My Thoughts on a Sunday Morning

I suppose you all are wondering why there is no edition of Author Fridays? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First of all, I have run out of authors to interview. I still have two more, but their books aren't published fully, yet, and I like to interview those who have books ready for purchase. The second reason is that I just do not want to do them on a regular basis anymore. If you are an author and had hoped to see your interview here, then drop me an email at

ShannonNicoleWells@suddenlink.net

or simply leave a comment. Put "author interview" in the subject and I'll see what I can do, but doing them weekly has gotten to be a little more than i want to commit to. I have enjoyed writing about other authors, though, and I have learned a few things along the way. One important thing I have learned is that you can't judge an author or their book by the publisher. Just because someone has had the misfortune to be sucked in by Publish America, does not mean their book isn't any good. If you know anything about me at all, you will know I was one of those unfortunate souls who bought their load of bull. Before I leave this particular subject all together, let me just say that people won't buy your book if it costs $19.95 or higher, no matter how pretty it looks. Publish America tells you on their website and on their author forums that it isn't the price tag on a book, but they are lying. My book, "Wild Heart" looks very nice. The cover is good, the pages and printing look nice, but no matter where I go or what I do, no one except family and close friends will pay $19.95 for it. Recently, I set some books out for our local Shoneys store to sell for me. I had them to put out a sign saying, "Reduced to $12". I sold more books in three weeks than I ever did before. But, I digress, I think. I was telling you what I have learned from doing all those interviews. So, I have learned that there are as many writing styles as sand at the beach. Some work, and some do not. For instance, I had one author to begin every sentence with "I". That, my friend, gets annoying after a bit, and I sure do hope that when preparing the interview for the blog that I fixed that problem. Now, I'm not saying I'm an English or language arts major, 'cause I'm not, but I did well in English in school, and I know what sounds right and what does not. You know, I think listening to audio books has helped me in this, because I will take something that is written, be it an article, a story or whatever, and I will try to picture how it would sound if being read as an audio book. Ok, so how do you picture a sound, right? Well, I try to imagine the passage being read aloud, and usually it changes the perspective, dramatically. As a child and even today, I love to be read to. Some of my best childhood memories are mom reading aloud to me before bed. I love a good story with strong characters that have believable lives. The story doesn't have to be real, but the author must make it seem real, whether it is or it isn't. I'll never forget how surprised I was to learn the entire story of the Star Wars movies. My husband took me with him to see the last movie, #3...oh dear I can't even remember what it's called! "Revenge of the Sith"? Maybe? Anyway, the action was a little difficult to follow, because I couldn't see it, but the story line captured my imagination. I had never watched any of the movies with him, but for once, I did. I sat through all 6 movies, and while they are still not my favorites, I loved the story behind them and was touched at the very end when Vader saw Luke and acknowledged him as his son.

 

Ok, so now that I have proved to you that I need to go back to English class and learn about paragraphs, lol I'll get on with it. I can't write much more, 'cause it's almost time to get ready for Sunday School, but I did want to let you, the faithful few know why there is no author interview. I plan to post excerpts of my books, and maybe I'll even do a few book reviews. Plus, I'll fill you in on all the wild things that go on around here. I tell you, with a blind mama and a bright couple of lil girls, there's never a dull moment.

 

Speaking of reviews, just now, i am in the process of reading a book by an author I interviewed way back in the beginning. Whenever I receive an audio clip of the book, I listen avidly, so i can't give a review, yet, but when I finish reading, i will. It's "Across Time, Across Tears" by Sheridan Elaine Claude, and I wish I had the entire audio file, so that I could listen straight through. Like i said, I won't give a review until I'm finished, but so far I'm hooked. So far, it's absolutely amazing, and my heart is already involved.

 

Well, time to get ready for church, so until next time, keep safe, keep praying, and remember to read a bestseller, "THE HOLY BIBLE"!