Support Your Fellow Writer

I'm on Facebook networking with other writers, one of which is Tom Piccirilli. Recently, Mr. Piccirillii started asking people to review at least one book a week and support other writers. He also gives writers a platform on his Facebook page each week to ask questions and to discuss books and promote their own writing, which is a great idea.

In that spirit, I am urging you, writer, whether, small press, large press, no press and just for fun, all bloggers, writers everywhere, to promote someone else's work this week besides your own.

There are a number of ways you can do this:

1) If you have a blog like mine, it's really simple. Write a book review or an article about a particular author's life. Post a blogroll. Add someone new to an existing blogroll. Invite another author to do some guest blogging; cross-promotion can be beneficial to them and you. The possibilities abound! You could even start your own blog today, if you've been procrastinating.

2) Join a book review site. There are plenty out there to choose. I am a member of Goodreads. I keep track of all the books I read and review them on there. There are also lots of reading groups and forum discussions where you can promote a writer on these sites.

3) Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are also great ways to share your favorite authors with your friends.

4) If someone's birthday or another important gift-giving day is coming up, consider purchasing them something thoughtful that will last. Buy a book to celebrate their day. If you love book shopping as much as I do, then you have my permission to book til you drop! Buy a new book for yourself this week, whether in paper, audio, or digital format.

6) Another way to support your fellow writer is to check out books from your local library. Many people may not be aware of this, but if a book sits for too long on the shelf, it eventually makes it way to the book sales and out of circulation. Libraries have limited space and cannot afford to keep books around that aren't checked out year after year after year. So save your favorite author's place at the library and make sure you check out their books!

7) Attend a local poetry reading or a book signing in your area. There's nothing worse than reading at an empty coffee shop.

8) If you are a t-shirt geek like me, you can find lots of book related shirts on Cafepress. My two favorite writing shirts in my dresser are from Hamlet and Edgar Allan Poe. While Shakespeare and Poe are both six feet under, I'm still a fan and support their work! There are other items book related. Perhaps, a little gift shopping is in order. You can also check out your favorite author's site and see if they have merchandise for sale. (I'm a big fan of the Kim Harrison's burning bunny pins.)

In the spirit of this article, I posted a list of writing/book blogs yesterday.

If you have other suggestions you would like included, please feel free to either post them in Comments or email me and I will add them here.

As always, happy writing and happy reading to all!

What's in Your Library?

I cycle through some books from my personal library, sharing them with friends and family and donating to my local library for their fundraisers, but some books are treasured and will never leave my shelves. These books would leave the house first in a house fire before my own person, in fact, I would forgo putting on shoes or grabbing my wallet to take my books with me, I love them that much!

Over the years, I've collected a bunch of books that remain in my permanent collection. My shelves are organized according to my weird writer's logic. I have a horror/sci-fi/fantasy section, broken up into author groupings and then a special section for short story collections.

There's the Native American section, the arts, gardening and cooking sections, and my world religion section, which includes everything from The Tao of Pooh to a copy of The Holy Qu'ran.

I also have a poetry and English major section, which runs the gamut from The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor to James Joyce's Ulysses and Frank O'Hara's poetry. (Toni Morrison holds a special place in that section).

And then there's my research section, which consists of books like Weird Wisconsin and Fabulous Creatures and Other Magical Beings, a bestiary of mythological creatures, Joseph Campbell's books, The Golden Bough, and lots more.

My husband has started the tradition of buying me collectors books for my library for my birthday and other special days. The very first book he bought me was a signed first edition hardcover of Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show. For the holidays this year I got a first edition signed Tick Tock by Dean Koontz. For my last wedding anniversary I got a signed copy of Postscripts # 10 with great signatures like Stephen King,  Ramsey Campbell, Graham Joyce, Lucius Shepard, and more! And a few years ago, my kind husband relinquished his already purchased and signed hardcover copy of Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine to my brother-in-law for our annual gift exhange. (However, I still give my lovely husband credit for that one!) There are others in my collection, but those are my favorites.

I hope to acquire more throughout the years. Next to my family, my cats, and my pizza, I love my books the

best. I missed out on an early copy of The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe last year. As Kim Harrison's character Madison Avery would say, "Son of a puppy!"

That concludes my Show and Tell today, folks.

Offtopic side note: My husband brought this balloon home to celebrate my Godzilla/Hello Kitty love story I previously blogged about. Notice the drawn on mouth which correlates to my story, now up on the Critters forum in first draft for critique, if anyone is interested. I've been getting some good feedback and am currently working on flushing out Hello Kitty's character. Thanks to everyone who has critiqued this week!

Also, Kim Harrison has a sneak preview of her new Hollows novel, Pale Demon up on her site, for anyone who follows that series.

As always, happy writing and happy reading!

Support Your Local Library! I Do!

This sign never ceases to cheer me up!  As soon as I could sign my name in cursive, I was begging my mom to take me to get my own library card.  Weekly trips to the library were a fond tradition in my mother's house and I have continued that tradition in my mine.  In fact, sometimes I go twice in one week, if I am bored at home.

Yes, electronic media is here to stay and eBooks are wonderful trip companions that take up less room than a conventional book, but your local library offers more than just books.  They offer a safe place for kids to hang out after school, free internet, an air conditioned space for low-income seniors and others in the summertime, educational classes like literacy programs, etc., enrichment programs for preschoolers and younger children, and a sense of community through numerous community events.

So, support your local library!

I wanted to share some pics of one my favorite library in Dallas.  Timberglen Library has been named a "Green Building" by the city of Dallas, which means that it's a really cool, environmentally friendly building. 

There is this nifty rainwater collection reservoir onsite used to irrigate the library landscaping.  Every year about 1.6 million gallons of rain falls on the library building and surrounding property.  This gray water system allows the library to recycle rainwater in two 50,000 gallon collection containers.  How cool is that?!

I also am a sucker for wind mobiles, of which Timberglen has two giant ones that carry a great message for kids and adults alike. 

    

If you'll excuse me now, I have to check and see if I have any library books to renew online.

As always, happy writing and happy reading!