If your writing you should be reading, period. I read my first romance novel a few years back and I have not been able to put them down. The first romance series I ever read was by author Christine Feehan. The series was about a group of physics who fall in love, not always in the best ways. I won’t lie\ sexy physics are not normally my thing, but I could not put them down. I read through the series in about six weeks. I share this because I think it is important to read in the genre you write in. I also think it is important to read lots of things, not listen to, but actually read. (I am not knocking audiobooks.) The important thing here is to read, just read.
I read a lot. I read for work, for school, and for pleasure. Here is a list of what I read this month for pleasure.
Where the Crawdads Sing: by Delia Owens
I love fiction, I read all kinds of fiction. This book came highly recommended to me. I decided to give it a try and I was so glad I did. The book is written with almost poetic-like prose, which normally would turn me off as a reader. I don’t have anything against poetry, I just don’t want to read a novel written in poetry. The story is of a young girl who is abandoned by her family. She is left in her family home to survive off of the Carolina coast. Reading the book, I could feel Owen’s love for her main character. There is a murder mystery and a romance that weaves through the story.
Like the Carolina coast, this story has a unique rhythm all it’s own. What amazes me, even more, is that this is Owen’s first published novel. Let me just say, wow! I would have thought Owen’s has been writing for years. This book is really well written and the story unfolds beautifully. A real treat.
The Idea of You: by Robinne Lee
In full disclosure, I have not completely finished reading this one yet. I am two-thirds of the way through. I picked it up because the concept intrigued me, a mom falls for a member of a boy band that her twelve-year-old daughter is in love with. So far it has been a fun read. Lee does a great job painting Solene’s world, a French-American divorcee, living in L.A., owning an art gallery and raising her daughter. The love interest Hayes Campbell, dreamy boyband member and almost twenty years Solene’s junior, is sexy. I love the tension between the two characters Lee does a great job of not letting the reader know who is really in charge, is it Solene the older, wiser person in the relationship or is it Hayes, with his ability to know just what to say? As I said, I haven’t quite finished this one, but it is so good so far!
Beta Read the 1st Draft of Jon Thomas’ Book.
My husband wrote a book! Actually, my husband has written several books. This one has been a labor of love and I could not be prouder of him. The icon above is from our website Anglotopia.
He is asked almost daily, why he loves Britain so much. He explains why and how he came to love that quirky, wonderful nation in this book. The book has taken him almost two years to write as he explains through travel experiences why he loves the U.K.
He has a good edit ahead of him, but I have no doubt that his book will be wildly successful!
Beta Read The Bridgekeeper: by Mathew Warren
This author was the first writer in my life. He has been writing since as long as I can remember. He went through a traumatic experience that threw off his writing mojo. This was the first project he has written since. I love the concept of not being able to rely on the narrator. I don’t want to share too much about it, because it is his and a work in progress. All I can say is that it is a powerful story that I could not put down. Way to flex that writing muscle little Matthew!
Toxic Game: by Christine Feehan
This arrived the other night and I could not wait! I preordered this newest book in Feehan’s Ghostwalker series last August. I had completely forgotten that I had ordered it at all so it was a great surprise when it arrived in the mail. I have not technically read it yet. I was all geared up to dig in and tear through it but honestly, I do that and I feel like I miss out. I am going to take my time and read this one. Feehan, in my opinion, is one of the best romance authors I have come across. Her ability to write the chemistry, awkwardness, affection, and love that her characters experience is a true study in the craft of romance writing.
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