Every author that has a blog seems to write of the need for authors to be avid readers so here is my turn.

Yes, authors should be readers. But I believe all people (not just authors) should be readers – and by read I mean anything – novels, news articles, non-fiction books, blogs, comic books, you name it.

There is a lot authors can learn from reading: learning what has been done before, figuring out what works or doesn’t work, gaining an understanding of the language, to broaden our world, expand on ideas and to get us to think about issues. It gives us new viewpoints and different techniques for telling a story. And it can fire your imagination.

Now I don’t read as much as I would like. In my fantasy world, I could spend all day lying in bed reading. But I have to live in the real…