Book Week Eleven -- K is for K.M. Weiland

K.M Weiland

(isn't she adorable!!!)

Where would we be without writers. Well, we wouldn't have any books to read and that would be a shame.  I would be remiss in not highlighting the authors who provide us with the books we read.   Over the years I have discovered some amazing authors.  In my quest to write the 'great American novel' I have discovered many author blogs.  Authors who write not only interesting and intriguing books, but also share their writing journeys and experiences in order to help and inspire aspiring writers.   From the group blogs such as Murderati, Running with Quills, The Deadline Dames, to a wide range of author blogs such as K.M. Weiland, Michelle Moran, Neil Gaiman, Elana Johnson, to Frederik Pohl, Charlie Stross and Jeff Vandermeer to name a few .  Thanks to the blogospere I have found many "new to me authors."  There are many authors I follow and have linked in my sidebars of both My Two Blessing and Mind Voyages.  I'll be spotlighting more of these authors over the coming year from whom we can learn and be entertained from their experiences.

Just like reading is as necessary to breathing to me, stories are like breathing to K.M. Weiland.   I'm working on getting to that place where writing is equal up there with books in the breathing department. 

Why she writes:

From her website:   "Stories are like breathing. Life without a story in my head is one-dimensional, stagnant, vapid. I love the life God has given me, but I think I love it better because I’m able to live out so many other lives on the page. I’m more content to be who I am because I’m not trapped in that identity. When I sit down at my computer and put my fingers on the keys, I can be anyone or anything, at any time in history. I write because it’s freedom."

                        Western Fiction  - First Chapter       Historical Fiction - First Chapter

Have you ever read the first line or paragraph of a book and been hooked by the writing?  That is how I chose whether to read a book or not.  If the description of the book interests me, then I'll open it to the first page and read it.  If that sparks my interest, I choose random pages to peruse.   Weiland's books both sparked with me and I look forward to reading them.  She has also written an e-book which is available free from her site "Crafting Unforgettable Characters" which I am in the process of reading.  It includes some interesting advice such as chapters on "interviewing your characters," "It's what your characters DO that defines them," and "What Dickens can teach us about complex characters."   I just know I'm going to end up printing the whole thing out (thank you for back to back printers) to read again and again. 

Advice:

"Writing is both a gift and an art. As a gift, it must be approached with humility: the writer is only the vessel through which inspiration flows. As an art, it must be approached with passion and discipline: a gift that’s never developed wasn’t worth the giving."

K.M also blogs at Author Culture with authors Lynette Bonner and Linda Yezak.  Be sure to check them out.  

What new authors have you discovered lately?  

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Link to your current reads and reviews in this post , no matter where you are in the challenge. Please link to your specific review post and include the name of the book in parentheses after your name so everyone will know which book you have read.