I Know Awesome People

So I think I’ve finally reached a point where I need to stop talking about myself.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy it. It’s just that if I’m going to fill my blog with info just about myself, it’s going to get dull. I know. Too late.

So instead, I’m going to talk about awesome people I know. Specifically, I’m going to stick to authors today.

Let’s start with Harry Connolly.

Why start with Harry? Because that dude is my hero. He’s writing a great series (Twenty Palace Society) and getting his short stories out there, and back when I was looking for an agent, I’d ask him questions all the time, and he’d answer them.

And his books are so, so, so, good. Don’t take my word for it. Jim Butcher blurbed his first novel.

His web site is here: http://www.harryjconnolly.com/

And here’s the post where he actually tells people about my novel, which he’s reading, despite the fact that he doesn’t like zombies: http://burger-eater.livejournal.com/834797.html

He’s good people. Buy his books. Buy them now.

Up next, let’s talk Brendan Halpin.

Brendan’s first book was one of the best and saddest memoirs ever. It was called “It Takes a Worried Man,” and it talks about his emotional upheaval as his wife tried to fight off breast cancer.

He’s written a lot of books since then, for adults and young adults, and all of them are worth a look.

But if your time is limited, pick up “Forever Changes,” which is technically a YA novel. It’ll make you think about death. And life. And you’ll go, “Oh yeah, high school was TOTALLY like that.” And then you’ll cry at the end, and want to give the book to everyone you know.

Why is he awesome? Well, he’s one of my favorite authors. And when I found out, years ago, that his wife lost her battle with cancer and passed away, I wrote him an email telling him how sorry I was, and how much his book had moved me.

We’ve grown into online friends since then, and when I finished my book and decided to sell it, I asked him to blurb it. And he could have said no. All he really knows about me is I sometimes email authors I like, and that I can sometimes be amusing on Facebook.

But he said yes, and then wrote VERY nice things about my book. (As his aka, Seamus Cooper.)

Go to his blog here: http://www.brendanhalpin.com/

And buy all of his books. But especially “Forever Changes.”

Finally, I wanted to talk about Lesley Kagen.

Lesley did NOT blurb my book, as she didn’t think she could do much to help my sales. Doesn’t matter. She’s still good people.

She was the one who mentioned to me, over a year ago, that some of her friends were putting their novels out themselves, instead of trying to find a publisher.

Did she say I should do it? No. But it was clear to me that she felt there was merit in it. And when someone who has been on the New York Times’ Bestseller list says something like that that, you listen.

http://www.lesleykagen.com/

So there’s her web site, and you should go out and get a copy of “Whistling in the Dark,” which is kind of a mystery and kind of about how kids deal with all the crazy things that happen to them, which you don’t think about until you’re an adult and you go, “Oh, man, I really wasn’t ready to handle that…”

You can buy her other books too. In fact, you should.