Blog Time Goes By

Not like it's a big deal, but I missed my 1-year anniversary of doing the Simply Fred Smith blog. It was last week sometime. I was reminded, because I got a friendly invoice and bill from my friends who designed my book website, and then I thought... wow, has it really been a year since all this started? (The blog is free, the website costs some dinero to maintain, and Ted and Monica are indeed my friends).

Anyway, the first entry is one of my favorites: Insider's Guide for Writers of Color. This was an interview and story I did based on my meeting Marcela Landres, a NYC-based publishing and book professional. The information is still relevant today.

Another early entry: Upstate. This was another interview I did with then-emerging author, Kalisha Buckhanon, on her novel Upstate. The novel is great and follows two teen lovers, one in the system (thus, Upstate) and the other on the outside trying to make a life for herself.

I started blogging because I wanted to share a little of myself (the L.A. guy behind the book, so to speak) and also because I wanted to share a bit of my writing and publishing experience so that others could maybe see their goals as attainable, as I mentioned in this piece on M.J. Rose's Backstory site. I am just a Midwest-born boy who relocated to the West Coast after grad school, and never really imagined myself writing a novel or having it published on my first time out the gate. All this while working a cool day job in my grad school field, having a life, friends, and all the busy-ness that comes with life in the 2000s.

And while I'm far from a Toni Morrison in terms of literary technique (though I aspire and work to get better) and far from an E. Lynn Harris in terms of sales (though I aspire and work on my long-term author and writing career goals), I hope I've helped out in some small way those who write and dream (and no, I'm not playing the Catholic boy martyr role, lol).

Anyway, keep writing. Keep reading. And keep supporting all the columnists, writers, and bloggers who support the causes and issues we care about.
fs