readers who care.”

No pressure? It’s a book club, why would there be any pressure? Real talk? As opposed to what –unreal talk or nonsense? Readers who care? Care about what? It’s a story written by a stranger? I’m thinking Cristina has hooked up with people who, at the very least, should get out more.

“After the chat,” that would be the no pressure, real talk, caring discussion, “those readers leave genuine reviews on Amazon or Goodreads. The kind that actually help books get noticed.”

“The catch here is”, yes, she actually used that phrase, “you choose how many readers join in: 20 to 40 or More! Each reader receives a tip as a thank you for their time.”

She’ll share the details if I’m interested.

I respond, with a few questions:

– how much is the tip? Is there a minimum? Is there a volume discount – more reviewers less tip per individual?

– are the reviews honest? I mean, I usually don’t tip for bad service so just asking.

– how long are the reviews? I would consider a better tip for say a comprehensive review of about 250 words, than for one sentence

– are the reviews specific? Do they address the characters and plot or are then generic like “really thrilling”, “couldn’t put it down”, “another Brad Thor”, that sort of thing where there is no indication the book was read.

– who are you? Where do your recruit your reviewers from? How come you don’t have an internet of social media presence? How did you come across my book? 

– do you buy my book, do I gift it, send you a pdf?

– how is the tip paid. PayPal, transfer, cheque, someone comes by my house for the cash? 

– can I join your review team? You’re (I mean they) are probably making more on “tips” than I do on royalties.

– do you ever have any twinges about scamming people, not saying that you are, of course? Ever consider putting your efforts into writing your own book? With your own team grinding out the reviews, I’ll bet you could do well.  So, yes, sounds like “my kind of thing”, actually right up my alley. Finally, my genius will be recognized!

Dear Rod, I had a good laugh reading you message, I really appreciate your humor and the detailed questions. Let me go through them properly;

The reader tip is a small token of appreciation, usually around 15 -25 per participant, and authors often choose between 20 to 40 readers or more, depending on how much engagement they want.

The reviews are completely honest. The tip is simply a thank you for the reader’s in the discussion. Some reviews are glowing, some are balanced but all are genuine.

The review length varies. Many readers write a few thoughtful paragraphs, often around 100 to 250 words, especially when something in the story connects with them. Others keep it shorter but still personal.

The reviews are specific. We encourage readers to share what stood out to them such as characters, plot, pacing or themes so it’s never just the usual “really thrilling” kind of comment.

About me, I’m Cristina Joy and I help organize Elevate London Book Club. We’re a small group of readers who chat about stories we love. Most of our readers come from book clubs and reading circles. We stay fairly low-key online so we don’t push a big social media presence.  You can find us on Meetup though.

For our reading, You can share a digital copy, PDF or ePub, whichever is easiest for you. We would also need a discussion guide that usually contains the following:

• A brief synopsis (to refresh readers’ memories)

• 5–8 discussion questions or prompts

• Any key themes/questions you’d like readers to focus on

After, most readers end up wanting to get their own copies!

Tips are sent securely through Payoneer, direct bank transfer, whichever you prefer, let me know what works for you and I can arrange accordingly with our funds manager.

As for joining the review team, you’d probably fit right in with your wit and energy.

And no, no twinges of guilt here. I love connecting authors with readers in a genuine way and I leave the storytelling to the experts you know.

I hope that clears everything up nicely. How many readers would you like to include for *The Thin White Line*?, what would be your budget per reader, and when would you be permitted to send us your discussion guide?

Hope to hear from you soon .

A book club with a funds manager?

Dear Christina, Just a few more things, if you don’t mind. I’m afraid your response does not “clear(s) everything up nicely”. You write,

“The reader tip is a small token of appreciation, usually around 15 -25 per participant, and authors often choose between 20 to 40 readers or more, depending on how much engagement they want.”

15-25 of what? If you’re talking percentage than it would be helpful to know the price per participant.

And I’m confused. Why would I need to provide “A brief synopsis (to refresh readers’ memories)”, or anything else for that matter. My book “really stood out, and …deserves more readers who will truly connect with it”, at least according to you. I’m good with their opinions once they’ve read the book (which I’d be supplying). No need for discussion questions or prompts or key themes/questions to focus on.

Thanks for your patience. I’m a stickler for details and you know what they say, “the devil is in the details”. Well, maybe not the devil, but you know what I mean.

Anxiously awaiting your reply,

HI Rod, I completely understand where you’re coming from and I appreciate how closely you look at the details. It’s the same care we try to take when organizing these sessions.

To clarify, the tip isn’t a percentage. It’s a flat token, usually between £15 to £25 per reader. Some authors start smaller, others go higher depending on how many readers they’d like involved.

About the synopsis, I hear you on that too. The note I mentioned isn’t about shaping opinions. You don’t need to add prompts or themes unless you want to, though some authors enjoy including a few points they want readers to discover or talk about.

I really appreciate your attention to detail, and it’s what helps make it smooth and transparent for everyone involved.

So, how many readers would you be moving forward with?

Hmm. Getting impatient, Cristina?

Dear Cristina, 

Thanks for providing the information. 

Right now, the £15 is equivalent to $28.20 CA x 15 reviewers = $423.00. You can call it what you like but it’s still paying for a review, which I refuse to do. It’s the inherent conflict of interest that gets me – another one of my idiosyncrasies, you know, like the devil in the details thing. 

That and the fact I can’t get my head around working on a novel for two years, then giving it to someone free and having to pay them to read and comment on it. 

Call me naive, call me old fashion, but I still think a well-written book will find readers (and reviewers). If it doesn’t, then I have to believe it’s because the author (me) lacks the necessary craft. If I think otherwise, it’s an excuse to not improve as a writer.

The reason groups like yours (no judgement) thrive (and apparently, they are – I get about three similar requests a week) is that writers refuse to believe their book is terrible, that their dream of being a bestselling author is not going to come true (the Dunning–Kruger effect). And so, they look for shortcuts, a formula, thrive on stories about the exception proving the rule (Harry Potter was rejected 12 times, Gone With the Wind  25+ times), Carrie by Stephen King 30 times) and people like yourself who help keep the dream alive for a price – not necessarily a bad thing.  

The Thin White Line is a good book, certainly worth $3.99 USD. So, here’s my counter offer. I’ll forgive the cost (two years) it took to research and write it, absorb the $3.99 price of the ebook and send you 15 PDF files of the manuscript free to pass on to Elevate London Book Club members – or better still have them get in touch with me directly to save you the hassle. Maybe I’ll get some reviews, maybe I won’t, but it will save what little integrity I have left, not to mention $423.00.

Hi Rod, I just wanted to check in and see if you’d had a chance to think about our last exchange.If there’s anything you’d like me to clarify, I’m happy to.

Once they think they’ve got you on the hook, they’re reluctant to give up.

Here’s the thing.

If you’re a self-published author on Amazon, you can go to ChapGBT and ask it to write a review of your book–and it will. It will provide enough information for a scammer to knock a half dozen reviews that look authentic. Tweak your request by asking AI to focus on something specific in your book, like characterization, and there’s enough new information for a half dozen more.

Same goes for establishing key words or other meta data. You can even ask AI to produce a book cover.

This is free for you–and for scammers. Though often not very professional, new authors chasing the dream, may not be too discriminating–and prepared to pay the price.

My photograph, Transitioning, has been selected as a finalist in Lumen Art Gallery’s, International Art Competition, “Strange Figures.”
To view the gallery and the exceptional images submitted by other artists, visit:
https://www.lumenart.gallery/winners-of-strange-figures Transitioning is one of the experimental images in the album ,First Contact, that can be viewed on in my portfolio at
https://rodraglin.smugmug.com/

Lumen Art Gallery is a platform that invites talented artists to participate in monthly competitions.



#strangefigures #ArtCompetition#Winners#LumenArtGallery#ContemporaryArt#InternationalArtists @lumenartgallery

Book Marketing scammers use Artificial Intelligence to appeal to authors’ egos.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a huge impact on books and writing. From suggesting edits to improve an author’s writing to doing the actual writing it’s opening new opportunities while challenging old conventions.

This includes the information about books and authors that appears in internet searches. You’re no longer presented with just a long list of links, but rather rich data including quite detailed book summaries.

Perhaps the most adaptable group in society are scammers, and AI has been given them a new and powerful tool to rip you off whether you’re a senior concerned about your grandchildren or a new author chasing a dream.

I’ve been writing and self-publishing fiction for 15 years and right from the beginning I’ve been looking for ways to attract readers to my books. Rather than detail all my efforts let me just summarize by saying nothing has worked.

I’m still of the opinion a good book will find an audience. The only conclusion I draw from this epic fail is my books aren’t good enough – yet. Rather than attempt to find gimmicks or game the system, I feel I’m better off attempting to improve my craft.

Most new authors are immensely proud of what they accomplished and when they don’t receive immediately financial success and professional accolades, they’re loath to admit their book has any shortcomings. They’d rather make excuses that kill the dream.

This dream is exactly what book marketeers seize upon by suggesting it’s not that you have no talent, it’s just that your book needs more exposure and they can provide this for you – for a price.

A day doesn’t go by that I don’t receive an email from someone offering guaranteed reviews, to recalibrate the meta data to optimize the algorithms, or to grow my visibility with a video book trailer.

Most of those messages never make it out of my spam file. However, with the onset of the AI and instant book summaries, scammers are becoming more creative.

I played along with this one to provide an example of what you should be aware of.

Sophie Humphries, calls herself a Book Market Architect. Originally, I must have deleted her email (or maybe not) and then I received this.

On Oct 22, 2025, Sophie Humphries wrote:

I just want to be honest with you… I’m a person just like you, and I put real work into looking at your book before reaching out. I don’t expect a yes, but I do believe in honest communication.

Even a simple “no thank you” is fine, but silence leaves me guessing. At the end of the day, this is something that could really work in your favour, and I only reached out because I genuinely see potential in your book.

Below this plaintive request, were two carefully constructed emails that had been sent previously.

The first was sent on Thurs, Oct 16, at 11:21 AM where Sophie offers some flattering insights into my novel, The Big Picture – A Young Woman, A Camera, An Uncompromising Ethic including, “it’s a moral lens focused on the collision between art, ethics, and corruption…a journey from idealism to confrontation mirrors the uneasy truth of every artist who refuses to look away… That kind of story doesn’t just entertain; it challenges complacency.”

Wow! I mean, what author doesn’t want to hear that!

She summarizes by writing, “Books like yours don’t fade because they lack tension or craft. They fade because algorithms flatten nuance and metadata misplaces meaning.”

“My work exists to guard against that,” she declares and then provides a list of services that’s likely a template she cuts and pastes into every solicitation. It includes internet marketing jargon meant to impress such as Visibility Forensics, Discoverability Reframe, Audience Signal Engineering and Momentum Strategy.

“Within 30–45 days of recalibrated positioning, authors often see measurable traction, stronger reviews, organic engagement, and renewed sales cycles”, she claims, though somewhat ambiguously.  

Sophie follows up the next day saying, “The Big Picture isn’t the kind of novel that should go unnoticed…it holds a mirror to power… that questions corruption…” and that I had “already done the hard part writing something with a moral spine.”

She closes with challenge, “Do we step in to redirect the light, or let the algorithms keep the lens covered?”

I have to admit, this woman sounds convincing. Add to thather personal entreaty that “I just want to be honest with you… I’m a person just like you… put real work into looking at your book … and I only reached out because I genuinely see potential in your book”.

Anyone with a “moral spine” would at least respond.

And so, I did. On Oct 22, I wrote:

Dear Sophie,

So sorry if I’ve offended you. However, please understand I’m quite busy responding to all those wealthy relatives I’ve never heard of who’ve left me their entire estate (Can you imagine! And I don’t even know them).

Thank you for being honest with me. There are so many scammers preying on authors these days (especially lately. Why is that I wonder? Could AI being playing a role?)  that it’s reassuring you’re not one of them but a person just like me(?). 

Thanks as well for “seeing the potential in my book”. The Big Picture was published over a decade ago and it’s remarkable that at the time no publishers were as astute as you, or your many colleagues who have been recently sending similar solicitations.

Because I think so highly of you (and we’ve only just met), and I feel badly that you “put real work into looking at your book before reaching out”, I’ll make you a counter offer. 

Work your magic and within 30–45 days of recalibrated positioning, you set the date, I’ll pay you all the royalties generated by the renewed sales cycles that have been created by the measurable traction, stronger reviews and organic engagement you’ve generated.

The ebook edition of The Big Picture sells for $3.99 x 35% royalty = $1.40 per sale! Not hype. Real cash. I mean, the sky’s the limit. 

Sales are easily tracked on my Amazon Author Page. We could set a benchline and begin Nov. 1. 2025.

I’m so looking forward to this joint venture, to “step in to redirect the light’ with someone of your expertise and integrity.

Anxiously awaiting your reply.

Rod

SOPHIE:  You’ve got a clever hand, you play with irony like it’s currency. I’ll admit, I almost let it run a round too long. If I’m reading you right, this was never about the offer, just the sport of the exchange.

No hard feelings on my side. Just checking, did I read that right?

ME:

Disappointed, Sophie. I thought we could make it work.

SOPHIE: “But be sincere, Rod, do you really wanna work with me for your book’s visibility.” 

ME: We’ll never know. (I thought the crying emoji was a nice touch)

Then again On Oct 24

SOPHIE: Just wanted to make sure my last note didn’t get buried curious to hear your thoughts when you get a moment.

ME: Sorry, for the delay in responding, still working on getting my inheritance from those distant relatives.

BTW Your colleagues(?) have shifted to encouraging me to participate in “seasonal spotlights” and “end of the year shout outs”. Perhaps it’s time to change your pitch to something more seasonal.

Anyhow…

First, you suggest I’m not honest, then not sincere. Hmmm. Good thing I’m almost impossible to offend.

I made you an offer. If you have any confidence in what you proposed initially, then why not take me up on it? I’ll sweeten the deal. If there is even a modicum of success, I’ll write an (honest) letter of endorsement saying your services actually got results. You can post it on your social media channels and website – if you ever decide to “redirect the light” to yourself and get one.

You should do this, Sophie. I mean, what’s the downside? You waste a few hours. Whereas the upside could be cash, credibility and confidence! Plus, you get to feel good about yourself.

I’m not big on gamesmanship, but I think this is described as “calling your bluff”. 

SOPHIE: Mon, Oct 27

Appreciate your reply and the offer it’s clear you enjoy the art of the exchange. I’ll pass on the proposal, though. My work operates on structure and collaboration, not wagers.

Wishing you continued success with The Big Picture and whatever season it finds new readers in.

And again on the Oct 29

SOPHIE: Glad my last note landed. If you’re still considering collaboration, let’s keep it simple let me know directly whether you’d like to move forward, and in what capacity.

If not, no worries at all. I just prefer clarity over back-and-forth.

Clarity? I think this thread has played itself out. But I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.

The strategy used by Book Market Architects like Sophie is to get the author’s money up front. Then, whether they provide legitimate services or not, the results are irrelevant. They’ve already moved on to the next dreamer.

And let’s face it, even the best marketeer can’t sell a bad book

NEXT: It all began with It all began with an invite from Elevate London Book Club to Spotlight my novel, The Thin White Line.

“Phases of the Moon, Summer 2025: A Gallery of Twelve Photographs by Rod Raglin” is is being featured on the Open Arts Forum front page. You can view the gallery here:

https://openartsforum.com/phases-of-the-moon-summer-2025-a-gallery-of-twelve-photographs-by-rod-raglin/

Open Arts Forum is an ad-free journal of the creative arts—bringing together writers, poets, photographers, and visual artists under one welcoming roof. Their free, members-only forum lets you submit work for front-page consideration and find inspiration across disciplines.

Visit the site at https://openartsforum.com/forum/

View more of my photos including #streetphotography and #landscapes at https://rodraglin.smugmug.com/

#moon #fullmoon #phasesofthemoon #nightsky

“Awesome Autumn: A Gallery of Ten Photographs of Vancouver’s Street Trees” is being featured on the Open Arts Forum front page. You can view the gallery here:
https://openartsforum.com/awesome-autumn-gallery-of-ten-photographs-of-vancouvers-street-trees/

Open Arts Forum is an ad-free journal of the creative arts—bringing together writers, poets, photographers, and visual artists under one welcoming roof. Their free, members-only forum lets you submit work for front-page consideration and find inspiration across disciplines. Visit the site at
https://openartsforum.com/forum/

View more of my photos including #streetphotography, #landscapes and more at at https://rodraglin.smugmug.com/

#autumncolours #autumnleaves #autumn #fall

I’ve been called many things, but never an “Emerging Virtuoso”.

My photograph, Phallic Skylines, has been selected for an award in Lumen Art Gallery’s, CITYSCAPES International Art Competition. Each selected work reflects the spirit, rhythm, and hidden poetry of urban life, seen through the eyes of contemporary artists from around the world.

To see my winning entry, visit:

FACEBOOK

To view the entire exhibit, visit:

WEBSITE

Lumen Art Gallery is a platform that invites talented artists to participate in monthly competitions.

For more images of cityscapes as well as landscapes, blooms, blossoms and more, visit:

https://rodraglin.smugmug.com

#Cityscapes #ArtCompetition #Winners #LumenArtGallery #ContemporaryArt #InternationalArtists

Did you know the exotic pet trade is second only to the drug trade in terms of illegal activity and dollars generated?

Illegal poaching and poorly regulated legal trade has led to declining wild populations and ecosystem disruption. High mortality rates occur during capture and transport, and even for survivors, captivity often involves inadequate diets and housing, resulting in poor health, stress, and a shortened lifespan.

More than half of animals do not survive capture and transport. They are at risk of dehydration, starvation, hypo- and hyperthermia, stress, overcrowding, injury and attacks by other animals in confined conditions.

Animals that do survive face cruel treatment, inappropriate living conditions and inadequate diets at the hands of uninformed owners. It is difficult to source their exact dietary requirements and replicate the complexity of their natural environments. Exotic animals in captivity are not free to express their normal wild behaviours. They may resort to self-mutilation or go into a state of depression.

Many die within a short time after sale and those that survive are usually abandoned or surrendered when the novelty wears off and the reality of high care costs, lack of interaction, increase in size and care responsibilities become unmanageable.

This is likely the case with the three incredible reptiles available for adoption at the Vancouver Animal Shelter.

Nirvana is a ball python with a peaceful presence; Grohl is another impressive ball python who embodies the species’ curious yet calm nature; and Bowser Jr. is a 6-month-old bearded dragon full of curiosity and charm.

To learn more about these animals and the pet adoption process, please visit https://bit.ly/47cFsOf or email them at: animal.shelter@vancouver.ca

To learn more about the plight of exotic pets and what you can do about it https://spca.bc.ca/ways-to-help/take-action/exotic-pets/

My novel, Cold-Blooded, Book 2 in The Mattie Saunders Series also provides details about the exotic pet trade as well as reptiles as pets; their care, feeding and personalities, in the context of an entertaining murder mystery.

Right now, you can get free e-book edition to review by subscribing to my mailing list. Go to http://www.rodraglinauthor.com to subscribe or just send me an email at rod_raglin@yahoo.com

It’s available in paperback or as an audiobook  at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

Or, you can get free e-book edition to review by subscribing to my mailing list. Go to http://www.rodraglinauthor.com to subscribe or just send me an email at rod_raglin@yahoo.com

Green Flash Fiction competition – £300 prize for the winning story plus £100 prize for 7 runners up. Deadline 27th August 2025.

Green Stories is running a flash fiction competition for stories under 500 words on the theme of ‘epiphanies’, the transformative realisation that inspires behaviours with positive environmental implications.

No entry fee, but all entrants must purchase at least one book from the Green Stories project as a guide to competition criteria (entertaining fiction that showcases green solutions). Green Stories books must be purchased from https://habitatpress.com/shop/.between 1st June 2025 and 28th Aug. 2025.

For more details including on how to submit visit https://www.greenstories.org.uk/flash-fiction…/

#flashfictioncompetition#GreenStories#environmentalfiction#thrutopia @habitatpress

In the not-too-distant future, fifteen-year-old Sam and his family live in NewBeck, a small, arid, town on the edge of nowhere in an undisclosed country.

The population of Newbeck as well as the rest of the country survive primarily on meagre crops raised on these tiny allotments. Each spring, the scientists at Green Cultivation Corporation, a mega-agri-conglomerate that also supplies soil and fertilizer, decide what crops would be best for each area that year. Then they bring four selections for people to buy and for some reason, the citizens have been conditioned into believing these crops are the only choices they have.

Every year, the citizens worry whether they’ll be able to afford enough soil, how much the extra fertiliser will cost and if it’s worth it, whether they’ll be able to buy all four of that year’s crop seeds, will the seeds germinate and thrive and if they do will the plants be labour intensive. On occasion, when crops have failed near famine conditions have prevailed

One afternoon, while Sam’s dutifully weeding the family’s government garden allotment, he notices a girl about his age ride into town on a rusty bicycle. He’s curious, she’s forward, and they strike up a conversation about farming and school. Then she leaves the way she came.

“There were no buildings or other roads where she was heading. So where the hell did the strange girl come from?”

Where this strange girl came from and is heading back to is just a forty-minute bicycle ride from town, a waterhole, fed by a stream with a waterfall.  Once she arrives, she ducks behind a waterfall, navigates through a labyrinth of caves until she emerges “into Home Valley… a multitude of fields and gardens spread out before her in all their colourful variety.”

Home Valley is populated by her extended family who live there in seclusion and fear.  Years earlier “strangers had swarmed the valley” and plundered their crops and destroyed most of the planting. In response to the raid, the patriarch had blocked the road into the valley and forbid any family members from leaving it. Only every couple of months when supplies are needed, does he leave the sanctuary and venture into town – alone.

Avril’s visit has piqued her curiosity. She wants to know more about the town’s people, especially Sam.

This curiosity and her attraction to Sam are the catalyst that gradually help them as individuals and the groups they’re associated with to go from fear and mistrust to care and cooperation. The knowledge shared by Avril’s family results in better crops and provides the motivation for the Townids to stand up against the agricultural megacorporation and take control of their own destiny – and gardens.

Habitat Press, the publishers, present Dirt as a “dystopian eco-romance for young adults (ten to 18 years old). Having read the book, three questions immediately arise; has author Laura Baggaley (and the publisher) underestimated the sophistication of their readers, has the publisher made a mistake and should the book have been marketed as Middle Grade fiction (readers aged 8-12), or, is this simply a case of weak craft?

Beginning with inciting incident, Sam’s and Avril’s personal relationship lacks intensity. At an age (fifteen years old) when physical attractiveness is perhaps the most important attribute, there isn’t one descriptive passage about the main characters. The reader doesn’t know whether they’re tall or petite, dark or fair, handsome or beautiful. The author does mention that Avril “raised her pale eyebrows”, but incredibly doesn’t say the colour of the eyes beneath them.

Neither is there a hint of sexual attraction at a time in life when hormones are raging – which is one of the reasons I wondered if the story should be categorized for a younger reader.

If characterization is thin for the two protagonists, it’s two-dimensional for the supporting characters. 

Factoring in that Sam and Avril are star-crossed lovers in a Shakespearean way, the plot unfolds like any other genre romance–which means no surprises. In this case, an unoriginal plot is not a liability, because understanding the narrative is difficult enough.

Though an historical info dump at the beginning is not the way to start a story, the lack of context is confusing. I imagine even young readers would be asking:

– How did the entire population of this country come under the control of Climate Cult when “Spain and France and Italy and the Netherlands – and probably further afield, their farmers have adapted successfully to global heating. They’ve adopted sustainable agricultural practices, maximised production and established food security policies.”?

– Why hasn’t the government adopted these same policies?

– A little further on, when Avril describes the raid on her valley, why didn’t the family inform the authorities rather than hide? Is there no law and order in this country?

– How can the valley stay hidden – an oasis in a desert, even as dirigibles are flying overhead?

– How come the entire country appears to be populated only by people of European (white) ancestry?

– Then, as the story unfolds, the reader finds out that ClimateCult is actually breaking the law, like this is some kind of epiphany. “So even if the contract did say we have to use their seeds and their seeds only, it wouldn’t stand up in court.” Did the residents just wake up and discover they have access to courts. This is incredulous – they’re living this way because they never read the small print?

– How come no one has a cellphone? The lack of any mention of digital technology is glaring – and unexplained.

After a lackluster beginning, the story slows even further with the middle chapters getting bogged down in the reconciliation between the two groups and the conveying of gardening information. Had the green knowledge been experimental or even innovative it may have proved interesting, but as it was, the information about composting and crop rotation has been practiced by most backyard gardeners everywhere, forever. Even if it had somehow been lost, it could easily be retrieved by anyone with access to the internet – like Sam’s mother “at the architects’ office where she worked in project planning” or his Dad, at “the solar construction factory in the next town.”

The climax between the citizens and the ClimateCult goons is the bridge too far in terms of incredulity. One would imagine the way ClimateCult has kept the citizens in line would have included violence. After all, not everyone is compliant or complicit. To think three AgriCarriers accompanied by 50 truncheon wielding goons with orders “to remove the unauthorized soil and crops” would be deterred by two kids with their bikes across the road supersedes the suspension of disbelief. The security guards wouldn’t have to kill Sam and Avril, just gently, albeit forcibly, move them out of the way (like cops do everywhere, all the time) – then destroy the gardens as ordered by their CEO. With the gardens destroyed and ClimateCult’s primacy reaffirmed, the company could let their corporate lawyers haggle with government officials over the legality of it – while business continued as usual. This type of fait accompli happens all the time, especially in authoritarian regimes.

These details don’t need to be revealed to middle aged or even young adult readers, though it is never a good idea to underestimate the intelligence of your audience, at the very least so as not to appear elitist. Narratives tend to flow smoother if they’re embedded in solid research. Besides, isn’t this one of the reasons we write, to find out how stuff works, how people think?

Even for dystopian fiction, Dirt has too many unexplained plot holes. It’s like the author created a flawed society to accommodate her green solutions. Solutions that, though widely used today, aren’t mitigating the existential threat of global warming. Why does she think they would in the future when the damage has become even more irreversible?

Dirt is available to purchase at https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0F7MVLBFS?ref=KC_GS_GB_CA

30