Shaper of Worlds vol IV

Kinda a fun idea. A guy had a podcast where he interviews authors. At the end of the year, he collects a short story from each of them, puts it in a book. He has done this 4 times :)

This is third on my list of to-read books (first is this scifi anthology, then it’s Canticle for Leibowitz), I keep hearing about it, somehow wasn’t exposed to it before this year, I am excited!!

Iron Widow

I rolled my eyes through the trigger-warnings, but then they got to an… explanation of what fiction is? “This isn’t historical fiction, it’s inspired by blah blah” YES I understand what fiction is! Why are you telling me this!

I found it so disrespectful I didn’t make it to the actual story.

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

I’m going to be frank. I didn’t like the story! If you want an actually good story, read her MaddAddam trilogy

But the words. Mein Got. I found myself reading sentences aloud to whoever was around and would listen, they were so beautifully crafted

Terry Pratchett. Early onset alzeimers, for someone with a mind so keen… awful.

“People you wouldn’t expect to write fiction” write the best fiction.

Take, for example, my favorite childhood author: Brian Jacques.

He wrote the Redwall series.

He left school at 15 to work (very common then) as a merchant sailor. He then went on to be a milkman. He eventually had a radio program on the Liverpool BBC that focused on opera.

He was dissatisfied with the children’s literature that existed for the kids at the school for the blind he delivered milk to… so he wrote his own!

I think that truly thoughtful literature cannot be written by authors who have not gone out and experienced life. There’s a richness that experience adds to writing, that simply cannot be mimicked by a person who hasn’t lived outside of their MFA bubble. It’s flat, somehow.

ngl, it’s one of the reasons I think my husband’s book is so good :) He only turned to writing later in life, after experiencing many ups and downs, and without his vast accumulation of life experience, I don’t think his characters would be anywhere near as complex and rich as they are :)

Yes, they do such an amazing job with Rocky in the audiobook!

I like the little music notes in the book… I love the lyrical Rocky in the audio book!

Yes, they do such an amazing job with Rocky in the audiobook!

I like the little music notes in the book… I love the lyrical Rocky in the audio book!

This was World War Z for me

Wife of a indie published author here!

Yes, you are!

Now, is it as much support as they would get if you purchased the book? Of course not. When people borrow Devon’s book through Libby, we get 1/10th the royalties we’d get through a “real” digital sale

And if you borrow a physical book? Well, the library has a copy, but you borrowing it makes us no extra money :)

However, that’s just the game. If you want to support authors, and can’t be buying $60 stacks of new books every week, there are so many other ways

I’ll list a few!

• Amazon Reviews. The way the world is, this is the primary way people buy books. Let other readers know it’s worth their time!

• Goodreads. Everything from adding it to your shelf (which gives your friends an alert to the books existence!) to giving a rating or review, all help raise awareness!

• Personal recommendations. When’s the last time you bought a book that WASN’T suggested by someone you know personally, or at least trust? Telling friends or “audiences” is beyond helpful, even if it doesn’t “scale”

• Social media. Take a picture of your library book at a cute cafe! Say something you like about it! Again, in this attention economy, anything that helps get it on other readers radars

I’m sure there’s people who resent libraries giving away “free” reads. But I just love how they give my husband’s story an opportunity to come alive I one more person’s mind :)

(and, if you feel like requesting your library add his newly released, character-driven hard scifi “Theft of Fire: Orbital Space #1” to your library’s Libby collection, I would be thrilled!)