Have you ever felt embarrassed by your writing?

I was organizing my writing projects and as I put them into different folders, I could not resist the urge to flip through some of the pages I put inside the YA folder. I have never had much success with this genre (as far as I have had success at all in some writing competitions) and have never managed to get published in any journal or magazine, traditional or online. What I read made my heart race and then plummet. Neither in a good way. At first I almost felt proud reading the introductory paragraphs, the intense and descriptive words, thoroughly enjoying the aura they created. But as I progressed down the page, the words and sentences started to pull away and any sense of them being representative of the genre just melted away. As the story developed, or rather, as the story stalled, I almost felt my blood drain into my toes. The dialogue was flat, the characters uninspiring (and definitely not young adults), and the storyline common and boring. I felt embarrassed that I had actually been ignorant enough to submit something so amateurish and poor. As I never had any positive responses to my YA stories, I stopped writing YA and now I focus only on general fiction and literary fiction. Perhaps not being able to (or work harder to be able to) cross over makes me a bad writer - or at least an embarrassed one! Anyone else feel these pangs of literary pain?

Three Day Weekend - Three Books

I have been meaning to write this post for over a week now but, finally, here it is!  I can't help but "brag" that I managed to read three books in just three days over the long weekend (my teenage self would be laughing at my old self - I used to devour books when I had more time...).  Here are my thoughts on the books, in the order I read them.

Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth
I first few chapter were quite good, fast and fun, and the secondary characters and their stories quite interesting, especially with the historical layers and explanations. But the more I read the less impressed I became.  Although the main characters work quite well, the smug, young politician and the complex, quiet vampire, the sci-fi element (as distinct from the horror element) introduced through the storyline of the key villain did not work for me at all.  I simply could not believe the story.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
I picked up this book expecting it to be ridiculous and silly, but I was hooked after the first few sentences.  The writing is interesting and solid, the story intriguing and believable, and the voice unique and impressive. The concept sounded so bizarre I had to smirk, but the story built by the author is so believable that I suspended all disbelief, almost expecting vampires to turn the next corner.  When I finished the book I wanted to read more about Abe and his vampire hunting adventures.  I also loved the introduction and wish the author had finished that thread of the story too.  Definitely a great read.

The Technologists by Matthew Pearl
If I had not shredded the packing slip, the book would be back in the Barnes and Noble warehouse.