The Key of Kilenya

When two vicious wolves chase fourteen-year-old Jacob Clark down a path from our world into another, his life is forever changed. He has no idea they have been sent by the Lorkon--evil, immortal beings who are jealous of powers he doesn't know he possesses--powers they desire to control.

The inhabitants of the new world desperately need Jacob's help in recovering a magical key that was stolen by the Lorkon and is somehow linked to him. If he helps them, his life will be at risk. But if he chooses not to help them, both our world and theirs will be in danger. The Lorkon will stop at nothing to unleash the power of the key--and Jacob's special abilities.

~By Andrea Pearson

I've been struggling for a while with what to say in this book review because, to be honest, I could not connect with this book. I felt like it was all tell and no show. I know how hard it is to write a book and get published, and for this reason, I hesitate to give a negative review, but I also don't believe in not being honest. Also, we all have different tastes. I seldom believe critics when they say a movie or book isn't that great. I like to see for myself, and I often find I loved something they didn't. I encourage you to do the same here.

Here, I believe, is one of the pitfalls of self publishing. Sometimes we think a book is ready when really, it isn't. That's one of the areas where I struggled with my old publisher. My editor wanted me make drastic changes in my book, and I wasn't ready to do that. For the most part, I thought my book was great the way it was. You want to know what's funny? Since I left that publisher, I've pretty much done what they asked. I say that with a sigh, because I still think I made the right choice in leaving, AND my book is better than ever. (mainly because my rockin' critique group wasn't afraid to tell me the truth) And who knows, if I can't sell that story to another publisher I might self publish too.

My point here is this. If you are going to self publish, you'd better be in a really awesome critique group that will be completely honest with you about your manuscript. You CAN NOT rely on friends and family to tell you the truth. They won't. They don't want to hurt you, or lose your friendship, and we writers are very sensitive about our babies. Plus, most of the time family and friends don't know what to tell you to fix. They aren't editors, they aren't writers, and they don't know the ins and outs of how to write. You need people who know what they're doing to critique your book. THEN . . . when you think it's perfect and ready to print, have those people read it one more time! You'll be glad you did. It is possible to over edit, but in the case of self publishing, it might be more of a plus than a minus.

Here is the purchase link if you'd like to buy The Key of Kilenya.