Authors and the Internet

Shortly after I arrived in New Zealand I needed to find a local phone number.  Do you remember the days of heavy telephone directories rather than looking up a number online?

The name I was looking for began with an H, and while scanning down a list of names, I was amazed to see a listing for Sir Edmund Hilary - I could dial the number and actually speak to the man who was first to reach the summit of Mt Everest!  I have to say here that I didn't, I would have been much too nervous.

Many authors have websites, or are on Twitter or Facebook, and while they may not give out their telephone number you can contact and interact with them.

I listened to a podcast by a well known author this morning while having breakfast, and through Twitter and other social media I can interact with people I admire.  Through online workshops and conferences I’ve become friends with people I may never have otherwise met.

In my work I’ve designed training courses for people in organisations around the world that allows them to connect and learn together, and from each other, even though they are in different countries and areas of the world.  The internet has opened the world to us in so many ways.

Can you imagine discussing women's fiction with Jane Austen, or children's books with Beatrix Potter? How about the Bronte sisters having Goodreads author accounts?  Or following Hemingway? - he would have been a natural on Twitter.

What author would you like to talk books with?