This, by Bob Knight, was one of the nicer reviews I’ve ever received. 2011–Wow! Has it really been that long since The Thunder King was published?
Still waiting for word on The Silver Trumpet. I hope they haven’t decided to publish it on clay tablets, in cuneiform. That would take a while.
https://leeduigon.com/2011/11/28/book-guide-the-thunder-king-movie-guide/
Actually, since this post was written, a prominent Catholic reviewer has refused to review my books because of, he says, rampant Calvinism. I think his problem is that he used to be a Calvinist and doesn’t like to remember that portion of his life. But I deny his charge against me.
https://leeduigon.com/2013/12/30/are-my-books-biased/
Of course, you can always read them and decide for yourself. Commercial Message (Beware!): All my books can easily be ordered right here on this site. Just click “Books” and go for the shopping cart icon (the publisher) or the Amazon.com icon.
You know those commercials that say “They”–they who?–don’t want you to know about this fine product, because then you’d get rich or live forever or something? Well, I thought that approach might work for my books.
https://leeduigon.com/2015/08/19/the-books-that-they-dont-want-you-to-read/
It hasn’t.
Ah, what the heck, I can always use reviews. Here’s a new one by Forrest Schultz, covering The Temple and The Throne, Books No. 8 and 9 in my Bell Mountain series. I don’t think my character, Ysbott the Snake, made a hit with him, but then Ysbott rubs a lot of people the wrong way. He’s a villain and an idiot, so he’s supposed to do that.
http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/
Thank you, Forrest.
Hi its me Joe Collidge and i am a interllectural and yore not “so” yiu has beter got to do “like i say” becose i amb Smarter then yiu!
i seen that guy lee he is “trying to” get poor ordrinary dum peple like yiu “To” by his stopid books for Chrismist pressents Wel i fourbid yiu To Do It!!! Fore one thing thare isnt no sucht Thing as chrismist and anywhay It is Izlammo Fobick and yiu shuld Al “bee” doing Kwaaanzaaah insted!!!! And them thare books of his Thay “are” racist and Trans Fobick and thay wil Turn “yiu” into A Hater!!! i canot strass This enuohgh!!!!!
Hare at Collidge us Intrallectorals insted of lowsy chrismist we going to Go “Out” and key cars!! Sombday thare wont Be no more chrismist any More it wil Be Aginst The Laww!~! then them No Good christins thay wil has to cellarbrate Kwonzaaaah “Or” else gett Shot!!
Meenwhile remmber i toled you dont By this gy’s books “he is” A racist!!!!!!! he dont love The Humin Kind like Us Interllecturals we doo!
I am happy to report that, thanks to your efforts, folks, amazon.com has removed that dishonest, mean-spirited, one-star non-review of my Bell Mountain.
Hey, if somebody really doesn’t like the book, that’s life. But to slam it, and try to discourage others from reading it, because you don’t like my politics–which play no role whatsoever in any of my books–well, that’s just your typical leftid dirty trick.
I mean, how absurd would it be to inject contemporary American politics into a fantasy novel? There are a few authors that do that, and that’s why their novels suck. I mean, the whole blinking point of a fantasy story is to get away from that stuff!
Anyway, because a bunch of you stepped up and told the truth, and let amazon.com know it, a small but despicable injustice has been corrected–and I thank you very much.
A leftid named B. Davin has given my Bell Mountain a 1-star customer review on amazon.com because he doesn’t like one of my blog posts on the subject of the former president–which has nothing whatsoever to do with the merits of my book.
I was unable to figure out how to give amazon a reason for reporting this review as abuse, but I know that a few of you do know how to do this, and I’d appreciate your help. This person has acted out of pure spite, for a political reason, and I don’t want to see him get away with it.
![The Palace (Bell Mountain Series #6) by [Duigon, Lee]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51w7c8EjlzL._SY346_.jpg)
I’ve been re-reading my Bell Mountain books, trying to prepare myself for writing the next one. I have to read them, lest I forget some important detail.
So I’m in the middle of The Palace (No. 6 in the series), and I’ve just read the chapter, “The White Doe.” Please don’t think I’m boasting when I say this, but I think it’s among the best things I’ve ever written. It’s not boasting because I was moved when I read it and very much surprised that anything like it could have come from me. Give God the glory: I pray for His guidance as I write, and He gives it. It didn’t really come from me. I just wrote it down.
And this evening Patty discovered the Vintage Novels blog, and a wonderfully complimentary review of the first four books in my series. This is by Suzannah Rountree, a blogger in Australia, and she has my thanks. Let me see if I can link to her piece for you. Ah, here it is: http://www.vintagenovels.com/2017/04/the-bell-mountain-series-1-4-by-lee.html
If you haven’t read any of these, I hope Suzannah’s review will persuade you to give them a whirl. For more information (if you’re new to this blog), just go to the top of this page and click “Books.”
As I wait for the go-ahead to start writing my next book–and I never know what the “Hi” sign is going to be, the Lord always surprises me–I found myself wondering which characters in my books are the most popular. I also got onto that subject by showing my wife Travis Rodgers’ essay on “Obst the Missionary” (http://travisrodg.com/obst-bell-mountain/)–the only one of my characters who’s ever been written about by someone else, outside of a book review.
If you ask me which are my favorite characters, I can only answer, “Whoever I happen to be writing about at the time.” I think it has to be that way, if I want to make the characters come alive for the reader.
But which characters really are the readers’ favorites? Which are yours?
My youngest readers seem to like Jack and Ellayne the best, and everybody loves Wytt, the little hairy creature with the sharp stick and no capacity for fear. The old rat under the Baroness’ back porch has his contingent of fans, as does Cavall, the king’s big dog.
I know someone who liked Lord Reesh, the arch-villain, best; and I’m sure Helki the Rod, the wild man of Lintum Forest, has his cheering section. As for the old Abnak sub-chief, Uduqu–my wife and my editor were both ready to scalp me when they thought I’d killed him off.
Anyhow, I’ve got lots and lots of characters in my Bell Mountain books, and I’m intensely curious to know how readers feel about them. Besides, this discussion will be a lot of fun if everybody takes part in it.
And somewhere in one of your comments may be the seed of the next book. I never know where that’s going to turn up.
This just popped back into my head after many years’ absence: the most annoying question I’ve ever been asked as a writer.
No, it’s not “How long did it take you to write it?” Everybody asks that. I don’t know why, but they do.
When, after much difficulty, my very first novel was published in 1986, one of my next-door neighbors, with a happy smile on his face, asked me this:
“So when’s it going to be a TV movie?”
Perish the thought that he would buy the book and read it, or even go to see the movie if they made a movie of it. He wanted it on TV. Cheap, cheap, cheap.
One thing I’ve learned over the years: people who see you every day, and talk to you, hardly ever want to read your books. And I don’t know why.
