My Copper Fire blog tour is nearing its final few days. It’s taught me a few things.

Every single reviewer has a different take on the book. One thinks the ending is clever, the next guy says it drops off too fast. One loves the historical information, the next one doesn’t even notice it.

And the characters? Everyone has conflicting opinions! “Louisa is a heroine” to “I never really liked her.” “Robert is so real” to “Robert is so flawed.”

The only character who seemed beloved by all was the least lovable one. You guessed it! Aunt Martha. Maybe it’s because we can all relate to someone in our life who is a little like Aunt Martha.

Actually, there were a few consistent themes: it is a stand alone book, but each reviewer wants to read the first in the series. They read it in a day. (Is that good? Sort of feels like I have taken days to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner and it is gobbled up in twenty minutes.) And they all enjoyed it.

It’s been fun to see how many passionate readers are out there. Interesting blogsites, too!

So the lesson I’ve learned about reviews is that reading is very, very subjective…especially reading fiction.

And as an author, the lesson I’ve learned is the same thing I’ve told people at writing groups:

You have to take writing seriously. But you can’t take yourself too seriously.

Pop over today to visit our new blog for writers: Grit for the Oyster. Happy Tuesday! I’m off to a dentist appointment. Ugh.