Winter Wonderland

Totally off topic, but wow!  Here in Massachusetts, we got slammed with snow over the weekend.  First, on Thursday, we got about 3 inches of the white stuff.  And it DIDN'T melt!!!   Then Saturday afternoon, it began to snow, snow, snow.  We were at the last horse show of the season and it was the first time I've ever heard the organist play "Let It Snow" during a show.  Eee-gads - it came down heavy!  Our usual 50 minute ride home from the show took 2 hours.  There were cars off the road everywhere.  The power went out a few hours later and as of now (Monday afternoon), it's still not on.  Fortunately, we have two big generators for our property so we're all set.  Others around us are not so lucky.  Lines at gas stations (those that are actually open) are loooooong.  Power lines are down everywhere.  The grocery store was on generator power, with about 50% of their lights off, food going bad fast.  What an odd situation here in New England.  Here's hoping you're in a warmer, less snow-infested place.

It's in the 40s today so hopefully the snow will melt soon.  Just in time for winter to start in earnest.

This is after Thursday's light snow.  Add 2 feet on top of this!

Monday Morning Introductions

Check out the great selection of books that came in for review this week!  Reviews will be posted to our site, Feathered Quill, shortly.

















A Slave in the White House Paul Jennings was born into slavery on the plantation of James and Dolley Madison in Virginia, later becoming part of the Madison household staff at the White House. Once finally emancipated by Senator Daniel Webster later in life, he would give an aged and impoverished Dolley Madison, his former owner, money from his own pocket, write the first White House memoir, and see his sons fight with the Union Army in the Civil War. He died a free man in northwest Washington at 75. Based on correspondence, legal documents, and journal entries rarely seen before, this amazing portrait of the times reveals the mores and attitudes toward slavery of the nineteenth century, and sheds new light on famous characters such as James Madison, who believed the white and black populations could not coexist as equals; French General Lafayette who was appalled by this idea; Dolley Madison, who ruthlessly sold Paul after her husband's death; and many other since forgotten slaves, abolitionists, and civil right activists.

The Door to Far-Myst: The Adventures of Rupert Starbright Rupert Dullz isn't very happy. His grandmother's coffus is getting worse, school is boring and there's nothing to do on his days off but rake up endless piles of leaves. Everything in Graysland is, well, gray, and every day is just like the one before it, and the one before that. That is, until a strangely dressed man named Pie O'Sky swoops out of nowhere in his multicolored bagoon and offers a special reward to whoever can open his mysterious door. When Rupert succeeds, he's thrilled when Pie O'Sky carries him beyond it to the brilliantly colored land of Far-Myst. Adventure calls, and Rupert discovers a wonderful world full of something he's never heard of before--imagination. But Far-Myst is in danger, and it may be that only Rupert has the power to save it. Is he the one whose imagination is powerful enough to stop the evil that is destroying the beautiful world beyond the door?

The Thorn and the Blossom: A Two-Sided Love Story One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever. When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn’t know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn’t know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself...

More Thoughts on Amazon & Reviews

Here's a site that has interesting information on Amazon and their review policies.

The Big River Review.com

Amazon Customer Service

This has been circling around the web...

It is nice to put a face to a voice.

We've all talked to this guy...At Last....A Picture of Him.



Mujibar was trying to get a job in India with Amazon’s tech center, which is co-located with Microsoft’s tech center. 

The Personnel Manager said, 'Mujibar, you have passed all the tests, except one. Unless you pass it , you cannot qualify for this job.'

Mujibar said, 'I am ready.'

The manager said, 'Make a sentence using the words Yellow, Pink, and Green .'

Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, 'Mister manager, I am ready.'

The manager said, 'Go ahead.'

Mujibar said, 'The telephone goes green, green,
and I pink it up, and say, Yellow, this is Mujibar.'

Mujibar now works at the Amazon call center.

No doubt you have spoken to him.

Amazon Removes Reviews, Then Breaks Their Own Rules

Earlier this year, Amazon, for reasons only known to them, revamped their review guidelines.  Once they did that, they began removing reviews at a rapid rate, closing accounts of many very good, legitimate review sites.  We at Feathered Quill watched as those around us were removed from Amazon and then one day, we too, received the form letter, signed by a first name, last initial no-name at Amazon saying we'd violated their review guidelines and our reviews were removed.  I have been silent about this for several months but have come to realize that with Amazon's blatant disregard for their own rules, I can be silent no longer.

Here's the no-name form letter we received:

>>Hello,

We found your reviews to be in violation of our guidelines and have removed them. For more information, see our Conditions of Use:

http://www.amazon.com/review/guidelines/review-guidelines.html

Because of these violations, we’ve removed your reviewing privileges from your account.

Thanks for your understanding in this matter.

Best regards,

Betsy J.
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
http://www.amazon.com/your-account

When I replied to the email, I got this annoying response:

>>We didn't receive the e-mail message below because it was directed to an e-mail address that can't accept incoming messages.

Wow, what are they hiding from?  First, no real names are used, then no ability to reply to their emails?  But don't forget - "Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company." 

Authors who contacted Amazon directly about their missing reviews (posted by FQ) were told that they (Amazon) didn't know why the reviews were removed and that FQ must have removed them.  Really? Either one department at Amazon doesn't know what another department is doing, or they're out and out lying.  Which is it, Amazon?

 

When Amazon first changed their review guidelines (I'm not sure how many times they changed them, I know of at least two times this year), they added a stipulation that reviews that were paid for were not to be posted.  Amazon apparently believes that if reviews are paid for, they are somehow suspect.  Afterall, how can one give an honest review if they are receiving money in exchange for a review?  I would argue that many sites do just that and this helps small publishers, self-publishers, and others who would otherwise be overlooked, a chance to get noticed.

So, apparently this is the rule that we've violated.  My first question to Amazon is - why didn't you grandfather in reviews that were posted BEFORE your rule change???  At the very least, you could have maintained some sense of credibility by doing this (and angered a lot less authors!).

Okay, so it's Amazon's site, they can make the rules.  I can accept that.  But if they're enforcing these rules, then they need to enforce them universally, to ALL their reviewers.  Spend a little time at their site and it's easy to find loads of reviewers who don't play by the rules.  Here's a Forbes article about a top reviewer (I believe he's now in the top ten) who openly admits to taking money for his reviews. When this was pointed out to Amazon, they said they'd have the reviewer remove mention of taking money for reviews from his profile.  What happened to the "you've violated our rules/your reviews are gone" action they've taken on others?  Guess Amazon plays favorites.

Getting back to the subject of paid reviews, I maintain that it is possible to get an honest paid review.  And, it seems that Amazon agrees, but only if it benefits them.  Yes, Amazon is PROMOTING PAID REVIEWS! And yes, I was shouting.  Check out the links below - understand that CreateSpace is an Amazon owned company:

https://www.createspace.com/Services/ClarionReview.jsp

https://www.createspace.com/Services/KirkusIndieReview.jsp

I'm guessing that Amazon has reached some sort of agreement (read $$$) with Kirkus & Clarion, otherwise they wouldn't be promoting these paid review packages on their site. And check out the price of a review!  Oh, but if you go through Amazon to purchase the review you'll get a discount.  Hmmmm.... seems to me Amazon thinks it's okay to pay for a review.  While it's not clear if they get posted to Amazon, they are still promoting paid reviews. Oh, and did I mention that "KirkusIndieReview" is not the same as Kirkus?  It seems that they separate the self-pub/paid reviews from the free/main-stream reviews.  They'll take your money but don't believe your book deserves the same attention as those published by the big boys.

Want more?   Check out this NYTimes Article, that in part, tells about a freelance writer who was paid $10/review by Amazon:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/technology/finding-fake-reviews-online.html

There's also a long list of Amazon controversies on Wikipedia which include this gem:

>>By June 2011, Amazon itself had moved into the publishing business and begun to solicit positive reviews from established authors in exchange for increased promotion of their own books and upcoming projects.^[44]

Finally, there's also a little thing called the FTC which Amazon seems to ignore, particularly FTC Guideline 16 CFR Part 255 (effective December 1, 2009).  This little rule (but come on, Amazon doesn't play by the rules, they ignore them) basically says any product (and this includes books) received in exchange for a review,  is considered payment for the review.  Therefore, an author/publisher/publicist can't get a "free" review unless the reviewer purchased the book or received it as a gift.  So all those reviewers who are sent free products/books by publishers to review on Amazon are violating this FTC rule AND being paid, in the eyes of the Government.  Shouldn't you ban them too, Amazon?

We made sure our site was in compliance with this FTC rule, and added an FTC statement to the bottom of every page on our site.  Amazon has a large group of "special" reviewers known as "Vine Reviewers" (FQ was once a Vine reviewer).  These reviewers get products free in exchange for reviews on a regular basis (typically two newsletters are sent each month, for a total of four free products - books, food, electronics, pretty much anything available on Amazon.)  The company producing/promoting the product pays a fee to Amazon for the privelage of having their product reviewed.  Where are the FTC notations on these reviews????

This doesn't even touch on the issue of authors posting reviews of their own books, friends posting reviews (and it's frequently obvious that they haven't even read the book), those who post reviews for sites under their own accounts/names to avoid using the site's name, the public relations companies that hire (pay for) reviewers to post (check out that Wikipedia article), and the list goes on.  The only way I see Amazon dealing with this is to only allow reviews by people who purchased THAT product directly FROM Amazon. But then what would they do with Harriet Klausner???  By the way,  if you need a laugh, here's a great blog dedicated to her:

The Harriet Klausner Appreciation Society

Can you tell that I'm angry?  Yes, I am!  This hurts us, it hurts Amazon, and most importantly, it hurts the authors who are simply trying to promote their books.  If you're angry too, here are the addresses at Amazon to email:

jeff@amazon.com (Jeff Bezos)

He is the CEO of Amazon - you obviously won't get Bezos but I've been told by a former employee of Amazon that these letters do get noticed.

community-help@amazon.com

This is the main customer service email address - maybe if we flood them with emails they'll get the idea.

Monday Morning Introductions

Here's what came in for review this week.  Check out the great selection and then stop by Feathered Quill in a few weeks to read the reviews.

Red, White, and Boom Special Agent Jeb Foster and the Rapid Intervention Team he leads are recruited to help the Russians retrieve 500 tons of stolen weapons-grade nuclear material. Although the United States and other countries were assisting the Russians to secure these stockpiles, many were known to be vulnerable. When Jeb learns that not one, but multiple thefts have taken place from supposedly secure locations, he and the team go to secret cities where few outsiders have ever set foot. Sabotage leaves him stranded in the Arctic wilderness, and as time is running short, Jeb fears the thieves will escape Russia with the stolen nuclear material. The body count of those who could have provided valuable information steadily mounts, making his task all the more difficult. He knows that if the stolen material passes into the hands of the terrorists, who likely contracted for its theft, it will be for the sole purpose of delivering a devastating blow to several major American cities.

Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime

Ari the Engineer and the Hanukkah Mishap

Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles

Author Interview with Helena P. Schrader

Today we're talking with Helena P. Schrader, author of Leonidas of Sparta: A Peerless Peer


FQ: The research for this series must have taken forever. Do you find Ancient History intriguing?


I do indeed. I think what fascinates me most is how relevant it still is. I remember, for example, reading an ancient writer complain about how youth "nowadays" are not well educated and are all rude. Or, more important: the treatment and status of Athenian women was appallingly similar to the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia today. When we see that certain aspects of human behavior have not changed in 2,500 years, I believe, we can assess what is happening in our own age more effectively. We can separate the impact of fashion and technology from fundamental human characteristics and focus on the essence of human nature.

Leonidas

FQ: You seem to have a great liking for Greek/Spartan history. What sparked your interest in this subject?


Good question! It was learning about the comparatively high status of Spartan women compared to women in the rest of the Greece. Athenian women lived in a viciously misogynous society, while Spartan women did not. But popular literature about Sparta focused on Sparta as a militaristic society in which youth were subjected to institutionalized pederasty. Now, psychologists can tell you that the victims of pederasty grow up to be misogynous men, which would have fit perfectly for Athens, but singularly and emphatically did not describe Sparta. So there was an obvious and serious disconnect between the historical record and the popular image of Sparta on this one point. This made me want to learn more about Sparta. The more I researched, the more I realized that the entire popular image of Sparta was seriously distorted. I was particularly lucky to run across works by the Dutch archeologist Conrad M. Stibbe very early in my research. His brilliant book Das Andere Sparta focused on the archaic period and meticuloulsy documented the high level of Spartan artistic achievement, its sculpture, bronze-works, architecture and music. Ancient societies weren't static, you know. Sparta existed as an independent city-state for roughly 700 years. I soon realized that modern perceptions of Sparta were largely formed by images and information that originated with Sparta's enemies and dated from the period of Sparta's decline, even from the Roman period, when Sparta was decadent and corrupted. On top of that there were all these myths and cartoon-like exaggerations of Spartan society. I'm a bit of a radical, or maybe I simply have a quixotic nature; I like fighting against misrepresentations and inaccuracies, so I started writing books that would depict Sparta as it was in its age of glory, the 6th century BC. I based my depictions of Sparta on serious academic literature, the archeological record, and -- this is most important -- on Herodotus, Xenophon, and Pausanias.

Lacadaemon

FQ: Have you traveled to the areas that you write about?


Absolutely! I find it very difficult to write about places I have not been. As soon as I started to research ancient Sparta, I travelled to the Peloponnese. What a mind-bending experience! It was as much the trip to the region that was once ancient Lacedaemon as the research that made me completely revise my own pre-conceived ideas about Sparta. Lacedaemon is not at all harsh, bleak or infertile. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. (And don't forget I'm a Foreign Service Officer; I have lived in Japan, Brazil, England, Germany, Norway, and Nigeria. I've travelled to South Africa, Egypt, across Latin America and througout Europe.) I have walked across fields in Lacedaemon and counted 33 different types of blooming wild-flowers within 500 paces. You can look through the palm trees up to snow-capped peaks. Drinking water gushes out of the mountain springs and cascades over the limestone beds of creeks. In short, Lacedaemon is and was beautiful and fertile -- as ancient historians well knew. The Spartans were surrounded by beauty and had everything necessary for wealth in an ancient society. I'm convinced this had an impact on their mentality and life-style. Anyone interested in what Sparta would have looked like in the age of Leonidas can check my blog SpartaReconsidered.blogspot.com on which I've posted several entries about the natural wealth and beauty of Lacedaemon. I've also published an article on what Sparta would have looked like in the academic journal Sparta: Journal of Ancient Spartan and Greek History.


FQ: Do you have other hobbies that brought you to writing historical/fiction?

Taygetos

I trace my interest in history and historical fiction to a visit to the Colossium in Rome at the age of four. My mother and sisters were taking the proper tour, but assuming a four-year-old would get bored, my father took me around himself. He said, "This is where they fed the Christians to the lions." My four-year-old imagination was instantly piqued. I looked around at everything with wide-eyed fascination, trying to image just where the Christians had hid and where the lions had lurked. Ever since, whenever I visit a historical site I try to picture the people living/working/fighting there. I was fortunate to live in England while still a teenager, and that, of course, gave me many, many opportunities to visit different kinds of fascinating and significant historical venues. English Heritage does an absolutely splendid job of providing excellent, accurate information and yet making historical sites come to life with tournaments, costumed narrators, opportunities to wear armor or handle medieval swords etc. etc. Visiting historical sites made me imagine life in other periods -- and that led automatically to making up stories set in these places and then writing those stories down. Meanwhile, I studied history, earning my PhD with a biographical dissertation on General Friedrich Olbricht, the originator of the Valkyrie plot against Hitler. As a historian, historical accuracy is as important to me as a good, compelling story.


FQ: I always ask this question. Do you have any pets? Do they keep you company while you write?


I dearly wish I had pets. However, as a Foreign Service Officer, moving every two to three years, my husband and I felt it would be unfair to the pets -- and on some assignments dangerous for them as well. The very hardest part of joining the Foreign Service was selling my 10 year old Chestnut gelding, Wapiti. I hope to have at least a cat and a dog when I retire (to Lacedaemon, by the way.)


FQ: I am an eager reader of WWII history. I find that you have written numerous books in that genre. What made you interested enough to write these novels?


I remember stumbling upon a reference to the German Resistance to Hitler while I was getting a Masters Degree in Diplomacy and International Commerce at the Patterson School, University of Kentucky. I had been raised on stories of the Danish Resistance (my grandfather was Danish) and I was flabbergasted to learn there had been a German Resistance. I asked my professor about it, and he pointed me to several good books on the topic. It fascinated me so much -- this idea of fighting not a foreign invader but your own government out of ethical and moral conviction -- that I read all I could in English. But that wasn't very much, so I went to Germany to learn German. There I met several survivors and relatives of the German Resistance who encouraged me to write about the German Resistance for the American audience. Meanwhile, however, I enrolled in the PhD program at the University of Hamburg, and earned my PhD with a ground-breaking dissertation on General Friedrich Olbricht. (Olbricht was an opponent of Hitler before he came to power, and involved in plots to remove him from 1938 onwards. He developed Valkyrie as a coup instrument in early 1942. He recruited Stauffenberg for the military resistance in 1943, and he was the first man to be executed on July 20, 1944. My dissertation was published in German by the renouned German academic publisher Bouvier Verlag in 1993, a second edition came out in 1994. I wrote an English biography of Olbricht, published by Haynes Publishing in the UK, 2009.)


FQ: I would love to read An Obsolete Honor. I don’t know how I missed it. Could you tell us a little about the research for this book?

Author Helena P. Schrader

The research for An Obsolete Honor and for my dissertation were closely intermingled. I was working on both at the same time. I conducted literally hundreds of interviews with survivors of Nazi Germany including Nina Countess Stauffenberg, the widow of Claus Stauffenberg (made famous by Tom Cruise's film, Valkyrie), Ludwig Baron von Hammerstein, Philipp Baron von Boeselager, Axel Baron von dem Bussche -- one of the would-be assassins -- and many more. The novel draws on all these real stories and roughly ten years of research which included reading personal memoirs and letters as well as the Gestaop transcripts of torture. It is fiction because I amalgamated and pruned and merged individual accounts to create a coherent story, but the book is authentic. No historical figure portrayed in the novel is every anyplace he could not have been, nor does he/she say anything at odds with the historical record. The manuscript was edited, by the way, by Baroness von Hammerstein, a survivor of the period and wife of one of the minor figures in the military resistance.


For all that, if you will allow me, I'd like to note that I personally believe my best work is my Battle of Britain novel. This was first published in 2008 under the title Chasing the Wind. By chance it fell into the hands one of the few surviving RAF aces of the Battle, Wing Commander Bob Doe. A few weeks later, I received a hand-written letter in which he said my novel was "the best book ever" on the Battle of Britain and that it "got it smack on the way it was for us fighter pilots." As a historian, no compliment could have been greater, and it is because of this endorsement that I strongly recommend Chasing the Wind -- or the newly released Kindle edition under the title Where Eagles Never Flew to any readers interested in World War Two.


Thank you for the opportunity to share these experiences and thoughts with your readers.


To learn more about Leonidas of Sparta: A Peerless Peer please read the review at: Feathered Quill Book Reviews.