Thursday, December 13, 2007

FREEVIEW: 'The Gift' by Amanda Hamm


TITLE: The Gift
AUTHOR: Amanda Hamm
PRICE: FREE
GENRE: ?
ISBN: N/A
PUBLISHER: Lulu


This ten-page story is a wonderful addition to the tradition of stories that remind us of the real message of Christmas, and I say that as an abject atheist. A man with two young children looks for the perfect present for his wife. The characters are warmly and believably depicted and the scene is cosily domestic. The ending, although a little (okay a lot) predictable is satisfying. I would recommend this as a well-crafted holiday story and a credit to the author.

9/10

1 comment:

Truth About Angels said...

I find this site full of wonderful things - one thing missing possibly is a review of my new novel, The Angels. I looked in vain(glory) for a 'contact us' tab. Is it possible to submit a book for review?
Here are a couple of author reviews from the Gather.com first Chapter contest -

'What a fantastic read! You seemed to have spent a lot of time on this, picking each word and moment one at a time until near perfection was accomplished. If the rest of this is as good I can't imagine a publisher not grabbing this. This is not me kissing butt for a rating on for my chapter (because you already rated mine)--and by the way, what an honor to receive such feedback from such a talented author. Hell, it's better than mine. Sincerely, Thomas A Wills Sr.
Fugue State by Tomfilmz
P.S. Please tell me you've been working on this for ten years or more, obviously not a 1st or 2ndDear Fellow LH: You have my 10. I am in awe.

"I write sparsely, choosing each word carefully. You flourish words, choosing every one precisely. I did not find a sentence that failed to charm me. So many use so many words when they cannot find one. You use just enough and make me wish there were more. At times I stopped following your story to just follow your prose. There were several great writers who came to mind in reading your work, but I dare not mention one of them for fear Gather will learn you've entered this competition incognito. I will be shocked if your skills at this craft do not land you in the semi-finals. Best of Luck.

MURDER IN MYKONOS
JEFFREY SIGER, Dec 6, 2007, 3:45pm EST draft. Good luck friend"

Please let me know how to approach you....Gary