So I'm not really an active poster, or one to start a fire, but I came across something on my Amazon dash today I found interesting which lead to additional postulating and wanted to just see what people's thoughts were.
I found a book called Angelfall by Susan Ee and it was rated awfully high on the ebook listings. What struck me was the price of $2.99 and immediately I looked to the publisher - Amazon Childrens - and realized this gal was an indie writer/self published. Now these are the stories I love - author goes out there with their original work, hits big and moves up. After perusing Ms. Ee's Goodreads and blog, I found that she was from my home town of the Silicon Valley and highly educated with degrees in math, physics and law. She also went and got herself an MFA in creative writing when she decided to become an author. Her story of going through a rough break up and then writing was quite sympathetic. So for many reasons, I happily downloaded her book to contribute to her success. I haven't started it yet, but have high hopes - she has over 4k reviews on Goodreads alone. She reminds me of authors like Amanda Hocking who I've followed since she first self pub'd her My Blood Approves series (okay) and her Trylle Trilogy (great). These authors' roads to success intrigue me and I find it interesting how some aspiring writers tackle their craft of choice. Hocking was a "natural" writer who just kept on trying, Ee went and got an education to add to her chops.
A nice blurb about the background of Angelfall and Ee's decision to be indie.
So what I'm wondering is this:
-Do you find authors with higher education, like an MFA in creative writing, more likely to have well written stories? Does their education impact you at all when making a decision to try a new author out? Can you tell they have had lots of practice when reading?
-Do you follow indie authors? What do you think of their successes, whether they eventually go mainstream and sign up with a major house or stay true to their indie roots?
-Do you think blogs that decline to review indie authors (there are several and I am on the verge of no longer following these myself) are falling behind the trends of literature? Why do you think some book review blogs are disinclined to review indie authors?
**This is not meant to be a discussion on P2P.
Rec:
Angela Fall by Susan Ee
It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.
Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.
Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.
Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.
The Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking
When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.
Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit. But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.
Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…
Also I think it'd be fun to share Goodreads accounts if you're so inclined. Here's Me.