It’s such a pleasure to be here! When Andy mentioned that he was reaching out to writers and asking them to write guest posts about readers and their impact, I thought it was a brilliant idea. Now HERE is a topic that I can embrace!
A famous quote by Samuel Johnson really summarizes what I consider a reader’s role in the literary world: “A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.” I couldn’t agree more. Where would writers be, after all, without a reading audience?
In my life, I’ve had a number of readers who made a difference in shaping my work. One would be my dear cousin, Christine, who spent every summer evening reading pages of stories that I would hand-write for her entertainment. She would get caught up in those stories and encourage me to keep writing so she could learn what happened to the characters. Because of her, I wrote a full-length novel by the age of sixteen. (No, it wasn’t any good…but it was complete!).
More recently, my books are being read by many of my Twitter pals. A few such readers have now become huge fans of the Estilorians (the beings in my YA fantasy/romance books). They’ve been unending sources of support and encouragement, and I’ve gotten lots of input from them regarding things I can do in my upcoming books to appeal to them. Their advice is invaluable.
Beyond the people I interact with on a regular basis, though, are the complete strangers who reach out to me about my books. Readers contact me via my website just to tell me things like this: “I just wanted to tell you I am almost done with the 3rd book in the Daughters of Saraqael [trilogy] and I love them!!! Finishing the 3rd book is bittersweet for me…I cannot wait to see how it ends but at the same time I don’t want it to. I just had to tell you how much I enjoy them. Thank you for writing such great books!”
THAT, dear blog reader, is why we write. And that’s also why it is readers who finish our books. Many thanks to every reader out there, especially those who take the time to share reviews and spread your enjoyment over books with others.
If you’d like to help me “finish” Becoming, Central and Foretold (the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy), the books are available in all e-bookstores, as well as in paperback on Amazon.com. Read on, my friends, and know you’re making a difference in the lives of writers! Click her for more
Andy Holloman - Dad, Writer, Goofball 