A Word of Thanks to indieBRAG readers

We are all authors of our own life’s story, dutifully crafting each chapter, sometimes in harmony with a disciplined plot line, but more often than not simply reacting to the accidents of fate that appear without warning at the end of one chapter or the beginning of the next. And although few but our family and friends will share in the unfolding tale as we live each sentence and paragraph that does not diminish the importance of having been here; of living and loving, of laughing and crying, and yes, eventually, dying.

Millions of us get up each day to write the next chapter in the book of our lives without fanfare or promise, but there are some, perhaps braver than the rest, perhaps more egotistical, or more likely simply afraid of being forgotten, who are not content to let the mark of their having passed this way to be etched solely in the minds and memories of those who loved them. Instead they seek to leave a more permanent imprint, however tiny and insignificant it may be, upon the collective narrative of mankind.

Most don’t write the story of their own lives, because these would be dry or tortured tales indeed. Instead they let their minds run free to delve into the backstory of history, or creep down the dark alleyways of terror, or plunge headlong into the warm embrace of lovers that never were; and through the catharsis of their writing, they give birth to dreams that otherwise would die without ever having been born. They do this in the certain knowledge that few will read the words they memorialize in ink or binary code, but that does not stop them from putting pen to paper or fingertips to keyboards.

This burgeoning band of indie writers has literally turned the world of publishing upside down: self-published books now outnumber those released by traditional publishers, and each day the gap is widening. Regrettably, most of this outpouring of heart and soul does not rise to minimum standards of excellence. However, some of this newborn prose is every bit the equal of traditionally published work and it should not, and must not, be lost. So to all you indieBRAG readers who are helping us throw open the curtains of anonymity to shine a light on the best and brightest of authors whose work would otherwise fade away unnoticed, we say THANK YOU!

Bob at indieBRAG