TAIPEI Men's Nike Air Max 90 Essential Shoes Coal Gray Australia , Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- American novelist Hugh Howey met with fans on Saturday in Taipei and talked about independently publishing his popular series "Wool" at the ongoing Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE).

Howey's science-fiction series "Wool" was the best-selling translated literary work of 2013 in Taiwan. Howey shared his life experience and story ideas at a workshop held on Saturday and launched his new book, titled "Dust."

In an interview, Howey encouraged those who want to self-publish and said that "it's never been a greater time to reach people directly."

Howey published "Wool" through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing system in 2011 and sold nearly 2 million copies, including both paperbacks and e-books.

"There is something honorable about doing it all yourself and owning the rights to your work," Howey said. "If you really love your work Men's Nike Air Max 90 BR Breathe Breeze Black Australia , selling it to a company is a very difficult thing to do."

By self-publishing, Howey has been able to reach his readers immediately.

"When the book is finished and it's well edited and everything is perfect, I can press the button, and people will be reading it in hours," he said.

Howey said he enjoys the freedom of writing any story he wants by owning the work.

"I don't have a publisher saying 'we need a sequel to this book Men's Nike Air Max 270 Flyknit Shoes Triple Black Australia , because it did really well.' I can write whatever I am passionate about."

Talking about "Wool," Howey said the idea came from his experience of sailing abroad and discovering that what people think they know about the world might be wrong.

In his junior year of college, Howey sailed around the Caribbean.

"Cuba, Colombia, places supposed to be dangerous are actually safe and beautiful Women's Nike Air Max 270 Flight Gold Shoes Australia ," he said.

"It made me realize that we only get one view of the world from the TV, but people don't show the boring stuff on TV, they only show murder, crime and war, making us fearful Men's Nike Air Max 270 Shoes White Australia ," Howey said. "So the entire story of "Wool" is to ask the question, 'will we be brave enough to go out to see the world as beautiful as it is?'"

The novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where a few thousand surviving humans live in an underground silo. They rely on a screen to see the outside world, and citizens who break the law are sent to clean the digital sensor outside and choke on the pollution.

Howey offered suggestions to readers who aspire to be writers.

"You have to write because you love it," he said, explaining that very few people make a living out of writing Men's Nike Air Max 97 Ultra Shoes Black Australia , and it is hard to imagine how difficult and time-consuming it is. Howey revealed that he wrote the story for three years, not taking a single day off.

"Once you finish your book, you can publish it yourself. But you should also expect that you can do this for ten years but never have any success, " Howey said.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. economic activity continued to expand across most regions and sectors from late November through the end of December Women's Nike Air Max 97 Ultra' 17 Shoes Rose Gold Australia , driven by consumer spending and industrial production, a Fed report said on Wednesday.

In Fed's latest Beige Book which gauges twelve region's local economy, nine Districts indicated the local economy was expanding at a moderate pace. The economic outlook was positive in most Districts, with some reports citing expectations of "more of the same" and some expecting a pickup in growth.

Three-quarters of the Districts indicated that retail activity had increased since the last Beige Book report. The exceptions were St. Louis and Kansas City, where retail results were mixed Balenciaga X Nike Air Max 97 Shoes Triple Black Australia , and the Richmond District, which cited a softening of retail sales.

All Districts reported year-over-year increases in manufacturing activity, although Kansas City noted slower growth in December.

Real estate markets generally continued to improve. Although a few Districts indicated home sales or residential construction in some areas had slowed or declined in recent months, most cited increased residential sales activity and construction as well as rising home prices.

Almost half the Districts reported that prices were stable. Most other Districts noted small increases in prices. Upward movements in wages were cited by 8 of the 12 Districts. The increases were described as small to moderate. Two-thirds of Districts noted increases in hiring.

The Beige Book is based on economic information supplied by the Fed's 12 regional banks and is released eight times a year to provide a snapshot of the local economy. It is updated about two weeks before each of the Fed's policy-setting meeting.

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