Thursday, July 5, 2018

My Bookish Summer Blog Hop: "Who Are Some Of Your Favorite Authors?"


All writers begin as readers. You don't often find the motivation to write unless books already play an important role in your life. Stephen King once said, "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that." I've seen the truth of this in my own life: a writer who does not read is painfully obvious in the way that the writing seems stilted, distant, and very poor quality. Conversely, the authors I follow who do read a lot, write absolutely stunning books that electrify my imagination, not to mention that I am all the more motivated to seek out the books these authors recommend! I find that the more amazing authors I read and discover, the more it inspires and matures my own writing ability. Never mind that people might fault me for "copying" or "stealing" another's idea--meaning no disrespect, but all art is some measure of borrowing from other sources; a good writer can use the idea as inspiration to develop their own version, rather than appropriating the whole thing point-blank.

Here are some authors that we of #MyBookishSummerBlogHop have enjoyed! Maybe you'll discover a new favorite among these names! (Remember, go >HERE< to find the links and schedules for the other days this month!)

Leslie Conzatti (Me!)

Ugh! I have too many to count! (Both an upside and a downside of being a shameless bookaholic with a “review blog”... which sometimes is a great excuse for free books that are wonderful!)
For magnificently fascinating grimdark sci-fi/fantasy, it’s Mark Lawrence. For surefire kickass paranormal investigator/urban fantasy, it’s gotta be R. R. Virdi or Jim Butcher. For a seamless blend of fantasy magic and cyberpunk technology, Kelly Blanchard. For epic steampunk and rip-roaring YA mythology-based fantasy, you cannot go wrong with Jeffrey Cook and the rest of the Writerpunk Group. (Just Google “Shakespeare Goes Punk” and you won’t be sorry!) I’ve made it a personal goal to try and read all of David Baldacci’s works, I love the inventive, enchanting worlds that Cornelia Funke creates, Marissa Meyer managed to write hands-down the BEST fairy tale re-telling EVER,  I really love the storytelling style of Brandon Sanderson, and if I add to that Kimberly Rogers who managed to write an urban fantasy with characters I became obsessed with, C. S. Lewis (always a classic favorite) and Nils Visser, whose lore and characters never fail to excite and enchant, that makes a nice, even dozen names--if I were to go on and recite the author of every book I’ve ever loved, this answer would be way too long!

Jo Linsdell www.JoLinsdell.com

Anyone that knows me, knows I’m a huge Ethan Cross fan. If you like crime thrillers I highly recommend you check out his books. The whole Shepherd series was amazing and his other books are just as good.

I also love Dean Koontz. I read Fear Nothing when I was in my late teens and have been hooked on his books ever since. Amongst my favourites by him are One Door Away From Heaven and  Tick Tock.

I love Susan Hatler for easy read romance. She always seems to hit the mark.

I really should also mention Julia Donaldson here. The Queen of children’s books. Whether it’s The Gruffalo, Stickman, or Super Worm, she also creates a hit. I know most of her books off by heart now, but never get sick of them.

Kelli Quintos www.tangledintext.com

For as much as I love psychological thrillers and mysteries, my favorite author is Colleen Hoover, an indie young adult romance author. She was the first author I ever met in person and I cried. I had only read one of her books at the time and was following her on social media, so I felt like I knew her and was getting way too excited about meeting her at one of her book signings. I wanted to sound smart in my questions to her to let her know I really understood her book, then I went blank and had a fan moment when it was my turn. She is the only author currently that has an automatic buy button in my mind. She even has her own tag on my site #cohorts and I follow #cohortsunite on Instagram and love to befriend anyone that appreciates her as much as I do.


There are SOOOOO many. But I will list the ones that ended up becoming tables at my wedding :)

Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Jane Austen (head table), J.R.R. Tolkein, Diana Gabaldon, Heather Graham, Nora Roberts, C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Victor Hugo, J.K. Rawlings, Rick Riordan, Rudyard Kipling, David Eddings

My first “adult” reading love was David Eddings. I love how he blends the “Knights of the round table” feel with modern language and in a sense modern morality and sensibilities. He always has humor and comic relief in the mix and some of his character’s reactions are SO great! I used the picture from the cover of the series I liked the most from him. If you like Fantasy, I truly suggest you check him out. Although, he might ruin you for other fantasy writers, I know I compare them all to him.


Boy oh boy, this would be a HUGE list. Right now, my favourite author is Geralyn Wichers. She has four books out, two stand alone and the first two books in a trilogy with the third coming soon. Sons of Earth deals with clones and the morality around ownership of life. We Are the Living is a zombie book and touches on crisis of faith and PTSD. The series, Society of Immortals, is about a group of people who cannot die. It really takes all the questions around assisted suicide and right to life vs right to die and blows them out of proportion.

Others on my list would include: Virginia McClain, Anne Bishop, T.K. Boomer, Stephen King, David Eddings, Agatha Christie, Theo Ashford, H.J. Bradley, and George RR Martin.



 
I have a few favorites, since I have a very diverse taste in books (just like my music choices). 

I’ll read anything from these guys:  Anne Rice, Jodi Picoult, Lisa Genova, Neil Gaiman, Paulo Coelho…




I love Matthew Pearl for the way he blends an extensive knowledge of history and classic literature with a fast-paced and interesting plot. You can enjoy his books regardless of your own knowledge on the subjects (in fact, I always find myself wanting to learn more).

I also love Neil Gaiman for his brilliant and immersive fantasy. His book Norse Mythology was incredible, and American Gods has a permanent place on my list of top favorites. And if you’re a writer, I recommend bookmarking his Make Good Art speech and rewatching it every few months. It never fails to keep me writing.


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What about you? Who are YOUR favorite authors? Leave a comment and join the conversation! 
Catch you Further Upstream!

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