book reviews |
book reviews |
Multi-volume, multi-genre author, Craig Crawford introduces us to his satirical book on negative morality, “The Beginner’s Guide to Being Evil”: Hey! I'm Dave. And you have questions. You're probably starting with this one: "Why should I not only buy, but actually read this book?" Look, no matter what religious doctrine, books, laws, or commandments you follow (and even if you don't), 100% of you have committed sins, shameful deeds, etc. (Quit lying to yourself, yes you have. For some of you, it probably happened within the past hour.) Ergo, when you reach the afterlife, for a lot of you there’s going to be a closed door to the escalator heading Upstairs, probably guarded by two big goons with big stupid wings. Shock of all shockers! You’re headed Downstairs. "So, what happens down there, Dave? Is it really all that bad?" Welp, I'll be honest. Most of you are probably looking at spending the rest of eternity working in wart diagnostics, slaving away in a food court (haha, "food"), or any of a thousand other awful careers. Did I mention the plumbing level? "Isn’t there any hope, Dave?" Oh, I'm so very glad you asked! In my book, I give you the skinny and the lowdown on EVIL. What it is, how it works, and how to use said information therein to make your afterlife less pitiful. Heck, there’s even a test to assess your evil skills to see where you stack up and decide if you should work a little harder to better your situation. Because you can! Better your afterlife situation, that is. Sure, you can ignore me. But while I’m not all "omniscient" like the Big Guy Upstairs (cheater), I’ll know whether you snubbed me because the old adage stands: you can’t bullsh-- a bullsh--er. What’s a few measly bucks anyway if it earns you a decent apartment in the hereafter? Then you can point and laugh at all your friends who gave you crap for buying the book. (Trust me, they’re on their way Downstairs, too.) So, come on! Don’t be afraid. You might actually learn something of value…not like high school and college—and it’s a lot cheaper! ~ Dave E. Lish I have read several of Craig's sci-fi/horror books and had no idea he could write such funny stuff! There were a few funny lines scattered here and there in those other books that I loved so much but there was no hint of Craig's real comedic genius. I am committed to not giving spoilers but I will say don't ignore the footnotes. There is a joke and humor around almost every comma and period. I loved this book! 4.9 stars from me! You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Guide-to-Being-Evil-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-the-beginner-s-guide-to-being-evil https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-beginners-guide-to-being-evil-craig-crawford https://books.apple.com/us/the-beginners-guide-to-being-evil You can connect with the author: https://twitter.com/CRAIGLCrawford https://www.facebook.com/CraigLCrawfordWriter https://craiglcrawfordbooks.com https://projectthreshold.com Here is a link to the fourth book in the Project Threshold series, “Finale”, I have reviewed all of them so far: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/project-threshold-finale Tags: spiritual, comedy, satire, afterlife, heaven, hell, devil Copyright © 2024 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction
51 Comments
2/12/2024 09:11:51 pm
Hi Mark,
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Mark
2/12/2024 09:20:30 pm
Welcome back to the Word Refiner channel. I am very excited to talk with you about this book!
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2/12/2024 09:39:25 pm
This book was a perfect storm in a lot of ways. I have a rich background in religion and philosophy, and I enjoy humor. Doesn't often show up in my writing but sometimes I'm just in a mood.
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Mark
2/13/2024 08:11:29 am
That's a great story! I love it.
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2/13/2024 08:59:10 am
It is funny you mention The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Mannison Press, who published Dave--Deidre Owen asked if I'd read that, assuming I had. I honestly had gotten by reading some of Lewis' stuff without knowing those existed. I picked up a copy, thereafter and I found it very clever.
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Mark
2/13/2024 11:11:38 am
Kids and family can take a lot of time, occasionally all of it.
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2/13/2024 12:34:05 pm
Publishing is becoming a full time job though I need to ask my supervisor for a raise ;)
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Mark
2/13/2024 02:33:36 pm
That sounds like fun! Maybe Dave should start his own movie company. I can see it now, Hell In a Handbasket Movies.
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2/13/2024 04:09:19 pm
I like that! If Dave fronts me the money, I'd be happy to oversee it for him ;)
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Mark
2/13/2024 05:54:19 pm
Growing up on a small farm in southwest Washington state, sightings of bigfoot or sasquatch were common. As a boy scout and farm boy, I did a lot of tromping around in the woods, yet I never saw one. Of course, I never saw D. B. Cooper also. I confess, I would love to join you on those adventures.
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2/13/2024 07:12:02 pm
I am fascinated by bigfoot too, I just grew up more focused on the water cryptids. I would love to see a bigfoot though. I've had no sightings but two strange incidents that could possibly have been related--cannot confirm because I only heard sounds :)
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Mark
2/14/2024 08:45:04 am
Those are worthwhile charities.
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2/14/2024 09:49:11 am
Water cryptids . . . Caddy is a serpentine critter seen off the coast of California and on up the western seaboard. There are a few lakes out west boasting critters. I believe it was the Puget Sound around Seattle where someone witnessed a tentacle extend up out of the water and they claimed they saw fifteen feet of tentacle emerge from the water. Yeah. The Pacific Octopus is the largest known but even it is only documented to around 15-20 foot in length from tentacle tip to tip :)
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Mark
2/14/2024 12:41:23 pm
I didn't know about Caddy! I lived in San Francisco for several years and down the peninsula a little bit for a few more years, I do not recall hearing about a water cryptid. Darn. Catching a picture or two would have made me famous.
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2/14/2024 01:46:23 pm
Yes--agreed. Punctuation, and proper punctuation help you drive home those powerful emotions. I remember The Sound and The Fury by Faulkner and the first quarter was written from the angle of the disabled character and I was so flummoxed and confused. Still can't decide if it was effective or not...
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Mark
2/14/2024 05:23:41 pm
Blocking sounds like a necessary skill. Being able to see it in your head would be easier than using Legos or paper dolls.
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2/14/2024 08:49:06 pm
Thanks--I have spent many years refining that process. I have my writing/beta reader who knows me well and points out when I fall back into staging and blocking which helps a lot. I read GOOD books growing up, which portrayed action well and I have tried to learn from those authors.
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Mark
2/15/2024 09:18:56 am
How nice to grow up in a creative family. You had a lot of support. Many authors have little to no familial support.
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2/15/2024 11:38:40 am
That is almost never a problem. When I'm writing, I am excited--to get the story out and down. I know I'm on a good path when I can "feel" the characters and the story, getting excited about where it's going. My excitement for writing also comes from not knowing exactly where a story is headed even though I think I do when I start.
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Mark
2/15/2024 02:44:56 pm
I love that. You are a good scribe, doing what you are told. Your excitement does impact the story well.
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2/15/2024 04:29:04 pm
If I have learned nothing else about the writing game, it's that I am not in charge. I have to listen to my muse(s) and pay attention. ;)
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Mark
2/15/2024 06:09:33 pm
I like that perspective, it makes a lot of sense.
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2/15/2024 07:18:42 pm
Agreed. Part of being a writer/author in this new age is being able to weather setbacks and being able to try new things. There are no silver bullets unless you get those proverbial lottery moments.
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Mark
2/15/2024 09:02:31 pm
Foreshadowing is a great skill to work on. Some authors are very good at it. Studying some of their work might prove useful. Small details can come alive and grow so significant at the proper moment.
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2/15/2024 10:17:52 pm
I will--being more deliberate with this kind of thing is something I want to do while keeping it subtle.
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Mark
2/16/2024 07:32:41 am
You have a variety of timelines there that is pretty normal. Life happens and always interferes with our plans. I do like that you have multiple projects at the same time. You can go wherever the muse takes you and your muse has been quite faithful.
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2/16/2024 08:33:00 am
I definitely take advantage of the muse when I can. If I'm not feeling one story, I definitely shift to others. I'm actually working on a 3rd book in my Adventures of Darby X, which is a sci-fi horror and probably a precursor to the Project Threshold series. I love the character and have envisioned 5-6 books in the story line. It pops up at me sporadically at the moment, but we'll see.
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Mark
2/16/2024 11:08:01 am
That is fabulous news! So many different stories in the pipeline. Your fans will be happy for quite a while.
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2/16/2024 11:45:12 am
Thanks--I am hoping that, as word spreads, I will get opportunities to expand my published list with these different books. It's part of that long term marketing plan. You slowly build as best you can and keep hammering away until you get opportunities.
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Mark
2/16/2024 01:30:36 pm
I love that you are like the scribe following whichever character you have been assigned to and taking notes. It sounds like a fun way to get the first draft down. Like many other authors, you're not sure which ending will rise to the top until you get there.
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2/16/2024 02:00:32 pm
I honestly don't know how to describe the relationship, but there's something to it.
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Mark
2/16/2024 05:02:37 pm
Thanks for answering broadly. I like hearing about all of the stories.
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2/16/2024 09:06:46 pm
Nice--about Dave.
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Mark
2/17/2024 10:53:38 am
I am glad you enjoyed Maurice's book. Discovery is the first volume in the series. I have reviewed all four volumes and enjoyed them all.
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2/17/2024 11:18:44 am
I've read the Thomas Covenant series. I liked the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser books by Fritz Leiber. Joel Rosenberg wrote a fantasy series called Guardians of the Flame, about a group of RPG'ers who shift into a fantasy world. I love the Drizzt Do'urden books by Salvatore too. And Jim Butcher writes very well too :)
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Mark
2/17/2024 01:53:38 pm
Music is nice in the background for me also. I seldom focus on the lyrics without intention.
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2/17/2024 08:14:40 pm
For the most part, reviews of my books have been pretty positive. If I did get requests or questions asking why I didn't cover "x" I'd consider going down those roads.
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Mark
2/18/2024 07:05:05 am
You make an excellent point about subjectivity. I think some new authors forget that. No one has ever written a universally loved and acclaimed book. It will never happen also. Taste is too subjective. While the words on the page remain the same, every reader has a different personal dictionary and filters that alter the nuances for each reader and their understanding of the story and its message.
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2/18/2024 10:50:13 am
Yes--when other writers get down about getting a bad review or rejections I remind them there are 8 billion people on the planet and chances are over half of them are NOT going to like their book, or even be capable of reading it :) That still leaves a lot of people, if they've written a well executed book.
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Mark
2/18/2024 01:48:55 pm
I suggest to authors, who bemoan a bad review, that the bad review proves that the good reviews are legitimate, they all didn't come from their mom and her sisters or other family members. I think most readers are astute enough to recognize a troll also.
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2/18/2024 04:17:43 pm
That's good advice. I don't know that my situation is so much a blessing but years of figuring out how my muse operates. Early on my writing schedules were very random and haphazard. It took years to realize all these little things and recognize how to sync up with my muse to get the best working relationship I could.
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Mark
2/18/2024 06:27:54 pm
I am glad to be of help. As they say in the artillery, we aim to please.
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2/18/2024 07:27:01 pm
I've not heard of The Muse. I will check into it. Always looking for new movies and this would be fun.
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Mark
2/19/2024 08:49:54 am
I think you will find interesting ways for an injured member of Project Threshold to play a role in the future. Remember Avatar? it was the final injury of a team member that required the twin to function in his brother's place.
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2/19/2024 09:35:19 am
With an added perspective, I'm hoping to add some more angles to the Project Threshold world with my new character. I'm excited about it--and her.
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Mark
2/19/2024 12:14:08 pm
I have no doubt that audio books will become a lot cheaper to make with AI. Before too long an author will be able to hire an AI powered voice based on one of their favorite movie stars. The voice actor will get a residual from licensing his or her voice. A human narrator can license his or her voice also and the computer will do a majority of the work. The human can go back and polish the files.
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2/19/2024 02:18:33 pm
Agreed on all counts. Audio books are only going to grow and as technology advances, it's going to get easier and easier.
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Mark
2/19/2024 03:57:24 pm
I certainly agree, the big publishers see a book as not much more than a box of cereal is to a grocer. Put it on the shelf and someone will buy it.
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2/19/2024 09:44:30 pm
First I think an author has to be sure they have put forth the best form of the story they possibly can. Through multiple self edits and outside edits it should be pared down and shaped into the best possible telling of the story. Be concise, keep the story on track and get your reader from page one to "The End."
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Mark
2/20/2024 07:32:35 am
Fabulous answer! You really nailed it. Commitment and never quitting are essential to achieve success in this business. Loving to tell stories will enable you to keep writing regardless.
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2/20/2024 08:48:30 am
Thanks for everything Mark! These interviews really help me to dig into my own publishing journey--to define where I'm at and what I need to do to keep going.
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Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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