Hi Emma, I found this very easy to read helped by a great style that must have taken a lot of work to develop. I'm glad it was brought to my attentiom. I'm BACKING your book and 5 stars. Good luck for the future. I would appreciate your having a look at my book (The Contractor) Frank James

An excellent first novel from a bright new talent - I highly recommend this book if you love to read about danger, crime and romance found in the most unexpected places. A joy to read and discover!

Easy to read Backed Lenny Harry (Like a dot on the Horizon)

I really like this, Emma, you have a distinctive style. I real C1 and C2. I really do feel for Graham, doing the best he can in the strange absence of Patricia, and you really have got it across well how an estranged mum can screw with a kid to the point where he doesn't want to leave the house, not even for bread and milk. No obvious mistakes in grammar...backed with pleasure Lee

Backed Playing with Bad Boys and Fire. Great tile and a solid story. We suggest you take some time to read and proof. We just went through a day of proofing and editing our book. Even after the hundredth proofing session we found several mistakes. Examples of mistakes in Chapter 1of Bad Boys and Fire 1. Not a sentence-A look of total, unconditional love and helplessness. 2. Too many pronouns in one sentence-He wanted him to feel that he could speak to him about anything. Could be changed to-Gram wanted Danny to feel he could speak to his father about any thing. Good Luck! CC Brown Dark Side

Hi Emma, I enjoyed my read. When Danny’s mother leaves, the teenage boy is forced into a life of crime (local by bad lad )Liam Atkins. From your pitch. BACKED. Barry (Little Krisna and the Bihar Boys)

Hi Emma I really enjoyed what I read of this. The relationship between Danny and his father was expertly drawn out. The pitch is really intriguing and makes me want to delve deeper. I would recommend breaking up the pitch if you can as it rambles it bit on the one paragraph. Otherwise, really good. DP Walker Five Dares

EMMA ;PLAYING WITH THE BAD BOYS' GREAT STUFF what an intriguing pitch, very well presented, i know what i am going to read about, story in one. dialogue between father and Danny handled with great sensitivity , and touches my heart .(remember when my father left) enough of that. i will read more as it promises to be one heck of a read as we mix with people who live a life of crime, as you have indicated, surroundings and broken marriage' backed TOM BYE ' FROM HUGS TO KISSES' could i ask you to oblige and comment and back mine,thank you

Happily backed. Good stuff. Love the title alone. When you have a mo' please have a lok at my work of non-fiction. Best, Christopher Crossing The Line

Emma, wonderfully done. I am going to back this because it is an interesting read, with a strong voice and tone. My advice, if you want some, is to avoid narrating the little details. Sometimes it is better to hold off and reveal some details in the action. But overal a compellin gread that pulls the reader along. Backed. Please read some of my book, The Age of Rinestone, when you have time and let me know what you think. cheers blueboy

For me you have captured Danny beautifully! The anguish and pain is almost tangible. I think your opening is very good, it explains so much of what is going on for Danny. I think this will have a wide audience and will be well received. Hope this does well it deserves to!

Placed Playing with Bad Boys and Fire on our watchlist. We have several bad boys in our book you might find interesting. CC Brown Dark Side

GREAT STORY. GRABS THE READER RIGHT AWAY. WELL WRITTEN AND GREAT PREMISE BACKED THE THIRD EYE

HI Emma - I think this idea will appeal to lots of young adults and so you have a potentially very marketable idea. Good pitch and you've set the scene well, hooking the reader in, so nice work. Backed. Myffy (Expected)

This is a clever and inventive story, one that I know a lot of young adult readers will identify with. Your voice is clear and to the point, the settings are sympathetic and seem to complement the characters nicely. Excellent work, Emma, keep it up. Backed. Jack Hughes Dawn of Shadows

PLAYING WITH BAD BOYS This is a different than usual young adult story. It’s a given that for a novel to be successful, readers have to like the main character. This book is a challenge because a guy who is a robber is potentially not all that likable. Fortunately, because Danny’s mother left his family with just a vague note, he is both sympathetic and likable. Makes this a good read. I’m adding this to my shelf. Burgio (Grain of Salt).

You show Danny's anger but, more rare, you show his pain. A lot of books dealing with a similar subject don't do that ,so our sympathy for the character is academic and limited. It's even more moving when you talk about Danny's father crying in the night. We take marriage breakdown so for granted these days but you've brought back the meaning effectively and with economy. That shows skill. I don't think the pitch sells your book, sounding more like a synopsis. I think we need less information and more idea of the feel of the book. Sorry , that's vague and doesn't help. Pitches are difficult. I felt you told us too much about characters we hadn't met yet - lots of names that were confusing. It needs more of the book's criminal essence. That's rot but I hope you know what I mean. Backed, anyway, and hopes for its success. lynn

Beautifully written and very hard to put down. Well done. Paula Barrett (Cuthbert-how mean is my valley)

Good luck. This is a link to a thread on the forum explaining how the site works: http://www.authonomy.com/Forum/posts_new.aspx?threadId=57319 Charles

Dear Emma Really good short pitch and the long pitch made many promises to me, which your book did not disappoint. CONGRATS on a well crafted book, very easy read and flow with characters that seem very real to me. A suggestion for the long pitch, it gives the impression of being long when it is not, the suggestion would be put a para or two in. This may be the first read your publisher will have of your book and again it is only a suggestion. You are obviously at home with dialog something I struggle with congrats. This is not my genre but I crossed over to find talent and skill so I could learn. I found this and also good content like your work. BACKED for sure by me I do hope you can cross over to my genre and review my book, please comment ( this assists me in honing my skill) and if you feel, back it. Thanks and BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR BOOK Denise The Letter

Emma, After going through a couple of chapters I can see that you have a good balance of dialogue, thought, and action and that you handle the mechanical aspects of fiction writing far better than many other newer writers on this site. There will always be a market for competent YA crime fiction. No advice at the moment; there's time for that later, should you have anything to ask about, including the way American readers might respond to passages; please feel free to consider me as a resource person. I'll be here a long time yet. Shelved--Bill I'm backing your book on what looks like excellent promise

Hi Emma, Congratulations on posting your novel Playing with Bad Boys and Fire. You're pitch is great and I have backed it on the strength of its promise. All the best of Luck Helen The Last Dream

Welcome aboard, Emma. This website will improve your writing craft, if you allow it. I'm a bit of a pitch doctor, having read thousands of pitches in my time on this website, so I want to share my insight here with you. You have to think of your pitches as your sales tool to grab the casual reader's eyes. The short pitch works. The long pitch needs to be broken down into smaller paragraphs so it reads faster. You oughta consider ending it with a question to compel your casual reader to turn pages. Perfecting your pitches is how you climb in ranking to gather more exposure and comments to better your novel. The writing is good so I am SHELVING you. Though I have been a very active member for over a year and have the most commented book on the website, I can still use your comments on my book when you get the chance. Every little bit helps. Cheers! JC The Obergemau Key

Dear Emma, I love all of the twists of your story :) - but, all along, all I could only think of is, "poor Danny" :( - I guess because my son's name is Danny & he got taken like this 20 years ago. I was wondering if your story is based on fact? 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. :) Love, 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" "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." backed :) Love, Susie :)