I'm a professional writer - a technical writer primarily, but I also do some creative writing, editing, and marketing copy upon request. In 2006, after nineteen years of scrapping through seven different colleges one class at a time while I raised my daughter, I finally (Halleluja!) earned a BA in English from Wayne State University in Detroit (with a 4.0 GPA, in case you were wondering). Since then, my objective has been to make a fair living, so technical writing seemed to be the logical career.
As you can imagine, tech writing doesn't help me feel overly creative, but I never found another writing niche that appealed to me.
That is, until I emailed a colleague with a book recommendation and my reasoning behind it. He suggested that I start a blog of book reviews. I thought this was not an inherently horrible idea. People do frequently ask me about the books I'm reading and seem to place some value in my opinions.
I typically read only one book at a time, alternating fiction and non-fiction in order to keep my repertoire diverse. I do take recommendations from the hoi polloi. If you wanna recommend something to me, you should know that I somewhat avoid pop books (for example, romance novels and almost anything that's released in a series), self-help (because the relevant information could fit in a brochure and the rest is fluff), and just about any of the "literature" you'll find at the local Family Bible & Book Store (because most of it's written to an audience of a presumed third-grade reading level).
I try to keep my reviews short and informal. If you feel like it, follow up with your comments, questions, and complaints, and then if I feel like it, I'll respond to you. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions for improving the blog. (Hopefully your suggestion won't be "Please stop.") Oh - and one more thing: If you notice any typos or errors, please tell me. I'd like to fix them.
Thank you! I'm so happy for your time and attention! I'm needy like that!
Nina
