BOOKS are one of the most magical things in the history of mankind, transporting people around the world from the comfort of their home. One local’s love of books has turned into a YouTube podcast where he talks to authors from around the world about all things books and writing.
Aaron Cordy’s Author Talks was not a plan for the aspiring writer, but something he stumbled into and ran with. It began with online book reviews and remixes on Instagram before he began uploading them to YouTube.
“When I submitted a manuscript to publishers, they all wanted to know my social media handles. I had Facebook but didn’t really do much with it. So, I realised that needed to change pretty quick,” said Aaron.
“I got an Insta account and slowly started posting there, not really sure what I was doing. Then I read this great book and didn’t have anyone to talk to about it, so I recorded my thoughts and uploaded them to Instagram. It was a bit of fun; I thought that’s what I’d do.”
Despite positive feedback from two major publishers, Aaron’s novel wasn’t picked up. So, he continued working on his writing craft and building his social media presence. Uploading the reviews to YouTube, he discovered he could do bigger and better videos and reach a different audience. Then came the Author Talks.
“I was talking to an American writer, Ryan Null, I connect with on Facebook, and I just threw the idea out of recording a Zoom about his Flare Chronicles books for my YouTube channel, and he agreed. It took about a month to organise time, very late at night for me and early for him, then another month after we recorded the talk for me to play with it and upload it to YouTube.
“I dropped the talk in a Facebook group I’m in and didn’t think much about it until another writer, Andrew Johnson, messaged me two days later and asked to be on my YouTube podcast. I realised I kinda had something here.”
Andrew wasn’t the last author interested in being on Aaron’s podcast. He soon had a range of guests from the USA, South Africa, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Canada, Puerto Rico, Uganda, England and Australia. His incredible list of guests include local writer Tracee Spiby (One Hell at a Time), Hazel Edwards (There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake, Wasted?), Mette Menzies (The Watervale Ladies’ Writing and Firefighting Society), Doug Marcaida (Lineage, Forged in Fire TV series), Sarah Clutton (The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains), Stan Nicholls (Orcs) and Ayesha Inoon (Untethered, The Sisters of Serendib) and much more.
“Connecting with writers around the world and learning about their books is amazing and being able to shout about the books of writer friends I’ve met at conferences and workshops is such a thrill,” said Aaron.
“To talk, learn more about and share the works of Ayesha Inoon and Stan Nicholls is almost a dream. Stan’s Orc series is literally the reason I write. So much of my life changed when I decided to write a novel instead of just being a book nut.
“I read Ayesha’s Untethered when my life was in a real transition, and it had such an amazing impact on me, not only because it is so beautifully written. The story is about transition, and even though the characters’ experiences are not ones I’ve been through, I read it when my own life was in transition, and it struck a real chord with me. Meeting her in person and having her on my Podcast was incredible.”
Some amazing guests are coming up, including former local A.T. Prewett. You can discover and support Aaron’s love of books and the amazing authors he talks to by visiting www.youtube.com/@aaroncordy8254 and hitting the subscribe button.
“I’d love it if people would subscribe. It costs them nothing and will help me monetise the channel. There are the author talks, unscripted, rambling book reviews and some silly videos my kids help me film, because you can’t take everything too seriously,” said Aaron.
