Burning Bridges
Indie Review: Lost, Found, Kept - A Memoir + Beginning Clip of McGuinn's New Audiobook
June 23, 2026
Burning Bridges
Every reader brings their own experience to the stories they read. One of the first reviews of my first novel focused on the step-father’s drinking, while that was a relatively minor factor in my plot line. At this point, I don’t remember if or how I responded, but I hope it was professional. It may have seemed important to the reader because they came from a non-drinking environment or they may have been in a situation where an adult’s behavior was being excused because they were drunk. Their reason doesn’t matter here - what’s important is they took the time to respond to the book as they experienced it.
If you submit a book and I read the whole thing, I’ll write a review. I try to keep reviews as positive as possible, but I include my assessment of any problems. If it’s not all positive, I send you the review and give you the option to “kill” it.
Prior to this newsletter, I sent out two such reviews with the “kill” option.
In the first, I mention that the description of one scene “was stilted enough I considered the possibility AI had been used at some level, but that was not true throughout.” I can understand the author getting defensive on that hot topic, but I did specify it was only one spot that made me wonder. I would have been willing to delete that mention if asked politely.
However, there was also a major flaw in the plotting. When the hero detective realizes near the end that the missing girls might have been targeted online, it’s treated as an incredible insight by everyone. While the year of the story was never specified, a song that came out in 2015 was mentioned as playing on the radio. A good editor would have been versed in the genre and insisted on revisions. If they weren’t, a quick online check shows that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has operated a hotline since 1998 to report concerns including (but not limited to) the “online enticement of children” for nefarious purposes.
This is the kind of sloppiness that reflects poorly on indies. But I didn’t rant about that. I labored to make the review as positive as I could. I pointed out this flaw, but finished with “While it weakened the ending, overall this was an entertaining book.” This was true. It was a quick, fun read.
I sent the review to the author with the “kill” option.
In response, I got a curt “No, I do not like it, Sheri.” Then a defense that “it may be slightly out of date regarding social media” because “it was written in 2019”. “I’m not killing it, but I think you need to make some edits.”
That book will not be reviewed here. That bridge is burned.
While I was still angry at her tone, I did some edits: “For at least twenty years, predators have been using the internet to access children and teens. Therefore, real police and fictional police have gone first to check a missing teen’s online footprint. The author must have been oblivious to news, television shows, movies, and thrillers written for the last two decades to have her police excited at the detective’s belated epiphany that they should check the victim’s email.”
No, I’m not publishing either review anywhere with the name of her book.
My review of the other book was actually less positive. It just didn’t click with me. That author sent this professional response:
Thank you for the time you took to read my book. I regret that it did not appeal to you. [A one-sentence neutral explanation of the author’s intent where it varied from my perception.] I appreciate and accept your gracious offer to “kill” the review.
She was polite and hit the key points:
Readers (including reviewers) may not perceive your book the way you expect.
It takes time to read books, particularly when the intent is to provide a review.
Few reviewers give the author a chance to preview or “kill” a review.
Avoid burning bridges; follow her polite professional example.
Heads Up
Request for help!
Please vote for All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts in the Kindle 2026 Reader’s Choice Awards, Mystery/Thriller category. You can only vote for one book in each category. Scroll down and you’ll see the cover:
If you haven’t read it yet, voting is open until October.
The audiobook will be released soon - ACX is reviewing files.
The opening audio clip is today’s Fiction selection.
Writing Opportunities
Chicken Soup is looking for stories for Count Your Blessings (deadline June 30), and Humorous Stories (deadline August 31) as well as other topics with deadlines further out. They have specific guidelines. All submissions need to be true and no AI should be used - not even Grammarly. They pay $250 and 10 free copies after publication of a book with your story in it. If your story is chosen, they’ll have you sign a contract that specifies they get non-exclusive rights to publish, reprint, or use the story in other ways.
On the first weekend of each month, the Australian Writers’ Centre offers the Furious Fiction Challenge. They post specific criteria and give you 55 hours to write 500 words or less. It’s free. Later in the month, they showcase the best stories online. You retain rights. It starts at midnight on Thursday, July 2, if you’re in California. There’s a countdown clock at the challenge link.
AI Detection Tools
The Authors Guild tested five commonly used AI-detection tools on articles written before AI. The results on some varied 0-100%, depending on the tool used! Read the article here. One key point they make:
AI-detection tools are AI models trained to recognize statistical patterns associated with large language model output, such as sentence rhythm, vocabulary distribution, and predictability of word choice. But polished, edited prose written by experienced human writers shares many of those same characteristics, because LLMs were trained on polished, edited prose written by experienced human writers. The more refined and controlled a writer’s style, the more it may resemble the output these tools are designed to flag.
Free Advertising
Each month, BookLife runs the Indie Spotlight feature, a thematic roundup of self-published books both online and in print in Publishers Weekly magazine and BookLife. Industry professionals, media professionals, and librarians read these magazines. There is no charge, but the competition is enormous. Fiction or nonfiction, adult or children’s, secular or religious, written or graphic - all types of books will be considered IF the subject matter matches the month’s topic.
In June, they’ll accept submissions for July: General Fiction/Poetry
In July, they’ll accept submissions for August: Sci-fi/Fantasy
Follow these directions. Email submissions to booklifeeditor@booklife.com with required information and a subject line that changes each month.
Awards, Etc.
Book Life Prize for Fiction is open now through August 31. The $119 entry includes a critic’s report written by a Publishers Weekly reviewer, which provides scores across editorial categories and a brief critical assessment of the book, which can be quoted if you credit the BookLife Prize. While my novel didn’t make the finals last year, I have some great quotes from that assessment.
Beware
A new one - scammers are sending emails pretending to be the US Copyright Office: Beware of Copyright Scams: How to Spot Fraud and Protect Yourself
Beware: I’ve decided to keep these posted each week, as the need keeps arising. If you know another good site, let me know and I’ll add it.
https://writerbeware.blog (search on right)
https://authorsguild.org/resource/publishing-scam-alerts/ (most recent first)
https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/watchdog/ (scroll down to view ratings links)
Jane Friedman - an hour-long YouTube on Spotting Publishing Scams & Bad Deals
Call to Action - Get your indie book reviewed!
If you’d like me to consider reviewing your indie/small press book, details are explained in this website blog.
Free Books
Writers: Let me know when you’re doing a free or reduced price promotion and I’ll post it here! Readers: Enjoy and post reviews!
Those with Kindle Unlimited may read these books for free:
Tom Huggler’s The Woman She Left Behind - reviewed here January 13.
Geri Krotow’s A Midsummer Murder - reviewed here January 27.
Angela Page Conti’s Enrico G - I haven’t read this yet…
Joan Griffin’s Force of Nature - reviewed on my website blog
Book Review:
Lost, Found, Kept - a Memoir
by Deborah Derrickson Kossman
Sentence by sentence, the writing in Lost, Found, Kept - A Memoir by Deborah Derrickson Kossman is a pure delight to read. Beyond that, the structure of the book moves smoothly back and forth between early remembrances and the “now” of cleaning out her hoarder-mother’s house. I recommend this book without reservation, particularly for anyone who has had difficult familial relationships.
Deborah’s publisher, Trio House Press, was established in 2012. Their stated mission is “to publish poetry and prose that moves, inspires, and encourages connection, empathy, and understanding.” While the formatting had some minor issues, Deborah explained they’d had a steep learning curve because her book was their first step into prose. The editing was flawless.
Fiction:
All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts
All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts is a tale of friendship, love, and youthful decisions that drive friends apart for decades. When the ghosts of Vietnam shove their way into the present, fear, uncertainty, and death follow. The audio version is under review at ACX. I’ll let you know when it’s available. Here’s the opening:
Other ways to support my work:
Buy my books.
Ask your bookstore and library to order them.
Talk about them.
Post reviews.
Vote for All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts in the Kindle 2026 Reader’s Choice Awards, Mystery/Thriller category. You can only vote for one book in each category. Scroll down and you’ll see the cover:
You can read a sample of each at these links:
Thanks.
Images are usually my own or used with permission. If I can’t find an image I want within the timeline for this newsletter, you’ll see an AI image labeled as such. Time allowing, I’ll use that image to find the human-made one I want instead!
As an Amazon Associate I make a commission when you make a qualifying purchase after clicking on an Amazon link here.
I do not get anything for recommending KDP or any other services, contests, etc.
©Sheri McGuinn
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This is a fun view of your thoughtful process. Thanks for sharing!
Appreciate how you handled the positive and negative aspects of your reviews and your decision on how you internally responded.