It strikes me as strange that as I begin this post I see an advertisement of michael buble singing words that I wrote.

I feel pretty confident in my songwriting. Im an old hack, I've been doing this for a while.

But as an author, Im new to this game and everything is still a bit tender. Im used to rejection in the music business, but this book, my absolute baby, it's still a tough pill to swallow.

Recently someone rated my book with two stars. Here's what she wrote "I guess this is not my cup of tea. I didn't buy into the magic of the story at all. I couldn't wait to be done with this book. She uses the word "friggin'" one too many times also. "

I don't really understand the concept of buying into the magic. Do I buy into the fact that Edward Cullen being 90 years old would choose to go to high school instead of being a freshman in college and then fall in love with a sixteen or seventeen year old girl. Hell no, actually I think it's a little pervy. But I still really enjoyed the book. Magic is magic. You suspend disbelief.
Saying that you couldnt wait to be done with the book, well that's hardly constructive.

my comment to her was "thankfully you're in the friggin minority."

I know, I know I should have let it go. I should have risen above it (especially because she demoted me to one star!)

I thought then of leaving goodreads. That it probably wasn't a good idea for me to agonize over every review. But then I thought about it again. I do want the criticism. I don't expect everyone to like my book, but I do expect that a review should contain more than a general pissed off-ness because you're irritated you didn't get what you wanted.

When Autumn Leaves is the first in a series. So if one was to say a character wasn't believable, or a scene or a bit of dialogue seemed out of place- I can use that. I can think about that as I continue this journey.

I'm thrilled that Iv'e gotten so many amazing reviews from so many trade publications. More than a debut author ever generally receives. I'm thrilled when my editor and pr people and the press in general love the book. But what's really meaningful to me, as an author, are you folks out there. When you reach out and tell me how much you connect with the book, that's better than any review from any publication I could ever get.

Basically what I'm saying is, feel free to be a hater, but back it up with useful critique. I would be grateful for that. Remember this is all new to me, and as a community of people who love books, let's try to act like one.

And for all of those that have shown incredible support, I thank you from the bottom of my friggin heart.