A PERFECT … reason to post
I usually update my weekly blog on Thursdays, but Tuesdays – as decreed by the publishing gods – happen to be the day new books are released each week. In last week's post I told you about the germination of my new Celestial Blues series, and how Kelley Armstrong was (unwittingly) involved in that.
This week, I want to tell you about the other amazing author who blurbed me for this series, as well as my first — and who was the first to reach out to me with total generosity and kindness when I entered this career as a professional. She also has a release today: A PERFECT BLOOD, the tenth book in her fantastic, popular Hollows series, so it's a "perfect" time to speak about her, too.
Of course, I'm talking about Kim Harrison. I'm a bit shy to do so too because I do admire and like her so much that it feels a bit like telling people to go buy a book because "my sister wrote it." She's clearly not my blood sister (note: I could have said 'perfect blood' sister there, but refrained from such extreme cheesiness) but she has been a constant, quiet support for me over the past few years – kinda like a guiding hand at a child's back. The kid still has to take the steps, make mistakes, and learn on their own, but if they wobble, there's a steadying force there. That's the Kim I know.
She also has these strangely dynamic personal characteristics that I find interesting:
She's kind, yet fiercely driven.
She's fiercely driven, yet uncompetitive.
She's uncompetitive, and pays it forward.
She pays it forward, therefore so do you.
I can't tell you how many authors she's quietly mentored and helped, how many readers she's touched and responds to – daily – and how amazing I find it that she does all these things while balancing a happy, healthy emotional life and family. (BTW, I was one of those readers way back when – before I was published and when DEAD WITCH WALKING first came out. I'll never forget, she visited The CompuServe Writer's Forum, of which I was a member – that was where I honed my chops – and she answered this newbie writer's questions about her, writing, and her new Hollows series in depth. I've never forgotten that.)
The point is, I have taken the majority of my cues from her on how to navigate this biz, from never calling my readers "fans" (They're readers, it's an equal partnership. I'm not Madonna) to taking weekends off, guilt-free (best thing I ever did – now I write better and smarter, instead of just faster) to working far, far ahead of deadline so as to maximize time and talent and potential ideas.
Pause.
Okay, so that last one is a total lie. She works in advance. I claw at my downhill slide toward every deadline. I'd hate her a little for that if I didn't like her so damned much.
Anyway, I always like to know that the books I'm buying, and the authors I'm supporting, are Good Peeps. Kim is one of the best. I thought you should know, too.
Here's the link to A PERFECT BLOOD, and if you haven't yet started the Rachel Morgan/Hollows series – and I think you can tell that I also love her work – you really need to do so. Start with DEAD WITCH WALKING.
Have a great week!
