Book Review: Read your heart out
"Write Your Heart Out: Advice from the Moon Winx Hotel" by Geoff Schmidt
By Eddie Bauman
I had no idea what to expect from Geoff Schmidt’s novel. I bought it, as I thought everyone would do, because one of our own had written it. I read a great deal, but this would be the first time I would be reading a book by someone I was actually acquainted with.
It was not what I was expecting. "Write Your Heart Out," is nothing like any novel I’ve ever read before. In the forward, we are informed that this is an instructional manual found on the floor of a dead man’s motel room. It is a "how to" book on writing, and the author is a washed up college English professor.
My first instinct was to put it away and find one of my murder mysteries to read. I disliked the main character, I didn’t care for the format, and there were so many references to authors I’d never heard of that it made me feel unintelligent.
The writing advice was abominable. The attitude of the alleged author was annoying. The writing exercises at the end of the chapters were ridiculous. So why was I laughing so hard in the middle of the night that I woke up my husband? It took me a couple of chapters to get used to the way it was written, but once I had accepted the premise, I was able to understand the humor, and from that point, I couldn’t put it down.
Gus Jones was found dead with his manuscript at the seedy Moon Winx Motel. It was found and published by one of his former students, who is now an accomplished writer himself. It had been left unedited by those who found it. His instructions on how to write are interwoven with his own personal information about his life.
While laughing at the humor of both the instruction and the situations he experiences, we are treated to an exceptional story of a man who has realized his mistakes. His guidance in writing is a thin disguise for his true mission – keeping his readers from making the same mistakes with their lives as he did.
I ended up really liking Gus Jones. I’ve known men like him, as we all have. "Write Your Heart Out – Advice from the Moon Winx Motel," has a great story to tell. It is a serious story that will keep you in hysterical laughter in spite of yourself.
I highly recommend this book, whether you have an interest in writing or not.