Karen Stensgaard

upvoted Project Onionover 1 year ago

over 1 year ago

left a comment on Project Onionover 3 years ago

over 3 years ago

Dear Precious, I am disappointed that you found my novel so unsatisfying to warrant only three stars. That’s a mediocre rating and might be an acceptable statistical average for Reedsy. But a three rating doesn’t help authors who have spent years focused on improving their craft and want to grow their audiences in an overcrowded marketplace. I’m surprised you picked my book to review since my audience is more geared towards older women and not 21-year-old men. Many readers today have short attention spans, and novelists face increased competition from film and TV, so the plot is intentionally fast-paced. I touched on many topics, such as suicide, drug addiction, and the lifestyle of the rich, when they intersected with my plot. I didn’t want to belabor them or turn it into a lecture since many other novels and nonfiction books already cover these subjects in detail. With over 100,000 words, my final draft was too long, so chapters and scenes had to be cut. The ending wraps everything up, but as you mention, it does continue with the protagonist heading overseas alone to work on Project Pepper, a completely new assignment. The next novel isn’t a sequel, but the next in the Melville Consulting series. Each book will focus on a new project, client, and cause with different villains. I hope all my readers wish the story hadn’t ended, so they are eager to read the next! Sincerely, Karen

About me

Karen Stensgaard has published 3 novels: AQUAVIT and BLUENESS in the Aquamarine Sea series; and PROJECT ONION in the Melville Consulting series. Her latest taps into her career as an internal auditor and consultant. Karen is a member of the Authors Guild and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Profile URL

https://reedsy.com/discovery/user/karenstensgaar