WRITERS GROUPS

I had an inquiry from an author the other day about two things: first he wanted to contact someone about editing his new novel and he was also looking to find a group of like-minded writers who would get together and critique each others work. Isn't it funny how things just "pop up" when we are thinking about them?
I had been thinking about the solitary life of a writer who spends countless hours with nothing but her thoughts and a keyboard when someone reached out to me with a lovely note. I had recently published My Secret Mother and a reader sent me a copy of a review she had posted which opened up a whole new world to me.
I have loved everything about books since the first moment I smelled them in my first visit to the public library and I find that I have spent most of my life gravitating to people and circumstances where books are a central theme. I love nothing more than hearing about a new book or author from someone who has read them and sharing my latest find with them.
The review of my own book had been posted on an online site called "Goodreads." Naturally, I clicked on the link to read this five star rating and then started looking around. Truth be told, I had heard about Goodreads before and I am sure I made a note of the address in a notebook somewhere but had not taken the time to search it out. All I can say is, "Wow!" This a book lovers dream come true (shhh, I was thinking about another phrase with the word "dream" in it for you erotica writers out there, but don't tell anyone). Most writers are, in the first place, readers. I know there are lots of book clubs around but maybe you don't belong to one. How about a book club with 5,000,000 members who are passionate about reading and sharing?
Anyway, needless to say, I joined, invited a few friends to join me and now I am inviting you to take a look - here's my profile page, set up your own, ask me to be a friend - I will - and then start looking for more contacts, book recommendations and ratings. I have found some great reads and some new authors (some of whom are now friends) and am having a fabulous time connecting with people just like you - book lovers.
To bring this all together, we all need feedback from people who are objective and knowledgeable whether we are budding authors or just interested readers. I was able to connect the young man from the first paragraph with a great local editor who also meets with a group of other writers. But, what a wonderful time to be alive for authors and readers when we can connect with people from around the world to discover new books, new writers and new opportunities to literally (pun intended) expand our horizons.