I encourage you to do the same

I hit up the bookstore today. Oy vey! Like I need anymore books in my life (I also hit up the library and picked up five books on hold).

Not too long ago, I read this post, and it reminded me of something important--if we don't support each other, no one will be there to support us. So today I went to Border's (they're not doing as well as B&N or Amazon, and I wanted to throw my money their way) and I bought three brand-spankin' new books.

I don't have a lot of money, like most of you. This expenditure comes straight out of grocery money, but a book a month in exchange for skipping lunch is a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

I wanted to buy new from an author I haven't heard of before. Last time I did that was a month ago. The author I hadn't heard of then was Jacquelyn Frank. *rolls eyes* I'm not the most clued in chicklet some days, but that's okay. She had a few books on the shelf and the covers looked good so I thought I'd give her a whirl. I haven't read the book yet, but it's in my TBR and will gets its turn eventually.

In all of my Internetting and blog reading and Amazon.comming Ms. Frank's name has never made an impression, she wasn't on my radar. But clearly she's on someone's radar because she had four books on the shelf when I picked her up. Great! I thought, I get to start a new series (if I like the first book) and read someone who the publisher believes in enough to keep buying her books.

But ultimately, supporting someone with a built-in following wasn't what I felt like I needed to do. After all, 'new to me' isn't necessarily 'new kid on the block.' Today, however, I thought about it a bit more deeply. An author who I have never heard of who has multiple books on the shelf isn't a new author. And, it turns out, it's damned hard to find a book by a brand-new author on Border's romance shelves.

I probably spent ten minutes looking for a book I thought I'd enjoy by an author who didn't already have a long row of books under her name or who I hadn't heard of through some online buzz. I didn't want a historical or a romantic suspense, so that limited me even further. I found maybe three books that met my criteria.
1. I haven't heard the author's name.
2. The author doesn't have a row of books on the shelf.
3. It's actually a first book by a new author.
4. It's not a historical or RS - both of which I have limited patience for in my reading.

I think I hit the jackpot. I wound up with A Perfect Darkness by Jamie Rush. This is not an endorsement. I haven't read it yet, and even if it knocks my socks off, I'm highly unlikely to review it here. But I did my part today. I bought a brand-new book, retail, by a brand-new author. I encourage you all to do the same.

(For the reader who is paying attention, you'll notice I actually purchased three books. The other two are Too Hot To Handle and No Limits, both of which are books by established authors that I didn't feel like waiting on the library to read and have essentially cost me three more lunches.)





Just finished: Pagan Encounter
Currently reading: Wolf Tales IV
Currently reading: Midnight Rising