Book review

The handful of reviews my previous books garnered on Amazon were written mostly by friends and family. (Fortunately not by family members with the last name of Dodd!) While I appreciate that support, it is always nice when someone I do not know says good things about the books.

I noticed a review of Except for His Wing has already appeared. The name (or, more likely, pseudonym) of the reviewer is not familiar to me. So this review may also fall into the friends-and-family category. 

Nonetheless, I will share it:

Michael Dodd tells this story of limited, often dysfunctional persons with great accuracy and with great love. He maintains a clear sense of reality, while enabling the reader to accept the possibility of a greater, more compassionate dimension which is reachable. This is a whopping good story told exceedingly well.

The reviewer then adds a comment to his/her own post:  "Ooops, the title should read: On a Five Star Scale, I Rate This Story with Seven Stars!"

So, friend or family or stranger, thank you for your kind words. You made my day! 

PS -- Many well-known writers say not to pay much attention to reviews. They are not written for the author anyway. 

PPS -- My favorite thing along this line is from Neil Gaiman: “If you make art, people will talk about it. Some of the things they say will be nice, some won’t. You’ll already have made that art, and when they’re talking about the last thing you did, you should already be making the next thing."

Hint noted, Neil. 

PPPS -- My other favorite is from Lisa Cron: “And while in the olden days, disgruntled readers suffered pretty much in silence, now there's Amazon. The last thing you want are myriad scathing reviews that potential readers 'find helpful.'"