Recently I was talking to my niece, who was reading my book, Faery. And the title of this blog is what she asked me. Yes, Maeve's boots got lost in the ether. I couldn't even remember the boots, to be honest. But she did go barefoot into the snowy forest. The mistake I made was having her moan about her boots later, and accuse the evil faery of having taken them, along with her clothing. The faery never saw them because Maeve left them back in Duncan's tree house. In Maeve's case I can chalk it up to her confused state of mind--I had her moan about them on purpose to show this. Unfortunately this is not true. I'm only glad it wasn't a bigger issue.
At first I was upset that she asked the question, was it such a glaring problem? And then I realized it's very easy to let these things slip by. It's like someone's eyes being green and then turning brown about halfway through the story. So far I haven't made that mistake! And it becomes harder if we're writing a series. I'm constantly having to refer back to earlier events. Readers pick up on these things and it takes them out of the narrative.
After feeling put upon and upset that I'd made the mistake in the first place, I finally told her, yes, this was a mistake, and thank you for catching it. And by the time I said this, I meant it sincerely. Thank you to the savvy reader who sees these little inconstancies. Not that I can do anything about it now...but....if it was a bigger issue I would have pulled the book from kindle and fixed it. The paperback would have been more difficult, but it can be done.
Beta readers are the way to go. And editors, if you can afford it, or have a friend who is good at it. I had all my earlier books edited, but now I have my husband read and re-read and a beta reader or two. It seems to work pretty well. Being a writer is not an easy task these days, with having to wear so many different hats.
If you have an interest in Book 4 of my Wolfmoon series, here is the teaser for Faery: Her boots are not mentioned :)
AND check out my website for a freebie! www.nikkibroadwell.com
