Tuesday, December 20, 2016

On Writing: Favorite Author Pages (Erin)

As many of you know, the writer's life is not limited to madly writing novels. In addition, authors in today's market are expected to have web pages, blogs, and all sorts of social media contacts. Whether you are at the point where you need inspiration to write an author web page, or you are just interested in authors' lives, I wanted to give you my go-to list for author pages.

First of all, since I am always referencing Madeleine L'Engle, you can probably guess I adore her author website. Although L'Engle passed away several years ago, the site is run by her granddaughters.They often post inspiring quotes on Twitter, and their blog is currently keeping me in a heightened state of excitement, as they are continually posting updates regarding the upcoming movie version of A Wrinkle in Time, starring Oprah and Reese Witherspoon. 

In case those reasons aren't compelling enough for you, the lead quote on the web page says,
A book, too, can be a star, explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.                                                                       Madeleine L’Engle  
Need I say more?


Another author site and blog I enjoy is Jamie Ford's. Author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, (one of the best non-fantasy books I have read in a long time), Ford shares his writing life, opinions on various topics, and accomplishments. Over time, I hope my author site will be as varied and easy to read as Ford's.


I know this isn't a "Top Three" post, but the other blog I look to for inspiration is Adam Gidwitz's author page. The graphics on this page are colorful, interactive and appealing. Gidwitz's books are highlighted, but there is also a link to his "Essays and Articles," where he explains the motivations behind his writing, and gives parents tools for talking to their children about his books, among other topics.


Do you have an author blog or website yet? Do you follow any authors? Post the link in the comments so we can check them out! 

Attributions:
http://www.adamgidwitz.com/resources/
https://www.amazon.com/Hotel-Corner-Bitter-Sweet-Jamie/dp/0345505344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482205194&sr=8-1&keywords=hotel+on+the+corner+of+bitter+and+sweet
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/top100/

2 comments:

  1. Cool post idea, Erin! You're so right that being a writer involves way more than just writing! These were all great websites, I especially liked the look of Adam Gidwitz's site. One of the coolest author websites I've seen is www.saragruen.com, but I also think Nadine Brandes (nadinebrandes.com) did a great job with her website, as did Jamie Foley (jamiesfoley.com - she happens to be a web designer in addition to writing!).

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  2. I am so glad it's Christmas break and I will have time to check out all your suggestions! Thanks, Laurie!

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