I know you keep helping me out… but can you do me one more favor?

On Monday,  I sold my books and book bags at the vendor sale here in town. It went well, and I got to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. I asked everyone who bought one of my books to pass it on, either physically or by mentioning it to a friend or writing a review. 

Unless you’ve published a book that you have spent months or even years laboring over, you won’t fully appreciate how every review on Amazon makes an author’s soul sing. I know that Amazon is as money-hungry as any big business, so the review you want to write might require you to purchase more junk from Amazon that you don’t need. But you can still say something nice on Facebook or your other social media about a book you read. Or, as I’ve already written, pass that book on to another friend, reminding them that they could write a review of it. 

And so I don’t sound like a hypocrite, here are three authors these new and old friends told me about this week. 

The first was Martha Tate, the author of “The Last Ride.” The Amazon blurb states: “The Last Ride is the first book ever written about the murder of prominent Nashville citizen W. Haynie Gourley on May 24, 1968, and the heart-stopping, controversial trial that riveted the city of Nashville.” Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it would be an interesting read, and I will order a copy.  

The next one someone told me about was Jamie Jo Wright, who is an award-winning author of multiple historical Christian novels with a Gothic flare. Sounds like her books have a little bit of something for everyone. Right now, I can’t decide which of her books to read first. 

And finally, a week ago, a friend loaned me a book that an acquaintance of hers had written and given to her. “From Beneath the Tarp: A Story of Abuse and Redemption” by Susan Perry is a bit darker than I usually like to read. Still, it is a story that needs to be shared. 

So there you go. Easy ways to help me – or any other author out – after you’ve read the books they consider their babies. 

Have a great weekend and read a book! Chris