Have you heard of Shepherd.com? I hadn’t until its founder, Ben Fox, reached out to me, introduced his concept, and asked if I wanted to create my own personalized book recommendation list for his site. I researched the platform and found authors I knew who had contributed lists and decided to create my own. You will see my list’s book covers throughout this post.
When I asked Ben if he would share a bit more about Shepherd with my blog readers, he said:
“I want to make finding your next book a fun experience. I’ve asked authors to recommend 5 books they love around a topic, mood, or theme they are passionate about. The book recommendations that result are fantastic, and you can see Valerie’s fantastic list on the best books about horses and their humans to see the results. Plus we are adding more and more features to help readers find books based on their favorite topic, book, or author.”
At just over a year old, Shepherd is growing fast and had more than 100,000 visitors last month, according to Ben. The best books lists cover everything from locations, eras, genres, and more – not just horse books. A few samples include:
*The best fantasy books that taught me how to write funny (funny fiction, that is)
*The best books to safely satisfy your lust for action and mystery
*The best books on the art of writing
To see why I recommended my five books, please see the best books about horses and their humans. These books include both non-fiction (history) and fiction ( mystery, middle-grade, young adult, and romance) by talented authors Robin Hutton, Sasscer Hill, Sharon Kay Roberts, Brittney Joy, and Carly Kade.
I would love to hear your thoughts about Shepherd and what lists you would want to create.
Thank you Valerie. Do check out Valerie’s award winning books.
Thank you, Sharon! And for anyone who may fit into this category, please visit and join Sharon’s Aging Horsewomen Intl. (TM)
Facebook group- over 57,000 members sharing wisdom, stories, and support!
Thank you for the kind mention Valerie 🙂
You are welcome, Ben, and thank you helping both authors and readers with your interesting concept. I’ve already come across books through Shepherd that I would not have found otherwise.
I’ve enjoyed creating lists for two books, and I’ve got them started for my next two! I really love the concept.
Hi Joy,
Thank you for stopping by, and I read about your books with interest. If you are not already a member, you may be intersted in joining the Military Writers Society of America (http://www.mwsadispatches.com/welcome) to help share your stories. We also have a book awards program, opportunities ro have stories published, and online events and in-person conferences for people who tell military stories. So nice to meet you, and hope to see you around!
Thank you for letting me know! Next year’s book will be about what happened to the three Wilson brothers who lost their lives during WWII. It’s time to share all the research that didn’t belong in the family story. I’ll probably send more authors to the site. I just went through a masterful manuscript about two survivors of the Japanese POW “hellships.”
You are welcome, and thank you to you. The book awards program currently accepts books up to five years old, so your previous books would be eligible. Or, if you don’t want to participate in the awards program, any member can add their books to MWSA’s online library to help introduce them to people.
I read about the Japanese “hellships” in “Boys in the Boat.” Again, more stories waiting to be told.