Bring On Lemons

Review by Tess Fallier As I first started reading Risen by Eric Trant, I struggled to get pulled into the story. I didn’t really understand what was going on and a lot of it takes place in dark sulfur mines with characters not yet familiar to the reader. I stuck with it and as the story continued, it started going back to the characters life before they went to work in the mines, and slowly their story unfolds. About a third of the way into the book, I became very curious as to how everything was going to fall together, and by the end of it I was fully engrossed into the lives of the two brothers that are the main characters of the book, Alberto and Paulo. There is a religious element to the story, but it brings the religion to life and becomes a key part of the story. While I feel that the start of the book could have maybe done a better job of easing the reader into the story, it was definitely a great story of struggle, social class, family, and faith that eventually sucked me in....

Review by Cathy Hansen I had never heard of Eric Trant before picking up a copy of Risen. Now that I've finished reading this particular book, I plan on reading some of his other works. I don't usually enjoy science fiction, but the characters in this book are oddly easy to relate to. I found myself cheering on Alberto and Paolo through their struggles. Some authors seem to have the ability to draw readers right into the scene. Trant has the ability to do this and then some. I found Risen to be a quick read with characters who I genuinely felt drawn to. He is an excellent storyteller who helps readers empathize with the characters. About the Book: Risen takes readers into a hellish world where none escape! Haunted by visions of a demonic angel and sold into servitude by his father, young Alberto battles to survive the horrors of a nineteenth century Sicilian sulfur mine. Suffering merciless brutality, Alberto must save not only himself but his deformed older...

The first draft of anything is shit. Ernest Hemingway I'll let my host decide if she wants to edit that quote, but for me, I remember it and cite it as it was stated by a master of stating what should be obvious, but is not. I read through my first drafts with a shaking of the head. It is painful. How could I write ~that~. Good God, man, where did that come from? I struggle with what to cut and what to keep. I usually keep more than I should, and rely on the editor or a critical reader (not a critique partner, but a reader) to help me identify the excess fat. I love it all, or I would not have written it. They tell me what I should bury in revision, what should be returned to the whitespace from whence it came. However, even with an editor's eye and a critical reader's opinion, things such as weasels and passives can sneak up on us. A page littered with passives may say to the editor: Cut this page. It may say to the critical reader: This is boring. Neither fully...