The Book Readers Appreciation Group (B.R.A.G.) are a tough lot. When my first book, INCEPTIO, went forward in September 2013 for their consideration, they were rejecting 90% of submissions.
Luckily, I didn’t know that at the time or I might have been a GREAT deal more nervous. But Carina would have told me to ‘gather up my grit.’ And I have no reason to think they’ve changed from that. So, despite all six full-length Roma Nova novels having won the medallion, when I submitted Double Identity to them, I did chew my lips more than a little.
Double Identity‘s Mel is both so different and so similar to Roma Nova’s Carina and Aurelia. Would the readers take to her? This is what they said about her first adventure:
Title: Intriguing, forceful, appropriate to the story 5
Cover: Striking, professional looking, appropriate to the story 5
Plot: Original, compelling, engaging, coherent 4
Characters: Interesting, appealing, believable 5
Dialogue: Authentic, quotable, advances the story 5
Writing Style: Distinctive voice, pleasing rhythm, evocative 5
Chapters: Logical flow, advance the story, build momentum 5
Copy Editing: Grammar, punctuation, spelling, word choice 5
Content (Developmental) Editing: Structure, coherence, continuity, accuracy 4
Formatting: Front matter, layout, font 5
Additional Comments
“I have read three of this author’s Roma Nova series, all of which I loved. The author is clearly a very prolific and talented writer; however, while I enjoyed this book, I did not like it as much as the others I have read. The main criticism I have is that I found the story overly expository. Although the author has an admirable history of military service, it seemed to me that she was trying too hard to demonstrate this experience and knowledge through the action and dialogue. Having said that I liked Mel and felt she was believable. In conclusion, this is a very good book and certainly deserving of the B.R.A.G. Medallion, but in my estimation, it falls a bit short of the usually high caliber of the author’s work.”
“Truly superb writing! Characters, dialogue, the building of tension, all are handled masterfully by author Alison Morton. Her detailed knowledge of military matters in both England and France is very impressive. And the richness of her imagination in producing twists of plot is breath taking. Some American readers may find her use of English slang daunting, but Morton captures an authenticity of tone that places this work into the realms of literary reality with the very best of mystery writers.”
“Excellent thriller! Exciting, well written, memorable characters, no plot holes, minimal typos.”
I think I can live with this! 😉
This is a high honour in the world of indie publishing.The time and trouble IndieBRAG readers devote to the process is self-evident. And Geri Clouston leads them with professionalism, friendliness and deep understanding of the book world. I am honoured to belong again to a select group of authors and delighted for Double Identity to be featured on their website.
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers – INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO and RETALIO, and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories. Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, a contemporary conspiracy, starts a new series of thrillers.
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