Why blog?

In the beginning, that was easy enough to answer.  Because I love books! They've always provided a therapeutic-type service to me in my life.  I will even go as far as likening them to a life preserver in times I felt I was drowning.  In simpler terms, they make me very happy and I wanted to share that with others who feel the same way I do.  That's why I started.  But in only a week's time, I've learned things and met people who have enlightened me and altered my perspective on the world of books.  And thus, my reason for blogging has expanded.

I want to use my blog to help support authors.  A specific type of author, known as the Independent Writer. I've had opportunities to meet some of them since starting this blog and incredible is the first word that comes to mind in trying to describe them.  They've been so friendly and welcoming to me, that I have to admit, it took me by complete surprise.  But, this isn't the reason for my support.

 I can only imagine the time and energy authors spend on their books.  From finding that first word to start their story to the first sale of their book, their work is continuous.  But, let's imagine them as they're still trying to give life to their story.  They've harnessed their creativity, dedicated countless hours writing and rewriting, drafting, polishing, revising, perfecting.  What now?  Once it's done how do they get their book into readers' hands?  Many authors decide to send it to a big publishing company, get an agent, you know,  go the traditional route.  But, going this direction doesn't guarantee that their books will ever seen the light of day, or grace the shelves of a big name bookstore, or that word will spread like wildfire and give their work a real chance at being read and maybe, just maybe, reaching that soul that cherishes it as much as the author themself.  So, what other option is there, for an author who doesn't want to take the gamble?  Self publishing.  Thankfully, we are living in a day and age where control of these things is given to us.  And by us, I mean people who love books, whether you read them or write them.  It means that if I ever decided to write a book, NO ONE can tell me NO.  That's unbelievably liberating, don't you think?  Unfortunately, a lot of people still don't know about this.  I'm trying to do my part to spread the word. 

I'm so grateful to my husband for giving me a Kindle for Mothers Day last year.  Without my Kindle, I would not have been introduced to the many books I've read since then, by Independent Writers - self publishers.  They go by several variations of the name, but they all mean the same thing; Indie authors, Indies, Indie pubs, self pubber, and so on.  These are the authors who have taken upon themselves the responsibility to publish their own books, make them available to the public and to get the word out.  Can you imagine the difficulty of this task?  I've had a teeny, tiny taste of what it's like, trying to get word out about my blog.  As one author put it, in a very nice e-mail to me, "You're sort of in the same boat as an indie author, trying to get the word out."  I couldn't agree more.  Therefore, you will see many reviews of books from Indie authors on my blog.  Of course, I'll review traditionally published ones here as well.  Please don't misunderstand this post and think I've turned my back on them.  I've got a stack of books as long as my arm waiting for me on my nightstand at this very moment.  I'm just expanding my (and hopefully your) reading list.

Bear with me, I'm almost done...

I happened upon this very illuminating and well written post by author Jody Hedlund and I just had to share it.  It's written to her fellow authors, but it's informative to all who love books, want to help spread the word and play a part in recommending the best of them. Read it here

*FYI - You can find me on Twitter under "leavemommyalone", but technical difficulties have prevented me from displaying a button. *face palm*

I ain't as good as I'm gonna get
But I'm better than I used to be
- Tim McGraw