10
Favorite Authors & Why
When
I was a kid, I catalogued my books. I was thrilled to learn that I
owned over 500 by the time I was in fifth grade: is it any wonder I
later went on to get a Masters in Library Science? That being said,
it’s always been challenging for me to choose favorite authors or
favorite books, but I’ll do my best. This top ten list consists of
the authors who have influenced me in some way, but it’s by no
means exhaustive. In no particular order, here are ten authors who
are vital to me.
Anne
Lamott
Whenever
I am feeling crummy about writing or life in general, I reach for my
tattered copy of Bird
by Bird. I love
Lamott’s wit and voice, and her work is spot-on. I’ve read some
of her other nonfiction, and she remains one of the most impactful
author’s on my shelf. She reminds me to take it all one piece at a
time, and to accept that first (and even second) drafts are NEVER
beautiful.
Susan
Cooper
My
fifth grade teacher introduced me to Cooper when he read Over
Sea, Under Stone aloud
and then followed it up with a class reading of The
Dark is Rising.
Every year since, I’ve tried to re-read The
Dark is Rising in the
depths of winter. Cooper showed me what it looked like to play with
myth and magic in a storybook setting, and I continue to marvel at
her elegant stories.
“Carolyn
Keene”
I
know a whole host of women (and men) penned the Nancy
Drew books, but the
pen name is known and loved by many. The different people who wrote
as Carolyn Keene introduced me to the mystery genre, and taught me
that a girl with good hair could survive any cruelty. Nancy
Drew forever!
Margaret
Mitchell
When
I first read Gone with
the Wind, I don’t
think I appreciated how revolutionary Mitchell was. Sure, she wrote
about stereotypes, but she also wrote about strong women who could
face anything and not only survive, but thrive. Scarlet and Melanie
are probably my favorite literary foils ever.
Joseph
Campbell
The
man wrote about myths and said, “Follow your bliss”. How can I
not love him? He’s my guru!
Virginia
Woolf
When
I finally read “A Room of One’s Own”, it resonated. Woolf was
a pioneering woman, and I think it’s at least partly because of the
risks she took that modern women are finding their way to creative
careers. Her words continue to inspire me.
Rick
Riordan
Again,
it’s the myth thing. But it’s also my teacher-self that puts
Riordan on this list: that man has made more children crazy about
reading than years of academic instruction can do. I tip my hat to
the mythic story machine that is Riordan, and I love him for the
impact he’s continuing to make in young readers’ lives.
Ray
Bradbury
The
Halloween Tree. Fahrenheit 451. Zen in the Art of Writing.
Need I say more?
Charles
Dickens
I
love his lengthy, sprawling style, and the way he created such
memorable caricatures as characters. We’ll never forget Ebenezer
Scrooge or Madame Defarge.
William
Shakespeare
Mom
read “The Tempest” to me when I was 8. That statement alone
should explain SO much about my hopelessly dorky love of the Bard.
Well,
there you have some of my all-time favorites. Which authors have
transformed your life?
Author Bio:
Jen McConnel first began writing
poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of
magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The
Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her
poem, “Luna”).
She is also an active reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.
A Michigander by birth, she now
lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. When she
isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches writing composition at a
community college. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a
librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.
Contemporary New Adult
Title: The Burning of Isobel Key
Author - Jen McConnel
Date Published: October 1, 2012
Synopsis:
When
Lou travels to Scotland, she’s a mess. She’s twenty-six, unemployed,
and unsure of herself. It doesn’t help that she’s traveling with Tammy,
her best friend, who is everything Lou is not.
At
first, the trip pushes Lou towards the brink of depression, but then
she meets Brian, a handsome local tour guide. When Brian tells the
tourists about the countless witches burned in Scotland, Lou starts to
listen. And when she discovers information about Isobel Key, one of the
victims of the seventeenth century, Lou finds renewed purpose.
Lou
has begun exploring the Neo Pagan faith, a dramatic shift from her
wealthy Catholic upbringing. Despite her fears of being too “hocus
pocusy”, Lou turns to her new faith as she struggles to unravel the
mystery surrounding the death of Isobel Key. But faith or not, Lou must
face her demons if she has any hope of righting the wrongs of the past.
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