To me anytime is a good time to read. Summer is here and some folks are headed to the lake or the mountains or the beach to relax. Why not take along a great book to read while you are relaxing? Some of my personal favorites will be listed below. Check out the review page for more information on what the book is about. Although I am calling them “red hot reads” they are not all romance or sizzle. There might be something here for everyone. They are listed in no particular order.
Love Me True by Melissa Crosby
Crimson Dreams by Georgiana Fields
Cold Fear by Rick Mofina
Sorrow Wood by Raymond Atkins
Bertha by Mike Ragland
Madam May by Janet Hogan Chapman
Jaybird’s Song by Kathy Wilson Florence
Protecting Melissa by Mary Marvella
Fireworks in Jubilee by Linda Joyce, Melissa Klein, Rachel Jones
Finding Faith in Maryville Tennessee by Julia Lynch
Help me welcome our first guest blogger, Author Lorelai Watson. Lorelai published her first book earlier this year and we are delighted to showcase her on our blog to kick off July. Here is Lorelai’s story about becoming an author.
A
Word of Encouragement
People love a good origins story. Whether we’re curious
about the humble beginnings of a headline-making entrepreneur, or even our
favorite superhero, we often clamor to see the metamorphosis of others. But
what is it about origin stories that we love?
For me, I think it’s easier to identify with this person who started out
like a regular person just like me. There’s hope in the universal message that
we all have the ability to pursue our passions and do something
awe-inspiring.
I have been an author for a whole four months. I am unknown,
and far from best-selling or award-winning. But for this shy, generally
introverted writer, I find that there’s an edge of cool-ness that accompanies
being a published author. In short, people suddenly find you infinitely more
interesting than they did before. One of the questions I’ve gotten more than
one is this – how did you get started? When did you start writing?
And thus, my origin story as an author begins. I remember
rather clearly the day that my second-grade teacher Mrs. Harrison told us that
our next assignment in language arts would be to write (wait for it… it’s
exciting) our own story. Now, as a
teacher, looking back on this, this lesson had no grand hook, bells or whistles
to enrapture my attention, as we’re often taught to do in college, but she had
my undivided attention. For one, I was already a complete book nerd. I blame my
parents. They read to me every night, and gave in to my demands to read the
same story a million times over. Now maybe our writing education had not been
as complex as it is today, but I honestly think it was the first time it
occurred to me that I could write my very own story.
There were no subjects or prompts given, just freedom.
I spent an entire day wondering what to write, looking at
the illustrated writing process poster above the wall. I spend an inordinate
amount of time staring at the “brainstorming” frame, so much that I could
probably redraw the little blonde boy with glasses and a blue sweater, propped
up on his desk as he imagined the perfect story. After speaking with a friend
who seemed to be making much better progress than me, we started throwing ideas
around, and suddenly the story began to unfold in my mind. I worked hard on
that story, writing a whole page and a half (this feels big when you’re in
second grade) and what ensued was an amazingly plagiarized mashup between ‘The Goonies’ and a Goosebumps book I
had read earlier that year.
There is no other way to say it, but writing was – and
remains — magical. It found its way straight to my heart and there it has
resided for twenty-two years. I imagine it always will. But I think we all know
that our passions must be tended to, no matter how deeply rooted they may be. My
passion for writing might have been eventually squelched by age or other
interests had another form of magic not occurred. I can’t remember why, but my
mother picked me up early from school one day, and she walked into my
classroom. Mrs. Harrison walked me over and told my mother all about my story.
Now this was pretty exciting, and I remember being so proud, but what came out
of her mouth next was something that has stuck with me for the rest of
life.
“She’s going to be an author one day.”
That’s it. Simple, not eloquent, but so incredibly life
changing. Just a word of encouragement was enough to inspire an eight-year-old
girl to keep writing. I was lucky enough to have supportive parents, friends
and other teachers who kept giving those words of encouragement throughout my
life, and I convinced that without them, I never would have kept writing, much
less fulfilled the dream of publishing.
And
so, I leave you with a challenge. Know that your words have power, and seek
ways to leave a genuine word of encouragement here and there. You never know
how it could change a life.
Please follow Lorelai Watson on her social media accounts and be sure to click the link below for a free copy of her book from July 1st – 5th.
Just a few books by some of my favorite indie authors .
Hello, and welcome to Indie Author Book reviews. I have been a book reviewer for a number of years and had a blog with various book reviews, product reviews and recipes. I stopped reviewing about two years ago when my time and energy was needed elsewhere. the time is now right for me to start back. On this blog I will only be reviewing indie authors. Why, only indie authors and not traditionally published? There are so many great indie authors out there that people are not aware of. They have great stories that would rival most any by traditionally published authors. My hope is to give support to those hard working authors and help you find you next favorite book.
