Ferryman is out and about (*coughfreeifyouSubscribecough*), which means it’s time to write something new. Hey, how about that book I’ve been writing for TWELVE FREAKING YEARS?!

Sadly, it still needs work. Unfortunately, I don’t know how. It’s gotten some good praise, but my frequent reading habits make me wonder if it’s too same-old, so I need some honest eyes to look at it.

And what better place to find criticism than the internet?

My fantasy novel, Rise, needs an honest reader to tell me what’s stupid, lame, or way-too-familiar about it. I’ve already heard some positives, but I need to know the story’s weaknesses so I can improve it.

What I need:
–Fair, constructive criticism
–What plot threads fall flat?
–Where did you lose interest and why?
–What have you seen a million times and don’t want to see again?
–Where did you HOPE the story would go, but didn’t?
–People who can read the story and get back to me by the end of March.

What I DON’T need:
–Grammar/formatting corrections. That will come later.
–Small issues like specific lines or phrases. I’m looking at larger themes.
–Technical things like “show don’t tell,” unless is a massive, recurring problem. Otherwise, it can be fixed once I have the basic structure down.
–Jerks. The title is a joke. I want improvement, not belittlement.
–People who hate fantasy, because you’ll hate this one.

Rise is just shy of 100k words, so it’s not a quick read like my last one, but a full-blown novel. It’s also first in a series, so if certain plot threads aren’t resolved, yeah, that was probably intentional.

I need to know where my book is falling flat. If you read through it and you generally liked it, great! But please still tell me what issues you’d love to see fixed.

If you can read this book and reply by the end of March, please comment below or email me at fencingwithink@gmail.com and I’ll send you a copy of the manuscript as it stands.

Thanks in advance, love you all. Please be gentle.