Importance of Reading for an Author

I’ve spent so much time this past 6 months writing and rewriting, but I really think it is very important for writers to read.

Read anything and everything. I actually still read newspapers…remember those? I read to research information about what I’m writing. I read for enjoyment. Things that make me smile, laugh, feel something. And I love some of the new LGBT authors I’ve been introduced to because of social media. Authors like J.P. Barnaby, Con Riley, Arthur Wooten, Kergan Edwards-Stout, Ross McCoubrey, T.A. Webb …and the list could go on and on. Most recently, I was turned on to Josh Lanyon. Yes, I know…those reading this blog are saying “what do you mean you’re just now finding him?”

There are simply so many M/M writers that sometimes it is just hard to get to them all. But I have been sucked into the world of Adrien English and reading the series back-to-back as I go to bed each evening. A friend suggested it to me (because of the genre that I like) and I’m glad he did. Going from book to book in a series means we gain new friends between the pages and that is something every author longs for when writing a book; readers relate to their characters and see them as real.

Reading for me is like breathing – I MUST do it to survive. I know it helps me become a better writer. I see things I like and things that I don’t always agree with. I notice styles and choices made by authors. And at times, I’m simply taken away to another place and time.

In the end; isn’t that what we all want when reading a good book?