Edge Boston- Rough Cut review
July 29th, 2008
I can’t really tell if he liked it or not, but I kinda think so:
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=books&sc2=reviews&sc3=fiction&id=77620
I dunno; whaddya think? When a writer sees adjectives like tepid and stale in a review, isn’t that a bad thing? And yet, the romance-ness of the stories is a selling point for this reviewer. Heh.
It’s really my first “cold” review, meaning I really don’t know this guy at all, nor does he know me. But it gives readers a feel for the book, and an accurate one: Rough Cut is pretty romantic even if few of the stories really have a happily ever after. And many of the stories are linked so that seems to work for people.
It’s always interesting to hear/read readers’ interpretations of things. Keeps the writing life interesting. 
I think that’s pretty decent, actually. He said it could have been tepid and stale, but wasn’t. I’d take that.
And a new reviewer is going to be reaching a new audience, which is always good. Congrats!
Angie
Yeah, I think he’s *cough* just not that good at expressing himself. I’m sure what he meant by upping the ante–your ante seemed pretty high to me!
I agree with dementordelta – and at least the book impressed him enough to write something about it. As indeed it should. By the way, I left a review on Amazon UK, but you may not pick that up on the other side of the ocean.
Oooh, thanks for taking the time to review. I’ll see if it shows up here.
I followed the “Steven & Conrad” stories through Best Gay Love Stories and Best Gay Romance, often thinking that their stories were the best in those collections. I was really happy to find their stories all in one place in Rough Cut. So I’d think it was quite fair to say that romance is a theme through many of the stories — or that you walk that fine line between romance and erotica really well. I like the complexity of your characters, and the way that the relationship development continues through the stories. I’m not sure if that’s what the reviewer meant, but that’s my take on your work.
Thanks for the kind words.
And ooohhh your garden sounds enchanting! I (lazily) collect caladiums myself, I used to have a house with three specimen camellias, Katherine North, I think. Never got the chance to show them because they didn’t bloom ’til Valentine’s Day, and the Florida shows are always in January.
Thanks. It’s a bit too cold here in the western suburbs of Philadelphia to grow camellias, but I did make it to the Camellia Show at Longwood Gardens this year, and the flowers were lovely. I could talk gardening for days, and you (or any other gardeners) are very welcome to comment on my LJ posts, but I don’t want to take up too much of your space here — unless you have posts that are just about gardening.