The New World Of Comic Books

My son turned seven in January.  He reads chapter books, plays on his dsi, and watches TV whenever he can.  Pretty normal stuff.  Last week he hit a milestone—he finished reading his first comic book.

It was a Looney Tunes comic book.  Maybe he’ll work his way to superhero stories and adventure tales.  Or maybe he’ll just ignore comic books completely.  I realize that his childhood is his own and his generation is far different in terms of the information and entertainment options available.

It got me to thinking about books and how the habits of new readers today will vary wildly from kids of the past.  I guess the main thing is that kids are reading and thinking and writing.  We need to do everything to bring out their imaginative and creative side because the world will depend on them to save it.

One has to suspend all beliefs and understanding of reality in order to improve and change the reality that shackles society.  To solve global issues involving the environment, energy, peace, poverty, and healthcare, we will need our children to rise above the actions and ideas expressed by the world thus far. 

Comic books may be a good starting point for getting our kids not only to be excited about reading but to launch their imaginations into a new orbit.  That’s the beauty of all books for all ages—words can put us in a state of mind that permits us to see things in a different way. The key is not to let our fiction be a crutch to get us through the day; we need it, instead, to help us transform the reality we currently operate under.

Though comic books aren’t always funny—nor are they really books—they are an excellent place for kids to live in.  I think I’ll pick up another one for my son.  I can’t wait to see where it will transport us. 

Interview With Christian Author Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

1.      What do you love  about being a part of the book publishing community? I'm with two different publishing companies and each one offers something different. CPH (Concordia Publishing House) has taken me down new roads, ones  I never expected to travel. They have booked radio interviews, blogtalk interviews and even made several promo videos of me and my co-author, Marty Lintvedt about the We're Not Blended We're Pureed a Survivors Guide for Blended Families.  Barbour's editor Rebecca Germany is amazing. I think she makes the company. I consider being a Barbour author an honor. They are kind to their authors--sending birthday cards and Christmas cards. It's a small something but it's nice. They market the books well too and often reprint by combining several books into a 3-1 book.

2.      What do you want us to know about what you do and your current project? Right now I'm doing what I can as an author to market A Bride's Dilemma in Friendship, Tennessee. That means lots of computer time and connecting on blogs, twitter and facebook. I'm also working on two more historical proposals. The non-writer me loves to hang out at home or with friends. It's fun sneaking off in the middle of the day to a movie. I ride bikes with my husband, walk and quilt. Not at the same time.

3.      Where do you see the book industry heading? I see a merging of indie and the bigger publishing companies. I started out with ebooks. I had to hand out flyers explaining what an ebook was and how to read it on the computer. I would demonstrate how to read them on the Franklin Ebook reader. I don't regret starting out that way but it is a tough road because you are responsible for spreading the word about your book. It seems to me there are more baby boomers ready to take on reading on a device. Ebooks are here to stay.

4.      Any advice for a struggling writer? Take time to learn the craft. I recommend classes by Margie Lawson. I took an entire year off from writing to learn. Ask other writers what their top go-to craft books are: get them, study and practice. Network with other writers, this one surprised me as I considered writing a solitary thing to do. Networks are important, they will be the people to tweet your success, review your novel, and help you find the mistakes in your work before you send it to an agent or publisher. They may be published authors and offer you a chance to write a novella with them. Who knows you may land on the NYT bestseller list like my friend, Liz Toslma.

Christian author Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, writes historical and contemporary romances. Her historical, A Bride's Dilemma in Friendship, Tennessee is now available. She’s also written We’re Not Blended-We’re Pureed, A Survivor’s Guide to Blended Families. Once widowed and now remarried she writes with humor and experience on the difficulty of joining two families be it fictional or real life. Blog www.pencildancer.com Web www.dianabrandmeyer.com

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s leading book publicity firm. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person