I am enjoying your novel immensely. I thought I might be getting a bit lost with the technical music elements, but you do a very good job of bringing it all together for the uninitiated...so I thank you. What a fascinating world...your craftsmanship is superb.
~M.W, IL~
*****
I loved the...excerpts... You really are brilliant in your ability to portray feelings and emotion and CONTENT, while preserving the integrity of each character. And your way with dialogue is mesmerizing - so natural and rhythmic.
~Anon., NYC~
*****
Your characters remain fixed in my mind. Brilliant use of dialogue. I love the way you weave music through your stories. I am musically challenged and thoroughly enjoy bits of information that inform without telling me they are informing. You provide a terrific story with a music appreciation class. Cool!!!!
~"Soohi", a message board friend and fellow writer~
*****
I started reading "O Fortuna" this weekend, and continue to be impressed by the iUniverse production job. I have no idea how much you might have re-edited the book since the last readings I did, but it certainly is smooth now. I like what you have done, enhancing Neal's character via his point-of-view, internal musings, etc.
~A.M., MN~
*****
O Fortuna Has Strong Voice In Uncertain Times
This is a marvelous story of a man and his relationships, with his lover, and
with his family, set against the backdrop of the world of classical music.
What I find most fascinating here is the honesty and believability of these
characters. I must point out that there is strong homosexual content, which I find to be a wonderful asset to this
book. Rather than a typical work with the usual heterosexual relationships,
main character Neal has a lovely and romantic attachment to his musical field
and to some of the people he meets as he walks the long road of his life.
One
of the things that makes the book unique is the amount of detail that is paid
to the music world and its history.
Many novels nowadays seem to be
pre-fabricated. Select a law office or hospital or sport team from Column A.
Make the city the story is set in a real location. Put in a dash of conflict,
sex, and mystery, turn on the auto-pilot and the novel will write itself
using a myriad of clichés and pop culture references.
In other words, many
novels take the easy way out. O Fortuna never does.
O Fortuna is challenging
and provocative without being heavy-handed. It is an 'adult' work in the best
sense of the word,and has a unique point of view and posture all its own.
O
Fortuna is not like so many others that serve merely as launching pads for
films or television programs either.
O Fortuna has a vital voice, and it says
much in these uncertain times when relationships can be so
short-lived.
O Fortuna sings to me with great clarity and beautiful
harmonies, of hardships, nobility, selflessness and selfishness, and of
characters I would love to read more about.
~Steven Cohen, a Boston-based writer/cartoonist, March 26,
2001~
*****
Jehan,
What else can I say? C'est magnifique! Magnifico! I read your wondrous O Fortuna practically in one sitting. I can only say this: When does the sequel become available?
~J.K., Colorado~
*****
Just got your book and it's a very nice package...your publishers did a great job.
~L.K., NYC~
*****
Advance praise for "To Walk in Newness of Life"!
(available by late Fall, 2001)
Your book asks its readers to examine a great deal of psychic pain very closely --more closely, perhaps, than many of them are willing or able to do in their own lives. The shimmers of beauty you provide, and the sense of aspiration one gets from most of the characters, are good analgesics for that -- THE magic element, perhaps, that allows some readers to cross a certain emotional threshold into territory they otherwise wouldn't explore.
~A.M., MN~
*****
So how did I find the story? I can say it in one word: MAGNIFICENT! I was absolutely thrilled reading it. You really are a magnificent author. So when is Book 3 coming out? I'm really anxious to know what happens next.
~J.K., CO~
*****
I heartily recommend "To Walk In Newness of Life" to people who fall in the following categories: parents trying to sort out relationships with their children, those for whom music is a passionate necessity in life, anyone who has dared to chance a new love affair after one has crashed and burned, or those who simply enjoy getting carried away by a great story.
~L.McG., RI~
*****
