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Writing is a very personal thing, like any art can be. By putting something out there, one is inviting praise or criticism whether one intends to or not. Negative criticism is tough to see or hear, but it’s part of the business. I have a saying: There are those who create and there are those who judge. I remind myself of this whenever I am the producer of the art or the audience/reader to the art. When I published my first novel, I felt good because received several positive reviews; 4–5-star ratings, good comments and recommendations. Then I got a couple of 1-star reviews, ripping the author (me) to shreds, containing comments like This is the worst book I ever read, and these rattled my self-confidence. This was in 2004 and social media had not really taken off, yet and my skin hadn’t thickened as it has now, but I’ll never forget those feelings. More importantly, I was surprised at how vicious some of the comments seemed to be. I think I was depressed for a week. So from that experience, I learned a couple of things. First, why did I focus so much on the two negative reviews and not the ten good ones? Why did I take the comments so personally? Why did people have to be so mean? As the years went on, I realized that I had unconsciously put so much into my identity as an author, I took the criticism as a personal rebuke. But then why didn’t I feel the opposite for the positive reviews and walk on cloud nine? I realized that at my core, I wanted to please everyone, which is impossible. There is no such thing as the universally praised piece of art and that criticism is only another perspective, not a judgement of the writer entirely. I still need to prepare myself for both positive and negative criticism and remind myself that I put my work out there because I choose to. Because of that, I must expect opinions as they are part of the game, positive or negative. It takes courage to hear criticism on your work, so put it in perspective and learn from it.
The Poseidon Project is an international suspense thriller and the first book in The Herb Society Mysteries series
Molly Halloran and her friends have a secret past. Their bucolic retirement is suddenly upended when Molly’s husband is abducted and held for a steep ransom. Now she, her friends, her tech executive son, Lukas and his Air Force pilot boyfriend must race against the clock and travel halfway around the world to meet the kidnappers’ demands. But when they learn why her husband has been abducted, they realize how high the stakes truly are. Molly and her friends now must face their past in order to save the future. But not only their futures; the world’s.
Enjoy an Excerpt
The Spectrum’s engines roared, providing thrust to power the plane to takeoff speed as it lurched ahead down the runway. The plane’s power was evident as the acceleration force held them in their seats. This plane was designed to go fast, and the cabin was surprisingly quiet. As they hit takeoff speed, Taylor pulled back, and the nose lifted off the ground, followed shortly by the rest of the plane. The landing gear retracted immediately into the fuselage.
The passengers quietly stared out the large porthole windows as the Goose climbed out of Tucson. It was almost dusk, and Lukas spotted thousands of saguaro cacti dotting the sides of mountains that cast distorted shadows that looked like goblins. The exhilarating views captivated everyone. That is, for everyone except Donna, who sat rigid in her seat, hands clenched and her eyes squeezed shut. Lukas shot her a thumbs up in thanks to Donna—already not a fan of flying, but all in for a fifteen-hour flight halfway around the world just to support her friend. The plane’s angle leveled off, and soon Taylor emerged from the cockpit, curious how well the passengers had settled into their home for the next fifteen hours. Linda and Betty had their eyes shut, as Donna distracted herself with her laptop.
Taylor walked back to the crew stateroom for a few minutes. He and Diego had a brief conversation before Diego walked up to the cockpit. Lukas moved toward the back of the plane to set up his inflight internet connection and workspace. Linda and Betty awoke, startled and disoriented after their brief power nap, while Donna adjusted their seats to face each other, a small table between them. Betty remarked that it reminded her of a train.
“How’re you doing?” Taylor asked Lukas.
“Just trying to get set up here. I’ve got a lot of work to do on the way to Dubai. I need to connect with my team in Croatia to get some data and ideas on how I can get this ransom together. It’s still early morning there, so I’ll wait a few hours.”
“Why don’t you get some sleep until then?” Taylor suggested. I’m gonna try to myself. You mind?” Taylor pointed to the empty seat next to Lukas.
“Of course not.” Lukas stood to let him in. Taylor sat and reclined his seat. “I changed my mind. I’ll let the kids do the first leg, then I’ll replace one of them, and we rotate like that.”
Lukas saw that his mom and her friends were already starting to doze off, no doubt tired from the frenetic day. “Why don’t you sleep with me?” Taylor said, and then caught himself. “I mean not with me but next to me—you know what I mean. You make me all tongue-tied, Dr. Halloran.”
“Sure, I could use a nap. I’m relieved we’re finally on our way.” Lukas reclined his seat to the same angle as Taylor’s. The cabin was mostly dark, except for the LED accent lights that glowed a cool blue.
Taylor reached out and touched Lukas’ hand. “Is this okay?” He then intertwined his fingers with Lukas’. “This is better than okay. Sleep tight.” Lukas raised their joined hands and kissed the back of Taylor’s. Pretty soon, their hands were on each other’s thighs.
Heat rose from Taylor’s athletic legs.
Despite the sadness, stress, and emotion of this week, Lukas appreciated the kind soul sleeping next to him. As he was resting, Lukas suddenly felt a rush of panic. What am I doing? Random memories of Drew raced through his head as he tried to calm himself. He tried to rationalize his thoughts. Yes, I just met this guy. Yes, I promised myself I’d never get hurt again. But he’s such a nice man. What if he’s psycho? He pulled his hand away from Taylor and eventually calmed his mind and drifted off to sleep. When Lukas woke up, he noticed his mother sitting with her eyes open, staring at nothing, either deep in thought or terrified of something. Lukas walked over to her. “Ma, are you doing okay?”
“I think I’m okay. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“I know. This has got to be tough for you...” “Honey, I’m not talking about your father. Of course, I’m concerned about him, but it’s only a matter of time until we can see him, hopefully.”
About the Author:
Podojil currently resides in Northeast Ohio with his husband and three sons. He travels extensively and writes about his experiences on his website www.ewpodojil.com.
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Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting book.
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