Guest Blog: Author of Rise from Darkness, Ciara Knight - To Read or Not to Read

To read or not to read…

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to Suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them?

~William Shakespere’s Hamlet

This speech popped into my head the first time I read a review for one of my books. I’d memorized it back as a teenager for an acting class and decide to look up what these lines truly meant.

According to Wikipedia this passage means: whether it is better to be Stoically passive to life's troubles or heroically active against them.

I found this intriguing. Why did this pop into my head? Okay, besides the fact strange things are constantly popping into my head. I think it haunted me because I’ve seen discussions go south on Goodreads and Amazon between authors and readers, something I truly don’t want to be involved in. I believe every reader is entitled to their opinion, and would never argue against that. Does that mean I’m stoically passive? Hmm…no I don’t think so, but would arguing make me heroically active? No.

As an author, how should I approach reviews that rip my work of art to pieces but remain heroically active? I asked a few authors how they handle less than stellar reviews and they told me that they never read the reviews. Pondering that for a moment, I decided I couldn’t do that. I’m way too curious, but I wouldn’t read them just to torture myself. No, I’d learn from them just like I learn from my critique partners. Since this is all part of the journey, how can I pass an opportunity to learn everything I can to better my craft?

The only difficult part of this is when I have a question about the review. Do I ever ask, or is that a line that should never be crossed? If you are an author, have you ever asked a reviewer why they wrote something? If you are a reader, would this offend you?

Let’s help each other be heroically active. J

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Rise From Darkness

Book One: Battle of the Souls

Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press

Young Adult Paranormal

 Blurb:

Alexander Lorre gives new meaning to the term “tormented teen”. He’s a newly fallen angel, which means he has the self-control of a three-year-old, the hormones of a teenager and the strength of an angel. When he rescues Gaby Moore from drowning, the chemistry between them is undeniable. With a local demon threatening Gaby’s life, he struggles to find a balance between remaining close enough to protect her but distant enough to control his desires.

As danger draws closer, Gaby uncovers shattering secrets that will lead to an ultimate choice. Will she fight alongside her father, an earthbound hunter killing fallen angels and demons, give into the demon blood coursing through her veins and join the demon world, or save the man she loves from both? The first two choices damn her, but the last one could destroy them all.

About The Author:

Ciara Knight always had a passion for storytelling. At an early age, she wrote several short stories and poems, and in college she started work on her first novel. It wasn’t until late 2008 that she returned to her true passion of writing. Over the past few years she has penned five novels and joined several professional writing organizations to better her craft.

When not writing, she enjoys reading all types of fiction. Some great literary influences in her life include Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Francine Rivers and J K Rowling.

Ciara is happily married and enjoys family time. She has learned to embrace chaos, which is a requirement when raising three boys, and utilizes the insanity to create stories not of this world including, Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, and Young Adult Dystopian.

Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She’s backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages in China, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier in Alaska.

Website: http://www.ciaraknight.com/
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/Ciaraknightwrites
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ciaratknight