Freelance Editing Launch Week!

Launch Week hit my editorial website last Sunday and God's blowing the trumpets of celebration. A tiny budded flower emerges from my inner shadows, blooming for the first time into the light of purpose. I've never felt this way before. I've dived into a world filled with my greatest passions: writing and editing. Who thought I'd actually have the opportunity to do this full-time? I never did.

So, in celebration and to spread the word, I'm posting my Launch Week announcement and special on this blog and my book review blog. You may not be a writer, but you may know one. You may not even enjoy writing, but you're witnessing a hopeful writer entering into a dream. I can't believe God picked me.

The Announcement:

It's Launch Week at last!

This means you can get a substantive edit for a $150 flat fee if your manuscript is 80,000 words or less and for $200 if it's between 80,000 and 120,000 words.

This is a HUGE bargain, both in the freelance editing world and on my personal site. After this week, my prices will settle to 0.0035/wd (ex. 80,000 wd manuscript = $280). Please see my Editorial Services page for more details on what your edit will entail.

Important to Know:

• The Launch Week Special begins Sunday, March 17th and goes through Saturday, March 23rd.
• Your manuscript must be fiction (thumbs-up if it's speculative...my favorite!). I do not edit non-fiction or poetry.
• Priority is given on a first-pay, first-serve basis
• I accept Paypal to this email address - nadine.r.shea@gmail.com (this is not a contact e-mail!).
• If you don't have your manuscript quite ready, go ahead and schedule it with me to get your discount. I'm happy to help you and happy to wait! If you need a critique ASAP, please mark your payment as such.

Please understand that, though I will be as speedy (and thorough) as possible, depending on your place in line, it may take several weeks for you to receive your edited manuscript. You may schedule your edit anytime between now and August 31st.

Contact:

If you are interested in the Launch Week Special, please e-mail me with your name and "Launch Week" in the subject line. In the body of the e-mail, please include:

• Your name
• The genre and current length of your manuscript
• The intended age group of your manuscript
• A small description of your manuscript
• Whether or not you consider your manuscript "Christian"
• Any questions about my services
• How you heard about this special

Please share this special with fellow writers so they may all have an opportunity to take advantage of this special. Thank you!

Black, by Ted Dekker

Mini-Summary:
Intended Age-Group: adult
Issues of Violence: fantasy violence, "gun" fights, assassination, kidnapping
Intimacy Level: kissing, emotional connections
Swearing: none
Recommendation: 4 out of 5 stars  (Recommended! See end of entry)

Back-Cover Blurb

Fleeing assailants through deserted alleyways, Thomas Hunter narrowly escapes to the roof of a building. Then a silent bullet from the night clips his head . . . and his world goes black.

From the blackness comes an amazing reality of another world where evil is contained. A world where Thomas Hunter is in love with a beautiful woman.

But then he remembers the dream of being chased through an alleyway as he reaches to touch the blood on his head. Where does the dream end and reality begin?

Every time he falls asleep in one world, he awakes in the other. Yet in both, catastrophic disaster awaits him . . . may even be caused by him.

Some say the world hangs in the balance of every choice we make. Now the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance of one man's choices

Black,  by Ted Dekker, is the first book of the Circle Trilogy. I included the back cover blurb because I can't possibly know where to start summarizing. It's a wonderful blend of fantasy and apocalyptic world politics. Try that on for size.

Ted Dekker is a Christian speculative fiction author for adults. Some of his writing is a little too intense for me, but not this series. It's intense, just not too intense. In one reality, Tom Hunter is trying to stop the spread of a world-obliterating virus. He doesn't believe in God or anything spiritual for that matter. In the other reality (The Colored Forest), he discovers a land where God's presence is visible everywhere, encouraging romance and creativity.

I was affected most by the "Colored Forest" side of Tom's reality--the one with physical presence of good and evil and a daily Gathering to delight in God. Some of the interactions of the people with God unnerved me. It bordered on 'weird', but that's because all the people in the Colored Forest fully engaged in God. Unmarred by evil, they delved into vulnerability and expressed themselves through song, dance, tears, etc.

Christian Perspective

When Thomas Hunter enters The Colored Forest , it's thick with spiritual significance. It's similar to a futuristic garden of Eden focused around The Great Romance. The topic of romance, both between us and God and us and each other strikes chords of truth and beauty inside me. 

When Rachelle first sees Tom, she goes through an internal thought process of wanting to "choose" him as her man. There's a small paragraph of her thoughts that strongly captivated the shalom (the way God intended things to be) behind romance:

"Was he a good man? Of course. ALL men were good. Would he pursue her? What man would not romance a woman who has invited him? What what woman would not romance a man who had chosen her? It was the nature of the Great Romance. They all knew it. Thrived on it." (pg. 36)

People choose each other by bringing "wholeness". Such a neat picture of marriage and relationship.

The highlights for me in Black were the imagination and spiritual undertones. I'm growing more and more in love with good Christian speculative fiction novels because I feel like I'm growing spiritually while I'm adventuring. 

Negatives

My only negatives come from my own reading preferences. The writing switches points-of-view to new characters throughout the book in order to fill in the reader enough. It was a little disconcerting and I felt like the POVs were just snowballing. I wanted to stay in Tom's head, or at least Tom's and one or two others'. 

The characters had a lot of adventure and growing, but I didn't feel like they reached a truly human depth. I couldn't see specific character flaws or internal struggles except for the time when the devil is literally sweet-talking a character.

This book is action and discovery driven. I still enjoyed the different depths it brought to my thinking. And, even though it's addressing the end of the world, I found the writing incessantly funny. 

The ending is a definite cliff-hanger that doesn't conclude much, but sets the scene for a thick sequel (Red, in case you're wondering).

I definitely recommend this book to adults and maybe even older teens. It encourages deeper thinking and questions about life. It introduces the very personal side of God through His interaction with His people. And it stretches your brain cells.

My Ratings:

Violence Level: *** (consistent {gun/knife/fighting}violence)

Romance Level: *** (plays a main part in story. Physical and emotional interaction)
Christian Focus: **** (obvious Christian themes throughout story)
Readability Level: *** (medium read, makes reader focus)
Story Depth Level: ***** (insightful, makes reader think & ask questions, underlying themes)
Recommendation: **** (Definite recommendation. Edifies the reader with potential for spiritual and/or intellectual growth)

For a more detailed explanation of the above ratings, go here!

Replication: The Jason Experiment, by Jill Williamson

Mini-Summary:
Intended Age-Group: recommend 13+
Issues of Violence:  fist-fights, action violence, topic of suicide, scientific experimentation

Intimacy Level: kissing, emotional connections
Swearing: none
Recommendation: 4 out of 5 stars  (firmly recommended! See end of entry)

Picking up a book by a favorite author in a different genre has its risks. Since I can only read Jill Williamson's Blood of Kings trilogy so many times (I may or may not be reading it again right now...*guilty face*), I eventually had to move on to her semi-recent release, Replication.

When I read the back of the book, it intrigued me, but didn't quite make me salivate. It's considered science-fiction and I'm always a little wary with that genre (I'm more of a fantasy fan). When I finally started the book, I devoured it the next day.

The first pleasant surprise was the terrific characters. I laughed out loud multiple times (read this in seclusion if you're uncomfortable with other people hearing you, because you really can't avoid it) and couldn't help but be a nerd and read chunks  aloud to my husband. He laughed out of courtesy since he couldn't laugh from context.

Review

Abby Goyer is a spunky redhead with a strong likeable personality who cares about her dad with the usual teen frustration of poor communication. Suffering from the recent death of her mother and a surprise move to Alaska, Abby steps into a new small-town high school mid-junior year and meets JD--the jock with a brain. Their interactions are hilarious. I looked forward to every encounter solely for the fact I knew I'd be laughing at some point and admiring Abby's (or should I say Jill's) sense of humor.

Martyr is one experiment in a lab of fifty-five identical Jason clones. His only wish is to see the sky before his expiration date in a couple weeks. A new doctor arrives and makes it possible for Martyr's wish to be granted. The lab-constrained, systematic life meant for Martyr is completely altered when he starts questioning his purpose in life.

The plot is thick with tension as Abby's and Martyr's worlds collide. What I love most is how believable and realistic the story is. If someone really did have a lab of human clones, how would an outsider react? How would the lab be conducted? How would police react? Jill hit the speculative nail on the head.

I repeat: believable, which means I was sucked in like the victim of a black hole. 

Something Jill Williamson does with her books is to include a discussion guide at the end. This makes it a great read for family or to children (especially as class reading) because it has intentional messages to discuss. 

Mature Scenes

The romance in this book remains at a very tentative teen level. Abby is the object of two boy's affection: one is forceful and actually forces Abby to kiss him at one point. The other is gentle and sweet and she kisses him first. The differences between affection are nice to see to help other young readers see what is an unhealthy attraction (JD Kane) and what is closer to healthy and right (albiet, very very new) with Martyr.

There's another story told by a character about a woman who was "broken until she died" by a mob of the clone boys who wanted to touch her. Though the conclusion is never blatantly stated, it sounds a lot like rape. It's very sad, but makes sense with the story and the group of psychologically and physically abused by the lab.

Lastly is some fist-fighting, gun-shooting, and attempted suicide. The story deals with action-violence in a very realistic way, touching on the issues teens today often face. Yes, suicide and fist-fights are some of them.

Christian Themes

The Christian themes in the book are strong and well-explained. Abby has a growing faith in God. Martyr has never heard of God. I love how Abby tackles his tough questions with her own hesitancy. I also love how the questions from other non-believing characters don't beat around the bush. They ask the hard questions, too. They point out what seem like obvious flaws. Jill Williamson doesn't spoon feed Christianity like it's vanilla ice cream. The fact is, relationship with Jesus is intricate, and this book captures that without trying to answer every question.

Other issues addressed have to do with ethics. Abby's stance and view on stem-cell research is stated clearly and strongly throughout the book, partially from an ethics level and partially from a personal belief level. I happen to agree with her stances and like how integrated the ethics are in a story-like manner, especially from a high-schooler's point of view.

Controversy

After reading other reviews of this book before completing my own, there are a few things I want to comment on. I hate "arguing" on review sites because I believe everyone is entitled to share his or her own reactions to and preferences in a book. The main girl character, Abby, labels another character as an "extremist liberal"  when he expresses that he's in favor of stem cell research. Some readers have taken this as if the author was saying that's her own view, but I don't believe it is--it's just Abby's point of view. That doesn't mean it's write. Abby has her flaws, and partially judging JD is one of them. I think this is good to see because Abby's not perfect. I just hate seeing that people pick certain statements from books that are offensive to them and claim that these statements are actually the author secretly speaking through her character. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. But characters in novels are unique for a reason and are created with their own flaws and fortes.

The other phrase I saw a lot in negative reviews labeled "Replication" as "religious propaganda". Personally, I find "propaganda" to be a very strong word, solely slapped on a SF novel that happens to have God in it and an opinion about stem cell research. I don't think it's propaganda. I think it's a strong, faith-based opinion concerning a very controversial issue in our nation (and world). Kudos to Williamson for tackling it in such a brilliantly penned book.

Recommendation

I definitely recommend this book. Some people recommend it only to Christian teens or Christian readers, but I believe it's a great read for anyone and everyone, especially if they have an open mind about beliefs. But it's not just a good read from a Christian standpoint, it's also a fabulous book with deep characters, a catching sci-fi plot line, and action, action, action! I love Jill Williamson's writing. She's earned a spot on my "permanent-favorite-author" shelf.

As for the rating system below. These ratings are solely from my personal opinion. I was torn a lot between a four-star rating and a five-star rating. I finally went with a four-star just because, even though it was an excellent book, it doesn't leave me wanting to read it over and over and over (like the others on my five-star shelf). A five-star rating is like a 110% grade whereas a four-star rating is more like a 100%. 

Enjoy! I'd like to hear your thoughts if you read this book.

My Ratings:

Violence Level: ** (a little; still light and appropriate)

Romance Level: ** (mildly touched upon; innocent)
Christian Focus: **** (obvious Christian themes throughout the story)
Readability Level: ** (easy to read; simple, but not bland, writing)
Story Depth Level: *** (thought-provoking with a solid plot line)
Recommendation: **** (Definitely recommended! above-average read with interesting and edifying themes.)

For a more detailed explanation of the above ratings, go here!

Firebird, by Kathy Tyers

Mini-Summary:
Intended Age-Group: not specified (recommend 13+)
Issues of Violence: battle violence, "gun" battle, suicide
Intimacy Level: kissing, emotional connections
Swearing: none
Recommendation: 3 out of 5 stars  (neutral recommendation: {due to personal interest} see end of entry)

Summary

Firebird is a wastling--the fourth-born child to a royal family with almost no chance of inheriting her family's throne. Wastlings are given courageous missions after training with orders to die heroically. It's morbid. It's their culture. It's Firebird's future.

When Firebird is given her mission, instead of honorable suicide, she is captured by the enemy and taken as a prisoner for questioning and leverage.

Positives & Negatives

I've heard the name, Firebird, more times than I can count in the Christian writing world. As far as I know, it's one of the first Christian science fiction novels outside of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. I read the new annotated three-in-one volume recently printed by Marcher Lord Press. It had a lot of interesting facts from the author on why she changed things or changed names, but this was a little distracting for a first-time reader because I'd never read the original and some of the notes gave away things in the future that I wasn't ready to know yet. I learned to ignore them (with plans to return once I finished each book for a tasty dessert). Still, it's nice knowing I'm reading the newest, freshest version.

One thing I particularly loved about Firebird was the depth of characters. Firebird Angelo was so believably loyal to her planat and yet so deceived about what is "right". I loved the struggle she went through between loyalty and justice. Her internal process of guilt, hope, and curiosity drove her home in my mind. 

The male lead, whom we meet later on, is an excellent leader who wants to maintain justice and mercy while still leading battles and being fiercely protective of the innocent. He's not free from the struggle of pride and temptations, though. 

The love that developed between Firebird and the male-lead happened a little quick for me, but a lot of emotional connection is bade with connaturality--a new mystery presented in the novel. I'm also not a huge fan of reading romance so, trying to remain unbiased, the romantic interest actually remained gradually believable and mature.

This was my first experience with deep science fiction and it was...new. I've concluded I do not have the special brain or understanding to fully grasp space novels. The writing confused me with an overload of names, terms, places, and space talk. I give it the benefit of the doubt, though, because I've never read Star Wars or watched Star Trek. Thick science-fiction usually stays on the shelf with me, but, as a determined reader, I impressed myself by at least keeping the general plot and main characters straight.

The end of the novel was delivered with a lot of heightened tension and stretched hopes. I love being on the edge of my seat and Kathy Tyres wrote beautifully. I admire her imagination and skill as an author. 

Christian Themes

Firebird prays to "The Powers", known as the supernatural guides over her planet. These powers judge a person by his or her actions with no ounce of grace. It's a legalistic belief system based in obedience, not faith, and Firebird questions it more and more the closer she gets to her death. What life comes after death? Did she earn it? She can't picture it and that frightens her.

The representation of relationship with God was clear, but not blatant. He's seen as "The Speaker" or "The Singer". The belief system is a mixture of Old and New Testament theology. The Sentinels (mind-readers of sorts) are waiting for the "Word to Come", (the equivalent of the Messiah), yet Brennen interacts with the Eternal One (God) on a  very personal Jesus-like level. God seems both high and distant, yet merciful and personal. Strange rules (like Sentinels not allowed to share their faith unless asked) and prophecies surround the belief in The Speaker. I look forward to deeper explanations in the next novels of how He interacts with His people.

For the most part, it was fascinating to see the questions Firebird tackled when she was introduced to the idea of a merciful God. Her discovery of Him and view of those who believe in Him is a wonderful point of view. 

Recommendation

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction. The levels of recommendation below are based solely on my personal preference. I give it three stars because it's a little to deep and confusing for me and I probably won't read it again (though I hope to finish the series). I give it five stars (*****) for the science fiction reader. It's in-depth, fun (albeit a little slow moving), creative, and filled with unforgettable characters. If you've got the stamina, give it a go!

My Ratings:

Violence Level: *** (consistent {space/war} violence)

Romance Level: *** (plays a main part in story. Mild physical interaction)
Christian Focus: *** (consistent Christian focus; slightly masked in the writing)
Readability Level: **** (a little difficult to read)
Story Depth Level: ***** (insightful, makes reader think & ask questions, underlying themes)
Recommendation: *** (Neutral. Probably won't reread it. Not my genre)

For a more detailed explanation of the above ratings, go here!

Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin

 

Mini-Summary:
Intended Age-Group: 12+ (I recommend 15+)
Issues of Violence: none
Intimacy Level: kissing, thoughts of sex, observation of sex
Swearing: b**t**d, mention of the F-word, what the h**l, usage of Lord, Jesus Christ, and God as exclamations of surprise/anger/disgust/etc.
Recommendation: 2 out of 5 stars  (not recommended: see end of entry)




Summary (from back cover)

Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick or any older. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere’s museums. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatric practice.

     Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driver’s license. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. And now that she’s dead, Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn’t want with a grandmother she has only just met. And it is not going well. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?

Reader's Point-of-View

I found this book  also on the to-read list for a public school's 8th graders. Wanting to put out a christian-based review, especially because the premise deals with "life-after-death", I picked it up. The book started off good: a humorous prologue from the point of view of a dog, a mysterious cruise ship, and a teenage girl asking all the deep questions about life. Then we meet another recently deceased person who died from heroine overdose--the marks on his arm are a little grotesque and the concept may (or may not) be a little serious for younger readers.

The book lost steam as it went, sinking into drab writing and a lot of incomplete scenes. Liz's reaction to finding out she's dead is a disappointing plop. She doesn't seem fazed and gets bored watching her funeral after only a few minutes. Granted, later on she gets obsessed watching them from afar, mostly to see how her best friend is coping with her desk and whether or not people are still mentioning her.

The writing in general was emotionless most of the time, not following-up on character's reactions to something shocking or emotionally disrupting. Dialogue felt unrealistic and the reader was told a lot of information instead of being drawn into the story through showing.

The romance in the book was, unfortunately, utterly unbelievable. Owen, an eighteen-year old with a 34-year-old-brain falls in love with fifteen-year-old angsty, whiny, Liz. Even after he's watched his wife every single week of his death and a surprise situation forces him to choose between the two. Not only that, but the book calls it "love" and they say "I love you", yet Liz doesn't want to get married and remains living with her grandmother. 

A lot of situations had gaps in it (like, why couldn't Liz get her driver's license in Elswhere just because she's 15 when 7-year-olds are driving?) or just simple roll-your-eyes surprises (like messages in bottles arriving in Elswhere with a wedding invitation).

Questionable

This book has a bit of language in it (b**t**d, mention of the F-word, what the h**l, usage of Lord, Jesus Christ, and God as exclamations of surprise/anger/disgust/etc.). Also, Liz observes the act of sex twice through the observation decks set at random points in Elsewhere.  The first one, she watches her parents have sex, which took me by surprise and I certainly didn't want to know. Nothing really comes from this action--no further thoughts or reactions. Why was it necessary? She also watches her best friend lose her virginity on prom night--a step which is, unfortunately, frequently encouraged in high-schoolers.

Christian Point-of-View 

The main issue in this book for a reader who believes in a single, sovereign, loving, God is that Elsewhere "answers" the question of "life-after-death". The answer to that question is that everyone dies and then lives their lives backward until they're babies again, then sent back to earth. Not only does this support the view of reincarnation, but it sounds exhausting! Why would anyone want to live and live and live and live, reliving all the learning processes and never finally resting in God's peace?

The author, Zevin, doesn't deliver this viewpoint as her own solid afterlife beliefs. It's just a "what if" type of answer to the question, but, inevitably the topic of God rises briefly during Liz's early days on Elsewhere. The answer?

"God's there in the same way He, She, or It was before to you. Nothing has changed."

This makes God completely unattached from His creation. It also leaves Him up to any one person's translation of "God". This is incredibly saddening because it reminds me how many people don't understand or accept how deeply He desires relationship for us with Him. He wants to give us peace and rest. 

The only other issue is that everyone on Elsewhere chooses an "avocation" (a job matching their likes and loves), which is supposed to "complete their soul". I don't really know what that was supposed to mean (and the author doesn't go any further in explanation), but this implies one's soul is incomplete when on earth. It also implies that a soul can find full satisfaction in a job. No thank you.  

Recommendation

Aside from profanities, the skewed view of afterlife and God, and the visions of sex, this book was mostly boring and slow moving. I don't recommend it from many point-of views:
As a reader: I don't recommend it because it's boring, slow-moving, and not as thought-provoking or developed as the premise could be.
As a writer: I don't recommend it because the writing is strongly "telling" and not "showing". Emotion and characters are shallow and disappointing, and the plot is mostly reactive and inconclusive.
As a daughter of Christ: I don't recommend it because it minimizes the relationship and power of my all-loving and merciful God. It also turns the afterlife into an exhausting repeat-life absent of all established relationships. It takes away the hope for something greater, satisfying, restful, and permanent. It also takes away the threat of Hell (I know this can be a touchy subject), but if we start telling people it doesn't really matter what you do in life or what you believe, no one will understand the importance of fully surrendering, following, and knowing God. No one will understand the danger wanting to pull their soul into darkness.

Violence Level: * (no violence)

Romance Level: ** (mildly touched upon)

Christian Focus: * (No Christian focus. More of an "everything-is-accepted" view)

Readability Level: ** (easy to read; simple writing)

Story Depth Level: ** (interesting, but only a little thought-provoking)

Recommendation: ** (not recommended; not edifying to the reader)

For a more detailed explanation of the above ratings, visit the 6-Point Nutshell post.