K R Smith: Reviews

Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Everybody Gets Five Stars

I'm going to have to give every book I review 5 stars from now on. Especially those that contain one of my stories!

I saw this review on Amazon today for a horror anthology. The reviewer hasn't read any of the stories (well, except for the one he wrote) and gave the book five stars. No bias here!

I understand wanting good reviews, and maybe this book deserves five stars (I haven't read it), but this review doesn't help anyone, and could dupe a reader into purchasing a book they won't like. If you're going to give a fake review, at least tell us something about the story you wrote! Amazingly, two people found this review helpful. I'm assuming it must be the publisher and another author.

I know that it takes a lot less time to review a book if you don't read it, but honest reviews are really what I want to see. I once gave a book I had a poem in only two stars because that's all I thought of it. I wish it had been a better book, but it wasn't.

Another lesson learned today about being a writer!

Friday, February 20, 2015

The Reviews Are In!

Well, just one, actually. But it was obviously done by a person of superior intellect and wisdom.

Roughly translated, that means he liked my story. To be specific, I'm referring to The Fisherman and His Wife published in the recently-released anthology, Grimm and Grimmer III, by Fringeworks.

Here's what Patrick Bolingbroke* had to say on Amazon:

Let's get rid of the children. February 20, 2015

By Patrick Bolingbroke

Format: Kindle Edition

Colin Fisher sets out his stall from the very start when he writes, 'Let's get rid of the children.' Grimm and Grimmer strips away the Disney saccharine and tells this collection of eight stories, from different authors, as they should be told; for adults. I can only add that Aunt Nancy left me dangling and that I particularly liked the story of The Fisherman and his Wife which reminded me of the Welsh legend of the fisherman, Peregrine and the mermaid although the end of the tale was quite different and not what I expected. Enjoyable bite sized stories.

So, it reminds him of a Welsh Legend, eh? And he liked it. All I can say is, Go Cymru! Or something like that. I can only hope a few others share his enlightened opinion!

Grimm and Grimmer III is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats via these links:

    US Kindle
US Paperback
UK Kindle
UK Paperback

List of authors and their story

  Colin Fisher, Editor
  John Haas, BB & The Pigs
  Damon Cavalchini, If I Could But Shiver
  Kerry G. S. Lipp, Lizzie Knew What That Tongue Could Do
  James Ninness, Sweet Breads
  SMNilsen, That Murderous Thieving Bastard and His Beanstalk
  K. R. Smith, The Fisherman and His Wife
  Lesley McIntee, Wood of the World: The Grimms, Their Contemporaries, Their Age and Ours
  Julius Horne, Aunt Nancy

* Just to be clear, I have never met Mr. Bolingbroke, nor have I provided him with any remittance for this review, despite the on-going rumors by family and friends—though that's not beneath me if it works. The fact that this was done for free is just the bee's knees. Or the cat's pajamas. Or whichever idiom you prefer.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Gigi At the Kennedy Center

I went to see another play last weekend. This one was the pre-Broadway production of Gigi at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts with Vanessa Hudgens playing the lead role.

Our first two performance day at The Kennedy Center (@kencen) is #soldout! Come join the fun! #GIGIonBroadway #GigiDC pic.twitter.com/8fTtm79TuI
— GIGI (@GigiOnBroadway) January 17, 2015

And I was one of those folks!

The first thing I noticed was the impressive stage setting. There was an ornate staircase with a structure reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower in the background. It was enough to make me forget the $23 parking fee. Well, almost... It truly did set the proper tone for turn-of-the-century Paris.

I'm hardly an expert on musicals, but I thought it was one of the best I've seen. The singing and dancing was quite good, and a few of the scene changes went by before I even noticed them. That means they were done well and the story was interesting. The orchestra was a little loud, especially in the first act, but that is why they do these pre-Broadway runs—to fine-tune the performance. I don't think they'll need to do a lot of work because I didn't see much that needs fixing!

For those familiar with the movie or previous versions of the play, some songs have been added and others rearranged. What the director did seemed to work. My favorite songs are Thank Heaven for Little Girls, Paris Is Paris Again, The Night They Invented Champagne, and I Remember It Well.

For more information on the story and the cast, here's a blurb from the Kennedy Center:

Set in the magical world of La Belle Epoque Paris--where fashion, glamour, and passion prevail--Lerner and Loewe's celebrated musical is a romantic comedy about one young woman's journey to find her true self... and her true love.

Starring Vanessa Hudgens as Gigi, this Tony and Academy Award-winning musical features glorious songs such as "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," "I Remember It Well" and "The Night They Invented Champagne." Following its run at the Kennedy Center, this glistening, re-imagined production by Call the Midwife‘s Heidi Thomas and Follies director Eric Schaeffer will bring Gigi back to Broadway for the first time in 40 years!

This highly anticipated, limited premiere engagement also features Tony Award winner Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza) as Mamita Alvarez, three-time Tony nominee Dee Hoty (Footloose) as Aunt Alicia, two-time Tony nominee Howard McGillin (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Anything Goes, The Phantom of the Opera) as Honore Lachaille, Corey Cott (Newsies) as Gaston Lachaille, and Steffanie Leigh (Mary Poppins) as Liane d'Exelmans.

"I can't imagine a better place to premiere this re-imagined production of Gigi than Washington. This city, designed by French-born architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant, is a perfect match for this wonderful show."
--Eric Schaeffer, director

Recommended for age 10 and up.
Performance Timing: Approximately 2-1/2 hours, including one 20-minute intermission.

All in all, I have to give it my recommendation.

Gigi image source: http://www.kennedy-center.org

One warning, however. You may leave the show with an incredible urge to drink champagne—not necessarily a bad thing...

This post was reblogged at: Vanessa Hudgens Brazil

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Somebody Loves Me

Well, maybe not me personally. But someone liked my poem. Close enough...

I chanced upon a review of Gothic Blue Book III on Goodreads by Die Booth, and she mentioned my poem, The Ballad of Drunken Jack.

'Gothic Blue Book III: The Graveyard Edition', published by Burial Day Books, is named after the Gothic Blue Books of the 19th century which were often abridged versions of popular gothic novels and as such were looked down upon as poor quality. The name and tone of 'Gothic Blue Book III' is where the similarity ends however, because this book is a great read full of entertaining new horror fiction, with most of the stories featuring a graveyard in some capacity.

These tales tend more towards the suspenseful and unsettling than the gory - although a few of them are outright terrifying. There's even a couple of poems thrown into the mix, and as someone not generally very fond of poetry I can confirm that I absolutely loved K.R. Smith's traditional-feeling murder tale 'The ballad of drunken Jack'.

The standout for me though has to be Jessica McHugh's 'Auntie Grave', personally one of the best horror shorts I've read in a long time, beautifully written, believably characterised and memorably unsettling.

I couldn't have asked for a better review if I'd written it myself. (And, no, I didn't.)

Thank you, Ms. Booth! In my unbiased opinion, you are a person of superior intellect with refined literary tastes.