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.
Brandy Potter www.brandypotterbooks.com
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.
Casia Schreyer www.casiaschreyer.wordpress.com
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.
Marcia Marques https://trendysimplelife.blogspot.com/
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…
Rachael Beardsley https://variancefiction.wordpress.com/
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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