Five authors I admire
I asked my Facebook readers group (Backstage with Amy Kaybach) what they wanted to know about me. I was looking for things I could use as interesting tidbits for “a ten random facts about me” kind of thing. What I ended up getting were some interesting questions about music, reading and being an author that were long enough and interesting enough that I thought they could be their own blog post. The first one I want to tackle is “Who are your favorite authors and which one(s) inspire you the most?”
Picking a favorite author is like trying to pick a favorite band or song. Much like with music, what I read depends on my mood. I don’t just read romance (although I do read A LOT of it). I’m also a fan of mysteries and psychological thrillers, women’s fiction and even some horror.
That said, I do have some authors that I love and find inspiring:
- I discovered SE Hinton’s books when I was in 5th grade (I was an advanced reader and read well above grade level and luckily for me my parents let me read whatever I wanted). I was so impressed that she wrote The Outsiders when she was just 16. Her books and her story really drove home the want to write books with me. One of my prized possessions is an autographed 50th anniversary edition of The Outsiders. (It was her most famous book but not my favorite of all her books. My favorite has always been Tex). It was around that time that I also figured out that books could become movies because I was always at my local video store renting The Outsiders and Tex.
- I really love K. Bromberg. Her Driven series got me back into reading. Not that I wasn’t reading- but I wasn’t reading a lot and what I read was just kind of eh. I just didn’t make me want to turn the page and find out what was coming next. The Driven series was recommended to me because of my love of racing because her male main character in the Driven Series is a race car driver. And I just fell in love with the characters. I have loved everything she’s written to date and I hope to be that kind of author for someone else one day. Also, she’s super nice and I love being part of her reader’s group.
- Then there is Carian Cole (recommended by the same person as above) who is just a great writer. Her books pushed me into reading tropes I rarely like and beyond that made me love the story. Plus Lukas is totally swoonworthy- I want a Lukas!
- I also love Adriana Locke. I followed her on Instagram well before I read any of her books just because I liked her content- it’s always so positive. She’s like someone you’d want to be friends with. Then I read one of her most angsty standalone books (Written in the Scars) and I won’t lie- that book broke me in all the best ways a book can. Angsty books are not her normal kind (although I really want another angsty book from her) though. Her books are always my happy reads. Her books nails family dynamics in her series and that girl can write small town like nobody’s business!
- And finally, I’d love to have the talent that J. Bengsston has in world building. Her CAKE series is amazingly layered. I don’t want to give any spoilers to her series, but it’s a family series and how a specific event in that family has affected each member gets worked into their book. In each book another layer of the whole story onion is peeled back for readers to revel in. I LOVE THIS and would love to be able to replicate it in my own books. Her other two books which are kind of a series too I think, but are definitely at the very least interconnected are really good too. The last one was terrifyingly angsty.
So there you go! Tell me do you have any authors that you love? Why?