Tag: Fiction

  • Evelyn Reads Eyes on the Road

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Eyes on the Road is the first book of The Winding Road series, a coming of age story co-authored by Kerri Davidson and Mark Gelinas. This novel is written from the point of view of two characters, both of whom are seeking an escape from their post high school lives.

    Eyes on the Road by Kerri Davidson and Mark Gelinas
    Eyes on the Road by Kerri Davidson and Mark Gelinas

    This story begins in a small town in Atlantic Canada and ends in the comparative metropolis of Seattle. Setting the story in an era where Grunge and Alternative bands ruled the hearts and minds of Generation X gave this reader an eerie sense of déjà vu.

    Having lived through this time, the authors’ choice of theme and time period felt a bit like a drive down memory lane. Parents of teens from the mid-nineties may gain a new understanding of their children’s mindset. Alternatively, for those born into such a heavily interconnected world, the story dredged up challenges and quirks of an era that is fast fading from our collective memories.

    This is a quick read that gives the reader a unique perspective on two young adults. Their interactions with the world and one another permit them to gain a fresh outlook and come out better for it. The story provides a satisfying ending that leaves enough of an opening to entice you to read further into the series.


  • A Brief Reprieve

    In the week since the initial review of The Grand Project was completed, I finished reading The Martian and caught up on some television.  In other words, I have spare cycles until the review process begins anew.

    My review began on 16 August 15 and was finished 14 January 16.  This process took six months to accomplish and 4039 corrections were logged.  This means there were 1132 additional corrections made after the 71% mark was noted in Slow and Steady on 17 November 15.

    At that time, there were 41 modifications done for each percent of the manuscript reviewed.  The last 29% saw that number drop to 39 corrections while the global average settled in at 40 corrections.  Overall, the number remained consistent and that is not a bad thing.

    If my progress on The Grand Project follows a similar path to the The Portrait then I expect numbers to drop for the next revision.  My final review of The Portrait yielded less than 50 changes for the entire manuscript.

    During my next review process, I will keep statistics for every chapter.  That should yield some very interesting results!  For now, there are a few more readings on my to-do list to accomplish before I start again!


  • Slow and Steady

    For the past several months, I have been doing an initial review of The Grand.  It has been a long process, marred by delays as other projects and commitments crop up.  Tonight, I managed to complete my review of The Van Helsing Paradox, available on Wattpad and brings my overall review completion to 71% of the manuscript.

    This chapter like the novel strays from the style used in The Portrait.  In my previous work chapters were small.  Designed to be quick reads, chapters within The Portrait are on average 3 pages of single-spaced writing.

    The Van Helsing Paradox stands alone as 16% of the overall manuscript and is made up of over 10,000 words.  This chapter also features a lot of dialogue, which was not prevalent in The Portrait.

    The review process has remained the same.   For now, I have 2907 separate corrections applied to the manuscript.  These vary in scope and includes single word changes, to spacing corrections and the addition of new paragraphs.

    In other words, there are 41 modifications done for each percent or 1.5 pages.  This seems like a lot, but this improves dramatically when I do my second review, followed by a third and so on.  I follow an iterative review process then introduce a pause to gain a change in perspective.

    Stay tuned!  There are still 3 chapters and a lexicon left.


Search