She reads, she writes and she heals.

Are you like me?  Do you read to learn, to explore and at times, to escape? 

As part of my recovery from surgery recently, I have been taking time to relax and heal.  One activity I am able to get caught up on is reading.

Similar to reading, I wrote for many years as a creative outlet, form of expression and therapy.   I often wonder if I could earn a living with my writing.  The concluding thought is that I’d rather do it because I enjoy it, enjoy sharing experiences and thoughts with others.

When my children were young, I would read to them often, mostly at bedtime.  I would take them on weekend outings to local library branches.  I would even take time on my lunch hour to visit a branch near my workplace and pick up books for our reading sessions.

As a young adult, I used to dream of writing children’s books in addition to creating enjoyable illustrations. Unfortunately, I lost the desire, the gift or the drive to pursue that dream.  Real life needs and expenses got in the way.

I recently reverted back to photography and being a domestic cat documentarian.  Most of the time, it involves one or two of the cats.  They do not always appreciate my sense of humour.

After many years of consuming books, I have finally ventured on to a social platform for readers.  I can share my reviews of books with others, delve into discussions and accept recommendations.  This is many a step up from an online discussion forum I created in early 2007 with a local community network.  This tool lacked a certain je ne sais quoi.  Actually, it lacked the flexibility to post images, add comments and allow external visitors to contribute.

Enter Goodreads.   Creating an account was easy.  So was the process for copying text from book reviews over the past ten years.  I’m not done yet. I just needed some time to relax and get in a nap.

What I also liked about Goodreads was the ability to create an author profile and add one’s book to the list of millions.  Now it’s a matter of how to get it noticed!  When I encountered a problem, I contacted their support desk.  The response was quick and helpful.

If you’re on Goodreads, drop by to say “Hi” to me and Florence T Lyon and submit a review of The Year of the Rabbit.   If you’d like to sample a bit of the novel first, drop by the official blog or download a free excerpt from Smashwords.

Of the many tools Goodreads offers to authors, one helps you create a blog to connect with potential readers.  I created one for my nom de plume, Flo.  Not that she needed one but as we all know, the world could always use more independent authors and blogs ;o).

Thanks for dropping by.

T

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