Reviewer
The following are links to the various books on Amazon. Use the LOOK INSIDE feature to see if you might be interested. Hope you like them. If you would like to be a reviewer and have a PayPal account or Amazon account, I can either reimburse you or send the book to you. Reviews count more if you are a verified purchaser.
I’ve teamed with Story Origin to provide ePub. Mobi, and PDF versions of MarieAnne: Second Chances Book I. This might be faster, easier, cleaner and cheaper for both of us, though Amazon reviews carry more weight. Check it out. Story Origin.
If you have Libby, it’s easy to send you an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy via Calibre) by email attachment. Open it from the email and it should go to your Libby bookshelf. Some formatting may be lost, but it is an alternative. Libby app.
I’ve included comments from other reviewers, for context. Have fun. And thanks.
MarieAnne Book I Second Chances
Comments:
Book I, what can I say? Wow, very well written. Ups and downs, twists and turns, but good, interesting, and intriguing. Kept my interest throughout. I love the way D. Reed Whitaker weaves the storyline. This was my first time reading his work, won’t be my last. I’m getting Book II now so I can know what happens next. Thank you!
I enjoyed reading Book I MarieAnne. I like the book is for baby boomers. The music is unique and superb. The main characters grew as the story progressed. MarieAnnes’ personality and appearance match her well. I got slightly lost at times in the dialogue. I would liked to have read more action words. Your plot points reach resolution, yet leave the reader in anticipation of further scenes…. As I stated, I enjoyed reading the book. I would like to be a beta-reader for Book II.
MarieAnne: Second Chances 
I was intrigued by your approach to the work. Using dialogue almost exclusively and writing in first person narrative is a challenging task. And for the most part, I think you carried it off well. Making the story about a 65-year old couple getting to know and love each other is unique. Embedding music appropriate to your target age group (of which I am a member, FYI), into the text is an intriguing device. Kudos. Did I like the book? Yes. Was it lit/fic and not romance? Yes. Do I think it’s good? Yes.
Crisp Dialogue, Intriguing Interwoven Mysteries for the Boomer Generation
Writing in first person is difficult enough. Whittaker does this well, avoiding the usual pitfalls of solipsistic inner dialogue. Writing crisp authentic sounding conversation that is both light hearted, teasing, romance supporting, and that still exposes the story and frames the personality of the characters, is more difficult still. The author does this particularly well. As a reader this encouraged me to visualize the action revealed through dialogue, and to “hear” vocal inflections and rapid exchanges that reminded me of a great Sorkin script. The interwoven plots and inter-related characters held my interest and made me want to read the further books in the series to find out how the intriguing mysteries and challenges are finally resolved. Recommended especially for those who enjoy reading screenplays, and especially for those of us in the Boomer generation who want to see ourselves in our reading choices.
Comments:
First of all, I really loved the story. In fact, I couldn’t put it down. I read all of it today. I think you did a great job with Billy. All of the kids I worked with were kids who had no adult figure who loved them and that is why they ended up in those treatment centers. It’s very plausible that Gran gave Billy the ability to hold love and kindness in his heart.
I like this a lot. The interactions among the characters are believable, and you do a nice job of introducing them in a natural way. Overall, this has a quiet intensity that makes me want to read more. The weakest part, for me, is the opening scene. I don’t feel the urgency of the moment in the dialogue—it moves too slowly, without enough intensity, and since it is the opening it is critical to engage the reader immediately. The strongest part is the the interaction between the narrator and Billy. I think you capture the child well, and the narrator’s reaction feels right. The scenes with the narrator and Billy make me want to know more about them. I look forward to reading more.
Nice story, well told through the dialogue, which sound natural. You’ve tapped into the curiosity of a young child. I want, as a reader, to know why Billy is living with his grandpa. I’d also like to hear Billy ask his Uncle why he doesn’t move in, stay there all the time. It would be natural. Billy’s not too happy with his grandpa and obviously likes the uncle.There have big changes with his grandmother dying, so expecting more change would be where his mind might go. Overall, very well done. The voice even sounds more like an uncle’s than a father’s, very patient.
Comments:
Oh wow! Yes. You do understand descriptive writing. My critique of your other story made me want to encourage you but now I think you deliberately wrote it in almost pure dialogue. The Call is well done. The dying man was hard to read, so real, but extremely well written. Made me shudder, as it should. Slipping from that construction accident to the old friends, rodeo backgrounds, possible meeting up, etc., was a great switch and needed after the shock of your opening. I don’t know where your story is going but I hope the surviving wife and children are not caught up in horrible dreams/visions of their loved one dying. Though if this is a dark story, you could go that way.
Now the rodeo stuff. You held my interest though I wondered if an old rodeo man would have a bridle hanging on a wall, a bareback bronc saddle hanging on a hook in his garage, a neat stack of horseshoes from his favorite heeling horse, maybe kept after the horse died of old age. Add some items for the reader to ponder and then discover their meaning as the story opens up. After that powerful opening, your story does a lot of what you do well, dialogue. I would enjoy the read even more if I could breathe between speakers though. Let your man’s eyes look around his room as he listens to his old friend. Have his mind wander and fix on the horseshoe ash tray, the lampshade by his western leather chair with holes punched into it in the shape of running horses. Let him stare at the cowboy boots he wears to this day, even though his work is very different than rodeo.
Nice to read your narrative style, which is very smooth, poetic. Of course, I am always pleased to read your dialogues, too. That’s why I keep coming back for more. Interesting characters, both tough and vulnerable. Good emotions to work with. You are very good at exposing emotions without the unnecessary drama that other writers feel compelled to include. A few corrections inline, mostly mixed verb tenses. Otherwise, very clean copy.
The tab (Free Preview) should take you to the ‘Look Inside’ at Amazon. It might be a better approach. Enjoy.
