Houses of Cards

Well, this is why I rent. If my wife and I ever tried to renovate the way Jennifer and Tim did, I'd be out on my ear, hormones or not. It was very interesting to see the interest rates and housing prices just fifteen years back. Jennifer's plan almost sounded good to me, but with the advantage of hindsight telling me what's happened with credit card balances over the past decade and a half, I foresee big trouble! I especially liked the details, both economic and mechanical, you provided for the renewal projects. Old wiring, old plumbing and old gas lines are monetary time bombs for anyone on a tight budget, and you showed us exactly how an eager young speculator could get in over their head despite being handy. The scene from your favorites involving Tim's fall from the ladder were among my favorites as well. Hope everything came out all right. He seemed like a great guy. Happy to back this fine book.

Hi Pamela, what a great idea, at first I thought this was none fiction as it is written so convincingly and in first person. Then I checked back and saw it was fiction. I think this is a brilliant story for our times, they are going to put everything on cards and use money they don't have, logically its a good idea and it payed off for many people for a number of years but does this story cross over into the recession, if so I imagine this story is going to be a little heartbreaking and I worry for this family. Your narrators enthusiasm is great from the onset, coupled with her husbands reserve they make a good pairing. As I said I think this is a great idea, and its really well written. On my shelf. Helena (A Load of Rubbish)

Pamela, it's good, finish it (although I quite like where it ends now) or is the 'incomplete' status incorrect? You're a natural story teller and a more than competent writer - your style is very accessible. Anthropoligists a thousand years from now would find this work valueable as an insight into suburban life. Backed. CJ

It is complete, you can read some of my other favorite chapters on www.housesofcards.com. On the web site you can view photos and buy the book there too. I used createspace to print it and am very satisfied their product. It should be on Amazon soon.

Wow... I love you writing style & your main character's enthusiasm it is addictive. I'm like this with houses, hence the fact I'm still renovating this one after five years! Your descriptive detail is fab "his hair was more salt than pepper these days" & the straight jacket part. Your flow is fast enough to keep the reader intrigued without overload. Highly recommended. Will be carrying on reading this as, did I say, i love it! I wish you the very best of luck with your book. kind regards pinkcoffee 'In The Moment'

Real estate is the stuff that dreams might even come true from--most people know that, and this work has curb appeal right up to the top in terms of current events awareness. The dog named, Buck, just adds the correct touch of "realness" to the plot. A suggestion is to introduce some doubt concerning the launch of a quest for undervalued property using credit cards. Banks and many other folks have been burned with credit card usage, so some approach to validate the process of purchases on credit cards might need to be introduced early in the storyline. The plot is wonderful. Almost every evening, various stories concerning the housing crisis and credit card debts are covered on the TV news. The contemporary aspect of this work will draw readers. The comedy will delight readers. Backed. Chuck (Paperboy Adventures)

Definately held my interest. Your book is near and dear to my heart b/c we almost moved last year-but couldn't sell our house. I know how your character feels-seeing a home and all of its potential. Great job.

I like your title and premise. The real estate industry sucks so bad right now. Everyone wants a mansion in perfect condition for next to nothing. I think I'm going to enjoy your book. If you have time, please check out 33 or Halo of the Damned. Dina Rae

Hi Pamela, re backing your work. :-)

blessings,
jim

HI Pamela, I'm re backing your work....it's really quite wonderful. I've had some folks tell me that my backings having registered. Sooooooooooooo just to make sure, I'm backing again. :-) Nice journey you've painted!

blessings,
jim
jack & charmian london

Excellent premise, well executed. Backed.

My wife and I have renovated several properties in the UK and we recognise many of the situations here. Your eye for observational comedy is perfect, well done. Patrick Barrett (Cuthbert-how mean is my valley)

Fascinating stuff!

Fascinating stuff!

As a late in life student- with a less than sympathetic husband, I know just how she feels. And the house bug, is firmly in my genes too, so GO GIRL!
Loved and backed
Millie x

Dear Pamela,
It's hilarious, the fixes that people get themselves into. Your story is funny and all-too-familiar. Although I have to say that if I could find a house for under $10,000, I'd still snap it up in a minute! Where I live, that literally might buy a small shed. Maybe. Not even a parking space in Boston! They go for $40,000 or $50,000 - I mean it!

BACKED
Elizabeth Wolfe (MEMORIES OF GLORY)

Please excuse the following message if I’ve already sent it to you. Sometimes I get confused! Thanks.

Here is your chance to get a double backing. My friend, homewriter, and I have similar taste in writing and trust each other's judgment. Back my book and leave it on your bookshelf. Then do the same for his, "The Harpist of Madrid." Once the backings register, he will give you a return backing guaranteed. Just let him know in an email that you've backed my book as well as his. You might have to be a bit patient as we're 6 time zones apart. But you'll have two backings guaranteed on your excellent book. Of course, comments are always welcome too!

My goodness, Pamela, reading your first chapter, all about how you're going to finance the house on credit cards and count on being to sell in 6 months or else just transfer all the credit card debt onto another new credit card, just turns my blood cold, especially in the light of events of recent years. Thank heavens you were doing it all in 1995, because if you'd been doing it in 2007 you'd have lost everything! A terrific read nevertheless. Backed.

Nicole
Chosen

Backed! Two things we have in common: Buck (great name for a dog), and we all have experienced the horrors of renovation. We especially liked the line.... some one measuring me for a coat with extra, extra long sleeves that tie in back... instead of just saying straight jacket. We checked out your website. Liked the way you plugged your book on Authonomy. We went the self-published route also. Check out our website: ccbrownbooks.com, if you get the time. Hope you will also take the time to look at our book Dark Side, a paranormal thriller.

CC Brown

What a great read!

Real life, real people, real story - in this fiction work - all comes together to glue the readers to the pages. And won't let go, until it's done with them.

Love it!

Backed with true pleasure.

Johanna Kern
Master and the Green-Eyed Hope

Tried renovation once with disastrous consequences. Must read this. Placed on our watchlist.
CC Brown
Dark Side

If Erma Bombeck had hosted, "This Old House”... Backed.

Miles. A. Robinson
Song for My Father / Loud Lucy Ludlow

Jennifer Cross is on a mission. With nervous husband Tim in tow, she sets out to build a real estate empire using cash advances on her credit cards, sweat equity, and her own chutzpah. House of Cards is a very different type of story, it reads like an autobiography but it is a work of fiction. No murders, car chases, or international spies here, just a very interesting slice of suburban life. The author would benefit from having a paid editor give the work a polish as I caught one or two errors and I’m know for my weak editorial skills.
This is the sort of work that could be made into a very funny movie.

Profanity, sex, laughter and tears, eh? I'm in!

Not normally the sort of thing I'd choose from a bookshop but hey, I really enjoyed this. Your writing flows so easily, and I can just SEE the trouble coming ahead. She's got it all worked out, it all sounds so reasonable - doesn't it? lol.

Putting you on my watchlist to read further and will back you in a day or two when my shelf has a vacancy (I like to let my choices sit for a bit, so other people can see what I think is worth looking at. :)

The dialogue is great here. The plot is believable and I codl certainlyimagine my husband and I dogin the same. 'I love it when the attorney says it is the worst poalce he has seen' and then Tim replies... 'when can i see it.' Made me laugh!
Kirsty
Prygon: The Circle of Dark Magic

Well, this is why I rent. If my wife and I ever tried to renovate the way Jennifer and Tim did, I'd be out on my ear, hormones or not. It was very interesting to see the interest rates and housing prices just fifteen years back. Jennifer's plan almost sounded good to me, but with the advantage of hindsight telling me what's happened with credit card balances over the past decade and a half, I foresee big trouble! I especially liked the details, both economic and mechanical, you provided for the renewal projects. Old wiring, old plumbing and old gas lines are monetary time bombs for anyone on a tight budget, and you showed us exactly how an eager young speculator could get in over their head despite being handy. The scene from your favorites involving Tim's fall from the ladder were among my favorites as well. Hope everything came out all right. He seemed like a great guy. Happy to back this fine book.

There was a spate of books in around the 1980s about the wealth opportunities in real estate. Certainly there are opportunities and I doubt that many people become rich without investing in real estate, but there are hazards as you so ably show. I think this is a very valuable book to give a dose of realism.
Technical points: You are careless with punctuation around dialogue. Sometimes, a piece of dialogue ends with a full stop where there should be a comma, eg. "Whoo hoooo. was the battle cry. Further, all pieces of dialogue must start with a capital, even if it's an interrupted sentence of dialogue. Another thing, but this is a matter of opinion, Ch 1. you refer to a 'tight little ass.' Tight or not, to me it sounds a jarring note.
A valuable, well written book, with few errors of grammar or spelling. Backed, Marj.

Pamela,
Great story! I've always wondered what house flipping was like--now I know. I was drawn into the story quickly anxious to know what happens next. The clarity and believability makes me wonder where fact leaves off and fiction begins. I could guess a half a dozen endings but I be waiting to see which ending you choose.
I

The attorney's remark, "It's a real mess," just about sums up the entire real estate market. The premise of this work is great as well as the writing. Good luck with it, and backed with pleasure. Chuck (Paperboy Adventures) (Literary Agent Blues)

Hi Pamela, your pitch promises a very intriguing story. I have backed it with pleasure and look forward to reading. Will return with further comments
Helen

This is wonderful, believable characters and circumstances. Really well done and I wish you the best of luck with it. E.Loraine Royal Blood Chronicles book one

Pamela Frost:

This house story reminds me of the movie "Pacific Heights'; it, however, was from another perspective. In the movie a landlord fails to rent his property to a black couple. Instead they chose to rent to a wealthy white business man, who drove a Porsche. If anything could go wrong it did. You could not dream up what the owners of this had to endure with this renter. albeit this is the flip side of the same coin, it seems purchasing this house proved to be your MC's worst nightmare. (As another comment stated--this feels too real!) It just shows how we are sometimes so blinded by our emotions in spite of red flags all around. This is a must read for anyone who wants to purchase or flip houses. Backed.

Ida L. (Silent Storm)

Pamela Frost:

This house story reminds me of the movie "Pacific Heights'; it, however, was from another perspective. In the movie a landlord fails to rent his property to a black couple. Instead they chose to rent to a wealthy white business man, who drove a Porsche. If anything could go wrong it did. You could not dream up what the owners of this had to endure with this renter. albeit this is the flip side of the same coin, it seems purchasing this house proved to be your MC's worst nightmare. (As another comment stated--this feels too real!) It just shows how we are sometimes so blinded by our emotions in spite of red flags all around. This is a must read for anyone who wants to purchase or flip houses. Backed.

Ida L. (Silent Storm)

Pamela Frost:

This house story reminds me of the movie "Pacific Heights'; it, however, was from another perspective. In the movie a landlord fails to rent his property to a black couple. Instead they chose to rent to a wealthy white business man, who drove a Porsche. If anything could go wrong it did. You could not dream up what the owners of this had to endure with this renter. albeit this is the flip side of the same coin, it seems purchasing this house proved to be your MC's worst nightmare. (As another comment stated--this feels too real!) It just shows how we are sometimes so blinded by our emotions in spite of red flags all around. This is a must read for anyone who wants to purchase or flip houses. Backed.

Ida L. (Silent Storm)

Dear Pamela, I love your tale of owning many houses - I've owned 5 in 15 years with my ex-husband, so understand everything you've said - my kids being along for the ride. :) Thanks for telling it like it is. :) I'm now on my 6th house & her 10 years - never want to move again!! :) Your pitch is excellent, so set the hook for me to read your book. :) When you use short paragraphs & lots of dialogue, it makes me want to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next. I'm backing your book. :)
Could you please take a moment to back my TWO memoir books? Thanks, Susie :)

This is information from authonomy (so beware of any other untrue information you may receive that is spam & not quotes of authonomy):
"When you back a book, it only improves the ranking of that book, not yours. However, the author whose book you are backing may decide to back your book also, in which case yes, your ranking would be improved"...authonomy quote.
"Every time you place a book on your bookshelf, your recommendation pushes the book up the rankings. And while that book sits on your bookshelf, your reputation as a talent spotter increases depending on how well that book performs.

I watched the flipping shows on tv when they were popular a couple years ago, I always thought what a great way to make money, the I did it, and oh lord what a nightmare. reading your delightful tome brought back those not so fond memories, but your approach was a lot funnier, well actually well written. This is a good story and I am glad to back it. Still reading.

I looked at this expecting to just read a part of the first chapter but then found myself getting drawn in. You kind of know where this is going to end but you have to see how it unfolds, An excellent story, well told and it captures brilliantly the mood and enthusiasm of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.

I loved it

Interesting story, fascinating insight into the world of flipping. Reads like non-fiction, factual and a lot of detail.

Hi Pamela, I really enjoyed this book, it was so different and fascinating. Just shows you can take any situation in life and turn it into a good read. Backed happily.

Admiration towards those who contribute to sustain, what is effectively essential, a persons home, in the shape of plumbers, electricians and builders ' House of Cards' tells us a that some of that gratitude should be directed at your house renovators. Private or professional, they undertake jobs only the insane would do. I don't think the family in this story need stait jackets i think they should recieve medals.
Backed with pleasure.
Daniel Manning
No Compatibility.

Pamela: I always think the point gets across best in fiction, if you can get people to read it who are interested in this kind of thing. Very good idea! Best of luck with this. Jayne (The President's Wife is on Prozac)

Hi Pamela. You have a concept here that is all the rage on television shows at present. I think it is well written and absorbing. The family are great characters and I love your sense of humor throughout. Backed and best of luck! Maria (Cosmic Linx)

Very well written, and as a property dabbler myself - it just rings so true - the market for this should b immense - good luck - simon - Charlie Marconi

Well done Pamela. I used to sit and watch Flip this House and get all jazzed up too - but often wondered how many of those "expected" values turned into real sales - even before the business went bust. I've been to Sheriff's sales and even got a real estate appraiser's license, mainly to prep myself as an investor. It was there that I discovered that the entire real estate industry is one big pyramid scheme. You've captured the real real estate here quite nicely.

Pardon me, Pamela. Your title is Houses of Cards. Well, that makes all the difference.

Best,

GK Stritch

Dear Pamela Frost,

House of Cards is an excellent title for your manuscript, but I have that same title in my mind having just viewed the superb BBC production of the "House of Cards" triology. Anyway, people are always interested in real estate so this seems a winner to me., backed.

All best wishes and please have a look at CBGB Was My High School.

GK Stritch

You have a very clever way of sneaking information past the reader without them noticing, Pamela, it being painlessly wrapped up in the dialogue and descriptions. Excellent writing. As to the subject, who hasn't imagined restoring some dilapidated house and turning it into a money-spinning palace. In the UK, TV programs about just this are on every day, but they just brush the surface. This novel shows the entire process and it's effect on everyone involved. Jennifer takes no prisoners: dilapidated house, disgusting smell, daunting financial prospect; in she goes, dragging Tim and Nate in her wake. Still it was a darn good price, and she knows how to fix the smell, apparently.

Humour breaks up the mounting horror of all that needs fixing: 'Vampire Nate wouldn't be awake before we got back', 'Martha Stewart on crack couldn't imagine this scene', 'with a flutter of my long eyelashes I had electricity'. A book everyone who has even contemplated property renovation should read ... backed.

Possible nits: 'unable to believe ... desperately to believe'. Hyphenate salt-and-pepper'. 'We'll look ... He looked'. ;shinny [shiny] white paint'. 'all come a long way ... coming together ... to come into our lives'. 'let's not get to [too] far'. 'I began to feel ... I began to wonder'. 'to brake [break] the tension'.

I have a theory. You secretly love house restoration and you're trying to drive away all competition so you can buy these gems at an even cheaper price?

This is priceless information for those of us with similar aspirations. You're writing is excellent and the pacing of you sordid tale is superb. As a survivor of numerous cost saving (not!) home renovation projects which, yes, include removing an old converted coal furnace, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Best of luck with this. It really is good reading, and may actually save some overzealous fool from thinking that riches are just a few credit cards away.

tyler (Almost Straight)

Hi, Pamela -

This is marvelous; kind of puts Bob Vila and all the other reality show home flippers and remodelers in a whole new light.

Happy to back House of Cards, and I would love it if you could take a look at my book.

Best of luck here.

-Jeff Lee
THE LADIES TEMPERANCE CLUB'S FAREWELL TOUR

What a unique idea for a story but then, truth is usually stranger as they say. I kept thinking of Tom Hanks in The Money Pit. Your characters are endearing and interesting from the beginning and I think this is the important thing, so that we will be willing to follow them through their ensuing follies. You have a casual, almost conversational tone and a hook here that I think could be quite commercial. Well done.
---Mary
The Qualities of Wood

Dear Pamela,

I have backed your book because I was hooked by the pitch, loved the introduction and read on. How much more I read depends on time and commitment.

Enjoy everything and good luck.

Rusty Bernard
Psychiatric Evaluation

Pamela,

I just enjoyed your first chapter. You've got engaging characters and vivid descriptions here. It reminds me that old Cary Grant movie, "Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House," except uddated to the fixer-upper real estate market of today.

Nice work!

Max Griffin
Flatland

This comes across as so real. The first person gives us immediacy, as if we're there - works very well. You have 'was all I could say' / 'was all she said' quite close to each other, maybe reword one. Anyway, in short, very readable!

Pamela,
This is a good example of first person POV. You have done a great job of editing. I didn't see any nits jump out at me. I like your MC and I fear that bad thing will happen to her and her family. Shaky finances can put huge strains on the best of marriages.
The only thing that came to mind through ch was the final paragraph. A little earlier Jennifer tells her hubby that she had been by the house, Then he says we haven't seen the house yet, when he already knows she has.
Other than that well done.
MickR - The nightcrawler

Great idea, superbly written and crafted. Fun, but with the feeling everything is going to go more than pear-shaped before long. The characters feel very real and the pace, style and flow draws the reader in immediately.
I've already backed, but would do so again.
Lots of luck with it.
Anna (Black Damask)

Such an original concept for a work of fiction. It reads as if it's non-fiction, which is quite clever. Shelved with pleasure.

Amy
Love Match

So funny! Loved this! Backed!