Other Posts You Must Check Out

O.k., I started my Matrimony book giveaway yesterday, so make sure you check it out and get your entry in. You only have until Sunday, so no loafing! And PASS THE WORD!

Here's another book giveaway you can enter. Trish over at Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin' is giving away a copy of The Art of Racing in the Rain. You have to go to her site and tell her about your stuff animals! If you enter, good luck!! And don't read about my Snoopy either!! ;)

And finally, I encourage you to go check out this post from Sam at The Book Chase. I left a comment for Sam, and it actually happened to be something I was going to blog about here, so it's a good lead-in.

With bookstores scaling back on their inventory, the book bloggers are going to have to take on a more pivotal role in the world of books. There are going to be even more books that aren't visible on the shelves in bookstores, more books that we will need to work hard to call attention to. The James Pattersons and Daniel Steeles and John Grishams don't need any help. They sell books because of their names - and I'll not make any quality comments. You can find their books in any Walmart, Sam's Club or Cosco. And if that's your thing, great. I would never discourage people from reading. BUT there is GREAT stuff out there that we don't hear enough about. There are great writers out there whose names aren't mentioned in enough circles - and it has nothing to do with the quality of their writing. Let's check a couple cases in point. This year I discovered Thomas Holland, Timothy Hallinan, Chris Grabenstein and Craig Johnson. HELLO! These guys are all out of this world great! Why haven't I heard more about THEM? I should be hearing about them from every direction they're so great! I shouldn't be able to turn around without hearing about them. It's time to talk these folks up. It's time to make people so interested that they go out of their way...they veer from Cosco this week...and they visit the bookstore to place a special order. Or they do a little searching online to order that book.

Corey challenged me a few posts back to 25 author interviews for 2009 and I'm going to put that challenge on my Resolution list for 2009. I want to find 25 authors that I truly enjoy and whose works probably aren't easily available in the "Super" stores. And while I do hope it benefits the authors, I want to do it for my readers - my friends - more than anything. I want to share my enjoyment and excitement with you. When people share that with me, I feel as though I'm receiving a very special gift. I want to give that gift to you all.

Hmmm, and since I'm in the giving mood, maybe I'll give one of those interviews to you this week even! Say, maybe Friday? If you're game, meet me HERE, FRIDAY, and we'll talk about an author who has earned some face time on my blog! ;)

Until then...Happy Reading!! :)