AMAZON hates me

Amazon is much like a tiger in the wild: 

Unrestrained, savage, 

and 

does what it will to hapless humans 

who are in its territory.

Did you know? 

I tried to give a Kindle version of my book to a Canadian friend and got this email:

"Amazon won’t let people from ‘my country’ redeem any ebooks either. I just tried. Wow.

 Did Trump make a deal with them? 

He’s been disrespecting Canadians and our Prime Minister a lot lately.

****************************

Here’s the message I received from Amazon:

This eBook cannot be redeemed by customers in your country.

Note: 

 If you do not live in the same country as the person who gave you the Kindle book gift, 

the book may not be available to you due to copyright restrictions.

 How does copyright affect it going to another country? 

Sheesh. I guess you will have to send it only to the USA citizens.  

They are throwing up a lot of roadblocks - for what reason I wonder."

Earlier my Canadian friend tried to give a review for my audio book which she BOUGHT HERSELF.

I got this email: 

"I tried to review this on Amazon but it won’t let me 

as it says I have to spend at least 50 dollars in the last 12 months to be able to review a book I’ve bought on Amazon.  

That stinks."

Sigh. 

Due to medical bills, buying that audio book was difficult, 

nor has my friend been able to spend $50 dollars on Amazon.

HAS THIS OR 

SOMETHING LIKE IT HAPPENED TO YOU 

ON AMAZON?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS?

IN THE GRAVE, DARK SECRETS DID I HEAR

"The cruelest thing about Hell

is that it lasts forever."

YOUR VICTIMS BID ME TAKE VENGEANCE

"Deep as my grave,

black as the pit,

such is my vengeance."

NO PLACE YOU CAN HIDE

There are dark shadows on the earth, 

but its lights are stronger in the contrast.

COMING SOON

A Christmas Ghost Story

GOOD versus BAD Storytelling

Take Heath Ledger's Joker ...

Look at him ...

The make-up is crudely applied.  

The smile-effect is made from knife scars at the corners of his mouth: the origin only hinted at.  

His actions deadly and insane.

And those eyes, right?

Now, take Leto's Joker ...

I mean you can tell he's damaged ... ah, because that is what is tattooed on his forehead, right?

The ultimate in telling and not showing us!  

And what is up with all the tattoos and metal teeth caps?  The insanity is literally all surface.



Take GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY ...

Five individuals we had never seen before.  

Yet their backstory was smoothly integrated into the flow of the story until by movie's end ...

when we hear Groot sacrifice himself for the others and rumble, "WE ARE GROOT," we actually tear up, don't we?



Take SUICIDE SQUAD ...

There are too many thrown in all at the beginning as we get the Cliff Notes version of the backstory.

We cannot feel for any of them very much or mourn when they die.

ACTION ...

Action must strive for some worthwhile goal or it is all sound and fury signifying the fight scenes in SUICIDE SQUAD.


Action scenes don't just happen because it is time for one as in comics or comic movies.  

Your action scenes must propel your narrative forward in meaningful ways.

Good Storytelling, even by males, must have female characters that are WHOLE, STRONG persons in and of themselves

Women characters must exist as entire personalities, not be one-dimensional or the entire story suffers.

In SUICIDE SQUAD, the biggest laugh of the movie is when Batman hits Harley Quinn in the face.  

She has an abusive relationship with her Puddin', the Joker ...

nor is it referenced as anything but some bad taste joke.

WHAT OTHER EXAMPLES 

OF 

GOOD VS BAD STORYTELLING TROPES 

DO YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN OR TV OR NOVELS?

Is It Cruel to Give Your Book to a Friend?

Wonder why you give your book 
to your friend, 

 and he or she never 
gets back to you 

or gives you non-feedback?

Look at it from their side:

Aren’t novels all about pleasure? 

And so the deeper the friendship the harder you may find it to begin your friend’s book—

the potential for disappointment enhanced by each heightening degree of affection. 

That stifled inner voice makes another declaration:

 “If I never read it, I'll never be put into a position of having to lie or write something that will hurt my friend. ”


Then, there are the words of Jesus:

 "Truly I tell you," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown."


When those who know you read your book, they do not read your prose; 

they see the person whom they believe they know.

They also "hear" your voice when they read the dialogue.


Who believes their friend Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt?  

They find it hard to reconcile their image of you to the drama inside your novel.

It comes off unrealistic to them even if to a stranger it would be riveting.


That leads us to critique partners:

Sometimes the longer they know you, the less helpful their advice becomes.

They no longer see your prose as it is but as it was.  

You are no longer a stranger to whom they can be objective.


Finding the right critique partner is as hard as finding the right spouse. 

 And look at the divorce rates these days.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS 

AND YOUR BOOKS?