Why Adults Don’t Read Fiction - Featured Author Guest Post

   by Jeff Gunhus

     More likely than not, if you are reading this on a blog about books and reading, you’re immediately wondering what I’m talking about. Chances are that you’re an adult and that you are not only a reader of fiction, but perhaps a devourer of fiction. That, my friend, puts you squarely into the minority.

     A recent poll showed that 41% of Americans had not read a book of fiction in the last year. Another 25% had only read between 1-5 books. Making a (very mathematically convenient) 66% of Americans having read less than 5 books last year. Ouch.

Featured Author Guest Post - J. Thorn

     I would like to begin by sincerely thanking Laurie Love for featuring my books this month and for inviting me to write a guest post for her blog. It’s always an honor and a privilege to be asked to do so.

     I get out of bed every morning because I believe in giving. I believe in making the lives of others better. I do this by creating art that makes life more enjoyable, rejuvenates the spirit, and connects us through universal human experiences. And I happen to tell great stories that are dark, emotional, and engaging.

     I’m a disciple of Stephen King and I grew up reading his stories. If you enjoy King, you’ll enjoy my books as well. I do things in a slightly different way. It seems to be how I’m wired. I’ve posted my phone number on my website, on my social media profiles, and in the back of all of my books. Don’t believe it? Call 216.245.8476 and leave me a message and I’ll call you back. I respond to every message I receive whether it be via voice-mail, Facebook, Twitter, email, carrier pigeon, or smoke signals (maybe not the last two). I don’t have an agent, or a handler, or a PR person. I don’t know if I’ll always be able to respond personally to every message, but I can now so I do. I’m more interested in connecting with the right readers, not the most. You can get to know me better on my website jthorn.net or connect with me on various social media platforms, although I’m most active on Twitter @JThorn_ and Facebook.

If you want to talk, call me. I’ll call you back.

Guest Post by Thomas Hoover - Featured Author

I'm so happy to announce that Thomas Hoover, this month's featured author, was kind enough to agree to writing a guest post! Please give a round of applause to welcome him! Thanks Tom!

Why Do We Write by Thomas Hoover

     Why do we write? I think it's the original Facebook. We want to share ourselves with other people. I've published ten books without ever really knowing why. But here's how I went about it.

     I grew up in a state you've heard of surrounded by horses and cows. My high school graduating class had six (6) people. I practically rode a horse to school. My dream was to be a scientist. There was a school career test in my junior year about what you wanted to do in life and it came out I wanted to be a writer. I showed it to my dad and said what a crummy test. ( A lifetime later I put my books up on Amazon for free and SYNDROME was the 14th most downloaded book in the world for about a week.) So what we're talking about here is a small gap in self-knowledge.

Guest Post by David Estes!!

I'm so excited to announce that David has supplied a guest post for my followers to read. Thanks David!

OCD is my Superpower by David Estes

As I prepare to publish the first 4 books in my new children’s series, Nikki Powergloves, which is about a nine-year-old girl with superpowers, I’ve been getting more and more people asking me what superpower I would choose if I could choose only one. My answer: I already have a superpower—it’s called OCD. And like it or not, I’m going to tell you all about it.

Ahem….tap, tap, tap…is this thing on? *high-pitched feedback from the microphone* Um, my name is David Estes, and I’m a writer with OCD. There I said it! Whew! I feel so much better now.

It seems more and more in this day and age that people say they have obsessive-compulsive disorder in one form or another and maybe they all do. Everyone’s got their little compulsions and pet peeves, like you might have an obsession with ensuring every piece of silverware is placed in its allotted slot in the drawer facing in the same direction (No, please, no! The blade of that knife cannot face east when all the others are facing west!); or perhaps for you it’s something less…shall we say…serious, like maybe you just like things clutter-free, everything in its proper place. There’s nothing wrong with wanting the shoes on the shoe rack and the clothes on the clothes hangers, is there? It’s weird, why should a single errant shoe make one feel like their life is spiraling swiftly out of control to a certain and final doom? I’m not making fun of all of you that are that way (well, maybe I am, just a little), because like you, I got an extra helping of OCD when they were handing out brains.