Endorsing Authors… buy his book!

Authors promoting other writers’ books! What’s that all about?

This coming Sunday I’ll be at Eltham Library helping Steven Lochran celebrate his latest novel, War Zone. It’s the third book in his YA superhero series, Vanguard Prime. We’ll be doing an ‘in conversation’ Q&A session, followed by a short writing workshop. (Details on my Upcoming Events page, if you’re interested in coming along!)

I was delighted when Steve asked me to take part in this, as I’m a bit of a fan of his books. They are a lot of fun, and as the series has continued, more intriguing back story has been revealed and things are being set up for an ominous confrontation and mega revelations (At least, that’s the impression I get as a reader!). I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

This event got me thinking about authors endorsing each other’s books. It happens all the time. Authors give each other quotes for their respective back covers, they launch each others books and they tweet and blog about each other. It’s really nice that authors can be supportive of one another rather than viewing each other as competition.

Certainly, I’m always happy to spruik the authors and books that I enjoy reading. I’m currently reading DC Green’s Monster School and enjoying it immensely. So I’m very pleased that I’ll get to tell people all about it at a school festival launch in Bendigo next month. In the past I’ve launched Sue Bursztynski’s wonderful YA werewolf novel, Wolfborn, and the second issue of the excellent annual short story anthology [untitled].

Earlier this year, David McLean’s rather awesome children’s trilogy, Riddle-Quest was published. The back cover of Book 1, Name-Given, features a quote from author Michael Pryor, while Book 2, Wheels & Water, has a quote from yours truly.

Michael Pryor also launched one of my books a couple of years ago — Gamers’ Challenge.

The world of children’s and YA literature is such a small and interconnected industry in Australia; and it seems to be filled with a lot of genuine and generous people. I’m proud to be part of it!