If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter (or if you actually, ya know, know me), you know that one of my passions in life is trying new beers. Delving into local brews is one of my favorite ways to get to know any city I get the chance to visit in this country, and I enjoy supporting the local breweries around Atlanta. I know a lot of the brewers, and I really appreciate the community aspect of how breweries tend to become neighborhood gathering spots with fiercely local mindsets. Oh, and the tasty beer. There’s that too. [Read more…] about Books & Brews: Speaking at Reformation Brewery
reading
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?