Response to LRN’s Review of Beautiful Evil Winter

First, LRN refers to Beautiful Evil Winter as the Worst Book she has ever read. I suggest that LRN read more books. See Goodreads “Worst Books of All Time” – https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2.The_Worst_Books_of_All_Time. Unfortunately, the original edition of Beautiful Evil Winter, featuring a baby carriage cover, does have some grammatical issues. I partnered with the wrong editor. I severed ties with that publisher and that editor.

Then, I hired David Aretha, a former Random House staffer. He has also edited for St. Martin’s, HarperCollins and Scholastic. In fact, David has edited more than 200 books. See: https://www.davidaretha.com/editor or https://www.yellowbirdeditors.com/david-aretha HIs credentials sparkle as an editor and author. See: https://www.davidaretha.com/author The second edition of Beautiful Evil Winter features a Russian flag on the cover. His website displays my novel. If the editing and book is as shabby as LRN describes, would he place it prominently on his site? Nope.

Second, re: the characters’ reactions. She writes, “I found the book confusing, the characters were sometimes enraged in normal situations and very blase in very dangerous situations…” Not everyone reacts the same way in stressful situations. Police don’t act the same way that victims do when stressed. Surgeons don’t act squeamish as patients do. Drivers act differently if someone cuts them off in traffic or runs a stop sign. According to Ilene S. Cohen Ph.D., a psychotherapist, “…Ever notice how some people have a really hard time in life while others seem to breeze through it enthusiastically? Some people can barely hold themselves together when something bad happens; even when it isn’t that serious, they complain and respond with a lot of drama. Others can have their world fall apart, but somehow keep it together and face their problems head-on, with a clear and rational mind. We all know people who keep it together, even in the face of a major tragedy, and others who fall apart at a drop of a dime…” See https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-emotional-meter/202011/why-life-stressors-affect-people-differently  

Furthermore, another psychologist – Elizabeth Scott PhD, says “..One of the main goals of finding the humor in a stressful situation is to use the humor to create distance between yourself and the stress you are experiencing. Laughing at the humorous aspects of a stressful situation can help you to keep things in perspective and remind yourself that what you experience may not be the worst thing you can possibly face…” See: https://www.verywellmind.com/laughter-as-a-coping-mechanism-3144664

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Third, she complains, “…A new paragraph would randomly start in the middle of an interaction between two people such that it was very difficult to tell who was actually talking. I even thought I was skipping pages at one point because one paragraph would end and the next paragraph would assume that I knew that certain events had taken place, even though they were never described in the book – I had multiple instances of, “oh, I guess Sophia must have talked to Natasha again??” I found the book confusing…I had no connection to the story or plot line….” I don’t know which book she skimmed, but several judges have read this book resulting in a bouquet of coveted book awards: The Eric Hoffer Award, Readers’ Favorite and Dan Poytner Global Ebook Awards. In fact, New York Times Bestselling Authors and celebrities compete for Readers’ Favorite Awards.

Does it make sense that dedicated well-read judges would select a disjointed confusing book guaranteed to disappoint? No, That lacked quality? No. That’s not cohesive? No. Did judges from different competitions confer with one another about prize-winning choices? No. LRN’s statement misrepresents and maligns a Bestselling novel that has been part of Amazon’s Top 100 in multiple genres, off and on, for years now, since its publication 2014. And yes, I have archival proof. 

Has this book been affirmed by another source? Yes. An Industry Creative whose credentials include: SALT, The Bone Collector, Revenge TV series and Script Consultant to Kevin Costner.  She read and commented, …Beautiful Evil Winter may work best as a feature film while Plenty has potential as a TV series… Both projects might have appeal for actresses with their own production companies. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Selena Gomez and Sandra Bullock come to mind…” I paid her for her honest written assessment. She has experienced lofty success. Did she lie? No. She’s too high up the ladder to risk her reputation on a substandard book.

In closing, Beautiful Evil Winter has a glittery resume with many great reviews. LRN’s review flies in the face of logic.