What are you reading just for fun?

I decided I want an escape reading book for the weekend--yes, yes, I have plenty of work on my desk, but it's time for a break. I keep a list of books to read but few struck me as right, so I turned to Amazon and searched for cozy mysteries by date of publication. First of all there were at least ten pages, maybe more, of books which I could pre-order. Some as far out as January 2016. I wish I could learn to post mine for pre-order, something I'll have to explore. The one mystery I self-published went live almost the minute I sent it in--which really wasn't what I had in mind.
Finally I got to the new books. I scrolled through perhaps another 15 pages recognizing only one or two authors. Since I really want escape reading for this weekend, I wasn't willing to order a sample chapter of an unknown--though I like to do that to support authors I don't know.
But I was surprised I knew so few--I'm an active member of Sisters in Crime and consider myself fairly knowledgeable about who's writing mysteries. What this tells me is that the field is so crowded that it's a wonder any of us sell one book--except to friends and relatives. No wonder marketing and social media are so important today.
But therein lies the rub. In such a crowded field, how do you make yourself stand out? Darned if  I know. I like social media, like blogging, spend way too much time on Facebook. But I'm a storyteller, not a marketer. I want to get to the business of writing and not spend my day on social media.
I  read several posts today from writers who were thinking of chucking it all. They run into a brick wall selling their work, they beat themselves up trying to keep up with social media--all for little or no rewards either monetary or audience reaction.
What's the answer? What if anything do you say to these discouraged authors? For readers, there are a couple of answers--write book reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, spread the word. And email the author--you can find "Contact" pages on most authors Web site. Let them know you read and enjoyed their books.
As for quitting writing, I can't imagine it. I write because that's how I live. I don't think I could not write. I'd wake up in the morning and think, "Omigosh, what am I going to do with the day?" As it is I wake up thinking, "Okay, what's keeping me from writing today?" Too many distractions. I can see giving up social media--or some of it--but not writing. It's who I am.
So watch for a chili book and a new novel this fall. I'm trudging on--and trying to encourage my fellow authors.

A loverly day

This morning I woke up with a sense of euphoria--usually it takes me ten minutes to transition from whatever dream I was having to the real world (I dream deeply and usually remember them, at least for a while). But I felt optimistic, my hips didn't hurt as they have been, and I felt ready to take on the world. Except I didn't have to. Over the weekend I finished the third edits on a manuscript--it's ready to go to readers before I send it to my editor--and I finished the book I was reading, plus cooked Sunday dinner for six people, had a lovely lunch with friends, and had two other friends in for wine and cheese. Yeah, it was a good holiday weekend.
But today I'm an author without a project--I honestly don't know what project I want to do next, and I'm fairly compulsive (mild understatement) about having work on my desk. I read something about the difference in prayer between talking to God and listening to God. Perhaps I'm waiting for Him to tell me what to do...or waiting for inspiration to strike me--they both may be the same thing.
But I convinced myself today that I didn't have to do anything. So I spent a nice hour or so going through the accumulated food magazines on my desk--have to check them one more time for recipes I might want to try. I ran some errands. I cleaned up a few odds and ends.
And tonight I checked my books on Amazon. Some authors do that daily. I don't, haven't done it in a long time and was pleasantly surprised. I don't have a lot of reviews but the ones I have are so good they're liable to give me the big head. Maybe that's a clue to what I should do next--keep on doing what I've been doing.

I did have one surprise--an audio edition of one of my books that I didn't know existed. I swear I never signed a contract, never saw the cover art, never heard of the narrator, and never got a penny of royalties. I'll have to look into it, since it's probably been the best-selling book I ever wrote since I put it up on Amazon at a really low price...and it's gathered something like 130 reviews. I think it would make a great audio book, with the right narrator, but I'd like a piece of the action, thank you very much.
I expect to drift through tomorrow...and maybe the rest of the week in the same fashion--taking care of some aspects of my life I've ignored (four loads of laundry today) and reading and waiting for inspiration to strike.
And oh boy did I have a good nap today. The kind that really makes it hard to wake up.