Authors Pick Five: Milda Harris

Awhile back I had my first ever request by an author to participate in my Authors Pick Five feature! Awesome. This author, Milda Harris, also blogs and participates often on the very popular Top Ten Tuesday meme which is where we "met." Since then, I've read one of her books, Doppleganger (review here) which I found to be quite fun!

Anyway, here are her answers to the big question:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

The Five Most Important and Influential Books To Me

By Milda Harris

The five most important and influential books to me are:

1.      The  Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew #2)  by Carolyn Keene: I read this book in grade school and one of the big reasons I remember it is because it was the first library book I ever checked out. It was also the first real mystery book I ever read. I really enjoyed it and it was my introduction to the idea of a female teen sleuth. Now, I write my own teen female sleuth series, staring Kait Lenox and starting with Adventures in Funeral Crashing.

2.      Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery: This book and the series it starts is one of my favorites. Anne is such a great character. She has such a wild imagination, she’s smart, and eventually she becomes a writer. As a kid, I loved to make up stories in my head and I found a kindred spirit in Anne. Later, when I read the book again, she also became a hero. She wanted to write and so did I! It was who she was and in part, she helped me realize that’s who I was too – a writer. 

3.       The New Girl by R.L. Stine: This was the first book that I read in the teen horror genre. I happened across it sometime in junior high. It was on my cousin’s bookshelf when I was spending the night. I could not put it down and spent the rest of my time at my cousin’s reading instead of hanging out.  This is also one of the genres I now enjoy writing. R.L. Stine really is a master of it. My book The New Girl  Who Found A Dead Body is sort of a shout out to RL Stine and this book.  

4.       Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella: I read a lot of mystery and horror for a long time and then I came across a new genre I loved with Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic. I now like to write some of my stories in a similar fashion because everyone has the kind of moments that Becky in Shopaholic  has – where you make a fool of yourself or spend too much on a credit card or hide your bills in a drawer or what have you. When they’re not happening to you, those moments are hilarious and fun. I like to write about those sort of funny moments now too, even if they might be in the middle of one of my Funeral Crashing mysteries or in my sci-fi horror novel, Doppelganger.  

5.      Switched by Amanda Hocking: There was a tie for fifth place in my mind with this book and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, but Amanda Hocking won out. Believe me, it was a close call. Pride & Prejudice and Jane Austen, herself, are both big inspirations. Okay, that would definitely be number six. Still, if I really look at it, Switched marks a turning point in my life. What’s funny is that I actually haven’t read Switched yet, although it’s burning a hole in my Kindle app, waiting to be read. That doesn’t matter, though. When I think Amanda Hocking my mind immediately thinks of Switched which is the first book of hers that I read about. The reason it’s inspirational is that Amanda and her books inspired me to take a chance at being an indie author while I looked for a bigger publisher. She did what I hope to do – find readers who really enjoy my books…even if I have to do it on my own. This book is a symbol of that to me. 


Thanks so much Milda for participating! You've got some fun answers for sure!

On her website, Milda describes herself as a Chicago girl who ran off to Hollywood to pursue a screenwriting dream! She has a dog named after a piece of candy (Licorice), was once hit by a tree (seriously), and wears hot pink sunglasses (why not?). Between working in production on television shows like Austin & Ally, Hannah Montana, and That's So Raven and playing with her super cute dog Licorice, she writes young adult murder mystery, horror, paranormal romance, and chick lit novels.

Be sure to visit Milda on Facebook, on Twitter and on her website.