Care & Feeding of a Writer | Bibiana Krall
I have been publishing books and active on social media now since December of 2014. There are days that make struggling writers wonder if they deserve to be here, if they want to be here and well that conversation could go on an on.
Writing a book is one of the coolest things anyone can do, but figuring out how to find the readers is another much more complicated process. Where is she going with this? Glad you asked!
Escape into the Blue is a novel I published in May of 2015 that has done relatively well in the big picture of things, but not nearly as well as I had hoped. I even considered just scrapping it. I knew of two people who just quit reading and when I asked them why-writer to writer... I was given zero feedback.
Then from out of nowhere yesterday a review popped up that made me realize that there is always hope and all that angst should be going into my writing. You can't win them all, but this review touched my heart and made me believe in this project again.
Take a gander-
Great Prose! Unique Characters!, April 6, 2017 By Marquette
This review is from: Escape into the Blue (Kindle Edition)
Escape into the Blue is a combination of character and prose unlike anything I’ve read before. I’m not sure what genre this one falls in, and I hesitate to call it literary fiction for fear of scaring off those in search of the simpler form. In short, Bibiana Krall’s writing is hypnotic and her characters addictive. I found myself reading passages over and over again from shear amazement and at the same time longing to get back to the story. Sophia is the kind of protagonist you find yourself rooting for on one page and wanting to smack her around a bit on the very next, or at least say, “girl, are you serious?” She’s beautiful but not perfect. I’ve never been drawn to freckles so much. Krall does an excellent job giving you the good and bad on every level, emotional, physical, and mental. Sophia’s the kind of girl you should never fall in love with, but any man who comes in contact almost certainly will. Along with its characters, Escape into the Blue goes places you never expect, completely unpredictable. Twists and turns that don’t feel contrived or outlined again give it that literary fiction feel and definitely must be character driven. The supporting cast of characters are also well developed and a mystery as well. There’s so much contrast, so much depth in Pedro and Armando, the animal that is Dante, and bizarre beauty and mystery of Tafari. I couldn’t help but feel that burning desire welling up in me to see this one on the big screen. The imagery, narrative, and descriptive writing no doubt played a part in the growing emotion. The dance scene is spellbinding and the action scenes keep you glued to the spot. I would be remiss if I didn’t add some of the beautiful passages contained in the pages in this review. About Sophia: “[She] was a firecracker in a room of willing matches.” And “She was bulletproof, a dancing goddess.” About Dante: “Taking the strength of another living creature energized him. He liked to taunt, play games to see how far things might go. This was his only hobby and it felt like good training for the world above the water. He understood sharks, people were tricky, untrustworthy.” “Colors mimicking the rainbow competed with wild foliage planning a hostile takeover.” “Lonely is the place you live, when everything is a lie.” “Inextricable death is the one who decorates a cubicle, hoping for it to change into another realm.” “It was going to be a steamy day, the breeze in a coma for now.” “Dark mascaraed eyes yearned for carnage.” “Morning heat pushed at her shutters like a criminal.” “His gun was worn out in the open, announcing his readiness for battle.” “Tangled in a net, our fears will kill us. A thousand deaths imagined before the actual one.” “Toasting her own courage, a female comet cometh. Recklessness is best served flaming hot.” “Tears don’t mean as much when you cry alone.” And many, many, more.
The point of this post is not only to share in my happiness today, but to remember that not everyone will understand your message and in the end you must believe that you did your best and then keep moving forward. Thanks for reading.
Until next time find your Peace, Love, Hustle and then Write. xoxo
Bibiana
@BIBIANA1KRALL ON TWITTER
WWW.BIBIANAKRALL.COM
