To Read, or Not to Read?

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA

Dear Reader,

With so many books to read and so many more being published every day, the task of choosing which ones to read can be overwhelming. This week, we’re going to discuss how to choose the next book to read.

Many factors play into a reader’s decision to read a certain book. Here are a few of them:

1) Personal preference. Do you like fiction or nonfiction? If fiction, do you prefer sci/fi and fantasy, romance, or thrillers? If nonfiction, do you favor biographies, memoirs, or self-help books?

2) Recommendations by family or friends. This is, perhaps, the biggest reasons readers choose certain books to read. This factor is called “word-of-mouth” and accounts for nearly 80% of book choices. Now that’s a lot of books! It goes to show the power of peer influence on one’s reading habits.

3) Advertising. Publishers and authors continually promote their books in order to make readers aware of them. Promoting books is a huge industry in itself. With millions of books published each year, it’s quite a challenge for authors and publishers to get their books in front of potential readers.

Now it’s your turn. How to you choose what book to read next? Please share in the comment box below. Thanks! 🙂

Blessings,

MaryAnn <3
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Celebrate the Month of Love with a HUGE SALE!

February is fast coming to an end, and so is the special sale on my award-winning romantic suspense novel, Miracle in Milan, available in ebook format for only $0.99 until the end of the month. This is a $9 savings off the regular price!

Miracle in Milan is a story about a young female auditor who discovers convincing evidence that the man she loves is an embezzler.

Don’t miss out on this very special offer. It is good only this month. Order it now so you won’t forget!

MIRACLE IN MILAN SPECIAL FEBRUARY OFFER

My Fiction Pick for This Week:

After the Frost by Milla Holt

He’s a widower who has lost the perfect wife. So, why is he drawn to a woman who’s not the marrying kind?

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Copyright 2024 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.

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Where Do Authors Get Ideas for Their Stories?

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA

Readers often ask us authors where we get ideas for our stories. Today, I’m going to answer. that question.

Ideas are everywhere. We authors simply have to look for them.

So, what do I mean by “everywhere”? I mean everywhere. 🙂

Here are some of the places where we find ideas:

1__In the normal activities and places of our daily lives: like grocery-shopping, at the car repair shop, at the dentist’s office, at our child’s school, at the library, at church. You get the idea. Wherever there are people, there are ideas.

2__In the people around us. People are the substance of story. In fiction, those people are called characters. Every good story starts with a character. So authors get their ideas from observing people—their behavior, their speech, their mannerisms, their appearance, etc.

Now, don’t get paranoid! 🙂 We authors do not take a single person and turn him into a character in our stories. We study the traits of many people and combine those traits to create an original, unique character for our stories. There is a saying among authors that writing fiction is the only profession in which it is not poor manners to eavesdrop. We authors continually eavesdrop to learn about human nature so that we can accurately reflect it in our stories.

3__In newspapers and magazines, both physical and online. A headline can trigger an idea for a story. Even an ad can trigger an idea for a story. So we authors scan newspapers and magazines, looking for story ideas, and often, we find them.

4__In the experiences of family members and friends. Being close up to the suffering of others gives us a clearer perspective on human nature. While we authors protect the identity of our family members and friends, we often use their experiences as the basis for the struggles our characters face in our stories.

5__In the experiences of our own lives. This is one of the key places where authors find ideas. When we have lived through a painful experience ourselves, we understand it intimately. We know the emotions, the struggles, the suffering we have endured. This personal experience makes it easier for us to translate those emotions to the written page.

So, there you have it! Some places where authors get their ideas for their stories. Please join in the conversation and share your thoughts with us. If you are an author as well as a reader, please share with us where you get your story ideas.

And please share The Reader Connection with the readers in your life.

Thanks and Blessings,

MaryAnn <3
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Celebrate the month of Love with a HUGE SALE!

For the month of February, my award-winning romantic suspense novel, Miracle in Milan, will be available in ebook format for only $0.99. This is a $9 savings off the regular price.

Miracle in Milan is a story about a young female auditor who discovers convincing evidence that the man she loves is an embezzler.

Don’t miss out on this very special offer. It is good only this month. Order it now so you won’t forget!

MIRACLE IN MILAN SPECIAL FEBRUARY OFFER

My Fiction Pick for This Week:
For that special child in your life . . .

Under the Tangerine Tree by Esther Bandy
Middle-Grade Fiction (8-12-year-olds)

Twelve-year-old Angie Mangione lives with her parents and her five-year-old brother, Joey, in New York City. After Papa is shot, Mama moves with Angie and Joey to Granny’s house on a country lake in Florida. How can Angie cope with missing Papa, moving to Florida, being the new girl at school, and living with her angry teenage cousin at Granny’s house? Will Angie and Joey be able to survive the mysterious danger that lurks in the lake? With all the changes in Angie’s life, will she ever be happy again?

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Copyright 2024 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.

The Power of STORY

 

by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio | Blog | 2 comments

February 9, 2024

Who doesn’t love a good story? There’s nothing like a good story to grab our attention, engage our emotions, and bring us a deep sense of satisfaction.

Have you ever wondered why Story is so powerful? Here are a few fascinating reasons:

1. The human brain is wired for Story. God created us in such a way that we gravitate to Story. We’ve all experienced this. Think about all the many sermons or lectures you’ve listened to over your life. Which ones do you remember most? Or which parts of them do you remember most? It’s very likely you most remember the stories the pastor or speaker recounted.

2. Story takes us to places we might never visit. When I was a little girl, my dad used to tell me that I could go anywhere in the world just by sitting in a chair with a good book in my hands. He was right!

3. Story engages our emotions. Story can inspire us to action, help us solve problems, take us to faraway places, and stir our imaginations. Story can teach us, encourage us, and just plain delight us.

Jesus used Story to teach profound truths. We call His stories parables. If you haven’t read them yet, I encourage you to do so. They will transform you.

And yes. That’s another function of Story. Story transforms the heart. This is the reason I write stories. While nonfiction appeals to the mind, Story appeals to the heart. And the heart is the place where transformation takes place.

So, the next time you read a good story, be thankful for the author who wrote it and for God Who inspired it. As you will discover, the best stories all point back to the greatest Story every told. The Story written by God Himself as found in the Holy Bible. If you read no other story in your life, be sure to read that one!

And now, I’d love to hear about the power that Story has wielded in your life. Please leave a comment in the box below.

And if you can, please share The Reader Connection with the readers in your life. Thanks

MaryAnn <3



Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a HUGE SALE!

For the month of February, my award-winning romantic suspense novel, Miracle in Milan, will be available in ebook format for only $0.99. This is a $9 savings off the regular price.

Miracle in Milan is a story about a young female auditor who discovers convincing evidence that the man she loves is an embezzler.

Don’t miss out on this very special offer. It is good only this month. Order it now so you won’t forget!

MIRACLE IN MILAN SPECIAL FEBRUARY OFFER

My Fiction Pick for This Week

Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

This is the book that started the ball rolling in Christian fiction. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to do so. This latest Kindle edition is free with a trial membership in Amazon Prime.

https://amzn.to/42nskBj