Two of my writer friends from Logan Writers Collective have appeared in local newspapers within the past week.

Ged Maybury was featured prominently in Queensland's flagship newspaper, The Courier-Mail, and spoke about his fascination with 'steampunk' fiction (Victorian era sci-fi). You can view his interview at: http://www.couriermail.com.au/life/whatson/supanova-freaks-geeks-and-pop-culture/story-fn8zvh1s-1226186442201

Karen Tyrrell also appeared in the Logan and Albert (Quest) News and spoke about her experiences that led to her writing a memoir that she is currently hoping to place with a trade publisher. You can view this story at http://paper.questnews.com.au/QST_ALW/alw027.pdf.

Both authors also write for children and I think it's fabulous that they have been able to gain considerable exposure through these news stories. Promotional opportunities for little known authors are few and far between, hence the almost mandatory requirement nowadays for writers to create their own promotional opportunities. This can be confronting for some writers who just want to write and don't want to get caught up in courting the media. I feel this is why social networking is becoming an increasingly important avenue for writers to build their profile within the writing community and the community at large. It helps bring the audience to the writer in some respects, and can be used as a marketing tool when approaching publishers with your work.

Well done, Ged and Karen!