International Authors' Day plus a Giveaway

If you haven't noticed yet, I was taking a bit of a hiatus this month from the blog.  Obviously, that didn't really happen.  LOL.  At least not entirely.  Here I am, coming back to recognize a very important day.  Keep in mind, this is not an official holiday and not even one of those bizarre holidays I like to mention in my author newsletters.

International Authors' Day is coming up (July 18th), and through the Bookish Indulgences with Book Reviews site, I have agreed to do a post here and I will explain why.  As an author myself, I am well aware that not all authors, or even writers, get a lot of acknowledgement for that major feat of being published.  I'm sure you've probably seen those signs up on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter, urging you to write a review.  

And why not?  Reviews are important, an author’s livelihood.  They give us recognition and some honest feedback.  I’m not going into the million reasons why reviews are important; I just believe that authors deserve recognition now and then.  We put these words out on paper (or on a laptop) and somehow we get that out to the masses.  So why shouldn’t our favorite authors be recognized?  And why shouldn’t I write a post about it?  Writing in the Modern Age was designed to be a place for authors and writers to showcase their work, to offer tips to aspiring writers, and a place where readers can find a new author to follow.  This is my opportunity to give back to all of the authors that offer to spotlight themselves on the blog.

Also, for the first time in the history of Writing in the Modern Age, I'm going to throw my own work into the pot.  What?  That's right.  I'm offering a giveaway, and I will select a random winner from anyone who posts a comment to this blog post this week.  The only catch is that you must provide a way to contact you like an email in case you win.  I promise I don't collect emails and throw them into a mailing list pile.  This is simply for contact purposes in the case that you are the random winner.  As always, I welcome all comments on the blog and I try to respond accordingly.

Now, for the real reason why we’re here.  Authors and books!  I love books, the texture, the play of words over the page or screen.  I love the ingenuity it takes for a writer to make a world come alive for a reader.  I am utterly grateful to the hundreds of authors that inspired me to be who I am today.  To be fair, I will name some of them.  Max Erhmann, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen, Rosemary Rogers, Catherine Coulter, Nora Roberts, Jennifer Blake, Nicholas Sparks, J.R. Ward, Kerrelyn Sparks, P.C. Cast, Emma Wildes, Tessa Dare, Chloe Neill and Kris Tualla.  Of course, there are many more than that.  I simply wanted to say that past and present authors have shaped me as the writer I am now.  I sincerely believe that books influence us, our ways of thinking, the ways we live our lives.  So, I have to give thanks for those wonderful authors.

I also want to thank our Writing in the Modern Age authors and writers.  Let’s give a shout out to those wonderful, talented people who give us excerpts to read and tell us about their experiences in writing and publishing.  I am so grateful to you all for visiting us every week.  And our readers as well!  So, in order to show our unfailing gratitude, I thought it might be a fun thing to have a list of our authors along with their locations in the world.  I will also include a link their Amazon author page or website/blog so that you can check them all out.  International Authors’ Day is coming soon, you know.

Where in the world are our...Writing in the Modern Age Authors?

Stefan Vucak - Australia

Laura Graham - Italy

K.C. Sprayberry - Georgia, USA

DJ Swykert - Kentucky, USA

Friday Abumere - Nigeria

 Gail Picado - California, USA

Jaime Martínez-Tolentino - Puerto Rico

KateMarie Collins - Washington, USA

CJ Heck - Florida, USA

Nancy Wood  - California, USA

AndyRuffett -  Canada

T.J. Banks -  Connecticut, USA

Robin Leigh Morgan - New York, USA

Sarah Baethge - Texas, USA

Rebecca L. Frencl - Illinois, USA

Penny Estelle - Arizona, USA

Branka Cubrilo - Australia

Pam Handa - India & the U.K.

Sally Carpenter - California, USA

Kathryn Elizabeth Jones - Utah, USA

Jessica Tornese - Florida, USA

Robert Fanshaw - England

Paula Hrbacek - Florida, USA

Susan MacNicol - England

Steve Christie - Scotland

Elaine C. Pereira - Michigan, USA

Rosemary Richings - Canada
Pallavi Pissay - India
Aubrey Brown - Utah, USA

Mira Prabhu - India

Lois W. Stern - New York, USA

Linda Lee Williams - Colorado, USA

Michele Harvey - Colorado, USA

Jeffrey Gonell - New York, USA

Ann Morris - Iowa, USA

Edie Hart - Illinois, USA

Lance Sheridan - Maryland, USA

Kristal McKerrington - Scotland

Nina Soden - Alabama, USA

Rita Plush - New York, USA

Shannon MacLeod - South Carolina, USA

Adra Young - Michigan, USA

Marianne Petit - New York, USA

R.S. Novelle/Renee Novelle - Florida, USA

Lannah Sawers-Diggins - Australia

L. Anne Carrington - Pennsylvia & Florida, USA

Maxine Flam - California, USA

Murray Alfredson - Australia

Mark Conte - Florida, USA

Kenneth D. Maness - Texas, USA

Caryl McAdoo - Texas, USA

 C.N. Bring - Montana, USA

Margo Bond Collins - Texas, USA

S.C. Rhyne - New York, USA

L E Barrett - Maine, USA

Jean Erhardt - Oregon, USA

Liza O'Connor - New Jersey, USA

Jane Dougherty - France

Laura Vosika - Minnesota, USA

Belinda Y. Hughes - Louisiana, USA

Annie Edmonds - New Jersey, USA

Doug Bolton - Oregon, USA

Gary Krinberg - Virginia, USA

Devika Fernando - Germany

LaRae Parry - Utah, USA

coming soon!
Matty Millard - England

Olga Núñez Miret - England

P. I. Barrington - California, USA 

Bill Joiner - Texas, USA

Debra L. Hartmann - North Carolina, USA

Carole McKee - Florida, USA

James McAllister - New York, USA 

Dianne Hartsock - Oregon, USA

Brandon J. Hall - Michigan, USA

Jim Anders - New Jersey, USA

Joseph M. Rinaldo - Tennessee, USA

Mika Jolie - New Jersey, USA 

coming soon!
 

I just wanted to comment here that as I was building this post, it was so exciting to see how far our author friends have come since their interviews or guest blogs on Writing in the Modern Age.  I'm so proud of you all!  

And, readers, please feel free to check back through the archives if you missed any interviews or posts by these wonderful authors.

Now for the giveaway portion of this post.  The instructions are simple.  Just leave a comment, your email address and your book preference.  Some of my recent books are listed below, and as for my other books, there is a link to my website on the side of the blog where it says “Marie’s Other Books”.  For a direct list of all my books, you can click here.  From the comments, I will pick a random winner for the ebook prize.  Who knows?  I may give out two prizes.  I am a pretty generous gal after all.  LOL. 

The Heiresses in Love Series (historical romance, Victorian, some suspense)

 





 









Paranormal Romance/Romance with Fantasy Elements

Romantic Suspense

 

Happy hunting, and I hope we’ve given you a list of wonderful new authors to choose from.  Happy International Authors’ Day!  And don’t forget to thank your favorite author by giving a review.  Thanks for stopping by!  :)