This is the first full year I’ve spent constantly reading a book in close to 20 years, and it was great. Truly awesome. If nothing else came from this whole “I’m gonna be a writer!” thing other than I started reading books again, it’d be worth it. I’ve loved getting to know these authors, and diving into all these new stories I never would have explored otherwise. [Read more…] about The Best Books I Read in 2016
Reading
Speaking at A Novel Idea in Canton
For those of you who missed me at the Decatur Book Festival, you’ve got another chance to catch my book-readin’ self out in the wild very soon. Next week, I’ll be reading an excerpt from “Killing the Immortals” at the Snug Gastro Pub in Canton for the “A Novel Idea” event on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
The theme for the event is “scary stories,” and I’ll be joined by other local authors Lee Gimenez, Alex Hughes, Lynn Hesse, Frank Reddy, and Marsha Cornelius. I won’t be able to get up there until 7:30 or so, and I’ll probably be speaking around 8. I’ll bring some bookmarks, and I’ll probably read Chapter 1 because I think it’s a great introduction to the book. [Read more…] about Speaking at A Novel Idea in Canton
5 Reasons I Love Goodreads (and One I Don’t)
For those of you who don’t know anything about Goodreads, think of it as the Facebook for book dorks. The site has millions of active members, dedicated to reading — and, many, writing as well. You can add your dorky friends, share what you’re reading — you can see my Goodreads feed and visit my shelf from the sidebar to the right — and see which books are popular among equally nerdy people as yourself. It’s all pretty great, if reading books is your thing. Or, at least, one of your things. And, as someone who falls into that group, here are 5 reasons I love Goodreads (as a reader), along with an extra reason that I don’t. [Read more…] about 5 Reasons I Love Goodreads (and One I Don’t)
Are Self-Published Books Any Good?
Recently, I was asked the question: “Who are some of your favorite self-published authors?” Technically speaking, some people will tell you Mark Twain and Stephen King both self published at least once, but I’m pretty sure those aren’t the answer the person was looking for with this question. They’re wanting to know who my favorite modern self-published authors are, people who few have heard of but are doing great work under the radar — like, ya know, I’d like to be doing quite soon. As a soon-to-be self-published author, you’d think I’d have a good answer for this. But it stumps me.
I’ve read 20 novels since August — I also started several others, but they didn’t hold my interest — and I honestly couldn’t tell you if any of them was self published. That’s the biggest reason I don’t have a good answer to the question. Who are my favorite self-published authors? I don’t really know who’s self published and who’s not. I look at the genre, title, cover, author and summary. If it sounds interesting, I might peek at some reviews. If it checks out, I’ll give it a shot. It never occurs to me to check for a publisher. The only one I know was self published, I only know that because I’m friends with the author. [Read more…] about Are Self-Published Books Any Good?