In August Fresh Fiction will celebrate its 5th anniversary. In the Internet world it’s a real milestone, as it is for a small business. Most go within a year, 18 months at the outside. But against all odds, Fresh Fiction has managed to stick, thrive and grow. We have a team of addicted book lovers to thank and the resilience of people who well, for lack of a better description, love to read! And love all things about reading: the books, the authors, fellow readers, expressing opinions and always thirsting for more.
So this month — August — we’ll be exploring all the parts that make up Fresh Fiction and create our book world. From the publishers to the authors to the books to the reviewers to booksellers and all things associated with our love of books and reading. I hope you’ll join us several times this month and let us know what YOU think.
We’ll also be celebrating with special blog posts, contests and give-a ways. So be sure to stop by and enter.
First up is my little story, or the founding of Fresh Fiction.
Well, curl up my friends and listen to the tale…ah, you see, I’m not really a writer and decided not to even try to be one about 15 years ago. It was a nice idea but I didn’t suit the rigors of lonely writing, because to be honest, I’m really a reader. I’ve got to read and I don’t want to dissect a book to see what makes it work. It’s why I can’t be an art critic either, I either know I like it or I don’t. Ditto with books, I either love them or hate them. I can passionately discuss books until people’s eyes turn blank or glazed but writing one is beyond me.
But I’m also really curious. When I find a book I like or an author that intrigues me I want to know ALL about them: their other books, who they are, what they are writing. I want to get a sense of understanding. And unfortunately most author or publisher web sites are either impossible to find or once found do NOT contain the information I crave.
So after talking to some fellow readers I came up with a plan. A site listing all the books as they come out, searchable by author or book with summaries, biographies and excerpts if possible. Tanzey Cutter said can we do reviews too? And how about a little column about books and authors? Candace Havens wanted to show how books and film mix together (she’s a big time entertainment reporter). Shanna Swendson said, “I go to lots of conferences, can I write about those?” And not just romance, but other genres we’re reading like thrillers, mysteries, fantasy. Just not “Oprah” books. And from that meeting in a line waiting for a signing to open, Fresh Fiction was born.
So fast forward five years, we’ve added more excerpts, more reviewers, lots more columnists, over 30,000 authors with their book lists, contests and tidbits here and there to entice. So for a labor of necessity … to get more information about books … I think we’re doing what we set out to accomplish.
So, please tell us what you think, why do you come to FreshFiction.com? What else would you like to see?
Until next time…
Get out there and READ a book…
Sara Reyes
Join us at Readers ‘n ‘ritas November 13-15, 2009!
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