Why Should Writers be Readers?
New Release: Nan Sanders Pokerwinski's Novel, The Utterly Unacceptable Atrocity of Isabelle Marsden: A Novel.
Hello and Welcome to JQ’s Substack Focused on Story.
Today, let’s talk about why writers should be readers and the benefits gained when reading books.
Speaking of writers, I am thrilled to introduce you to my friend and amazing storyteller, Nan Sanders Pokerwinski. She brings her quirky characters to us in her new release, The Utterly Unacceptable Atrocity of Isabelle Marsden: A Novel. But first, why should writers be readers?
Why should writers be readers?
Did you ever take a flashlight to bed with you, then grab a book and pull up the covers over your head so you could read your book without your parents seeing the light was on in your room? I was not a sneaky kid, but I confess to this devious behavior because how else was I going to find out how the book ends? I truly was an avid reader. I still love reading.
Just think, nowadays, if you have a device like a Kindle to read your stories, you wouldn’t need a flashlight! How perfect that would have been about 60 years ago!
At that time, parents didn’t know that reading before going to bed was good for you. I wish I had known, so I could have convinced my mom to let me read longer.
According to an article on Inc.com, “getting lost in fiction has impressive brain benefits. You sleep better, your mind calms, and your body relaxes. Worries melt away.” Plus, science has proven that reading is good for your brain because it trains your ability to focus.
If you are a writer, you probably are a reader. Besides enjoying some relaxing “me” time with a book, we can learn more about our craft from reading books both like and unlike what we write.
Lyrical language can inspire us to level up our writing.
Reading exposes us to new structures that will help us create our own.
A heartfelt narrative can remind us why we write in the first place.
When you read someone else’s work, do you critique it as you go? Or can you relax and enjoy the escape from reality? Please leave the title of a book you have enjoyed reading in the comments. Thank you.
Just in case you are looking for a unique, entertaining read that is a light-hearted tale, then let me tell you about Nan’s new release. Her new novel, The Utterly Unacceptable Atrocity of Isabelle Marsden: A Novel, was released this week!! The title stirs your curiosity, doesn’t it? I am not suggesting this book because Nan is my friend, but because it is a great read!
Take a peek at the blurb for this off-the-wall story filled with eccentric friends, humorous moments, and appreciation of all kinds of artistic endeavours. The setting in Kansas may be considered a character too. What a colorful backdrop to this fun story by Nan, a truly gifted author.
BACK OF THE BOOK:
All Isabelle Marsden wants when she moves from Chicago to Kansas is a place to retreat, reassess, and regain control of her life after an ugly #MeToo experience. But after a chance encounter with a free-spirited artist who carries a wallaby in a baby sling and makes assemblages from roadkill, she’s drawn into a community of eccentrics who soon have her lobbying to rescue their Summer Solstice parade, conducting surveillance at a roadside zoo, and visiting an outsider artist’s strange, yet intriguing, sculpture garden.
Inspired by that wild creation, Belle starts her own peculiar assemblage, convinced it’s the key to repairing her fractured life. As she uncovers her hidden creativity—and madness—her project lands her in trouble with her landlady, the city zoning department, and even the police. Ultimately, her only way through is to rely on help from her found family of oddball characters—and on her newly redefined self.
About Nan:
Nan Sanders Pokerwinski is a former science writer for the Detroit Free Press and the University of Michigan, whose work (under the byline Nancy Ross-Flanigan) has appeared in numerous other magazines, newspapers, and online publications.
A national engineering society once awarded her first place in their writing contest for a piece on potholes. Her work has garnered other awards—from groups as diverse as the Magazine Association of the Southeast and the American Motorcyclist Association—and a Pulitzer nomination.
When she’s not writing, Nan takes photographs, makes collages, and wanders the woods around the West Michigan home she shares with her husband Ray Pokerwinski.
Her blog, Heartwood, focuses on creativity, connection, and contentment.
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A REMINDER: We are celebrating Women’s History Month with stories of 16 successful women—Each one is a role model for girls.
It was my privilege to interview sixteen contemporary women for my non-fiction book for girls, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. The stories shared by each role model reveal their aspirations when they were girls and how they made those dreams come true.
Middle School girls will be inspired and entertained reading the interactive eBook, which includes links to videos and resources for each career. The eBook is on sale through April 18, 2026.
The paperback edition would make a valuable addition to classroom and homeschool libraries with a Reader’s Guide included at the end of the book.
Girls Succeed is also available as an audiobook at Apple Audiobooks.
Thanks for visiting. I’ll be back next Wednesday, but if you can’t wait, explore my other articles written in the last couple of years right here at JQ’s Substack.
Connect online with JQ Rose:
Email: jqrose02 @ gmail dot com
My Mysteries and Memoir @ BWL Publishing
I'm presently reading the Shelby Nichols mysteries. I'm on Book 12. They are getting a little monotonous. She is always doing dangerous things. The first book is titled Carrots. Sometimes a series goes on too long. An example of that is the Stephanie Plum mysteries.
Congrats to Nan on her new book. I've always loved to read and enjoy a cup of tea and reading most late afternoons.