I still remember the first time that I interacted with an author on the internet. I was blogging about a book I'd read -- As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway. (This was back before I started this blog -- I think I was on Livejournal at the time). Anyway, I had written a post gushing about this YA novel and wondering what other good books involving Houdini were available, and Galloway left a comment on my blog.
Y'all, you would've thought that a rock star had called me on the phone or something. Honestly, this was probably a bigger deal to me than if a rock star actually had called me -- but we all know I'm a total booknerd, so that's okay -- since authors ARE like rock stars to me. But it was the first time I'd been able to interact with someone who had written a book that I enjoyed so much, and it led me down the rabbit hole of authors and blogs.
From there, it wasn't long before social media came along, with MySpace and Facebook and Twitter...and the possibilities for interacting with authors increased a hundredfold. Now, I can talk to my favorite authors every day, and while this isn't the same as an extended conversation or anything along those lines, the ease of accessibility makes for interesting possibilities.
One of the authors whose online presence I really enjoy is Maggie Stiefvater. Her Twitter feed is really entertaining and informative -- always a nice mix -- and her blog is top-notch. She writes great posts about her writing process (plus versions from TEN other authors), among other things, and her blog is where I first came across the concept of book trailers.
Where have I been, that I wasn't aware that authors were now making trailers to promote their books, just like trailers are made to promote movies? For all my talk about technology, I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with what's popular, huh?
I wanted to share Maggie's trailer for The Raven Boys with you because I think it is so impressive. Not only did she draw everything and then animate it herself, but she also wrote and performed the music. She details the process on her blog and then ends the post with the trailer. It's worth reading and watching, I think.
So do you have favorite authors whose blogs you read? Or do you follow them on Twitter? To be honest, I spend much less time on blogs than I used to -- I prefer Twitter because it's easier to get the info I need. In particular, I really enjoy the Twitter feeds from Lev Grossman, Libba Bray (oh my dad, she is hilarious!), Patrick Ness, Maggie Stiefvater, Erin Morgenstern, and John Green.
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