The Vicar of Wrynbury

Dear Ms Moore
Your book rminds me of Dickens and that's a huge complement. It is not easy for a writer to write in a time she hasn't lived in and you have done a most remakable job. Bravo!

Backed with extreme peasure

This is a wonderfully-written book. It's deep and different, with intelligent, complex characters. It's the kind of book rarely written anymore. It belongs to a brighter age of writing. Can it raise modern standards? Probably not. But I hope it's published so I can buy it. Backed. Lynn

I loved your book, even though I'm not always a fan of historical fiction. (That's just because sometimes I have trouble keeping my own era straight, let alone trying to fathom another era and time.) Cyril and Anne are well-developed, complicated and sympathetic characters who are shaped by the traditions and expectations of the time in which they live. Brilliant work. I like the interplay of their journal entries and the daily happenings. I enjoyed the POV switches between Cyril and Anne and the skillful way secrets about their pasts are slowly being teased out. I love that Anne is not nearly as Pollyannish and optimistic as she first appears, and Cyril is not as dour and cold as he first appears. It takes great skill to weave all of these elements into an enjoyable story. This is backed very enthusiastically and I look for it to do very well!

Backed with pleasure - andy and vesna

Dear N Moore ~
You have tapped into the heaving discontent often found beneath the placid front of a small town, as evidenced in Anne's anxiety about leading the charge to get Cyril ensconsed in the vicarage, and her fear of the social pressures she will face if he is a failure. I love this era, and I look forward to reading more and discovering how romance unfolds between this unlikely pair. Thank you for the opportunity to read your work, and thank you too for your support of The Long Black Veil. Backing you with delight :) -- J and B

Skilful writing, minutely observed. Backed. Jackie (Gift of Sparrows)

Dear Ms Moore
Your book rminds me of Dickens and that's a huge complement. It is not easy for a writer to write in a time she hasn't lived in and you have done a most remakable job. Bravo!

Backed with extreme peasure

Excellent writing wonderful story telling.
Backed.
Thx,
a zoomer - a boomer with zip

Building up nicely, and. elegant English as well. Backed

THE VICAR of Wrynbury: Great read! I love the POV 1st person from both MC. You do it well (and it's difficult to do. I know. :)). The premise is excellent. The descriptions top-notch. The intrigue is...intriguing. I love the comment, "He's as homely as mud." :) Looking forward to reading more!

Heidi
Pearl Edda

Since I have people have complained to me about the font size of my book, I am keenly aware of the text size bar--so your timy font was no problem--fixed with a quick slide. It's not like the thing is hidden and we have to hunt for it.

Anyway, your writing is lovely and rich. Best wishes.
Debra

My ancestors lived in Shropshire in the mid 19th century so this setting has a definite interest for me. Your main character doesn't seem very sympathetic at first, but he grows on you. The writing is wonderful and you definitely hold our interest. Well done.

Betty K "Destiny's Weave"

First off, I had to scroll down a bit to find out that I could increase the font size, was struggling before that. You may want to send authonomy a note to fix this, or perhaps warn would-be readers at the end of your pitch about this because I'm afraid some might be turned away. And this should not happen because this is wonderfully written. I have a weakness for middle-aged, solitary men (in books!), going about their business unawares of some seismic event about to happen. Two of my favorites: Remains of the Day, and Walking Into the Night. So the tone of this sits quite well with me. I like the situation that you have set up; a vicarage fallen into disarray, a vicar with a troubling past and moral complexities (Night of the Iguana!), a community bonded in their disarray. Your prose is perfectly paced and compliments this theme, really sets the place of your novel. Good job.

I like stories about middle agers rather than young adults. Their experience gives them so much more depth as characters. You've done that well here. Offered a story with two complex people. I like the way you reveal their backgrounds on a need-to-know basis. A second strength of the book is your writing style. You've obviously done a lot of research to be able to delve this deeply into this time period and it shows. A good read, I'm adding this to my shelf. Burgio (Grain of Salt).

You have created a beautiful setting with your descriptions and your writing flows beautifully. Your characters are three dimensional. This is very well done. Congratulations.

Richard Bard
BRAINRUSH

Hi ho, N Moore! Backed your book because I like a person to completely imagines a world, to ask questions about the answers to the questions: you have. Also I like someone who is not afraid to start the microscope early: you're not. Saw a young Richard Burton turning up there as the regretful vicar. The ONLY quibble: dusty lanes in April with reliable 1911 April showers; wouldn't they be somewhat wetter? Sorry, pedantry has made me few friends in life. Luke.

Hi ho, N Moore! Backed your book because I like a person to completely imagines a world, to ask questions about the answers to the questions: you have. Also I like someone who is not afraid to start the microscope early: you're not. Saw a young Richard Burton turning up there as the regretful vicar. The ONLY quibble: dusty lanes in April with reliable 1911 April showers; wouldn't they be somewhat wetter? Sorry, pedantry has made me few friends in life. Luke.

I would have liked to read this but the font was too small.

***The font can be adjusted with the slide bar at the top of the text. I have no idea why it loads so small. It looks perfectly normal on my wps and rtf documents.***

I would have liked to read this but the font was too small.

This is a wonderfully-written book. It's deep and different, with intelligent, complex characters. It's the kind of book rarely written anymore. It belongs to a brighter age of writing. Can it raise modern standards? Probably not. But I hope it's published so I can buy it. Backed. Lynn

‘He’s as homely as mud.’ What a great line. I like this book for its pace and first person narrative. An unusual topic but placed as the central hub of all that is dear to the village it makes it an endearing tale. Backed with pleasure.
Sue Mackender
Knowing Liam Riley

The sheer set up of the premise is worthy of a shelving but I really found myelf drawn in by this perfect long pitch. Normally I would complain about not breaking up the paragraph but not this time. The short pitch? Hhmmm, seems a bit generic to me. But the writing is spot on. SHELVED!

I can use your comments on my book when you get the chance. Cheers!

JC
The Obergemau Key
Authonomy's #1 rated commentator

You are a good writer and your story is strong. My only suggestion is to take a look at the "had" issue. i.e. the use of the word "had" where it's not really necessary. Simply removing the word can improve the flow of the read.

Lockjaw

Your short pitch threw me, I got lost in the ‘one thing you’ve never know’ how do you know there is a thing (never mind one thing) if you never knew it was there? Could be me, my intelligence quotient has been replaced by a need for food ;-).

Liked the storyline and your writing style places the book perfectly.
The characterisation is very good and the dialogue really supports that.
I liked this, not sure is would have read it from the title alone (the tags did it)
But I am extremely glad I did – Good luck.

What a story, N. Moore! Hope you'll read mine, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not & my unedited version, Tell Me True Love Stories of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. Thanks, Susie :)

Hi N. Moore, I enjoyed this for its characterizations and its evocative, skilled writing. And was relieved when the bachelor vicar didn’t fit into the romantic hopes of the younger woman. This is about something else and not the usual subject for books in that time. The minister downing whiskey before his first sermon and his aggravation with Mrs. Gladwyn is amusing. I liked the POVs – entertaining in the friction of wills. It’s a story easy to become submerged in and easy to shelve – Katherine (The Swan Bonnet)

Most enjoyable piece of writing! And impressive. Good luck with publication. I think it is certainly worthy.

Bill Hackett --THE SCRIBE

This reads so well that I can hear the music in the background. Truly a well-developed story of intrigue, promises and love.

backed
Fate's Chastening

Hi there
A Great story with a true English country feel about it. You could make this into one of those TV serials. A fantastic plot. I’ve got a few promise reads to catch up on but will add you to my WL to read more shortly.
All the best
DP Walker
Five Dares

The characterizations of Cyril and Anne are brilliant! You have a real gift for descriptive prose and a style that draws the reader into the story at just the right pace! BACKED with pleasure - I believe this will do well here!

Liz
The Cheech Room

I could hear Elgar in the background when I read this. Very evocative and a good choice for a Sunday read. You still have a bit of editing to do, like all of us, but I can see this doing well here. Good title to pique the interest and then some interesting characters and situations. Jim Darcy The Firelord's Crown

It was your pitch that drew me to your book (I love Shropshire and spent many years there as a child) I was not disappointed and intend to finish asap. Backed with pleasure and good luck
Hatts

I think this is an excellent piece of work that demonstrates skill and promise. You construct a cast of characters that is both compelling and appealing in their flaws as much as their traits, and your prose is constructed to represent the era of the piece, lending the whole thing a more realistic edge.

I have only had time to read the first chapter, but I think you have done an excellent job here. Your prose is polished, and I cannot see anything to criticise. How you break up and format the text is up to you, and I, for one, thought it worked very well.

Best of luck with your MS!
Abi
(Relic)

This is still quite rough in places, but you've made a decent effort to get the tone right for the period, and the premises for the story, though not original, make sense for this sort of historical romance.

The two characters do seem to have different voices, but I think you might work on this further; it's easy to assume the differences when the PsOV are so diametrically opposed.

On a technical level, I dislike block formatting, and it's so modern that it jars with the content of the story, and, I'm not a fan of changes in typeface, so I'd lose the italics.

This is still in the thousands, so there's an opportunity to do work on this long before HC take a look at it.

Shelved and the best of luck,

Adelie High (Naming Names)

I loved your book, even though I'm not always a fan of historical fiction. (That's just because sometimes I have trouble keeping my own era straight, let alone trying to fathom another era and time.) Cyril and Anne are well-developed, complicated and sympathetic characters who are shaped by the traditions and expectations of the time in which they live. Brilliant work. I like the interplay of their journal entries and the daily happenings. I enjoyed the POV switches between Cyril and Anne and the skillful way secrets about their pasts are slowly being teased out. I love that Anne is not nearly as Pollyannish and optimistic as she first appears, and Cyril is not as dour and cold as he first appears. It takes great skill to weave all of these elements into an enjoyable story. This is backed very enthusiastically and I look for it to do very well!

Great writing, great dialogue and good spin on a forbidden romance.

Shelved.
Dan-
Eunice Stubbins, among others...

This has an excellent premise and a good writing style. I like the voice of your first person character. I would suggest you cut chapter 1 down quite a lot--in half or even in thirds. I find when a first chapter gets too long on here it's daunting to look at. You'll get more readers if you cut it down. You don't have to start all over again, you can just edit.

Betty K "Destiny's Weave"

I appreciate the comments about the chapters! I'm not at all married to how the chapters are broken up now. I only did that to keep track of about 10 pages a file. I will cut it down to perhaps two entries per chapter. Thanks for the feedback!

This has an excellent premise and a good writing style. I like the voice of your first person character. I would suggest you cut chapter 1 down quite a lot--in half or even in thirds. I find when a first chapter gets too long on here it's daunting to look at. You'll get more readers if you cut it down. You don't have to start all over again, you can just edit.

Betty K "Destiny's Weave"

I love the voice here, and the style. The story and the characters are poignant and captivating. Best of luck with this.

Leah Petersen - Mourn the Sun