Poornima Manco

Author

2nd Book

Why reviews matter & what’s stopping you?

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Ok, hands up… this is the first time I’m blogging from the WordPress app on my phone and from a sick bed. I am, currently, feeling extremely sorry for myself. I have been sick for five days and the luxury of lying in bed and binge watching ‘Homeland’ has lost its allure. So, I’ve taken to trawling through reviews of my second book… except there aren’t that many to trawl through.

Is it the law of diminishing returns? Or, can most readers simply not be arsed to put in a review? I’ll come to the third possibility later.

Firstly, please understand, to an Indie writer your reviews are IMPORTANT. You know why? Because, even if you say, “hey, I didn’t really care for this book”, it’s showing that YOU, a real, live person picked up the book and read it. It’s life affirming stuff for someone who has beavered over it for the better part of a year!

Secondly, no one is judging your review. No one is checking your grammar, syntax and flow. You’re not writing the novel, you’re just reviewing it. So, if it’s fear of your own command over the language that’s putting you off, don’t let it. You are helping multiple other readers see what they may or may not like about a particular book.

The third possibility is that you have really, REALLY hated the book. You’ve read a story or two and decided that this book really isn’t for you. In that case, there isn’t much point appealing to you. We are clearly a mismatch in terms of writer and reader, and I wish you well in your reading journey with other, more compatible writers. 😊

Finally, an important lesson I’ve learnt in my Indie journey is that Amazon really doesn’t want friends and family reviewing books. So, my apologies to those of you who took the time to read and review the book, only to find it taken down by the great Zon. Please don’t forget, you can still post that review on Goodreads with no such repercussions.

For the people who have written to me or told me in person how much they loved the second book, please do pass the word on. AND get others to review the book. People who I don’t know and people who will not give me a favourable review because of my extremely charming personality.😉

Right, that’s it for now folks! The sick bed blogging has its benefits but I don’t think I’ll be making it a regular feature anytime soon.

For your copy visit:

getbook.at/Damage

Why so dark?

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“For such a lovely girl, you have a twisted imagination!”

True comment. An accusation levelled in jest. But one that got me thinking nevertheless.

Why are my stories so dark? Where does all this angst, grief and disillusionment come from? I’ve had a perfectly normal and happy upbringing. I am in a good marriage with a supportive partner and lovely children. So, why do I insist on exploring such bleak scenarios and such murky characters?

I think, all writers are, first and foremost, observers. They observe life, people, situations, personalities and intentions. Then, in their own unique way, they try and make sense of the world around them through their writing.

For me, my stories are a form of catharsis. I live every single character’s life. I feel every single character’s pain. Then I bleed my heart out on paper, in the hope that I am able to lend credence to the compulsions that drive people to do what they do.

In ‘Damage’, my latest book of short stories I examine, amongst other things, the themes of infidelity, neglect, abandonment, abuse, corruption and unrequited love. These are all normal, everyday people who, for a variety of reasons, find their lives sliding off the beaten track. They either inflict damage, are the victims of damage, or both.

In life, our decisions are determined by a variety of factors. Birth, circumstances, upbringing, the presence/absence of love shape us into the people that we are. What we make of our lives are a combination of all this, and of conscious thought.

My characters are not evil. They are human. They combine within them light and dark, good and bad. Sometimes, their actions are determined by their constraints, sometimes by pressures outside of their control. Yet, none of the actions or the consequences unleashed, ever arise out of a vacuum.

So, the purpose of my walking on the dark side is simply this: to be able to confront the darkness within and without us. To acknowledge its existence and then, armed with that knowledge, try and combat it the best that we can.

Are you willing and able to peer into that dark abyss?

Damage available worldwide on Amazon. Links below:

US

UK

IN

 

 

Damage (India Book 2) is here!

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Are damaged people destined to inflict damage?

16 stories that examine the internal and external landscapes of people damaged by birth, upbringing, nature and circumstances. Set primarily in India, they examine the socio-political climate of the country alongside. Dark and disturbing, this collection endeavours to shed light on the duplicity and evil that exists amongst and sometimes, even within us.

Yes, that’s the blurb for my second book of short stories. Considerably longer than my first, this book is the one that I’ve been beavering away at, and hence been suspiciously quiet on the blogging front. The stories are dark but I’ve been told by my previewers that they are impactful. I hope you think so too…

Go buy it, read it and please, please don’t forget to review it. Any kind of feedback is always welcome, but written reviews help an Indie writer far more than you can imagine. They don’t just propel more custom towards the book, but Amazon’s algorithms pick up on the reviews and positively promote a product that seems to be doing well. So, once again, please do review the book on Amazon and Goodreads. It doesn’t have to be more than a couple of lines of your completely honest viewpoint on what you think of the book and my writing. A very BIG thank you in advance!

Links to purchase the books:

UK

US

IN

Also available on Amazon worldwide.

You can review the book after reading at your respective Amazon site. To put a review on Goodreads, follow the link below:

Goodreads

I really hope you enjoy the book. Don’t forget to drop me a line or follow me on Facebook.

Happy reading! 🙂