10 Reasons Why Every Writer Should Be in a Book Club

There aren’t many things that can pull me out of the house after supper, but book club is one of them. Believe it or not, I’ve barely missed a meeting in the several years it has been in existence. I have loved every meeting and dearly love my bookworm buddies. After the last couple of book clubs I’ve been thinking, you know… every writer should be a book club member. Here are a few reasons why I think book clubs can benefits writers of all shapes and varieties.

10 reasons Why I Think Every Writer Should Join a Book Club:

1. Genres

If it is a non-genre based book club, you  get a chance to read everything and anything. You will learn tricks from genres you might not normally read. If it is a genre-based book club and your genre, you will learn an incredible amount about your genre from these readers–your audience! You will also learn what other writers are doing with the genre and how it is received by your shared audience. Gold, gold, gold!

2. Variety of Input

You get to hear what readers of all ages and stages and interests think of a book, a style, a sentence, a plot, a cover, an author, everything! Priceless.

3. Interpretations.

We had a big discussion about interpretations last Tuesday while debriefing after having an author visit us. If we saw the book differently after talking to the author is that good, or is that bad? Getting in the minds of other readers and finding out how they interpret things is intel, baby. Intel.

4. What Works. What Doesn’t.

We’ve got some amazing readers in our book club. We’re talking huge stacks of books devoured by our readers on a weekly basis. They’ve been around the book block a time or two and if they all say something didn’t work for them–pay attention. These ladies (yeah, we keep scaring all the men off) are expert readers. If you mess them up, oh boy! On the flip side, you can also see what really speaks to them and works. (We are surprisingly often on the same page (or at least the same chapter) in terms of what works and what doesn’t.)

5. Sounding Board.

You can throw ideas at them and see what they think. And no, they don’t know that I write, but sometimes I like to bring up ideas that fit with a book we’ve read to see what they think as readers. You know, a “What if the author did X instead of Y? Do you think that would make blah blah blah fit more?”

6. Genius. Bloody Genius.

You get to sound like a genius when you say things like, “It sounds like you sympathized with the protagonist but never really got the emotional attachment that would have made you empathetic. Do you think the author did that intentionally so you wouldn’t get overwhelmed by the subject matter?” Yeah, I got to pop that one out on Tuesday. I got a nice look of awe. (Felt guilty a bit. But just a bit.)

7. Non-Hermit Status.

It gets you out of the house you writerly hermit, you!

8. Word of Mouth & Advance Readers.

If you ever publish you have some lovely book people who love you and might help you get the world out as well as be beta readers (if you have the guts and think it would not put them in a ‘bad’ spot). Maybe. (Never, ever abuse your book club for your own promotional needs!)

9. Bookworms Rule.

It is a TON of fun to talk to bookworms about books. Heaven. Bliss. Love it. Nothing better.

10. German Chocolate Cake.

Yep, snacks. Love the books, bookworms, and camaraderie. But come for the cake.

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How about you? Do you belong to a book club? Why or why not?

Meta Fiction: What the Heck is Meta Fiction?

Last night I had the honour of meeting Canadian author Betty Jane Hegerat. She is the author of “The Boy,” a story set here in Alberta, and is a great mix of fiction and nonfiction. When asked about why she chose to weave both fiction and nonfiction into the story, she said it was the only way her story was going to work. She had advice from two different publishing professionals (men)–one suggested she make it all fiction, the other suggested all nonfiction–she said she never listened to men very well and ended up doing her story her own way. In the end, she had a great story with a unique twist that wove her own writing journey right alongside the fictional story. (She also said she didn’t write it for librarians (who struggle whether to catalogue it as fiction or nonfiction).) She called her work (The Boy) both creative nonfiction as well as meta fiction.

Wait a second. What was that last one?

Meta fiction. Yeah. I hadn’t heard of it either.

Wikipedia defines it as such:

…is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion. Metafiction uses techniques to draw attention to itself as a work of art, while exposing the “truth” of a story.

Er. Okay.

Basically, it doesn’t allow the reader to forget that they are reading fiction. The author may remind the reader that they are reading a fictional story, either by addressing the reader, having the characters know they are in a story, having the story contain another story, or by including the author in the story such as in the case of Betty Jane Hegerat who speaks and argues with the main fictional character (love that!). Some examples of Meta Fiction might include “The Undone Fairytale” by Ian Lendler, “The Dark Tower” by C.S. Lewis, “Misery” by Stephen King, and “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes.

Betty Jane mentioned that she was very lucky to have her publisher ask to see what she was working on (“The Boy”) after she had published a different book with them. Why lucky? her book is not easy to classify, pigeon-hole, slip into any one genre, or point it to a ‘perfectly boxed’ market. Therefore, many publishers would have turned away from the project.

However, because “The Boy” is a story of family murder, and sadly, family murders happen across the world, she says many people have been able to identify with her story. Because of this success, her publisher (a small, indie press) is talking about running a second printing. And that, my dear writing friends, is fantastic news as most small presses print a run of 800-1000 and that’s it. Her publisher printed 1000 copies and they have obviously been selling quite well as her book has only been out for approximately 10 months and they are talking about printing more. Wahoo!

I love stories about out-of-the-ordinary-books finding their audience and doing well. It’s inspiring.

How about you? Have you read or written any meta fiction? What do you think? Is it an understated category that will take the world by storm? Or will it forever remain a small, unique niche?

More about “The Boy:” Funny story, two of the nonfiction characters who are in the book (other than the author and her husband) came to book club last night–so cool! And one of them said Betty Jane’s finished book “gripped her by the shorts!” (This from a lovely old lady. Love it! Best book quote ever.) If you want to read more about “The Boy” this is my Goodreads review.

TK Richardson On Tour: Shield the Heart

This week celebrates the release of TK Richardson’s second book, Shield the Heart, in her series about Lilly, a teen who can read the hearts of other people. (Love that premise!) TK generously shipped me a review copy which has bumped my book club book straight out of the reading queue.

For her book blog tour, TK is doing a little something different. If you read her interview here a few weeks ago you will have noted that TK is a little crazy for Russia! Since her books have dollops of Russia with book two being set right in Russia, she is sharing her passion for the old country by sharing some of Russia’s greatest delights on her blog tour. (She hints that the tour may provide extra insights into the books too! So can’t wait for that!!)

Much to my honour, TK is stopping on my blog today as part of her week long tour.

Over to TK:

Hi Jean, thanks for hosting this stop on the blog tour for Shield the Heart!

The theme for this blog tour is a little different and I hope all of you will enjoy it. It’s titled ‘A Russian Tour’ because each day during the blog tour we’ll explore the Russian cities and historical sites that are the backdrop for my new YA novel Shield the Heart.

Sometimes the setting of a novel is so interesting and unique that it deserves a closer look, and that’s why I thought this blog tour would be so much fun. ‘A Russian Tour’ will give my readers a chance to get a better view of where everything in Shield the Heart takes place.
After all, these are the places that have inspired me, and I hope they inspire all of you, too.
Today on our itinerary we’re visiting Ipatiev Monastery!

To follow along each day and visit some of the places found in Shield the Heart, be sure to follow the blog tour.

Okay, onto our destination!

Ipatiev Monastery (Source)

Located in Kostroma, Russia, Ipatiev Monastery is famous for many reasons. The most noteworthy is that in March of 1613 Mikhail Romanov was chosen from here to become the Russian Tsar. The Romanov line ruled over Russia for some 300 years and never forgot from where they came.

Ipatiev Monastery is still celebrated because of this and is a top tourist attraction in Russia.

Ipatiev Monastery

Ipatiev Monastery was founded around the year 1330 and the following is a brief history:
“Most of the monastery buildings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. The Trinity Cathedral is famous for its elaborately painted interior. A smaller church was demolished by the Soviet authorities. There are plans to reconstruct it and consecrate it to the New Martyrs of the Romanov family. The main entrance from the riverside was designed by the celebrated Konstantin Thon.” Source.

To get a better view of Ipatiev Monastery and just how beautiful it really is, this video is remarkable. It is a bit long, but you’ll see how spectacular this structure is in the first couple of minutes.

And if you’re wondering how Ipatiev Monastery fits into a young adult novel where the main character has a special gift that centers around an ancient Russian prophecy, I hope you’ll read the book to find out!

Ipatiev House (source)

Character quote~
What I saw caught my breath up short. A massive white, stone castle towered directly in front of us and stretched as far as I could see. ~ Lilly Paige, Shield the Heart

I hope you’ve enjoyed this mini tour of Ipatiev Monastery. Be sure to follow us to our next destination. Tomorrow on the blog tour we’ll visit Optina Monastery!

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Jean, thanks again for hosting me on the blog tour. I hope you and your blog followers enjoy my new release!

One Gift, One Prophecy, One Choice
Shield the Heart

(Note: This book is part of a series. Book #1 Return the Heart. Book #2 Shield the Heart.)

What if the battle was in your heart?

Lilly’s gift of reading the heart seemed like a curse, but when she discovered her gift was linked to an old, Russian prophecy it changed everything. What she never questioned, though, was her own heart.

When the prophecy pulls Lilly back to Russia and demands to be fulfilled she is torn between love and loyalty. She must make the most difficult decision of her life and choose between the two. But Lilly’s decision is farther reaching than even she is willing to acknowledge. It stretches from East to West – from the past to the future.

Lilly discovers there’s more to the old prophecy than she realized and enemy forces are bent on stopping it from unfolding.

One thing is certain – there will be casualties. And sparing those closest to her may be impossible. While Seth attempts to shield Lilly from the truth, Nikolai reveals secrets that could change everything.

As Lilly falls into the arms of Russia she must decide: will love or loyalty reign? And can she live with the consequences? Two sides compete for Lilly’s heart and she must find the answers she needs before her enemies find her.

Shield the Heart, by T.K. Richardson, is the riveting second book in the series and takes Lilly deeper into Russia’s mysterious past… and her future.

Available in paperback and ebook

*For a chance to win a Kindle Fire and a signed copy of Shield the Heart, check out my (TK’s) contest!

About the author~

T.K. Richardson is the author of YA books Return the Heart, Shield the Heart, Simmer: Recipes for the Teen Palate, and Love, Me: Anthology of Short Stories. She is the founder of Partners In Print.org, a program that donates books to children in the foster care system. She also hosts  Compass eBooks and runs The Writers Resource Directory, a great site for writers filled with publishing and writing links, tips and advice. Her next books are due out later this year.  Find out more at http://tkrichardson.com

It’s Friday… What Are You Reading?

One of the loveliest things about weekends this time of year are those dreary cool days where there is absolutely nothing as wonderful as curling up with a book in front of a fireplace (if you have one) and sipping a warm drink (if you are so inclined). And not just any book, a book that lifts you off to a whole new world and wraps you in its characters for an entire afternoon.

It’s Friday. And that means it’s time to line up that super-delicious weekend read. Whether it is an escape read or something more serious… you are in good company. Every Friday thousands of people over on Twitter share what they are reading. (#FridayReads) So, what are you reading?

Need a good book? Check out #FridayReads on Twitter… or the website! That’s right! There’s a website so you can share your reads any time! You can read what the Friday Reads Team is reading, check out the Best Read list (a list of the most frequently shared books), author Q & As, as well as giveaways.

Sweet deal!

Your Stuff Says Stuff

That’s right. According to Sam Gosling, a social psychologist, our stuff says stuff about us and our personalities. In fact, he says that in order to really learn about the people you know… don’t spend time with them, spend time with their possessions.

And I just have to say this idea made me SO curious as a writer that I decided I had to find out more. And then the sociologist in me got curious. And then the snoop in me got curious. And now I am in the middle of nowhere without a bookstore to be seen and I am literally burning with curiosity. I’m curious what my stuff says about me (I actually had issues with building a house way back when there were no houses on the market and the only way to get a house was to build one as I feared what living in a brand new house would say about me), what sort of things I can put in my stories to leave telling traces that allow the reader to see what my character is really about–or not about. I’m curious about what my friends are really like, my parents, my in-laws, my relatives of all shapes and sizes, my neighbours, my … well, you get the point. I’m curious!

So, I’ve ordered Gosling’s book “Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You.” And I will report back here on what I read. But come on… you have to admit, aren’t you a touch curious too?

“Sam Gosling is an engaging writer, a brilliant psychologist, and a charming individual—and he must never, ever be allowed inside my office!”–Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Bonk