It's a great time to be a writer and an even greater time to
be a reader!
As an author, I have more freedom now than ever before in my
career. I can choose to publish my books however I want, push creative boundaries,
go where no wo/man has gone before (yes, I'm a Star Trek fan <g>).
This freedom doesn't only give writers choices; more
importantly, it gives readers choices. One glance at Amazon.com (and other
ebook stores) and you can see how much variety is out there; far more than any brick-and-mortar
store had space to shelve or any publisher had the resources to publish before.
I don't know about you, but I grew up reading a vast range
of stories, many of which didn't neatly fit one genre or another. My mom would
take my brothers and me to the library, and I'd load up on books of all kinds.
All the different stories made me feel as if there might be room in this
magical world of books to write what fired –my- imagination, and at the ripe
old age of seven, that's what I started to do.
When it came time to choose a major at the University of
Wisconsin, the only subject I could choose was creative writing. And in 2000, I
published my first novel with Harlequin Intrigue. For eleven years, I had a
blast writing a pulse-pounding blend of romance and suspense.
Finally after twenty-five books with Intrigue, I decided it
was time to push myself a little further. Or maybe a lot. Ebooks were coming into their own, and the possibilities were endless.
I teamed up with my friend J.A. Konrath, a man known for both pushing boundaries and bringing his wacky imagination to a variety of different genres,
and together we started the Codename: Chandler series, an action-packed,
over-the-top series of spy thrillers staring a super assassin known only by her
code name (FLEE, SPREE, and novella EXPOSED are out now, with THREE and more
novellas on the way). And earlier this year, I released my solo police
procedure thriller, PUSHED TOO FAR. I've been having a blast, to say the least.
Ebooks have been great for me as a writer, but that's only a
small part of why I love them. My favorite thing about my Kindle is that it makes me feel like I
did as a kid, browsing through shelves of books that seemed as vast as my
imagination and picking out whatever suits my fancy; traditionally published books, indie published books, backlist books, and hidden gems.
What's your favorite thing about ebooks? And what boundaries have ebooks inspired you to push, either in reading choices or in the stories you write? And lastly, are you a trekker?
Check back on Wednesday, when we'll be offering some of our
books for 99 cents and FREE, to pick out whatever –you- feel like reading and comment to win a gift card! Spread the word!
