Rate and Review

Quote from a post I read:

FYI AUTHORS/WRITERS:  Amazon now allows 1-star ratings without a review explaining why a book or a product is given the rating.  It is said that 99% of the time, the book is not even read.  One explanation, especially if it is a non-fiction book, that a competitor who has a book in that category will try to sabotage a book.  Amazon allows a rating to be given w/o reviews.  However, it is nearly impossible to get it removed if it has no review attached to the rating showing who gave it the rating.  THIS IS NOT FAIR for Amazon to allow this to happen to the writer or a vendor selling a product.  It leaves the author wide open for nefarious efforts by unscrupulous people.

I'm aware that some people cannot leave reviews for my books on Amazon unless you're a 'VERIFIED' purchaser.

 Here is my question: What about the people who received my books as gifts or maybe they read my book through a shared download like Kindle Unlimited?

 

Well, Amazon is restricting reviews on only Independent/self-published author's books, because as someone once said, "These so called authors have someone they know post reviews for them just to make them look good."

That statement is unproven since there are plenty of people who post their reviews on books that they have bought elsewhere or were given as a gift so, those people are not verified buyers, right? I'm one of those people. I've left quite a few reviews on books that I bought in a book store or on another website and I don't 'personally' know the author. So in light of the situation, I am posting links to where you can rate and review my books. 

Google Books: If you have the Google Books app, you may not find my books through the app but if you search for them through Google search you will find them. 

The Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual Phenomenon

Chandra's Quest Book 2: Twisted Embers

Chandra's Quest

Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart

In the Company of Elves

GoodReads: This popular website has brought readers in touch with various books available to download or buy as paperback. Many post their reviews on this website.

The Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual Phenomenon

Chandra's Quest

Chandra's Quest Book 2: Twisted Embers

In the Company of Elves

Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart

NOTE: Some of the books do not have updated book cover images. Chandra's Quest, on Good Reads, has the older 2013 book cover version and the pages of the book are not updated to the current version as the one on Amazon but you can still leave a review. Gypsy Heart has not been added yet to GoodReads or Google Books because it is not available as a paperback.

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Where You Can Leave Reviews for my Books

If you're a Independent author (aka self-published) you should know by now that Amazon undermines the progress of Indie Author's books by removing reviews that average over a 3 star. They will remove reviews that are 5 stars of new Indie books because they assume that most Indie Authors have their 'relatives or friends' leave reviews for them! Well, I for one, know that anyone who has read books by any author, indie or not, don't always buy them on Amazon. Some people leave reviews on books that they didn't buy on Amazon. I call it BULL when they say, "Only verified buyers can leave a review." Why you ask? I've left plenty of reviews for books that I had bought years ago through other book stores and those reviews were never removed. So, in light of this revelation I will add here links to where you CAN put your review without it being removed. Please do visit them.

The Stranger Things

The Stranger Things

In the Company of Elves

In the Company of Elves

Chandra's Quest Book 2 : Twisted Embers

Chandra's Quest

Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart

There are no reviews for:

Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart yet. The book is in eBook form. When I publish it as a paperback people can post a review.

My Facebook page

 

Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart

I am working on a new book called Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart. This book was actually written back in the early 2000's as a novelette. The original title was Clarissa. I restored it and started writing more chapters in the book. I have old CD Rom disc where I saved various short stories before I went through my writer's block. There were only a few stories I was able to fish out that are workable. Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart is adult fiction/drama and written as a first person narrative for the first few chapters. Categorized as contemporary, romantic fiction. The story revolves around Serena, a woman whose past relationships come back to haunt her family after her death.

NOTE:  I will post a link to the book when it is published. Similarities to people, places and things are purely coincidental. This book is not based on true accounts but written to seem like true accounts.

Update: this book will be published as an eBook in a few weeks. Please visit my Facebook page for updates. TY

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Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart

What Changed When I Revised Three of my Books?

It has been a little over 17 years since I wrote and published Chandra’s Quest. Originally the title was, Chandra’s Quest Book 1, I published it with Instanpublishers.com, a subsidiary publishing company. Two years later I published Chandra’s Quest Book 2. 

I re-wrote and changed a few things in both books, including how Chandra looks like. In the first book, Chandra (the main character) had long naturally curly hair and brown eyes. 

Picture is not a part of the book.

In the original version she was Latina, Carlos remains the same, Keeja, remains the same, Xenos remains the same and Soran had some changes done but not by much.

In the revised version, Chandra has shoulder length light brown hair, not curly but set with a light wave to it and brown hazel colored eyes and she is multiracial, Hispanic/Caucasian.

In both Chandra’s Quest book 1 & 2, I added and removed some text. I changed some chapters and added more chapters. The endings are different from the original books.

Since both books were labelled Alternative Sci-Fi/adult romance, I did a lot of re-writing to edit out the content no longer suitable. I changed the book series to accommodate 14 and over. Only a few of the original books remain in the system.

Book 3 has not been completed and frankly, it won’t be published till the end of the year—maybe. Please keep an eye out for it by visiting my website, Facebook page and Twitter page.

       picture not in book

In the Company of Elves, has some changes as well. It was meant for adults. I wrote it to be adult fiction but changed it during the re-write. Melissa’s appearance changed a bit, she doesn’t have blonde curly hair, it’s straight and long. 

The elves remain the same, Faye's appearance was changed. For those who read the original version, will like the changes I made.

 

In the Company of Elves is categorized as 14 and over.

The only books I did not or will not revise are:

Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart

The Other Side of Things Part 1 & 2

The Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural, and Unusual Phenomenon

My Website

Chandra's Quest: The Birth of a Trilogy

Chandra's Quest was one of my first full length novels that I wrote back in the mid to late 90's and self-published it in the early 2000's. It is part of a trilogy.

              First copy

The story was originally adult scifi but when I revised it, I made some changes. I republish it in 2013 through Kindle Direct Publishing, a very different self-publishing company than the previous one I used before. 

 I am pleased with both versions of Chandra's Quest, however I want to let everyone know that when you visit Amazon and find the book, I encourage you to download or buy the paperback of the revised version (2013). The older version is no longer available by the third party seller that was selling it. Even though it is unavailable, the seller still has it listed. Anyways, this entry is to inform interested readers to buy the current book and enjoy it. 

Please Read, Rate & Review. TY. 

Author's Website

I Made Some Changes to the Back Covers

I recently made bookcover changes to these books:

(this book is no longer a paperback)

All of these books, do not have my picture on the back. In the future, you will find the, About the Author page & Author's Notes, in the last pages of each book.

NOTE: if you have a book that I published before I changed the back cover, please consider it a collector's item.

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Why Reviews are Important

Reviews make or break a new author! It’s true. When I got my first review for the 2002 unabridged version of Chandra’s Quest book 1, I was crushed but it didn't stop me from writing. 

In fact, I was in the process of revising Chandra's Quest, so as mean-spirited as the comment was, I chose to plow forward and continue revising Book 1 & 2.  

Constructive Criticism:

The one thing that a person should do when writing a review, is not discourage buyers from buying or downloading the book they've read. I’ve learned that leaving a review is important, better than none.

You should leave a review, whether good or bad but you should end it with something like this, “whereas this book did not appeal to me, it might appeal to those who are interested in reading it,” or “I did not like the book but you can buy it or download it,  judge for yourself.”

It's only fair to give others a chance to read, rate and review.

On Twitter, a reader asked everyone if they should leave a bad review on a book they read but didn’t like. They feel bad in leaving a negative review. They fear that the person will figure out who they are. 

As I stated before, all reviews are important, no matter if they are good or bad, as long as they are constructive, and it does not discourage others from reading the book and posting their review/opinion. In addition, people can remain anonymous. 

In conclusion, please do post reviews on any book that you've read from an author. Do it in a way that it does not discourage others from buying or downloading the book!  

You're not only helping the author but you're giving others a chance to read it too. Remember, that what you don’t like, the other person might. Keep that in mind.

Enjoy your books.

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Please consider donating a small portion to support Indie authors. TY

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