The Dreaded 1-Star Amazon Review

It was bound to happen and I am quite surprised it did not happen sooner than this.  The dreaded 1-Star review has appeared on one of my short stories on Amazon.

The entirety of the review can be seen HERE.

At first, I was rather deflated and wanted to reach out to the reviewer to see why she gave the e-book such a poor rating.  Upon re-reading (and analyzing) the review, I realized that the rating was more for her benefit, not mine, as her expectation of the piece was not what she had anticipated.

The reviewer actually commented that the story was good and the ending was handled well.  So, although the star rating was the lowest that could be given, I am no longer feeling deflated about it.  At the very least, the reviewer read the story in its entirety and commented in a way that she felt was appropriate for other Amazon customers.

I applaud her for her honesty and hope that reading this story had an impact on her life.  It certainly had a profound impact on my own life - living through the story as it happened.

My final thought on this is  ... As a writer, I will not be able to please all of the readers, all of the time.  I am thoroughly happy with just pleasing some of the readers, some of the time.

A Valentine's Day to Remember

I was just ringing in the New Year (like yesterday) and realized today that I completely missed "Groundhog Day" and the outcome of whether or not there will be a few more weeks of winter.  Before I know it, it'll be Valentine's Day!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I hope all of you have a wonderful day with your spouse/partner/significant other on February 14th.

As for me, my husband and I no longer partake in the Valentine Day's tradition.  And before all of you crucify me for our decision to boycott this day that is dedicated to love, let me tell you why this is.

It started on Valentine's Day in 1998.  This was the first, official date that my husband and I went on as boyfriend and girlfriend. The destination was a Valentine's Day wedding that he was invited to.  As luck would have it, I was in town for the weekend from a job that kept me away from my home for three of four weeks every month (installing computer systems) and I was able to attend this lavish affair with him.

For a first date, it was very special to have my new beau all dressed up in formal attire and to be taken to a posh restaurant before the wedding.  It was also lovely to get a bouquet of beautiful red roses - which I actually dried and pressed in a book and still have to this very day.

The date started well, but after a few drinks with dinner, we arrived at the church ready to fall asleep in the pew.  To stay awake, my sweetheart and I chatted or more specifically, narrated to each other, the sordid events of this red, white and pink fiasco of a ceremony.

The bride and groom were not in the best of moods and neither were the members of their wedding party.  It was quite obvious to us that the whispered discussions we overheard several times during the hour-long nuptials leaned towards the inevitability of the pair not finishing the ceremony.

So, in our sleepy haste, we decided to leave the event before the end as we felt it was not really the right place to have a great Valentine's Day date.

Everything was going well with our plan as we slipped out of the chapel and scurried, unnoticed to the car - a silver 1986 Porsche 944.  When my sweetheart turned the key in the ignition, the car would not start.  After severals attempts and the starter grinding, the engine finally turned over.  With a huge cloud of gray smoke, we thought we were on our way out of the parking lot - mission accomplished, right?  But this was not how it played out.

Mind you, we were in the parking spot right in front of the main church doors.  When the cloud of smoke cleared, we realized that the doors had swung open and we were front and center of the newly married husband and wife exiting the church.  So much for our stealthy, under-the-radar escape from the wedding from hell.

Having been discovered in the middle of our getaway, we made some lame excuse to the couple that we were not feeling well (that it must have been something we ate) and needed to leave before the reception.  The sad part was, later that evening, we  both succumbed to the ravishes of food poisoning from the "fancy" dinner we had prior to the wedding from hell.  Instant Karma had prevailed.

Many conversations about that fateful day made us come to the realization that Valentine's Day was grossly overrated and that when/if we were to marry, it certainly would not be on Valentine's Day.

We eloped on a crisp, fall morning in October and exchanged our self-written vows at the clerk of the court's office at our local town hall.  A decision we have never once regretted.

Maybe my husband and I are a rare breed.  But, we both see no need to go out to a an expensive dinner, bestow each other with gifts or exchange Hallmark cards on this one day of the year.  Instead, we celebrate our love for each other every day.

Honestly, I think more relationships would last much longer if Valentine's Day was not the only day that couples showed their love for one another.

What's your favorite Valentine's Day to Remember story?

Happy Valentine's Day !

The Comet Cat - Review

The Comet Cat is the sequel to Star Pirate and a wonderful addition to the Ebony's Legacy series.

In the first book, Ebony finds her parents. Her father is the captain of the pirate steamship and her mother is the Northern Star. In this sequel, Ebony dearly misses her parents and is looking for a friend to keep her company.

Ebony wishes upon a two-tailed star and is subsequently visited by Comet Cat (Hale - as in Hale-Bopp). She is then taken on a whimsical journey into the Milk Way where she meets the devious Snake who would like nothing more than to steal Hale's tail so he can be seen better in the night's sky. This event leads to Ebony being visited by her mother, the Northern Star and onto a fantastical story where Ebony is tasked with helping to retrieve Comet Cat's tail.

The ending is truly special and one that warmed my heart.

This is a well-written and beautifully illustrated book for children as well as adults to enjoy. I am looking forward to the next installment in Ebony's Legacy, which is now my new favorite children's book series.

This review can be found on Amazon and Goodreads at the following links.  If you found this review helpful, please click on the "Yes" button at the Amazon link and the "Like" button at the Goodreads link:

Amazon review by S.A. Molteni

Goodreads review by S.A. Molteni

Sliding Past Vertical - Review

Sliding Past Vertical is a story of loves lost, friendships gained and love rediscovered in a well written chronicle of Sarah Cohen's continuous string of bad choices and unlucky breaks.

The story starts with Sarah living in Boston and dealing with her current boyfriend, Jay's, numerous episodes of not being punctual or dependable, along with his need for a stay in rehab to kick his many addictions. If that were not enough, Jay has some "friends" in the illegal drug business who ransack Sarah's apartment looking for a hidden stash that Jay asked Sarah to keep safe for him while in rehab. In the middle of all of this, the store where Sarah works, burns down in a suspicious fire. When it all becomes too much for Sarah to deal with, she calls Emerson - her closest friend and past lover from college in Syracuse.

Emerson has always been there to clean up the messes that Sarah had made in her chaotic, post-collegiate life. Unbeknownst to Sarah, Emerson still carries a torch for her and he would love nothing more than to be closer to her. Sarah takes Emerson up on his offer to move back to Syracuse with him and his roommate, Rashid.

This is where the story takes on a new series of dramatic twists and turns, leaving the reader wanting to know what happens next and who Sarah will ruin in the remainder of this book.

Although the ending was not as happy as I would have liked, it left a feeling of hopefulness that Sarah and Emerson would eventually get back together one day. But it also left doubt that even if they did finally work it all out, their road to "happily ever after" would still have a lot of bumps along the way.

This review can be found on Amazon and Goodreads at the following links.  If you found this review helpful, please click on the "Yes" button at the Amazon link and the "Like" button at the Goodreads link:

Amazon Review by S.A. Molteni

Goodreads Review by S.A. Molteni