In the beginning there were words and the words formed sentences and then paragraphs and chapters and it was alright. But then someone edited them and it was good.
I've been resisting blogging, after one vaguely half-enthused attempt some years previously. After all, I thought, who would possibly want to know what I think about the things I read, write and edit. But, it seems that some folks do want to know, so here I am. The proud owner of a blog. I have another one, I just don't... [.. insert shifty eyed glances here...] precisely know where I left it.
For those who don't know me and for the entertainment of some of you who do, I shall tell you a bit about me and the written word.
I began reading at a very young age. There is some discussion about when that actually was, as my babysitter was a little surprised when I corrected her, as she was reading me a bedtime story at the age of three, or so. I do know that I was reading a fair amount and I waded through most of the children's section of the library, moving on to the adult books in short order. Under my mother's influence, I read Dickens and others and I found Sherlock Holmes who was probably one of my first literary character loves.
In sixth grade, I was tested as reading at high college level. In seventh grade, tests showed that I read 1600 words per minute with 97% comprehension.
It was not uncommon and still is not uncommon for me to read a book or more per day. I had some issues with the library, as I tended to take out great stacks of books and was not always great about returning them on time, which was a failing of mine. I would have loved to work in the library. I still would love to work in a library!
So, I have always been a voracious reader with a wide variety of interests. Mysteries, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, any other genre is fair game, as long as it is well-written with engaging characters. I even love non-fiction: history, biographies, travel, crafting and hobbies, cooking and self-improvement, just some of the subjects I read on a regular basis.
It has been said that I will read anything that is not glued down and some things that are. It is not unknown for me to resort to reading labels, if sufficiently bored and lacking other resources.
With the advent of ebooks, my life got even more interesting. Where before, I was limited by the space that I had to keep books in my home and the difficulty of moving them, I now had a small and simple alternative where I could carry hundreds of books with me wherever I went. Yes, I had to keep several memory cards with me, but that was nothing compared to the satchels full of books that I used to lug with me everywhere I went.
The gift to me of a Kindle made my life even more interesting and I started finding free books everywhere which introduced me to even more wonderful authors. Admittedly, there were some that were not so wonderful, but that's life. You pays your money and you takes your chances! And I found some true gems and gained an understanding of what it might be like to read through a publisher's slush pile.
I started posting reviews of the books that I was reading, deciding that it was important to be completely honest in my assessments, as I felt that was more service to the other readers and to the author. If no one ever gives unvarnished feedback, there is no opportunity for growth.
An interesting side effect of my reviews was that I began making contact with some of the authors and helping them with anything from line-edits to historical accuracy for period pieces. I found that I enjoyed myself immensely. So here I am: Freelance Editor, me.
I was introduced to Net Galley the other day. I had looked it over before and didn't think that I would wish to join, but an author invited me to review her new book and so I signed up. The experience has been interesting, to say the least. The author that I did the review for was charming and wonderful. I have seen other publishers that are persnickety about who read and reviews their books to the point that it offended me. It seems they only want people to review their books who have a major, established marketing machine in in place. They want someone to do their marketing for them for free, of course. So, that is how I chose the title for my blog: The Pleasure of My Good Regard. Those publishers will have to live with out it, no matter how much I like some of their authors, sadly. After all, it is regular folk like us who buy their books and tell our friends about them that make their wheels of commerce spin.
With Regards,
Kirsten
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