Like most as-yet unpublished writers I know, I daydream from time to time about seeing my books on the shelves of my local bookstore. I suppose it’s a dream that motivates me on those days when the words don’t come easily, just like the dream of that new book smell I anticipate when the first copies of my published book arrive in the mail. (I’m not the only one who likes the smell of books, am I? It’s one of my favourites.)
Until I get to enjoy seeing my own books in print, I’m lucky enough to enjoy the experience vicariously through the books of some of my friends and acquaintances. Like any good writer friend, I dutifully check to make sure they’re on the shelves and talk them up to the bookstore staff at the slightest opportunity. It works, too. Bookstore staff are often book lovers, and they’re as much on the lookout for great new titles to read and to recommend as the rest of us who have towering, ever-growing TBR piles are.
Looking for a great book? Why not try one of these authors?
kc dyer writes terrific middle grade and teen fiction; Lee Edward Fodi is a favourite of my nine-year-old and her friends; Vicki Pettersson’s gritty urban fantasy takes us to a different Vegas than we see on the strip; Jack Whyte and Diana Gabaldon, both great friends of the SiWC, both have new books out in their current series: Diana’s is book 7 in the Outlander series, and Jack’s ties up the Templar Trilogy in style. (Apologies that kc’s name is up by Diana’s book; it’s a blip I can’t seem to get rid of, no matter how many paragraph breaks I put in the text. But in case you missed it, it’s she who writes the terrific middle grade and teen fiction. :))
Enjoy!
The hidden advantage to this is that, when your books are published, the staff already know your taste and who your books would be suited for. Then, let the handselling commence.
Cate
Good point, Cate. I love it when bookstore staff care enough about books to handsell them.