Welcome
I’m a writer who likes to read, go figure. I’ll be diving into authors and their work with fun insights. First up: Michael Crichton, the acclaimed technothriller author behind Jurassic Park.
Hi there! I’m Jamie Steidle. I wish I could say I’m a writer for a living, but I do have a day job. It’s being the Director of SEO for IGN. This blog is not about SEO, though, so you can rest easy knowing you don’t have to learn a new acronym—it stands for Search Engine Optimization. Shoot, sorry about that!
Anyway, this blog is about my love for writing and reading through the lens of my favorite authors.
What I’m Reading
I’m going to write about the books I’m reading, my thoughts, insights, and fun asides (hopefully). This will also focus on writers, their lives, habits, and their own insights, and fun asides (hopefully).
There have been many different variations of this blog over the years. Too many to count, or really, remember. As a fiction writer, someone who’s been in the trenches trying to submit his work to agents (now I’m finally agented), you are told to make sure you have a “following.” Marketing is my day job, but I struggle with self-promotion and social media. It’s not my thing.
I’m a writer. I like to sit in dark rooms and ponder the imponderable, as someone once said, who I honestly can’t remember. The idea of having to do that in front of folks, well, it gives me the ick (did I use that right?). As a fiction writer, it’s easy for me to write long-form fiction (well, not easy, but it’s something I’m used to). It’s having a blog and an “online presence” that I struggle with.
But focusing my writing on the writers I love, I think, should be fruitful.
What is this blog about, exactly?
This blog has one goal. Focus on one writer at a time, read, and review their work.
My first author I’ll be diving into—and you can almost call this a blog about him, for now—will be Michael Crichton, the acclaimed technothriller writer of some 30-odd books, whose newest book arrives May 5th, 2026. He passed away nearly 20 years ago, but, like J.R.R. Tolkien, he hasn’t stopped being prolific, publishing 5 total books since his death in 2008.
If you don’t know Crichton, you would definitely recognize Jurassic Park; he wrote the book and the film. You’d also know Twister (the original) or ER; he created both the film and TV series.
Why Michael Crichton?
He has been one of my favorite writers for years. So, for this first iteration, as a life-long reader and admirer of the great Michael Crichton, I’m resurrecting an old idea I had ages past. I will read, in order, all of Crichton’s work and review it. Well, maybe in my own order. Along with anecdotes and interviews, I find it interesting to color the story.
More About Jamie Steidle
I’m Jamie Steidle, a writer and seasoned SEO Director. By day, I lead digital marketing initiatives; by night, I’m a writer and blogger whose work has been featured in publications including VICE, Rec Room and Point in Case. When I’m not reading or writing, I’m thinking about reading or writing. I live in Orlando, Florida.
I’m signed with Diego Harrison of SBR Media.
Some previous publications
VICE - An Honest Review of MUD\WTR, the Viral Coffee Alternative That Looks Like, Uh, Mud
VICE - The Best Coffee Alternatives For Jittery People Who Can’t Handle Caffeine
Point In Case - Romeo and Juliet Respond to an Apartment Listing
For more on my background in marketing and Search Engine Optimization, check out my portfolio:
