How to Handle Negative Criticism by J.A. Boulet – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. J.A. Boulet will award a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Handling negative criticism is a tough aspect of being a novelist. You’ve worked so hard and perfected your book as much as possible, went through multiple edits, and laid your heart out in the book, only to have someone point out something negative.

I learned long ago that those negative bits are necessary to make the reviews real. Undesirable criticism may also be what other readers are specifically looking for or even better, turn out to be positive publicity! I find sexual scenes are like this. They can be a contentious subject and can bring out ire and praise in one single shot.

I think it all comes down to, not everyone will read your story the same way. Every person will pick up and appreciate, or dislike, aspects of your story that directly relates to them on an individualistic level. If you’ve touched a sensitive bone as an author and it’s not something that you’ll ever change in your book, then own it! It makes you into the special author that you are. A novelist with a unique voice. We need more authors like this!

I remember seeing a picture on social media of a James Bond movie and scrawled across the picture it said, “If everybody likes you, you have a serious problem.” It couldn’t have been said better.

Be proud of your unique voice. Take the bricks that have been thrown at you and build your foundation with them.

I hope you are enjoying the tour and look forward to any questions. I’ll try to answer as many as possible. Enjoy Whichever Way the Road Leads!

Meet Jesse Eastman, a young man from a powerful and wealthy American family. When he joins a group of rough fur traders on a journey to open up the American Northwestern Frontier, Jesse thinks his days are numbered.

The looming War of 1812 and a rugged farm woman from Upper Canada may prove him right.

Zee Collard and her father, George, are half-American, and half-Canadian. They will stop at nothing to protect their livelihoods in Upper Canada. The Collard’s family history goes back to the Revolutionary War and their past is not something many Americans are keen on.

Whichever Way The Road Leads will pull you into the lives of two American families on both sides of the border who struggle as war breaks out in 1812. This engaging and graphic first book of The Eastman Saga will take you through raging mountainous rivers and early Northwestern Frontier landscapes to the bloody Niagara battlefields of 1812.

Be careful which road you take, you never know where it’ll lead.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Jesse Eastman cradled his head in his calloused hands and wondered when he had lost his mind. He thought back to several incidents and still could not accurately pinpoint what had prompted him to make the ridiculous decision to risk his life with the Overland Astorian explorers. However, one event was obvious. The argument with his father two years ago had changed his life, for better or for worse. Jesse had never fully recovered from the sting of being thrown out of the Eastman family.

He looked up as his friend threw another log on the fire. Samuel was a tall, gangly fellow he had met last year in St. Louis when the Astorians were adding men to the team. Samuel was as close to a best friend as he’d ever met.

“Still wondering how crazy you are to be here, boy?” Samuel chuckled as the Mad River sloshed menacingly behind their backs. Samuel spit and kicked a stray log with his dirty boot into the campfire. His long hair was firmly slicked back from his forehead, and the stray ends wisped onto his shoulders with every movement.

“Yes,” replied Jesse. “I’m wondering when I’m going to die, too.” Jesse wiped his grimy hands on his pants. The Mad River was so loud it almost drowned out the conversation at times. Jesse shouted towards the river. “How the hell are we going to ride those rapids tomorrow?”

Samuel grimaced and spat again. “With difficulty,” he responded manically.

Jesse laid down on his cot and gazed up at the night skies, feeling a shiver run through his spine.

It would be September 30, 1811 tomorrow, and Jesse imagined this was the date that would appear on his young gravestone. That is, if anyone ever found his body.

About the Author: J. A. Boulet is the passionate author of six historical fiction novels. Raised in a Hungarian refugee family, J. A. was born and grew up in Canada with a strong moral foundation, which she has stood behind all her life. Ms. Boulet began writing poetry at a very young age and progressed to short stories and novels easily. She quickly became a history geek and became fascinated with ancestry and the rough path of immigration. Her university studies ranged from photojournalism to accounting. After decades of working in accounting, J. A. published her first book in 2020 and has since published one to two books annually.