Constant Reader by Jennifer Reeve is short story / novella in which we find an aspiring novelist who's dreams of literary success have just come to her big time, but something else came along for the ride!
Constant reader is an ode to Stephen King in parody form where the protagonist, a female novelist, has struck gold with her latest literary effort and along with the riches and fame that come with her new success comes a deadline which must be met for her next work. Our would be heroine finds herself with a bit of writers block as she enjoys all she has ever dreamed of and more, but then she begins to be haunted by what can only be described as the demon muse of the legendary Stephen King himself.
There's some good writing here, but in all honesty, if you're not a Stephen King fan, then you probably won't find much that holds your attention for very long...I'm not a Constant Reader of Mr. King's work personally and so many of the references, which to fans would seem witty, were lost on me. I assumed they were clever because I understood the premise, but otherwise...no, sorry.
In all fairness, a short parody is all the book is attempting to be and as I stated before, "If you're a fan, this may give you a chuckle or two."
I will note that the language was a bit heavy in some places, but that's my personal tastes. On the book itself...this is a self published lulu.com title at 104 pages. The book could do with better interior and exterior design, particularly the cover, which says nothing to me about the content. I'm a stickler for a good cover, particularly because if you are selling to an online market then this is the first and perhaps last anyone will see of your book. If the cover is really engaging, then most may take a closer look. The editing was pretty good, but spacing between paragraphs was exaggerated. But if you're a Stephen King fan and a Constant Reader of his work then plant your tongue firmly in your cheek and give this one a try...at the very least, it's a cheap download.
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