Marking Your Spot

There always comes a time when you have to put your book down so how do you mark your spot? There are different ways of doing so that reflect the different type of readers in the world and each with their own personality.

Type 1: Traditionalist:

 These readers use the classic tool— a bookmark. Nothing in the book accessory category can ever beat a bookmark and tucking it between the pages before closing the book and seeing the colorful, fringed string hanging. If this is choice, you have more than a dozen of different bookmarks and each one reflect some aspect of your personality or the book’s tone. If you are like me, you purchase a new bookmark every time you get a new book.

Type 2: Modern:

This type of reader is the one who uses those plastic arrows, these bookmarks are the newfangled cousin to the paperclip, which also falls under this reader type. You probably have a those things scattered about. Me personally, I don’t like them. They slip off the page so they’re useless. 

Type 3: Wild Card:

This reader type will use anything handy to mark their place. Pieces of paper, a sticky note, a picture, anything. Maybe, you tell yourself you’ll purchase a bookmark and most likely you have but it’s lost or stuck in a DNF book that you shoved onto your bookshelf. But you don’t have time or the want to search it out and when you’re at the bookstore, you never pick up a new one for various reasons. 

Type 4: The Animal

The animal is the one with the dog-eared pages. The upper right-hand corners of every dozen or so pages are creased. Book lovers are irritated by you but you don’t care. You do things your way.

   

Which one are you? 

2010 At An End

On this eve of New Year's Eve, 2011, I am reminiscing and giving thanks to a year of good health, a still working imagination and wherewithall to use it. A list, checked and added to more than twice in 364 days in 2010 begins with thanks for still being in business as an independent bookstore owner. Yes, Virginia, there are still readers in the world! There aren't many Nook or Kindle owners in my little Ozark town, just readers who like to go about it the old-fashioned way, for which I say hooray!

And to the readers of my books, I raise a glass brimming with appreciation. I write because I love it and because I have a huge collection of 'people' running around in my mind, talking to me at all hours about very personal things and they want their stories told. How wonderful to have others besides me interested in what they have to say. Thank you, thank you.

To Leanne Burroughs, chief editor of Highland Press, thank you for inviting my stories to be part of HP's family of authors. Patti Howell, my editor, a thousand thank yous for your insights, opinions and wise words, and to Lightning Press, I thank you for turning those words into well organized, nicely bound pages.

To my family near and extended, much gratitde for support, encouragement and promoting what you believe to be stories everyone you know needs to read.

To all you writers, may 2011 bless you with continued opportunities to write your stories of the heart and to our readers, keep picking up those books!

Polly