This message from author Roy Blount appeared on www.authorsguild.org with an encouragement to share it, so we are:
“I’ve been talking to booksellers lately who report that times are hard. And local booksellers aren’t known for vast reserves of capital, so a serious dip in sales can be devastating. Booksellers don’t lose enough money, however, to receive congressional attention. A government bailout isn’t in the cards.
“We don’t want bookstores to die. Authors need them, and so do neighborhoods. So let’s mount a book-buying splurge. Get your friends together, go to your local bookstore and have a book-buying party. Buy the rest of your Christmas presents, but that’s just for starters. Clear out the mysteries, wrap up the histories, beam up the science fiction! Round up the westerns, go crazy for self-help, say yes to the university press books! Get a load of those coffee-table books, fatten up on slim volumes of verse, and take a chance on romance!
“There will be birthdays in the next twelve months; books keep well; they’re easy to wrap: buy those books now. Buy replacements for any books looking raggedy on your shelves. Stockpile children’s books as gifts for friends who look like they may eventually give birth. Hold off on the flat-screen TV and the GPS (they’ll be cheaper after Christmas) and buy many, many books. Then tell the grateful booksellers, who by this time will be hanging onto your legs begging you to stay and live with their cat in the stockroom: “Got to move on, folks. Got some books to write now. You see … we’re the Authors Guild.”
“Enjoy the holidays.”
Roy Blount Jr.
President
Authors Guild
New book of science fiction
Benjamin Schenk of China Grove has published his fifth book, “Dead World.” He describes it as a science-fiction/horror story published by AuthorHouse.
The 644-page book is about a family and friends that survive a nuclear holocaust and emerge from bomb shelters. They fight for survival in an untamed world filled with dangers from other survivors, mutants and the like.
The book can be ordered through Authorhouse at AuthorHouse.com and other online sources. Schenk is a 1980 graduate of West Rowan High School and writes science fiction works.
A story of survival
Pastor Karen Miller Foxx has a book titled “From Crack Addict to Pastor,” published by Dreams Publishing, that details her past addictions and shows how God’s love can transform even a desperately lost soul.
Foxx was featured in the Salisbury Post in 2005. She is the founder of Open Door Outreach Deliverance Christian Ministries.
The church wants to build a transition house for recovering addicts, a homeless shelter, a soup kitchen, a career center, an after school tutoring program, a teenage pregnancy home and more.
Her book is available by calling 704-433-3006, or e-mailing PastorKarenFoxx @Yahoo.com or at any Barnes & Noble.
Visit http://www.opendooroutreach ministries.org for more information.