Author Blogs

On a whim one day last year, I bought a book in a store because I thought it looked interesting. It's no secret that we're big readers here at Mosaic Minds, but I've never been a big new-book-buyer until the last few years. Mainly, I had no money for new books, and I read so much and so quickly that it was just so much more economical to buy used books at flea markets and yard sales.

I bought that book--Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evie by Marianne Stillings--and halfway through it, I was utterly captivated by the characters. I flipped to the back to read more about the author and discovered it was her first novel, and she had listed a website. And you should know by now that I am all about people with websites! So I went there, and there was a contest mentioned where the prize was, I believe, a signed book giveaway. I didn't win the book, but I did talk to her by email. She later sent me a couple of bookmarks, a magnet and some other promotional items--and I bought her next book as soon as it came out. That's when I realized that the authors of my favorite books are within my reach in a totally different way now that the internet has grown so popular.

Since that realization, I've been gradually increasing the number of blogs that I read that deal with writing or with publishing and even with reading in general. I have always been a little leery of putting too much stock in online book reviews, but in the process of reading smart posts about the books and authors I love, the list of books on my to-read list is a mile long now, and as a direct result, I have been enjoying reading more than ever. And since I daydream about writing full-time myself, now I can even rationalize some of my blogging time as research!

A list of the blogs that I read most wouldn't be terribly relevant, since the joy in this category of blogs is all about what you happen to be interested in. There are several websites that will help you expand your blogroll to include authors you like, though. Authorsblogs.com is one, and there is also one at Internetwritingjournal.com. The best way to find the blogs of your favorite authors, though, is probably by doing a Google search for them. If they have a blog, you will probably spot it among the results very quickly. You may also want to do a search for the genre you enjoy most. (Example: "mystery author blog" or "romance blog") The best part is that once you've found a couple, you can often find other author or genre blogs linked from their page. Let them do the work for you! You can often pick up clues about the author's voice and style from their personal writings, so it's also a good way to decide which author you want to try next.

Another thing to consider is that you may score more than a way to waste a few mintes by keeping track of the blogs and websites of authors that you enjoy. Not long ago, I received a signed book in the mail by one of my favorites, Vicki Lewis Thompson, merely by emailing to ask for it--she had a notice on her site about giving away foreign translations to those who could read them. At the very least, you'll be able to keep track of the publishing schedule so you know when to look for that book you've been waiting for.

This is all related to blogs written by published authors, but it's worth mentioning that there are blog categories for just about anything if you think to look for them. Many celebrities have blogs, for example--Rosie O'Donnell posts poetry that has, on at least one occasion, brought tears to my eyes. You can also read entries from Jamie Oliver, Wil Wheaton, Moby, Adam Duritz and William Shatner. If you have an unusual hobby, try searching for blogs about it. I read several blogs about tatting, and lately, since we're in the process of buying our first house, I've been reading house blogs. It's a great way to get personal perspectives and ideas for whatever you're interested in.