This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotion. Melanie Bell will award a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
If I took every critique of my writing personally, I’d curl up in bed sobbing and stop writing forever.
Fortunately, I’ve worked on tempering my response to criticism. But it’s been a process!
Critique is important for a writer. It helps us see what aspects of our writing others connect with and what we can improve. It’s useful to get input from readers who can pinpoint what’s confusing, boring, or enthralling.
Keep in mind, though, that while people offering critique can offer insight on things that aren’t working, they usually won’t have the answer for how to fix them.
Yes, they might have an idea of what they think would work better. But they’re not the one writing the story – you are. It’s helpful to take their suggestions for “what to change” with a grain of salt. Spend some time doing your own reflection on how to solve the problem in a way that works for your story, intention, and style.
Keep in mind, too, that tastes are different. Maybe you’ve written a lyrical novel full of digressions because you love reading books like that. You might want to seek out readers that also enjoy these stories. If your readers prefer a fast-paced plot, they might not like your book at all, no matter how well-written it is. And they might suggest that you change your story into the story they want.
It’s important to separate yourself from your work. Your story isn’t you. It’s something you’ve created – only one of many tales you might craft. No matter how much of yourself you put into writing it, your readers don’t have direct access to your soul, only to the words you wrote. So, people offering critique aren’t criticizing you at all. They’re simply critiquing your story.
Know yourself and how you handle criticism in general. If you’re very impressionable, be mindful of that and don’t let yourself be pushed around when it comes to the integrity of your writing. If, on the other hand, you tend to react defensively, work on being open and willing to listen. Take feedback for the sometimes dubious, sometimes helpful gift that it is.
A refreshing YA debut from Canadian author Melanie Bell, perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Becky Albertalli, and Nina LaCour.
Melanie Bell has created a compelling coming-of-age story, featuring a bisexual protagonist, for those that can relate to the search for untapped potential. Told in alternating timelines on Prince Edward Island and Vancouver, Chasing Harmony reminds us of the exhilarating feeling that comes with hearing your heart’s song.
Piano prodigy Anna Stern is used to having all eyes on her. As she becomes a teenager, Anna struggles to find her identity without the soundtrack of sonatas and concertos. There’s also the worry that comes with the crushing expectations of her musical gift and her parents’ imploding marriage.
Anna finds refuge in her best friend, Liss, who is full of magic and escape plans. However, now their relationship is changing and Anna is starting to fall for her. Adding to the complicated status is new kid Darien, who is always vying for Anna’s attention.
As the haunting spectre of burnout lurks close by, an upcoming performance with Liss will determine both of their futures. With everything building to a crescendo, what follows is an authentic life in the making.
Enjoy an Excerpt
She blows out the flame, crushes the poster into a ball as bits of ash flake off. She can’t let them catch this.
Another voice: “I swear I didn’t burn anything!”
She grabs the stack of old band posters from the file shelf and stuffs them in her bag. No one else working at The Green Staircase cares about these posters. It was Anna’s idea to keep them.
“Maybe it’s the radiator.”
All those bands, her pride and joy. Who was she kidding?
“I think it’s coming from over there—”
Quick! Into the alley, garbage bins reeking. What bin should burnt paper go in—recycling? Compost? She tosses and runs wildly down the street. Her shift is over. She’s done her job.
Out of habit, she stops at the community center on the corner. It’s late Friday evening, still open, no floor hockey games or beading club for underprivileged youth. No one at the pool tables or arcade.
She rushes to the piano.
No one is there to clap as she launches into the band’s last number, a tender little piece sung by Mustache Man whose burnt face now graces a compost bin. She hasn’t played it before, but that isn’t a problem. Her fingers relish the slick feel of keys, the quick acrobatics of motion. She riffs on the melody, improvises, and adds a solo section. For those lyrics she remembers, she sings along, not powerfully but perfectly in key.
About the Author:
Melanie Bell is a Canadian multi-genre writer living in the UK. Her books include a short story collection, Dream Signs, a nonfiction title, The Modern Enneagram, and the YA novel Chasing Harmony. She has written for several publications including Contrary, Cicada, The Fiddlehead, and Huffington Post. She loves music, art, and nature, and aspires to see as much of the world as she can.
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Warrior. Spy. Marian Montrose dons silk or chain mail with equal aplomb. Sent by Queen Eleanor on a mission to Nottingham, Marian is waylaid in Sherwood Forest by the infamous Robin Hood. Her companions are stripped of their riches, but from her, Robin steals only one brazen kiss.
Gayle Feyrer began drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon and writing when she was twelve. She holds a Bachelor’s in Pictorial Arts from UCLA, and MFA from the University of Oregon in Creative Writing. In her varied career, she has been a tie dye artist, go-go dancer, baker, creator of ceramic beasties, illustrator, fiction teacher, and finally, novelist. A Libra with Scorpio Rising, Gayle’s romantic nature takes on a darker edge. She hopes these shadows bring depth to her romances.
In March 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile in Elba. In Brussels, 18 year-old Helen Whitley knows war between France, Britain and her allies, is inevitable. A talented artist, she is aware of the anxiety and fear underlying the balls, breakfasts, parties, picnics and soirees held by the British Brussels. She paints scenes in which she captures the emotions of daily life during the hundred days before the Battle at Waterloo while waiting for Major, Viscount Langley, to arrive in Brussels and ask her to be his wife. Before Langley leaves England to join his regiment in Belgium, he visits his ancestral home, to inform his parents that he intends to marry Helen. They are bankrupt so he cannot ask Helen to marry him and her pride does not allow her to reveal the misery caused by Langley’s rejection. 
At heart I am a historian. My classic/historical romantic fiction is set in England during the reigns of Edward II, Queen Anne Stuart 1702-1714, and the Regency era. I explore themes 21st century people can relate to e.g., a soldier suffering from posttraumatic syndrome before the condition was diagnosed, a young woman seeking her birth parents, a city on the verge of war. My novels are meticulously researched to capture times past – culture, fashion, food, customs and much more. My late 20th century novel, Indira and Daisy is a view of two vastly diverse cultures shown through two fourteen-year-old girls who live in England. The Hindu and English backgrounds, religion, clothes, food and drink, bring their story to vibrant life. 
I haven’t seen Soren Mathews in ten years, but he draws me right back under his spell. We spend one stormy night together living out our teenage fantasies and in the morning, he’s gone again, leaving me to think about him and the secret I’m keeping. Readers who enjoy romance with childhood crushes and one night stands will love Beards & Babies by Heather Lauren, a steamy, small town, brother’s best friend, beach romance.
When the British arrived in Winnipeg in the 1800s it was convenient for the men to take Metis wives. They were called a la vacon du pays – according to the custom of the country. These women bore the brunt of ensuring survival in the harsh environment. Without them the British army and fur traders would not have survived the brutal winters. However, as society evolved it became accepted that wives must be white, schooled in British ways, fashionable in the European sense and married by the Anglican church. The Metis wives and their ‘country born’ offspring were thrown out and forced to fend for themselves. The unrepentant husbands continued to live comfortably with their ‘new’ wives. It was inevitable that some discarded wives did not accept their fate quietly and hard feelings on both sides were unavoidable. When the bodies of two discarded Metis wives, Marguerite and Marie-Anne, are found floating in the Red River, Guilliame Mousseau, sets out to get to the bottom of his sisters’ murder.
Nancy lives near Balzac, Alberta. She is a member of the Writers Guild of Alberta, The League of Canadian Poets, and the Canadian Authors Association. She has publishing credits in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction with over 20 published novels. Her work has been included in Tamaracks Canadian Poetry for the 21st Century and Vistas of the West Anthology of Poetry. Her poetry is also being included by the University of Holguin Cuba in their Canada Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA) program. 
Long and Short Reviews welcomes 
Doc has been a member of the Desert Rebels for a long time. He had his own clinic until a sweet, beautiful nurse came on board and ruined everything. Harlow is married and a complication Doc didn’t need. He tried; he really did. But after a while he couldn’t stand working beside a woman he wanted more than he needed air to breathe.
GIVEAWAY!
Rachel lives in a small town near Bath, England. She is the author of 29 novels including the Ladies of Carson Street trilogy, the Shop Girl series (Aria Fiction) and several single titles with The Wild Rose Press. She is super excited to be the debut historical fiction author writing for Harpeth Road Press and her first novel with them will be released in Spring 2024.
Sarafina di Ramonicci sets sail for America as the promised bride in an arranged political marriage.
Avery Sterling’s love for the romance genre began in her teen years when she picked up her first novel. She was captivated by the sweeping scale of emotions brought about by the words. The experience catapulted her towards learning the art of wielding a breathtaking adventure, with a love that felt authentic. Wanting to inspire people with her own thoughts and words, she finished her first novel at sixteen. It was a step towards understanding the essence of what she wished to create. Most of her youth was spent traveling, searching out the romance and beauty in her everchanging world. From the waves that crashed against the rocky shores of Downeast, Maine, to the warm breezes of the Caribbean, she discovered that love was universal, apparent in its grandest and simplest of forms. Her goal is to write novels an audience can relate to, one that conveys the truth and nature of love… with all that steamy romance.
