Authors Pick Five: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Today I have the pleasure of sharing another Authors Pick Five list! Please welcome Jennifer A. Nielsen, author of The False Prince and The Runaway King, some of my new favorite fantasy stories!

I've recently asked her the big question:

What Five Books Are Most Important or Influential to You?

This is what she had to say:

1.  Animal Farm: This was one of the first books that really made me think about the larger world around me. Beyond the idea of reading for pleasure, I began to read for ideas, opinions, and to help me build a foundation of my personal philosophies.

2.  The Book of Mormon: Along with the Bible, this book is the keystone of my religious beliefs. My life is better with the principles of this book as a compass.

3.  The Outsiders: I had always been a reader, but S.E. Hinton’s book, THE OUTSIDERS, had a huge impact on my choice of career. Not only was it a great story that I truly believed was written just for me (I still have some passages memorized), it also became the book that convinced me I wanted to write too.

4.  Harry Potter: When I started writing with the hope of becoming published, I was doing adult women’s suspense. The stories weren’t terrible, but they weren’t publishable either. At the time, I was also enthusiastically reading the HARRY POTTER stories. About six months before the release of the final book, I happened upon a fan fiction site that issued a challenge: Could I write my own version of the final book? The challenge appealed to me. I had my own theories, of course, and the idea of taking all of JK Rowling’s threads and pulling them together sounded so exciting. So I started writing it in a furiously fun couple of weeks. The story was completely unworthy for anyone else’s eyes, but I discovered something wonderful in the process – I was having amazing fun writing in children’s fantasy. This seven-book series and the fan challenge led me to find the genre that was right for me.

5.  The Hiding Place: I discovered this incredible book by Corrie Ten Boom many years ago, and loved it so much that I bookmarked some of the pages to copy and save for reference when I needed the stories. Many of the most valuable character lessons I’ve ever learned came from this book, about courage, faith, forgiveness, as well as the determination to do the right thing, even at the ultimate price.

Awesome book stories! Thanks so much for sharing!

Not only is Jennifer the author of  The False Prince and The Runaway King, but also a series called The Underworld Chronicles which begins with Elliot and the Goblin War. She is also writing the sixth book of the Infinity Ring series. She lives in northern Utah with her husband, three kids and dog (which she sadly reports, won't play fetch.) You can learn more about her on her website here.  Also, she has a blog here, and you can follow her on Twitter and on Facebook.

Thanks to Jennifer for participating today!

For more Authors Pick Five lists, click here.