It is not uncommon for authors to ask if they might send me their books to review. Robert Fate (Robert Fate Bealmear) was one such author.
His first book, "Baby Shark," sounded interesting, so I agreed, read it, enjoyed it, reviewed and sent him an email with a copy. Robert thanked me and asked whether he could send me his second book, "Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues". Once again, I agreed. I found I liked book two even more than the first. Again, I sent Bob a copy of my review.
Bob then sent me book three, "Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption." With book three, I had an issue with a omission author's sometimes make. They assume the reader has read the previous books in the series, so they neglect to establish the back story of the characters and their relationships. Still, it was a good book and I reviewed it as such, but not as highly as the others. I also emailed Bob, and explained my issue to him.
Bob had always been very gracious in our communications, and never more so than now. Although I was afraid he'd be upset with my comments, the reverse was true. He agreed with me! I've retained his email all this time:
LJ - Thank you for your kind review. You are so correct in calling me to task for the lack of back story. The excuse I would use would be that I had spent too much time marketing Beaumont, got behind on my writing schedule, and had to give up High Plains before I was truthfully finished in order to meet my publisher's schedule.
But, the truth is, and we both know it, I neglected to properly add back story, regardless of my publisher's schedule. It will be these gaffs that will separate me from the more experienced writers until I get my ducks in a row. You would have thought by book three... but, there you are.
I am presently at work on Baby Shark's Jugglers At The Border and am making a conscious effort to get the relationships and back story included without making it seem an effort. We'll see if I am successful.
In the meantime, I appreciate you keeping me honest and for doing it in such a classy manner. You're a good buddy, indeed.
Warmest best regards, Bob
However, the nicest gift of all came when he sent me the ARC for his 4th book, "Baby Shark's Jugglers at the Border." The inscription made me laugh, which I told him. Not only that, but when I reviewed it, I felt it was his best book to date.
Sadly, we've lost touch. His next book was a standalone and I move on to reading other things.Last night, I downloaded the first two chapters of book five, "Baby Shark's Showdown at Chigger Flats". Everything I originally enjoyed about Bob's writing was there, and more.At some point very soon, I shall have to read this latest book, and see whether we can reconnect. No matter what, I enjoyed our emails and, albeit virtually, knowing such a lovely, and talented, author.
If you like books with great characters, including one very strong female, high action and set in 1960's Texas, you just might want to add Robert Fate to your reading list. Just sayin'.
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