New review of THE FACE IN THE DOOR

Canadian writer and columnist Clayton Bye has posted a very nice review of my short-story collection THE FACE IN THE DOOR And Other Stories...

Review quote:
"All the pieces have some element of horror, but I also found Yngve writes with a sort of tongue-in-cheek, understated sense of humour. This takes the edge off endings which rarely turn out well and also allows the readers some breathing room to think about the ideas we're being offered."

Bye's review appears on the Gotta Write Network, one of the few sites I know that actually reviews Print-On-Demand books. My book was published as an e-book and then also self-published in paperback format through CafePress, so it's hard to classify as either category -- but he received a paperback review copy.

The CafePress edition of THE FACE IN THE DOOR is still for sale at CafePress, at the outrageous price of $19.99. The text is in large print, suitable for nearsighted readers (like me).

On Writer Feuds

Writers are not necessarily friendly with other writers all the time. What with the competition for sales and prizes, some good-natured professional rivalry is to be expected.

If you write fiction for an extended period of time (up to a decade or more), it is almost certain that at some point in the future, some other writer will pick a fight with you. Not a REAL fistfight, that is, but with words.

So writers get into feuds with each other. The examples are many, all of them embarrassing. Why squabble when the stakes are so small? Why do great minds succumb to petty impulses and get involved in long, bitter feuds -- often over tablescraps?

When things go really wrong, writers sue each other. The authors of HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL sued Dan Brown for allegedly stealing ideas from them. The poor fools lost the case and a great deal of the profits they had earned as a direct consequence of THE DA VINCI CODE helping sales of their book.

Writer feuds are mainly about pride, not money -- and thus they extend beyond the grave! When a writer dies, especially a successful one, jealous rivals will come out and badmouth his/her memory. When a long-dead writer receives some public honor, a jealous colleague will dish out some dirt on the dead rival, in the vain hope that it tarnishes the glory.

There is no law stating that you must treat all other writers' work with reverence, no matter what -- after all, if you make your writings public, you do give others license to criticize.

But avoid feuds. They get too personal, and suck creative energy out of your life that should have been used for better things. If another writer tries to pick a fight with you, simply ignore him. Don't get mad! It's not worth it.

If you have resentments and grudges, you can always channel them into your fiction...
;-)

Homepage Update, Dec. 3, 2006

The homepage update this weekend contains:

- Chapter 15 of the satirical serial A.R.Yngve's READING BOOK.

-Chapter 10 of the sci-fi spoof "The MSTing Of DARC AGES".

Enjoy... :)