Picture of author.

Jeff Chapman

Autor(a) de Tales of Woe and Wonder

19+ Works 45 Membros 9 Críticas

About the Author

Image credit: Jeff Chapman

Obras por Jeff Chapman

Associated Works

The Girl with Ghost Eyes (2015) — Artista da capa, algumas edições388 exemplares
King David and the Spiders from Mars (2014) — Contribuidor — 5 exemplares
Dreams of the Dark Sky (The Legacy of the Heavens Book 2) (2019) — Artista da capa, algumas edições4 exemplares
Songs of the Satyrs (2014) — Contribuidor — 2 exemplares
Tales to Terrify, #189: Counting Places / Shafts / Bluebeard (2006) — Contribuidor — 1 exemplar

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Sexo
male
Local de nascimento
Kansas
Ocupações
Software Writer

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A few years ago, Jeff survived a serious illness, which became a powerful kick in the behind to pursue his dreams of writing and publishing. The journey has begun, but it’s far from over. There are novels in his head, waiting to get out. When he’s not writing, he likes to read and spend time with his wife, children, and cats in a house with more books than bookshelf space.

Membros

Críticas

This is a magical realism story of a cat called Blackjack who knows how to play blackjack, using his claws to say Hold and tail to say Hit. Harv and Stu have no money by the first night so are desperate to try anything. Although sceptical, Stu is open to using Blackjack to help win at least one game. But there are sacrifices to make. The story is quick to read.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to StoryOrigin and author.
 
Assinalado
Louisesk | Jan 26, 2024 |
The story is about a fussy cat and finding her preferred food. The story is comedic and quick to read. This is an extremely short story with potential for expansion.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to StoryOrigin and author.
 
Assinalado
Louisesk | Jan 26, 2024 |
Review of The Sniggard’s Revenge: A Fantasy Adventure by Jeff Chapman
The Sniggard’s Revenge holds great promise in its story line and the range of harrowing challenges that confront the protagonist, Ethan, as he tries to overcome serious obstacles in the pursuit of the object of his love, Annabelle, and later to save Annabelle and his family from various life-threatening challenges. The fantasy world created within the confines of The Sniggard’s Revenge is compelling, partly so because those dangers resonated with real life, such as the mindless bloodlust that is easily triggered in a mob.
That said, my hopes for the book were disappointed. Yet, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. In search of an answer, I called up a copy of The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. The answer to the question “why?” became immediately apparent. Tolkien’s work was simply and beautifully written, each sentence flowing smoothly and effortlessly into the next, building within each paragraph to create and transmit a single concept or message. As the sentences built upon themselves, the paragraphs followed suit, allowing the reader to fall effortlessly into the thrall of the world of the Lord of the Rings.
To illustrate, here is the opening paragraph of The Hobbit. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” To me there is such beauty and efficacy in the simplicity of the writing in leading the reader to understand that a hobbit was a rather wonderful being (inherently described in the description of his home), to only have the message succinctly summarized in the last sentence so that it could not be missed, “…it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” The writing is reader friendly. Without effort, the reader immediately understands what is being conveyed, the message simple, concrete, and clear, every word easily understood and understandable.
Conversely, The Sniggard’s Revenge, often confused me. I found myself re-reading paragraphs, thinking I had missed something. In fact, I had not. Here, is an example. To set the stage, one of the faerie people, Brom, explains how he was able to turn a rotting piece of wood into a powerful, magical staff.
“Ah, my mama was a wood-fae. Theren’t much a wood-fae can’t do with a snip of wood. A proper wood-fae would shiver her leaves down with giggling at my sorry bag of skills, but there be plenty to get me by. Don’t you go a pitying old Brom.” I’m not sure what the message is here. Is it how Brom made the staff? And what does “shiver her leaves down with giggling” mean? And, then Brom wants to ensure that he’s not pitied, “Don’t you go a pitying old Brom.” I can work it out, or think I can, but that effort halts the flow of the story.
In another paragraph, describing when the Sniggard is trying to make his way to recover a stolen object we encounter a similar difficulty: “The blue runes inscribed on the walnut he held in his palm shimmered. A mist of red washed with the blue. A faint scent of raspberries mixed with the smell of blackberries. He halted and turned widdershins until the blackberries crowded out the raspberries. The new direction cut through the hedge. He drew an ax from a loop on his belt. He had spent all day sharpening his weapons.”
Again, the message is tangled. What is it? That the walnut is a kind of compass? And how do the raspberry and blackberry scents enhance the tale, I’m not sure? Perhaps that’s to say the walnut is truly magical. Then, he apparently has to cut through the hedge to go in the right direction (rather than walking around?) so he pulls his ax. I’m not sure why we needed to know that he had spent all day sharpening it. For me, that paragraph is all over the place, resulting in a feeling of confusion, of being wrongfooted, did I miss something? Another unforced error interrupting the flow of the story and thereby keeping me from immersing myself in it. Finally, what does “widdershins” mean? I looked it up, but do most people want to have to do that when seeking entertainment?
Do not misunderstand me, all the writing was not this way, but enough of it to keep me from falling into that fantasy world I so wished to enter. The old saying that writing is re-writing is certainly true. My hope is that the author will do a line-by-line rewrite to elevate his story-telling to reach the tremendous potential the story line deserves. Herein lies the greater challenge that every author welcomes. The as yet unanswered question is: Will it be met?
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Charlesmccormack | Dec 12, 2021 |
Different kind of fantasy than I was expecting, but interesting all the same. Merliss, banished into the body of a cat, has learned a dangerous secret. There’s danger coming, and she must sound the alarm. On the way home, however, she gets lost and must rely on the help of creatures she meets along the way to survive.

As the first in the series, this was definitely a hard hitter. While the beginning was a bit slow, it hooked me once it started to pick up. Merliss was a very strong character, and I related to her. She didn’t back down easily, and that made me root for her more.

The narration was perfect for the story.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Kayla.Krantz | Feb 14, 2020 |

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Associated Authors

Estatísticas

Obras
19
Also by
5
Membros
45
Popularidade
#340,917
Avaliação
3.8
Críticas
9
ISBN
5