Hug an Author!

No, I don’t mean literally hug an author (Unless you know the author in question very, VERY well).

Dame Devon over at the Deadline Dames recently reminded me that authors like to hear from their readers. I’ve always had, in the back of my mind, the thought that an author wouldn’t care if I sent them a letter or an email. They’re too famous, too big, too important to care about little ol’ me.

Truth of the matter is they probably LOVE getting fan mail, much like bloggers love getting comments!

Take Action!

So, let’s make a pact, shall we? Pick an author and let them know that their work touched you on some level. Did it inspire you? Do you still think of X scene with a silly grin on your face? Does Y emotional scene still twist your guts? Did Z book help inspire you to be a writer?

Many authors these days have a website/blog/email/twitter account where they can be easily reached.

Tell them whatever you please, but let them know that their writing made a difference for little ol’ you.

<3

We’re back!

The Saucy Wenches Podcast is back online. A long and much-tangented show (does that even need to be specified?) hit the airwaves this morning. We talk about eReaders and eBooks and pricing and publishing (epic ranting ahoy! Batton the hatches!) and finish up with a long-distance sighting of NaNoWriMo off the port bow!

Stats
Book : Where The Mountain Meets the Moon
Author : Grace Lin
Genre : YA, questionmark?
Purchaseworthy : Absolutely, and a hardcover copy at that.
Recommendworthy : Without reservation to anyone who loves fairy tales.

Summary
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is the story of a poor family. Father, mother, and daughter live in a tiny house with barely enough to eat. The father keeps up the spirits of both himself and his daughter by telling her fantastic tales of dragons and adventures. The mother sighs and daily wishes for a richer life for herself and her family.

After getting some advice from a friendly fish, the daughter begins an adventure to try and restore life to their mountain, and thus riches to her family and happiness to her mother. Along the way, she befriends a flightless dragon, a king, a boy with a buffalo, and enriches the lives of all those she touches. Home alone, her parents realize that the only treasure they truly wanted was their daughter.

My Opinion
I absolutely adored this book. I have long been a lover of fairy tales, and this is a book (a whole book!) celebrating the old traditional fairy tales in a way that the modern reader can connect to and appreciate.

The story has definite oriental flavor, but I believe even those not familiar with the culture via anime and manga would enjoy this.

Half of the book is the story itself, and the other half are stories told within the book by characters to each other. By the end of the book, all of the threads, both of tales woven within the story and the book itself merge.

Reading this, I was transported back to my childhood. I felt like a kid again, eagerly turning each page and wanting to know what happens next.

If I had a child, I believe this would be one of our bedtime story books, told over the course of a few nights.

I was enchanted and utterly under its spell. I don’t know if it was written for children, or YA, or adults, and I don’t really care. I loved it for myself, as I am.