The Rebel’s Redemption by Jacquie Biggar

Blurb:

Annie Campbell's predictable and cozy life gets turned on its side when her son's prodigal father returns to town. Then an old enemy shows up, and the outcome will not only place her in danger, but their son as well.

Jared Martin left Tidal Falls a hotheaded youth, and has seen his share of violence in the eight years he's served Uncle Sam. Floundering, bitter, and disillusioned he returns to his hometown to regain his bearings.

Then he finds out he's a father.

When an old enemy follows and causes mayhem in the small town, can Jared overcome the odds to protect the woman he's always loved and the child he never knew, or will it be too late?

About the Author:

Jacquie lives in paradise along the west coast of Canada with her husband, daughter, and grandson. She loves reading, writing, flower gardening and spoiling her German shepherd, Annie and calico cat, Harley.

Jacquie swears she can't function without strong, black coffee.

Review by Rochelle:

As a Navy veteran, I especially appreciate books about my fellow vets, especially those who served in combat. There’s a special camaraderie among people who have served together in harm’s way that carries over into civilian life. I see it every Tuesday and Thursday when I volunteer at the VA. So, I have a soft spot in my heart for these heroes and their stories.

That said, Ms. Biggar and her editor need to spend some time listening to these guys speak. She marred good story with stilted dialog. Here’s a scene from The Rebel’s Redemption in which Jared meets his best friend in a bar. The friend is already quite drunk.

“Hey, I thought you were going to stand me up.” [sic] Ty said as Jared pulled up a chair and swiped some of the bottles on the table off to one side.

There are two major problems with this sentence. First, a man as drunk as Ty would probably slur his words. At the very least he’d say something like “gonna” instead of “going to.” Second, when using a dialog tag, one should end the preceding sentence with a comma, not a period. Overuse of dialog tags is another thing authors need to watch out for. Anytime you can replace a dialog tag with an action, it’s best to do so. With an action, you would use a period at the end of the sentence inside the quotation mark. Had I edited this, I’d have slurred Ty’s speech, got rid of the dialog tag, and replaced it with an action. “Hey,I thought you were gonn’ stan’ me up.” Ty hiccupped as Jared…”

And that’s why my daughter sent me a Facebook photo that said, “I’m mentally editing everything you say to me.”

The Rebel’s Redemption really was a great page-burning story with a strong heroine, compassionate hero, and well-drawn supporting characters. It just needed looser language and a better editor. That’s why I’m giving it four roses.

Heat Rating:  PG-13

Length:  235 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $9.99

Digital:  $3.49

Buy Link:  http://www.jacquiebiggar.com/rebel-s-redemption.html

Author Web Site:  http://jacquiebiggar.com

Facebook:  http://Facebook.com/jacqbiggar

Twitter:  http://Twitter.com/jacqbiggar

Author Amazon Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Jacquie-Biggar/e/B00MSIJQBG/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle