Book Review – Falaha’s Journey

Falaha’s Journey Cover – Descent, The Pit, Perseverance

Title: Falaha’s Journey: A Spacegirl’s Account in Three Movements (Descent/The Pit/Perseverance)

Author: Jeno Marz

Smashwords | Amazon

I so love this series’ ability to do it all.

It’s an epic, but told with a singular voice. It’s a space-opera on a universal scale, but it leans heavily toward intricately detailed hard science. It has big action, but it revels in down-to-earth and touching, intimate moments. It’s often deadly serious, even downright gory at times, but it balances that with interactions full of warmth and humor. It is told from an alien culture and perspective, but resonates with very human wishes and hopes.  I know “this has it all,” has become a clichéd way of putting things, but what else can be said when a story has, well, everything?

There are a few practical things to note about Falaha. This is a complete omnibus edition, meaning you don’t have to wait to finish it. And while this series has a younger female protagonist, it is definitively adult in its sensibilities and action level. In all, this is a remarkable and inspired series and I hope someday to see more from Jeno Marz.

Rating: ★★★★★

War May Never Change, But My Marketing Sure Does

Hi All,

After much reflection–and an authorial meltdown leading to an epiphany of sorts– I’m making marketing and networking changes effective immediately:

1) No more blog-whore-style self-promotion. Why? Because I have found that it is neither effective for myself nor the vast majority of authors. It creates noise, engenders insincerity and annoys busy people, present company included.

The most effective long-term marketing is a well-written, well-edited, entertaining story with a well-defined market positioned in an accessible, highly visible place. If you want to aggressively promote your book, then either get a publisher or use a direct book-promotion service like BookBub which is designed for maximum effect for a nominal investment. If you’re going to promote on social network sites, please don’t spam other writers’ feeds.

2) If you’re an author, and you haven’t actually read at least one of my books, don’t contact me to peddle your crap. Real authors are also voracious readers, and my books are short, tight novellas that can be read in a single afternoon. I have read at least one book from every author I have actively networked with, and the only time I have contacted an author before I finished is when I really loved their work. If you as an author can’t do that much, then you’re either not serious about your craft, not careful about who you work with, or seeking an exploitative, one-sided relationship. Do not try to play me for a fool, you will not like the result.

3) I will no longer write long-form reviews. Hell, I’m so untalented that I can barely write books, much less anything else. Short reviews and comments are about all I can handle with my limited mental and temporal capacity. And don’t let the self-promoting, alpha-douche marketing scum of the world fool you, pessimism, humility and honesty are all fine and necessary traits.

4) I might continue working on this magazine project and the Original English Light Novel Reddit, but only if there is any energy or outside interest, and so far, there appears to be little of both.

Well, that’s it for now. I hope all two of my fans aren’t too disappointed with these changes. I’ll update next week after I finish this meltdown. Have a good weekend, Take Care, and stay in touch.

Best,

James Kresnik

I’m Now a Reddit Caporegime: New OELN Subreddit

Hi All,

I went looking on Reddit for an Original English Light Novel (OELN) space, and I didn’t find any, so I made one: http://www.reddit.com/r/OELN/. “Great, more work.,” I’m thinking. But what the hell, it had to be done.

Now, if you have any stories, commentary, critiques, art, or blogs related to Original English Light Novels, then feel free to throw it up there, just don’t be too spammy about it. Also, if you know of an existing subreddit that feature original English language light novels, please let me know so I can promote those sites on the sub.

In other news, it looks like I’m about to move again, so my schedule will be disrupted a bit. The reviews will be up on my blog shortly, and new Return – Dreadknight chapters will follow as soon as possible. This is basically a spell-checked draft, so if you find any story problems, please feel free to comment here, Wattapd, Reddit, wherever you feel comfortable.

Thanks again, Take Care and stay in touch.

Best,
James Kresnik