Guest Post
Convince Us Why You Feel Your Book is a Must-Read
At this point in history, there are about a thousand reasons a day to seek out a book that offers escape. Typically, I provide that break from reality with my genre fiction. You know I’m a fantasy author most of the time, offering readers a chance to hang out with strong young women saving their worlds with dragon companions and handsome heroes at their side.
When you asked me to talk about why “100 Things Duran Duran Fans Should Know & Do During This Life” is a “must read,” I realized, I’m still offering people an opportunity to step out of the day-to-day madness and worries for a little while, but I’m doing it with something familiar. I’m doing it with a shared concept.
Track with me here.
We all have hobbies or activities that we enjoy and wish others enjoyed, too. We look for people who have common interests. Our tribe. We want to feel “not alone” in our obsessions. As a Duran Duran fan for the past 40 years, I’ve talked to hundreds of people who share this obsession at concerts and conventions. And I’ve gathered to me a handful of close, amazing friends with whom I could travel all over the country making memories connected to this band.
The members of this kaleidoscope of humans have more than the love of the band in common. These people have, at one time or another, been absolutely harassed for their opinion of music. These people have, at one time or another, been ridiculed for having a favorite member of the band. These people have, at one time or another, been bullied for enjoying this band.
We are a community of people that knows what it’s like to be shunned and dismissed for enjoying “the wrong thing.” And we’ve grown thick skin because of it. Now we have a book from a fellow fan (me) celebrating all our fun and quirky activities. We have a book that says, “Hey, you aren’t the only one who did this crazy thing and it’s okay because it was fun and we should encourage other fans to do it, too.”
And that’s why “100 Things Duran Duran Fans Should Know & Do During This Life” is a must-read. Because it’s a no-holds-barred, unabashed celebration of being a Duranie. It’s a love-letter to all the fans of any performer who get it and aren’t ashamed to fly their fandom flag high. And when you’re done reading, I hope you can go back to face the day-to-day stuff with a smile.
This non-fiction foray into Duran Duran history is unlike any biography you’ve read before. Instead of dry stats and facts, it’s a reminder of the joy and positivity that comes from obsessing over a shared musical interest. Herein you’ll find a series of random acts “to do” and trivia you might have forgotten to celebrate. To-do: Dive in and celebrate again!
Excerpt
Introduction
Let me admit, up front, you’re about to read a frivolous romp through a Duranie’s brain. We’re about to dance together down Memory Lane, inspired by a Star Wars book title I saw about four months ago. To prevent myself from stealing the author’s intellectual property, I didn’t open the unauthorized 100 Things Star Wars Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.
Instead, I’ve put together a Duran-o-rama of my own making. It’s arranged exactly as the title suggests: first an item of what a Duran Duran fan should know, followed by an item a fan can do. This order proceeds from one to one hundred in a conversational tone.
The prompts of nostalgia might be numbered, but they’re not in chronological order. Most of the to-do items are geared toward sharing your insanity with others.
Basically, you’re holding amusing reminders of carefree times when a ticket to a concert cost all of eighteen dollars, when you listened to the local radio station at midnight because they were playing the entire new DD release, or when you could grab a crew of giggling girls to plop down on the couch with a six-pack of Pepsi—because that’s what John preferred over the sponsor of the Arena tour—to watch and sing along to Arena: An Absurd Notion, complete with parental advisory.
Now, let me lift the needle off the record for a second.
With a four-year degree in English and thirty-year career in publishing, Sandy’s successes include traditionally and self-published novels, hundreds of magazine articles, multiple short stories in competitive anthologies, a handful of technical writing awards, a handful of creative writing awards, and the 2023 Michael Knost Wings award. Sandy’s been writing stories since she was knee-high to a grasshopper when her great-grandmother shared her odd little tales of squeaky ghost-spiders around an apartment complex in Southern Illinois. The stories have developed to include strong young ladies working with dragons to save worlds from terrible fates, but those pesky spiders still show up from time to time.
There’s always something brewing at Sandy Lender Ink headquarters where some days, you just want the dragon to win.
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Sandy-Lender/e/B00304ZIIC
Website: http://www.sandylenderink.com/
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/SSReNews
Giveaway
The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
Thank you so much for hosting today!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this timely message during the book tour. I'm gonna be working the day job today but I'll stop back by tonight to answer questions from commenters and "hang out" for a while. Have a great Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very interesting book to read.
ReplyDelete