A Work in Progress

This entire week of April has been National Library Week, the 8th through the 14th. So here's my questions: when was the last time you were in a library? For a lot of writers, we can't live without them: they are our eternal reference, even though we have the internet. Most libaries have that slightly dusty, papery, hard-bound goodness to them, so that every book you pick up feels like you've found gold. Libraries are probably more economical than ever, as plunking down $15 for a book (and more) isn't as viable as it used to be. Whatever your excuse is for not visiting, try to make it into one -- even if just for old times sake. Check out a book, something that makes you love to read, be it a mystery, thriller or memoir. I grew up living about three blocks away from a library. My sisters and I were there all the time. So much information, so much to read, so much to pour over and ponder. I absolutely love libraries. And if you love to read or write, you really shou

Kindle E-publishing A few years ago, when Kindle came out, I was hurt. It sounds absurd, but as a writer, we view books as the actual evidence to verify our profession. How in the world was a writer supposed to be an author if their books were virtual? Did it count? Did it invalidate all the authors out there? What about the wanna-be authors who think they too can be authors all because their work is out there as a "book"? Now that we've all gotten a chance to deliberate over it, buy our Kindles or Nooks or Ipads or other e-readers, it seems that none of that matters. My thinking that e-publishing debased authors and their platforms was incorrect. Why? Because good writers, whether physically published or virtually published, still need the readers -- the public -- to consider their work good in order for it to fare well. I also used to think that e-pubbing was a cop-out; that this wasn't "real" publishing because an editor or agent or publisher did