Genreality

A week ago I mentioned that I was joining a group blog, and after everyone (Shiloh) finished spraying their monitors with coffee and tea, I promised I'd fork over the details as soon as things were settled.

I've joined Genreality, a group blog project started by author Sasha White. At present we have five members: Alison Kent, Joe Nassise, Sasha, Carrie Vaughn and Yours Truly.

I know what you're thinking -- Please, God, not another author group blog. Hold on, let me parade some of the differences with this one. For one thing, the focus of the blog is not from a single-genre POV. We all write in different genres and the range of our styles, experiences and work demands should keep the content fresh and lively.

This won't be a 24/7 "buy our freaking books" promotional blog, either. We're going to talk about craft, working as pros, and coping with the reality of the biz. You guys know how I feel about group endeavors -- I see three people standing together and talking, I walk the other way. But I had some good reasons for giving this a shot: it's a new approach to the concept of a group blog, the mix should be interesting, and it's not frivolous -- we can do this and hopefully contribute something meaningful and useful to NetPubLand versus the usual shaking of the Publishing pom poms.

I've thought about doing this before; Alison and I have even discussed blogging together a few times, but until now the right project never came along for us. I also think -- and I've even said this in a couple of interviews -- that Sasha White is a writer to watch. So this way I can keep an eye on her.

I don't plan to scale back my work here at PBW; this will be an extra side project like the photoblog. After five years of doing the same thing, I feel the need to evolve a little and try something different, too. If you let yourself get into a rut, you stagnate, and I don't want that.

Friday will be my day to post on Genreality, and I'm hoping it'll prove to be as much fun as the old Friday 20 feature I used to do here. No doubt we'll be talking a lot of shop, but I think readers as well as writers will find it interesting. I know there are plenty of people out there who read my books and occasionally mutter "What was she thinking?" Well, this is where I'll tell you.

Genreality is up and running now, although we'll officially open the blog doors on Monday, January 19th. If you get a chance, do stop in and say hello.