Parents can’t have favorites, but …

There’s something special about the “youngest” that can tug at a parent’s heart. Even if that parent gave birth to a child of the paper kind.

Aylen Isle, book three of my fantasy series, Winnie and the “Wizard,” is my current “baby”.

I may have mentioned before that there were days while I was writing this novel that I waffled. Some days I thought the story was great. Other days I thought I’d just written the biggest embarrassment in the history of novels. Oh, sure, the story made me laugh, but was it just me? Had I accidentally written “you-had-to-be-there” humor or was the story legitimately cute and funny?

Let’s face it, who doesn’t want a cute and funny kid?

I wanted to know unequivocally what I had on my hands. The book had a publication date of July 24, 2024 (still does, by the way), and I wanted a review ahead of time. Also, because Kirkus Reviews had reviewed Aylen Isle’s “older siblings,” it seemed only fair to see what they thought of the baby of the family.

I submitted Aylen Isle for a review over a month ago. Recently, while I attended a week-long conference, I got an email on my phone from Kirkus Reviews that my review was available. All I had to do to access it was log into my “author portal” through my laptop. For reasons that even confounded the IT department, my laptop, and the conference wifi, refused to see eye-to-eye.

I had another three days of the conference before I could go home (where the wifi likes my laptop) and see what the reviewer thought of my baby. That gave me plenty of time to wonder and worry. Did they like it? Did they pan it?

I might as well have plucked petals off a daisy: They’ll like it, they’ll like it not, they’ll like it …

At last, the conference ended (which I hope to blog about in the future). I eagerly arrived home, wanting to know what they thought. But first, grocery shopping. Second, unpacking and sorting laundry.

Finally, with a fluttering heart, I logged into my portal. It began like this:

I stared at the rest of the review in awe. I had to read it two times to be sure of what I saw.

They reviewed my first two books in the series with a mixture of good and so-so, but this one … well, it kinda glowed. And it brought tears to my eyes. I guess that wasn’t surprising. My friend from the conference (rightly) remarked that I cry at Winnie the Pooh.

The full review is here. Or, if you want to stay on this page, and the print isn’t too small for your eyes, I copied the image:

That review showed me that someone who doesn’t know me or my “child” can say, “That kid is pretty awesome.” What proud parent doesn’t want to hear that?

Sometimes, when you write a novel, you know you have something special. Other times, you need a reviewer to remind you. Either way, keep on writing. 🥰

Note: The paperback version of Frama-12 is currently on sale at Amazon. Hutra, just like the other books is only $4.99 on Kindle. My youngest, Aylen Isle, will be out July 24, 2024, and can now be preordered.