Virginia is known for many things, our great wine, historic locations like Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Manassas. Virginia is also known for it's amazing writers! Thanks to Michelle at Galleysmith, I've decided to start a new feature highlighting authors from my state, the Commonwealth of Virginia, by doing a review of one of their books. This feature will be called "Virginia is for Lovers...of Books!" When I was doing my research on authors from VA, I came up with a pretty amazing list:
Geraldine Brooks Willa Cather John Grisham Barbara Kingsolver Adriana Trigiani Elizabeth Massie David Baldacci Patricia Cornwell Sharyn McCrumb Tom Wolfe ...and many many more!
Authors/Publicists-If you have a book written by a VA author (born in, or currently residing in) that you would like featured, please use the Contact Me Page to tell me about it!
Thank you to Heather from A High and Hidden Place for designing the amazing button you see above!
Check back in the coming weeks to find out more about all the amazing authors that have come out of Virginia!
I'm pleased to announce the first author to be featured is Elizabeth Massie. First, a bit of information on Elizabeth, taken from her website.
Elizabeth Jane Spilman Massie was born and raised in Waynesboro, Virginia, a town in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Tended by a newspaperman/journalist father and watercolorist mother, she and her two sisters and one brother grew up surrounded by words, paintings, pets, open-minded attitudes, and wild senses of humor. She was a dreadful student; she rarely paid attention in class and frequently got bad marks on her report card for not "working to her potential." Little did the teachers know that the daydreaming, the goofy drawings, and the angst-ridden stories she was doing in class instead of the assigned science/social studies/math, would some day have some relevance.
She taught in public schools in Augusta County, Virginia from 1975-1994. During those years she married Roger Massie, had two children (Erin, born in 1976 and Brian, born in 1979) and sold many of her wacky pen and ink/watercolor pictures at art shows around the state.
This was also the time she began writing in earnest. Her first horror short story, "Whittler," was published in The Horror Show in the winter 1984 edition, along with the first published story by good friend and horror author, Brian Hodge. Many other story sales followed, in mags such as Deathrealm, Grue, Footsteps, Gauntlet, Iniquities, The Blood Review, After Hours, The Tome, and many more, as well as anthologies such as Borderlands, Borderlands III, Best New Horror 2, Dead End: City Limits, Women of Darkness, Best New Fantasy and Horror 4, Hottest Blood, New Masterpieces of Horror, Revelations, and many others. Beth's novella, Stephen (Borderlands) was awarded the Bram Stoker Award and was a World Fantasy award finalist.
Elizabeth added horror novels to her repertoire in the early 1990's, and has since published the Bram Stoker-winning Sineater, Welcome Back to the Night, Wire Mesh Mothers, Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark (co-authored with Stephen Mark Rainey), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Power of Persuasion, Twisted Branch (as Chris Blaine), and Homeplace. She has also had four story collections published: Southern Discomfort, Shadow Dreams, the extensive The Fear Report, and A Little Magenta Book of Mean Stories. Her bizarre poetry is included in the early 2004 anthology Devil's Wine, along with poems by Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Peter Straub, and more. Presently, she is at work on a new novel about a haunted farm house and a bunch of new short fiction for various publications.
In the mid-1990s, Beth was divorced. She also branched out with her fiction and began to write historical novels for young adults and middle grade readers. She has said, "There is a great deal of horror in history, so moving from one to the other wasn't that big a step for my creative thought processes. I love the idea of putting my mind back in time to experience what people years ago might have experienced. And damn, but some of that stuff was creepy!" Her works include the Young Founders series, the Daughters of Liberty trilogy, and The Great Chicago Fire: 1871.
On the side, Elizabeth also writes supplementary materials for educational publishers (both fiction and nonfiction) and continues to wield her inky pen and watercolors to create the characters of Skeeryvilletown. In her free time, she likes hiking and camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains, digging through antique stores, traveling roads on which she’s never traveled. She is also an active member of Amnesty International, the human rights organization to which she’s belonged since 1985.
Elizabeth still lives in the country in the Shenandoah Valley.
Be sure to check out my review of Massie's Bram Stoker Award winning novel, Sineater.
If you are a Virginia author, or know of one that would like to be featured, please contact me at jennsbookshelfATgmail.com or fill out my Contact Me form.
Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) is just a little over a month away! Have you nominated your favorite blogs yet? The deadline is August 15th, so nominate now!
I created my blog in March of 2008, and unfortunately I didn't learn about BBAW until it was over. This year, a little meme was created to spread the excitement about BBAW.
1) What has been one of the highlights of blogging for you?
Without a doubt, I'd say the community. I've met a number of amazing people since creating my blog. This includes other bloggers, but also authors and publicists as well. It was wonderful to know that there were other people out there who appreciated reading as much as I do.
2) What blogger has helped you out with your blog by answering questions, linking to you, or inspiring you?
Where do I begin? Well, the first blogger I followed was Becky from No More Grumpy Bookseller. She and I both reviewed for Bookbitch and she was definitely an inspiration to me. She gives the best book recommendations and has introduced me to a bunch of "new to me" authors. My book collection has grown tremendously since I started following her blog.
In addition to Becky, there are dozens upon dozens of other bloggers who have helped me improve my blog and my blogging experience. Here are just a few:
Kathy from Bermudaonion's Weblog-Kathy was one of the first to comment on my blog. She's the commenting queen!
Beth from Beth Fish Reads-We both swear we are long-lost twins, separated by time and space.
Julie from Booking Mama-Her blog has introduced me to a wealth of great books for my boys.
Trish from Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?-Trish offers the best suggestions when it comes to improving and enhancing a blog. In addition, she was my roomie at BEA, and I truly enjoyed the time we spent together and the conversations we had.
Amy from My Friend Amy-Another blogger that offers great advice when it comes to books and blogging. She alleviated my nervousness about attending BEA for the first time always has the best responses/solutions when drama pops up in the blogging world. She and I don't always have the same opinion, but hers is one I definitely value.
Swapna from S. Krishna's Books-Swapna is one fast reader! She inspires me to read more!
Dawn from She is Too Fond of Books-Dawn is an amazing monther and woman. I love when she features receipes on her blog. I always try them out. They aren't always a hit, but the experience is unforgettable. Dawn also inspired me to join the Game On Challenge, an experience that forever changed me and my eating lifestyle.
Stephanie from Stephanie's Written Word-Stephanie is a brave and strong woman, an inspiration to us all!
Michelle, aka Galleysmith- Michelle gave me the great idea to create my Virginia is for Lovers feature. She also supported my Supernatural addiction by lending me two seasons-worth of DVDs :). Michelle is a true bibliophile--her book shopping extravaganzas relieve the guilt I have after buying a few books.
Ok, I know there are a gazillion other bloggers I'd like to thank, but for fear of this post turning into one of those never ending award acceptance speeches, I'll stop for now.
3) What one question do you have about BBAW that someone who participated last year could answer?
Short, easy answer: How on earth do you only select one blog to nominate from each category!?
It's Monday! What Are You Reading This Week? This is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being reading, and the books to be finish this week. It was created by J.Kaye's Book Blog, so stop by and join in!
So, I went out of town for a family reunion. Packed eight books and only read 1 1/2 of them! I always over pack when it comes to books. You never know what book you are going to want to read next!
Completed Last Week
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
by Katherine Howe Worst Nightmares
by Shane Briant (check back later in the week for a giveaway!)
Currently Reading
Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, No. 1)
by Lee Child (audio book) Sineater
by Elizabeth Massie (first book and author spotlighted for my Virginia is for...Book Lovers feature! )
Books to Complete This Week
The Last Bridge
by Teri Coyne Gold of Kings
by Davis Bunn Doomsday Can Wait (The Phoenix Chronicles, Book 2)
It's Monday! What Are You Reading This Week? This is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being reading, and the books to be finish this week. It was created by J.Kaye's Book Blog, so stop by and join in!
Completed Last Week
The Poet by Michael Connelly The Castaways by Erin Hilderbrand
Currently Reading
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
by Katherine Howe I Love Yous Are for White People: A Memoir
by Lac Su Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, No. 1)
by Lee Child (audio book--and man, is it good!)
Books to Read this Week
We're headed out of town this weekend, so I'm looking forward to a lot of down time for reading!
Welcome Back to the Night
by Elizabeth Massie (first book and author spotlighted for my Virginia is for...Book Lovers feature! ) The Goodbye Cousins
