The Trouble With Being God

Author Praise for The Trouble With Being God (Authonomy)

Posted by William under book

As part of my experiment to self-publish and take advantage of all the different forms of distribution that are available with the Internet, I have made The Trouble With Being God available on Harper Collins social media experiment, Authonomy.com.

The site, which they refer to as a digital slush pile, is basically a social network where aspiring authors can upload their works and then receive feedback from other authors and readers.  Harper Collins has designed it as a way for them to sort out and find new talent, using a community approach to the agent/editor process, and many writers have posted their work there in the hopes of getting signed by Harper Collins.

Others, like myself, have made their work available to receive insight from other authors from a social network setting, so they can either apply this feedback to their book (a group edit process, much like what I did by putting The Trouble With Being God up for free in an early draft, asking for reader feedback as my editors), or so they can use this feedback to just simply become better writers.

Since The Trouble With Being God is currently considered to be a completed work, and is self-published, my main interest is in receiving feedback so I can apply that feedback to the writing of my next novel, The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks. Still, I have received some very positive feedback and comments from other authors regarding The Trouble With Being God, and I thought it fitting to share these comments with my readers.

And so, a few comments from fellow authors regarding The Trouble With Being God as posted on Authonomy.com.

William, this is great stuff. Really. I was going to read 5 chapters but am now on chapter 12. I just couldn’t leave it. The opening chapter is very powerful, with sparse, but sharp, descriptive writing. Just Perfect. And I loved the short chapter intros. I am not an experienced enough writer to comment on grammar etc. and anyway I found nothing that tripped me up. As a reader this is very exciting. Your introduction of the characters works well and your desciptive writing is fantastic. A very well written book that goes onto my rotating bookshelf. Great Stuff and I know that this would sell well when it’s published. (wallynosox)

I’d thought at first the (sometimes very) short chapters would lead to a rather broken, disrupted journey, but the effect is to up the pace considerably and up what would be the page-turner factor if we had pages to turn on this screen. You, sir, are a sick but creative individual and there’s a remarkable and intimidating power in your writing. (Simon A Forward)

Now, where did I put my razor…?” So gripping, so intense, so vivid - even when the line is said out of context of the gore and violence, I am so conditioned, so involved, that I find my own heart skip a beat. The way you link the opening to Steven’s dream in 10, is a clever move. The prologue reminds me of the way James Herbert placed his opening in “Moon”, and your writing is no less talented.

There is a dark captivation in the opening that means even the vivid description used does not feel like overkill (if you’ll pardon the pun). Often in horror, I find less is more, and atmosphere can be more persuasive than the guts and glory approach. But you have bravely decided to go straight for the jugular from the go (deliberate pun this time), and it works well. You bring the story back down again, and I am drawn quickly into the plot and the tale surrounding Steven. He seems to have a hidden edge to him - a darkness that underlies his personality.

There is a lovely fast pace to this - are your actual chapters clipped in the finished book, or is it just to help with the speed of reading? Either way, it works, and the draw to move on hits you constantly. I only stop because I need to get on with other things, but I love this. The violence, the aggression, the heart stopping guts and gore of it. The spaces between the scenes of horror, and the way you spin the plot fill these gaps, are strong and direct, and I would love so much for a book like this to get picked up.  (Jed Sparks)

So I humbly suggest you buy a copy for yourself to see what all the fuss is about