Tentatively Calling This One a Success
With thirty ratings on Amazon and fifty on Goodreads, it looks like a consensus is officially emerging on the topic of my debut novel. And that consensus, to my enormous pleasure and glee and pride, is that it’s pretty damn good.
The Deathsniffer’s Assistant has a 4.22 average on the very specific Goodreads, and a 4.5 on the considerably less precise Amazon. I told myself if I could get into the 3.9-4.1 range, I’d consider the novel a resounding success, but it looks like I sold myself short. So far, even my most negative reviews — for which I’m grateful and learning from — haven’t fallen below the 3 star mark. It’s hard to argue with numbers, and as it stands, my numbers are looking very encouraging indeed.
Of course, numbers are stale and simplistic and can only ever scratch the surface of impressions. A five star rating makes my toes curl in pure happiness, but some kind or even critical words make my day complete. From meeting new fans eager for me to sign their dog-eared copies to the most amazingly encouraging words on the internet, interacting with the people, reading their feelings, and seeing the passion they can feel for my characters has been the absolute best experience of my life, and everything I ever could have hoped for.
So many years of blood, sweat, and tears went into The Deathsniffer’s Assistant. And even one stranger’s positive opinion has made it all worth it.
Having officially reached this threshold, I’m going to start a new weekly series about the actual content of my book. I’ve tried to avoid talking much about it because I don’t want to spoil anything so soon after release. But I think the time has come to start unboxing some of this book that so many people have liked so much.
