Renta - Missing Content #article #ebooks #manga #mustread

Renta - Missing Content

Let's get one thing straight, I don't complain too often, but I do get my knickers in a knot when a company doesn't deliver and I'm paying for it. 

For those of you who don't know Renta! is an online manga reading site. Basically, you purchase, in most cases, a chapter at a time of the manga or the entire book. Now, this isn't rocket science. If they charge per chapter they make more money and so does the author. Not only are the prices getting ridiculous, but Renta! is not delivering the FULL goods. 

Let me explain...

If you do a bit of research it isn't hard to find the original Japanese version of any of the books they list. Also, it's not difficult to find English versions either. This means I know how many actual chapters are in the manga.

On average, out of every five manga Renta! publishes, only three are ever completed. This means they just decide to drop the manga (quit publishing it). I assume it has something to do with sales and the cost to translate. Others have said it's due to the author's publisher if they drop it. But that's bullshit because the mangas have already been published in Japanese.

So, here's the thing. I'm sick and tired of purchasing partial mangas and never reading to the end. If I buy to read, I want to read the WHOLE STORY. I'm also tired of them omitting the extra pages and little half chapters. These are bonuses added at the end of many mangas; some give an update of the characters' lives, some are humourous, and so on. Many of the mangas don't have these either.

Did you read that Renta!?

Okay, to be fair to Renta! maybe some of the manga that are dropped is for a legitimate reason... But I find it difficult to believe.

In other words, I don't purchase much from Renta! anymore. I research then wait to see what they publish, and I check the cost. At least June, Sublime, Amazon and anywhere else that distributes manga eBooks sell the book in its entirety. In closing, I'd like to say there are many other manga reading sites that provide better prices and better service. 

Blak Rayne

Know Your Character #mustread #authors #amwriting #fiction

Know Your Character

One thing that I can’t stress enough is keeping a character true to their nature. In other words, it’s a huge let-down and frustrating as hell when an author allows their character to act out of character. Did that make sense? LMAO 😆

Billy is a smoker, and when he’s depressed, he likes to go downtown to hang at the local pub to drown his sorrows in a glass of Scotch while smoking his brains out. Billy is also in his mid-fifties, in reasonably good health, considering his bad habits, and he has a somewhat sour disposition. He’s a contractor and has worked in various fields and alongside construction guys for over thirty years. He’s made his money and has a beautiful home, wife, and a couple of grown sons…

Now, as I’m sure you’re probably aware or at least you can surmise, this guy doesn’t necessarily have a lot of finesse. He’s a bit rough around the edges, and he’s the type of man who can appreciate hard work.

If Billy has been this type of character from the beginning, the odds he’ll change are reasonably low, depending on what happens to him during his journey (plot). I’m not saying a character can't evolve into someone slightly different. But, their basic habits and personality traits should stay intact unless something extraordinary happens. For instance, Billy gets zapped by kryptonite and becomes Superman’s archenemy. Which, in reality, wouldn’t happen. Do you get my point?

To maintain plot integrity and the suspension of disbelief, the author needs to know their characters inside and out. That means background, hobbies, occupation, and so on, and to adhere to who they’ve created. Readers have certain expectations of a character, and when the author purposely changes him or her without legitimate justification, that’s not cool. Ultimately, if the author writes like this, there’s a good chance they can lose their readership.

If Jack Reacher suddenly turned hippie-dippy, smoked ganja and was sitting around singing kumbayah with a bunch of Woodstock wannabees, I’d be upset. That is not the image I have in my mind of Jack Reacher. He is an intelligent tough SOB with a penchant for justice, and I expect him to stay that way right to the bitter end.

Remember, I’m not saying a character can’t develop, but I am saying take care of how he or she does develop. Always strive to maintain the character's core, protect who they are.

Blak Rayne

Merry Christmas! #Christmas #Holidays #Enjoy

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I hope you enjoy the holidays.

All the best for the New Year!

Secret Admirer’s Christmas Wish #2 #fiction #romance #Christmas #contest

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“Secret Admirer’s Christmas Wish #2”

 When a former ugly duckling and the former class heart-throb come together as adults, they find out they have more in common than they realized.

Glenda Shaw knows firsthand what it’s like to be an ugly duckling, and now, she is roped into helping to organize her tenth-year class reunion. The speaker this year is none other than Hunter Teegs, the object of her dreams since their sophomore year in high school. She’s a dedicated social worker with a heart the size of Texas, but her hectic schedule doesn’t allow much time for dating or entertainment.

Hunter Teegs is a self-made financial powerhouse with a boatload of charisma and a winning sense of humor. He’s also a notorious womanizer and heartbreaker. He has no interest in settling down any time soon, if ever. To make matters worse, he has recently noticed details from his childhood that cause him to question everyone and everything he’s come to believe.

When Glenda and Hunter are brought together again, fireworks nearly knock both of them off their feet, and not necessarily in a good way. Glenda knows more than one secret about Hunter, and sharing the most crucial one could mean the end of their relationship before it even gets started.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0819G6BBM/

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Excerpt

Glenda felt the heat from Hunter’s hand on her lower back. The way he’d looked at her! It astounded her. Yes, she had grown up, but she’d never met anyone recently who’d known her back then. Hunter hadn’t really known her either, he’d just looked at her…once.

His small speech about how this would be good for her? She never looked at it like that before. All she had thought was how humiliating it might be. His reaction swayed her. Maybe.

If he, the most popular guy in school, thought she wouldn’t be humiliated, then maybe she should give it a chance. She did need to get over her stigma, leave the past in the past. After all, that was all she had been doing these last ten years – leaving her geek past behind her. Maybe Hunter was right. Face these people head on and look them right in the eye, show them what she was really made of. Not run away like the shy girl she had been back then.

They went in and walked down the halls while Glenda tried to steady her heartbeat, keep her mind focused on the task at hand instead of getting lost in the myriad of physical and emotional responses just being close to Hunter evoked. Even after ten years, not much had changed, and that not only included the appearance of the school, but her feelings for Hunter. The realization made her uneasy, to say the least, and her back radiated heat where he touched her.

The halls were still lined with Scholar’s Bowl trophies and tributes to former students, and to her surprise, her name was among them.

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