The Book Nerd

This is the home of the book nerd. If you would rather read a book than watch TV, you'll fit right in. Here's the spot by my hearth where I share all good things literary:

- rants and humor about books, readers and writers;

- book reviews with a literary and outsider bent;

- lists of great books for specific topics, tastes and purposes;

- helpful tips for anyone who writes on style, voice, world building and characters;

- war stories from the world of indie publishing;

- And tasty morsels about my books, settings and characters.

This week's featured author on the Goodreads PFDR board is Ashley O'Melia of Illinois. Her biography isn't very revealing, although she does claim to have written her first story at five years old. But the big thing about this author is her book The Wanderer's Guide to Dragon Keeping. I've had this book on my "want to read" list for awhile now and I'm really hoping that being featured author for the week will inspire her to hold a sale because otherwise her Amazon Kindle price is a bit steep by indie standards ($5.99, especially for a slim little book of 170 pages). Still, I want to read this book because that is just an awesome title. (Why can't I seem to come up with titles that good? Titles are my Achilles's heel in writing.) And secondly this is one book where the description is as good as the title:

"Welcome to The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping. You no doubt have stumbled upon this book due to a great need, whether realized or otherwise. You are a very select individual, placed in a very exclusive position of responsibility. Dragon keeping is not for the faint of heart. Aubrey Goodknight is alone. Orphaned at a young age, she long ago stopped believing in the fantasies and mythical creatures she had so loved as a child. When she’s diagnosed with breast cancer, she’s certain things couldn’t be more desolate. That is, until she stumbles across The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping, which changes her life completely. Raising a baby dragon in a modern, non-magical world isn’t a challenge she’s sure she’s up to. Now, Aubrey must learn that seeing isn’t always believing, but believing can be the most powerful kind of magic."

See what I mean. If you don't want to read this book, you're either not a fantasy fan or you're made of wood. If you're brave enough, go get it HERE.

O'Melia has also published some books of poetry and other stories. You can see the full list on Goodreads.