deirdre....in my free time

(See end of post for important update 25 July 2014)

I am only posting information that is easily and publicly available.  Links are good as of the time of posting this.  All screen shots are my own.

Michael Alexander Beas

Let's start this one with his Goodreads profile, shall we?

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7744167.Michael_Alexander_Beas?from_search=true

As you can see, Mr. Beas is a Goodreads author as well as member.  Let's have a look at his reviewing stats.

As of 23 July 2014, he has 388 ratings, 351 reviews.  His average rating of 4.90 means he gives very, very few books less than a 5-star rating.

Michael Beas is the #97 top reviewer on Goodreads as of 23 July 2014 when this screenshot was made.

But as stated above, Mr. Beas is also an author.  Here is the Goodreads book page for his fantasy novel Strump:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20464137-strump

His book has 17 ratings, almost all 5-star for an average of 4.88.

The same holds true on Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Strump-Shadows-Michael-Alexander-Beas-ebook/dp/B00I9VBHPO/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406175366&sr=8-1&keywords=Strump

Of the 18 reviews on Amazon.com for Strump, 17 are 5-star, one is 4-star. 

Michael Beas, using his own name, is also a reviewer on Amazon.com

He clearly states his location as Waxhaw, North Carolina, exactly as on the Goodreads profile.

Here is Michael Beas' review of The Galadima Conspiracy by Dan Abubakar, posted on Goodreads on 23 July 2014.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1004763811?book_show_action=false

And for good measure, here is Michael Beas' Amazon review of the same book, also posted on 23 July 2014:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Galadima-Conspiracy-Dan-Abubakar-ebook/product-reviews/B00IFBFG28/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Next stop, fiverr.com for the profile of book review seller "Strump."

http://www.fiverr.com/strump/write-a-verified-review-and-post-on-4-sites?context=adv.cat_5.subcat_111&context_type=rating&funnel=2014072404023190018657280

As you can see, the fiverr profile page incorporates the cover of the book Strump with the author's name clearly visible:  Michael Alexander Beas.

A close-up of the profile avatar is also revealing:

as is the actual profile text for "Strump":

"Strump" is an author.  He will only post 4- and 5-star reviews.

Now let's take a look at some of the testimonials posted to "Strump's" fiverr gigs:

Here's one from "9 days ago."

Here is Michael Beas' Goodreads review of Vito Veii's book

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/990908784?book_show_action=true&page=1

Here is the same book's listing on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Human-Part-Two-Androids-Soul-ebook/dp/B00IICQEDO/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

And Michael Beas' review of that book on Amazon.com:

The Amazon.com review is also dated 14 July 2014.  Nine days ago.

The testimonial from "vitoveii" clearly states that he has utilized the services of "strump" as a provider of reviews. 

Michael Beas review of Skies Like These by  Tess Hilmo, dated 22 July 2014

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1003482434?book_show_action=true&page=1

And the fiverr testimonial from "thilmo" with the cover of Skies Like These avatar

Again, all of this information is readily and easily available.  I've provided all the links.

UPDATE:  25 July 2014  appx 1320 Pacific Daylight Time

Mr. Michael Alexander Beas, who may still be reviewing on Amazon under his new F. S. Jones handle (additional screen shots and links available), is no longer a member, reviewer, or author at Goodreads.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7744167.Michael_Alexander_Beas?from_search=true

Dear Authors:

It has come to my attention that a great many of you are still confused regarding the role readers (aka "amateur reviewers", "goodreads members", "booklikers", "gangster bully trolls") play in the life cycle of your book.  So I've compiled a handy little list to help you remember all the things that readers are not:

• Editors (of any variety, including but not limited to copy or line)
• Proofreaders
• Spell-checkers
• Beta Readers
• Marketers
• Advertisers
• Researchers
• Unpaid laborers of any sort

Readers are consumers.  We're your customers.  Nothing more, nothing less.  We owe you nothing, other than that we obtain your book legally.

"But, Three," I hear some of you protest, "if you aren't writing reviews to tell us how to improve, why do you point out all the grammar and spelling errors?  The logic fails and inconsistent characterization?  Surely that's so authors can improve, right?"

WRONG.

I can only speak for myself, but I give specifics so that other readers will know whether or not the things that bother me will also bother them-- and I suspect other reviewers provide details for similar reasons.  Essentially:  to back up our opinions. 

Reviews that simply state the writing was horrible are useless to me, because different readers make that complaint for different reasons.  Some readers think parentheticals are terrible; I love them.  Some readers hate third person narratives; they're my preference.  Many readers don't notice homophone errors; they drive me crazy.  Some readers love long, complicated sentences which sound lovely but have no meaning; I think such sentences are a scam, and they make me angry.  Without the details, none of us have any way of knowing if that "horrible writing" is really what we would consider horrible.

Similarly, my bar for character stupidity may be set higher or lower than someone else's.  I may be more or less inclined to notice continuity problems.  I may have different areas of knowledge and expertise, making me more or less tolerant of research fails.

In short, the details are there to make my review as helpful as possible to other readers.

And yes, if your book isn't selling and you don't know why, maybe negative reviews will clue you in to what you did wrong.  But that's not their purpose, that's a side-effect.  Bluntly put:  if you are looking to readers--your paying customers--to tell you how to improve, then you've waited too late to learn.  That's the sort of feedback you should get before you publish; when you demand it afterwards it just adds insult to injury:

You mean you not only charged me to read this terrible excuse for a "novel", which should never have been published at all, much less for pay, but you think you deserve free advice on what you should have done differently?

You deserve nothing except to be forgotten and never read again.

Authors have plenty of resources to help them polish their work, and a number of ways to learn their craft.  Take some writing courses.  Attend writing workshops.  Join some writing communities online, and write not for pay, but for practice.  Let other people read and critique your efforts, and listen to what they say with an open mind.  Read.  Then, after you've learned about the differences between one type of narration and another, and what it means to "show not tell", and how to write and punctuate dialogue, go write your novel.  Submit it to an editor and a proofer and a beta.   Polish it.  Do the work it takes to be a successful author. 

Then publish your novel, and ignore the reviews.  They're not for you, and it's too late to be seeking any more advice.

Sincerely,

ThreeRs

Don't think this worked for me ....

Not that this is perfect. There were some continuity issues...

but a HET romance I read and did not throw my ereader?? Yay!

sequel due out Feb 6!!

Wow. This actually took me a couple of days to read. I kept putting it down. 
I put it down because I KNEW it was going to hurt . . . I knew the story arc, predicted the flow of the story . . 
BUT, that did not keep me from enjoying this!! 

Great character development. I felt like I knew these guys. 
The DIALOGUE!!! My God, I kept laughing!!
The dialogue made me feel like a fly on the wall to the conversations. It is that good!!
The secondary characters Bill and Angus! Damn I want their story!! They stole each of the small scenes they were in !!

Professional figure skating. Damn, either the author knows a skater, was a skater, or did damn good research. I happen to know an ex pro figure skater, descriptions are dead on!! The hours, the practice, the Russian coaches, lol! 
The eating. The dieting. Watching every calorie. Yup. Skating and dancing . . . Par for the course. 

The D/s scenes . . . I would have liked more explicit consent. That would have made me happier. I would have liked an actual safe word, not three snaps. That doesn't seem too safe to me when people are in the heat of the moment, but I am hearing challenged so . . . My bias I guess.
The big scene that everyone is talking about. Weirdly, not a big deal to me. . . Certainly NOT for me, but total control is total control. 


So why 4 and not 5 stars . . . I reserve the right to change my mind!!!!

*The predictability of the story arc . . . 
*Ben, Rob's son . . . Ummm...... I will go look up his age, but he is not yet a teenager. I am presently the mom of 2 teens, and 2 more not yet teens....I have spent my entire 20 year career teaching teens . . . .no one speaks like that. I do not mean the sophistication of word selection or the ability to talk to adults. I experience that all the time. FOR ME, it is level of sexual content in his language I actually found concerning. A rational adult would be concerned also. Language and casual sexual content like that is a red flag. I kept waiting to find something dreadfully abusive had happened to Ben. 

This was a good if not great read . . . I plan to read more from this author.

I am looking for a heart pounding thriller read . . . Something to knock my socks off, any thoughts??? Romance not necessary . . . 

This a fluffy fluff sweet squishy read that made me smile until my face hurt.

and i loved every word!

save this for when you need a sweet pick me up read! 

this was a fine read.

just not enough bite to make it stick or memorable for me. 

Most loved this one though, so perhaps it is me???

PNR that plays homage to Die Hard!! This is an action adventure book. Not romance, though romantic elements. The story arc is great.

inventive PNR.

great dialogue.

great character development.