A call to all members of the Navy

But first things first. Today we're mourning the passing of one of the great old ones of writing. At the age of 91 author Ray Bradbury of Fahrenheit 451 fame (and much, much more) has passed away. Korsgaard takes a look at his life and work.

And now to the meaty part. Wolf Hunt has just received its twenty-fifths custmorer review on Amazon.com and now stands at twenty ratings of four plus stars and five or two stars or less. Meaning that whatever the novel is it certainly appears to have a polarizing effect on you guys. 

The latest review is a four star one, and I approached it through the typical "author reads a review" phases: annoyance, ignorance and acceptance. Annoyance about the "needs an editor" part since after two rounds of professional editing and seemingly endless bouts of proofreading I thought I had been able to close that chapter. Ignorance, because primed through Phase One I just ground my teeth and mentally shouted LALALALALAA. And finally, acceptance and with it the realization that acting like a child won't do anybody any good.

Because Mr. Haltiwanger's review is exactly the kind of feedback I need. No author likes to be told he or she did something wrong or wrote scenes in a way that simply wouldn't work that way in real life. I've never served with the armed forces of any country. What I know about the military I've gathered through documentations, via the Internet, and by a passion for reading books. That means that whatever I'll do I'll always come a wee bit short of someone who has actually lived in that culture. That is why I'm dependant on and extremely grateful for the kind of feedback that Mr. Haltiwanger has provided me with. Thank you, sir. The only way I can improve my writing and possiblly correct mistakes I've already made is by people who know better telling me.

Now, admittedly I'd have been more happy if that feedback had been sent my way via 

tba.wolfhunt [@] googlemail.com.

But I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. In fact, I'm willing to send out a gift or two of my own.

If you are or were a serving member of the naval forces and would be willing to help me iron out the kinks in Wolf Hunt regarding the points Mr. Haltiwanger mentioned, please contact me at the above mentioned email adress. There's a paperback of Wolf Hunt and of its sequel in it for you, and your name will end up in the novel's official acknowledgments.

-- Sebastian Breit