New Series: What I Like about You

For some time now, I’ve been thinking that writers deserve more love.  It’s way too easy for any mean-spirited person to write an anonymous, scathing review of a book on a website, leaving the author to wonder, “Exactly when did I shoot your dog?”  As agent-turned-author Nathan Bransford (my favorite blogger on the subject of writing) has pointed out on several occasions, published authors are doing something right.  They may not be doing EVERYTHING right…there may be things about their work that you don’t enjoy…they may not be forging in the smithy of their soul the uncreated conscience of their race…but the fact is, it’s not easy to get a book published, so authors who do reach that goal are doing at least one or two things well.  I say we celebrate that.  I say,  instead of tearing other writers down, we instead accentuate the positive.  I say, “If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”  Who’s with me?

To that end…I announce a new series on this little blog o’ mine:  ”What I Like about You.”  Taking its title from an infectious 80′s pop song, this series of posts will spotlight a different author each time, and I’ll comment on a particular aspect of his/her writing that particularly impresses me.  And I hope that you’ll be inclined to comment on these posts and help spread the love.  No negativity.  All positive, all the time.  If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.  (I think you get my drift.)  We’ll start next week with author Irene Latham because I can’t think of an author more deserving of nice comments.  Irene is not only an outstanding novelist and poet, she’s also a friend to others in the writing community.  She’s exceptionally generous and encouraging to both published and aspiring authors.  What can I say?  Irene’s a peach.  And next week, I will tell you what I love about her two novels, Leaving Gee’s Bend and Don’t Feed the Boy.  So check back next week and please chime in!