Welcome to Nayberry Publications (-:

I know as authors, we have been chastised into keeping our composure in the face of negative reviews and/or reader feedback. The natural response when someone scrutinizes your creation can be to respond. I'm generally the type to let things simmer for a minute before I react. I guess it's the Gemini at work; the twins discussing things over with one another.

Back to Reviews

I have always sought out reviews for my books with hopes of getting the initial response of how a reader feels after they finish that last word in a Shani Greene-Dowdell novel. Are they happy, engaged, ready for more -- or do they feel like they have just been dumped on by a whole bunch of literary boo boo, lol. Either way, I'm a big enough girl to take the good with the bad as I grow as a writer. Out of the hundreds of email, word of mouth, and reviews on professional sites that I have received, I have only heard from two readers that said they honestly thought Secrets of a Kept Woman was not worth the reading time. (Note: Secrets of a Kept Woman ranked in the top 11 books in Amazon Kindle Drama for 14 consecutive weeks)

One is a 1-star review in which the reader said the following:

1.0 out of 5 stars

Not worth your time, May 31, 2011 By Fox - This review is from: Secrets of a Kept Woman (Volume 1) (Kindle Edition) This book was really long and drawn out. Is not worth the time or money I invested. Not sure where the other reviews are coming from, but I was very disappointed with this book. Big waste of time.

Getting my first 1 start was like...Ouch! But as I said before, I'm a BIG GIRL I can take it literally. Plus, I'm aware that not everyone has the same taste and all readers will not like my work. However, the next review 21 days later gave the book 3 stars, which is two points higher than the prior review. However, something about this reviewer's venom for Secrets gave me pause. It took me a while to realize the bones that I had to pick with Review #2 (Note: I have no bone to pick with the reviewer. Thanks for your patronage and time in reading Secrets of a Kept Woman).

This is her review:

Please Believe me! _ June 21, 2011 By Tawanna "SuperBad ;-)" Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Secrets of a Kept Woman (Volume 1) (Kindle Edition) Wow..where do I start...This book was all over the place...One chapter you would hear that Gladys didn't want to tell her friends about the abuse she suffered and in the proceeding chapter Shayla would speak about how Gladys needed to get out of her abuse marriage...This book was sorry...and a struggle to get through but because I hate not finishing what I started...I finished it...How is it that Big Shirley (an undercover cop) was responsible for killing the hustlers on the corner in retaliation? I mean how unrealistic...The only realistic part in all of this was the mistress getting pregnant by her bf's hubby...Which is one of the reasons why I gave the book 3 stars instead of one...Also, because of Shayla's spiritual side...Why would Shayla be loving or in love with the pool boy so soon when he was only brought into the story for 3 hours of pool cleaning...Bottom line is this book was ridiculous and the only reason some ppl gave it 5 stars is either they are family & friends of the author or they just liked the drama of it...

My Issues with this Review

1) This review contains spoilers, yet the reviewer was not considerate enough to put a spoiler alert at the beginning of it. After the 1-point review above, I did not see a dip in sales. However, after the spoilers in this 3-point review, sales declined. Just because Superbad doesn't like it, she's gone and spoiled it for other readers who might actually be able to pick up on the things that she couldn't, which leads me to #2.

2) Okay, so this reviewer could not believe that in one chapter Gladys' friends knew she was in an abusive marriage, but yet in following chapters Gladys didn't want people to know. HELLO! Even in the real world people walk around thinking no one knows they are abused, when the only one who thinks it is a secret is them. Shades can only cover so much. This issue is serious to me, and as someone who lived in a home with domestic violence I know these things first hand.

3) Though some of the issues are very real, I write fiction novels!!!!! Fiction people, fiction. Big Shirley is comedic relief and fictitous. After all, she is a midget gangbanger who is revealed to be an undercover cop. Ever seen the movie Deep Cover...well, she loses herself in whatever the game is she is playing!  I respect this reviewers opinion, because sometimes it is hard to tell between what's real and what's fiction, so is life at times.

4) What I don't respect and cannot reconcile with this review is underestimating the author's "friends and family" as if they would not write a genuine review. I've had family and friends tell me that they didn't like certain things about my writing and strangers tell me that they love every word. People really are diverse! The ultimate condencending line of the reviewer (who purchased a drama novel, to boot) is that "they just liked the drama of it," which is not particularly a bad thing for a drama fiction novel --IJS ;-)

It's okay not to like a book and it's okay to write your opinion. I just feel the author should also be able to respond, so here is my response. I look forward to your reviews good or bad and believe it or not, Suberbad in NC's review has been on my mind as I create my next dramatic/erotic thriller, so if you like the drama of all that Shanibooks has to offer...stay tuned.

Love ya ta pieces!

Shani Greene-Dowdell

P.S.  I want to hear from you. Leave your review on Amazon, BN, or Shanibooks.com of any my sites.