Showcase of first time Authors

I am an avid reader. I taught myself to read when I was 3 and was reading the bible to my astonished grandmother at the age of  5!  My mom was an avid reader as well and only gives books and clothes for presents to this day!  I took to reading fiction like a duck takes to water, but my sister wasn't hooked on phonics immediately. I was placed in advanced reading group and my mother remembers the teacher saying to her she reads at an 8th grade level but has a hard time tying her shoes!( Bad eye-hand co-ordination that is also why I suck at video games)
My sister was in the remedial reading group  and got jealous when  my group was reading about a cool dog named Mr.Mugs and she was stuck reading about Dick and Jane. So she came home and said ok you can teach me to read. After that she moved on up. And to this day she borrows my books because I have great taste in authors,
I have an eidetic memory, somewhat like Sheldon Cooper, but for words not math or science. So I have won spelling bees before, simply because once I see a word I know how to spell it! My writing is so horrible  people say I should have been a doctor. When my Grade 3 teacher saw my writing, she put me back to printing for 3 months. When I used to have to do a speech in front of the class the only thing I was nervous about was not being able to make out my own writing!
When I was a kid  I preferred novels like Anne of Green Gables (gotta love feisty resheads!) and Nancy Drew  but as I became a young adult  I discovered the genre of biographies and I was hooked. I started out reading celebrity biographies like Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn but my mom  had the book Angela's Ashes  lying around the house and I picked it up. Frank McCourt was an average Irishman who wrote about his poor childhood in Ireland  and his difficult mother. The way he described things was so evocative, you felt like you were there with him! I cheered  when he  made it to America and the wonder he had on seeing New York for the first time. Being a Canadian , I was awestruck when I visited as well. The way he describes the simple pleasure of  eating  a lemon pastry while watching a movie you can hear him crinkling the package ! The other benefit of reading memoirs from non-celebrities  is they always make you feel better about your own life! Oh mine isn't that bad ! Never went hungry a day in my life, never been beat by a husband, never lost a sibling too young .
I highly recommend  this book  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man as well as  Jeanette Wall's  moving memoir entitled the Glass Castle ! If only I had a life that was worth writing about!http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7445.The_Glass_Castle

The website I would like to promote is http://howtowriteabookin40hours.com/


This is all first time authors and the ones I have read are all natural  story tellers I will showcase two authors who  have all overcome  bad situations to  have a happy ending   Here is Nanette Clifton https://plus.google.com/113067760031784364231/posts/BxXbcRz3d5k  

This one is much more uplifting, even though Sam's childhood story was absolutely horrific - his uncle sexually abused him a number of times when he was just 4-5 years old. His grandma caught him and told Sam never to tell anyone about it. Then his father physically assaulted his mother and plotted to kill her, Sam and his 2 brothers.

This lad has grown up now, was a Hollywood stylist for some very, very big name stars and is now using his connections to help women who need a bit of a boost.

Sam Russell who is now a Hollywood Stylist http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nOP7JUJnwes

Don't forget  reading is something you can do on your tablet or ereader with no wi-fi connection. Handy when coming home on the train or in a power outage!