Thursday, October 27, 2011

The ones that got me writing!


Book 4- Johanna Lindsey

                This one isn’t so much one book but many by the same author. Johanna Lindsey is a Romance Author and many of her books have been on the New York Times Bestsellers List, but that’s not why I like her.
                Hers was maybe one of the first ‘adult’ fiction books I ever read. A friend was scandalized by the content of the book and gave it to me with a lot of giggles. The first one that I read was Savage Thunder, and at age 11, in grade 5, yeah it was a little scandalous but that’s not why I loved it so. Immediately and forever afterwards, I have loved her characters.
                I did spend some time exploring other romance authors but none of them ever captivated my attention quite like she did with the simple complexity of her wonderful characters. When I read her books, I cried, laughed, raged, and loved. Until one day, in grade 7, I decided that I could write.
                At the tender age of thirteen, I started writing romance novels complete with detailed and rather nice sex scenes. I have more than a dozen half-finished ideas and two almost complete novels that I haven’t looked at since high school.
                The reason I put her and her books in my list of books that changed my life is because they did, they opened my mind to the stories that were inside and convinced me that I could write them out almost as well as she did (ok I got a little ego trip, I was 13!)
                I am not actually a big fan of romance anymore and she is the only romance author that I still purchase and follow. I have every single one of her books and although I’ve thought of selling them a few times, I just can never seem to let them go. It would be like letting go of a lot of close friends.
                To this day I can still call upon any number of her characters and have them walk around in my head and they still make me smile and laugh and love. The stories weren’t always the most original, but they didn’t have to be, the force of her characters was all I needed. I didn’t care much about what was happening in the background, as long as I knew what they were doing and feeling and thinking.
                I would recommend her if anyone is interested in reading romance, or if only for a challenge to pick up a book from a genre that you might have preconceived notions about and be pleasantly surprised. If nothing else reading her books has taught me the importance of having and creating characters that the reader will love with all their hearts.
                If you make me care about the people I’m reading about then I will carry them with me always. Is this not the truth of many great novels out there and more than a few humanitarian efforts as well!
Find her here!

Is there an author or book that really influenced your start as a writer?

7 comments:

  1. For me it was David Gemmell, I was given his first book, Legend by my Dad when I was 11 and was ill with the mumps. I devoured it and then worked my way though his other books. I shared them with my Dad and when I was earning on a part time job it became a competition to see who could get the new David Gemmell.

    I managed to meet David a few years later and became a friend of his, sadly he passed a few years ago after heart surgery. But I still treasure his books and reread them all at least once a year.

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  2. Hi Heidi... Interesting that just one writer's work was enough to inspire you to write. Now even haters of romantic fiction cannot say nothing good ever came of it. ;)

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  3. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay inspired me and for a very similar reason. It's a story about a boy in South Africa who becomes a boxer. I knew NOTHING about boxing and had NO interest in boxing but the book made me love the character and a world I couldn't easily relate to. That's powerful stuff. I even love and respect boxing now!

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  4. There are some authors that can do that. Some we remember forever and they stay with us. It's nice to have a glimpse into yours. I used to read romance also, but found it didn't give me the excitement I needed. :)

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  5. I agree with you about the importance of characters Heidi.

    Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series inspired me to write. I revisit the series often for enjoyment and to remind myself why I first put pen to paper in 2008. (Okay, sometimes I just need to have scrumptious Jaime Fraser walking around in my head! LOL!)

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  6. I'm with Lisa...Diana Gabaldon's Outlander was the first romance I'd ever read (aside from the very deranged V.C. Andrews books) and after that I was hooked.

    I can't say who exactly inspired me to start writing (I literarily have been writing since I was six) but I can tell you there are many writers who inspire me to keep writing.

    Great post!

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  7. I started writing when I was 6 so I don't remember if any one book or author inspired me, or if it was more like they all did.

    But I do remember a book milestone when I purchased my first "grown up" book in my teens. It was Tick Tock by Dean Koontz, the back sounded so intriguing to me and I've loved his work ever since :)

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