Authors Pick Five: M.K. Hutchins

Yesterday I reviewed the debut novel, Drift, by author M.K. Hutchins. Today I'd like to spotlight her on my Authors Pick Five feature, which is where I ask this one question:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

Here's what she had to say:


The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. I think this is the first fantasy novel I read. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher. I love myths, fairy tales, and folklore, and this is a retelling of Scheherazade, one of the greatest story-tellers of all time. I reread this book I-don’t-know-how-many-times as a kid.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. This sparked my interested toward studying linguistics and anthropology, plus Samwise Gamgee got me through high school.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Okay. Picking one Sanderson novel is hard, but Mistborn is a good place to start. Sanderson’s writing has all the heroism and depth of worldbuilding that Tolkien taught me to crave, but with the sleek pace of modern fiction.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Yes, I even loved the ending to Mockingjay. I’m mesmerized by the depth and detail she gives in dealing with poverty, trauma, and everything else.

Drift is M.K. Hutchins' first novel. She has had several short stories published in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show and Daily Science Fiction. She studied archealogy at BYU and has had the oppourtunity to be out in the field excavating. She's fascinated with everything to do about the Mayans. You can find her at her blog, and  on Twitter.


Thanks for joining me today! 

Authors Pick Five: Tova Mirvis

It's been a long time since I've done an Authors Pick Five, so why not start now and bring the feature back? So I've asked Tova Mirvis, author of The Ladies Auxiliary and most recently Visible City (my review here) to answer this questions:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

Here are her wonderful answers:

Tuck Everlasting/Natalie Babbit – This was one of the first books I loved as a pre-teen, one of those books that transported me so fully to another world. I fell in love with Winnie a young girl who stumbles upon a family’s secret potion for immortality, and with Jess, a teenage boy who asks Winnie to drink the potion and join him in eternally exploring the world. Here in this tender gentle book were questions about death and immortality and the meaning of life. From reading this as a pre-teen I understood that novels were the best place to ask the largest of questions.

The Scarlett Letter/Nathaniel Hawthorne –I read this in my small Orthodox Jewish high school in Memphis, TN, and first loved it for its distance to my own world: Here was blustery New England; here were other people’s rules which were so strict that they made my own religious world seem giddily free-spirited. But I also loved this book not just for its distance but for its proximity to my world. Here was a searing examination of religion and sin and goodness. When Hester wears the embroidered A on her chest, “every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact ... expressed, that she was banished.”  Yet Hester’s sin also expands her capacity for understanding and allows her to peer into the private compartments of other people’s hearts. Upon passing a revered minister or magistrate, “the red infamy upon her breast would give a sympathetic throb.” Or upon passing “a young maiden,” “the electric thrill would give her warning - Behold, Hester, here is a companion.” Hester knows that she is not alone in her sin; and in looking at her, the townspeople know that neither are they alone in theirs. This is a book that commands empathy and humility and forgiveness.

A Thousand Acres/Jame Smiley – When I read this book, it filled me with such a sense of awe. I am a fifth generation Memphian and from the time I knew I wanted to be a writer, I knew I wanted to write about the place where I was from. Here, in a Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley majestically captured the deep abiding connection to a place. The opening section of A Thousand Acres got me every time – “From that bump, the earth was unquestionably flat, the sky unquestionably domed, and it seemed to me when I was a child in school, learning about Columbus, that in spite of what my teacher said, ancient cultures might have been onto something. No globe or map fully convinced me that Zebulon County was not the center of the universe.” Every time I read that sentence, I feel moved.

Mrs. Dalloway/Virginia Woolf – One day, one woman preparing for a party she will give that night. A simply plot yet the book brings you deeply inside the characters’ inner most feelings, as close as I’ve ever come to that experience that you can enter into what it’s like to be someone else. It’s a book that requires you to work hard, but the rewards are immense. Inside these pages are pain and beauty and exhilaration and despair. Most of all, it’s a book to read for the language. Each time I read this book, I want to get lost in the words, to stay wrapped inside Woolf’s sentences.

Bird by Bird/Ann Lamott– I return to this book whenever I am stuck in my writing, which is all too often. When I open it up, I feel like it’s an old friend I can call on a bad day and know I will come away feeling better. How to deal with frustration and envy and doubt and failure. How to keep going despite the writerly dread. How to make slow progress in art and life. All of this is conveyed with dark humor and complete honesty. My copy is ragged by now, so many passages are underlined and starred. It’s one of the books I won’t lend out, because I never know when I might need it. This book should be part of every writer’s emergency kit.

About Tova Mirvis (from her website):

Tova Mirvis is the author of three novels, Visible City, The Outside World and The Ladies Auxiliary, which was a national bestseller. Her essays have appeared in various anthologies and newspapers including The New York Times, The Boston Globe Magazine, Commentary, Good Housekeeping, and Poets and Writers, and her fiction has been broadcast on National Public Radio. She has been a Scholar in Residence at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at Brandeis University, and Visiting Scholar at The Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center. She lives in Newton, MA with her three children.

Ways to connect with Tova:

Webiste | Twitter | Facebook

Markus Zusak Picks Five... Make That Six

The movie, The Book Thief, will be opening in theaters next week. Very excited! As part of that celebration, most beloved author Markus Zusak is doing much publicity and press. Last week he did a live Facebook chat, but of course, I forgot all about it, and completely missed it. But then, Tuesday he did a live video Q and A on Goodreads. And yay! I remembered!

It was fabulous. He answered all the normal questions he always gets asked.... did Max and Liesel get married (he'll leave that up to the reader, but not in his mind) and where did he get the idea for the book (stories his parents told about WWII) and how did Death become the narrator (he wasn't at first, but the book wasn't working and suddenly he thought what if Death narrated and then the whole book fell into place) and etc.

But there were loads of other questions I found really fun too. For instance, he mentioned a piece of music that always makes him think of The Book Thief, it's sort of the theme of the book, in his head anyway. It's from the soundtrack for Amelie, a movie I'm not at all familiar with, but here's the song, and it's very lovely:



And he was asked what his writing routine is like and he said, wherever, whenever. But he doesn't like to write outside, he's bothered by the glare and the wind. He especially likes to write in the kitchen and he doesn't mind a bit of kid chaos.

He also showed us his writing notebook, like a real live paper journal, where he writes dozens and dozens of chapter headings, which then becomes a sort of outline for the book. Currently he's working (still!) on Bridge of Clay, which he hopes it will be out some year. Sigh.

Someone asked what his favorite words are. Two of them I remember.... abominable and shenanigans. Ha!

And then, he was asked what five books he would want with him on the proverbial deserted island. I was listening at work and was called away RIGHT THEN! So I missed this bit! But I scrolled back and determined that this is what he listed as his five... and he added a sixth... favorite books, right at this very moment.

Hopefully I got those right! I'm so bummed that I missed what he actually said about them all!

Anyway, it was yet another awesome MZ moment and I loved hearing what he had to say. Did any of you catch the interview? I've tried to find it archived somewhere, but no luck yet.

Utah Book Month Author Spotlight: J.R. Johansson

Today I'm welcoming Utah author J.R. Johansson to my blog for a Utah Book Month Author spotlight! Her debut book, Insomnia, came out earlier this summer and it's good one! (My review here.)

My spotlight comes to you in two parts. In the first part, I've asked her to participate in my regular author feature I call Authors Pick Five. As you know, that's where I ask just this one question:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

This is what she had to say about that:

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I'm inspired by the way this book pushed the envelope and widened expectations and eyes about where YA books could go.

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells - I'm inspired by the way this book took a main character that was in many ways an anti-hero and made him a relatable person that an audience could root for.

Intensity by Dean Koontz - The way he builds tension in this book is definitely something to learn from.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin - There is a reason her books are timeless. It comes down to character development and relationship dynamics. She's a genius.

The Stand by Stephen King - He's the king of scare, but it's the world-building in this book that captivated me. It helped me take dreams to a whole new level.

Awesome books, yes? Yes! I love learning what books have inspired authors! I'm getting quite the list. Check out some of the past lists if you are new to the blog and have missed them.

Part two of the spotlight includes what I'm calling the "normal" interview. Hopefully I've come up with a few fun questions

Did you have insomnia while writing Insomnia? (Sorry I had to!) But seriously, did you creep yourself out sometimes with what was going on? (I totally enjoyed that spooky creepy factor by the way. Awesome.)

I have sleeping issues on a normal basis, but I wouldn't say I had extra insomnia while writing INSOMNIA. ;-) I did on occasion freak myself out though. I've gotten better at embracing the dark and creepy, but it still gives me chills on occasion. 

Will there be a sequel? Is this a series? If so, how about a little teaser.

Yes! There will be a sequel coming summer of 2014 and it is a series. In book #2 we get answers to a lot of questions that are raised in book #1 There is more Parker, more Finn & Addie...and more darkness. *cough cough*

Tell us the most interesting thing you learned about dreams while writing/researching/pondering this book?

Hmm...good question! I think the most interesting thing is just learning about brain wave patterns and the real life effects of sleep deprivation. It's a truly terrifying thing.

What food do you most associate with your book? (Something your characters ate, something you ate while writing it... etc.)

Haha, um I think the food I most associate with my book is red vines (because I ate them occasionally while writing) and tater tots (because Parker not eating them is one of the first signs of his downhill slide).

What's the best book you've read so far this year?

Oh, seriously? That's such a hard question! I guess I'll stick with the first one to pop in my head. That would be Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Tucholke. Love the classic gothic horror feel of it. :)

What book from you should we be looking for next? And, how do you picture yourself (as an author) five years from now?

The sequel will be next summer, the title was just decided for it and we'll be calling it PARANOIA. Then about 6 months later I'll have a new book coming out with FSG/Macmillan. It's a standalone urban contemporary thriller set in Philadelphia. Five years from now I'd like to still be writing and selling and have a nice solid fan base. Starting next summer I have a schedule of a book every 6 months and I'd like to stick with that. I'd also like to continue to grow and improve at my craft. I'd love for every book to be better than the last. 

A quick list of your favorites:

Food - halibut

Singer/Band - Maroon 5

TV Show - Supernatural

Movie - Pitch Perfect

Color - blue-green

Candy bar - Milk Duds

Animal - koala bear

Place to visit - Aruba

Thanks so much for the support and for spotlighting me! This was really fun! Happy Utah Book Month!

No, thank YOU Jenn! We look forward to all your future books!

Now for a little more about her, here is her official bio:

J.R. JOHANSSON is a young adult thriller author published with Flux & FSG/Macmillan. Her debut, INSOMNIA came out in June 2013, with the sequel, PARANOIA coming in June 2014. She has a B.S. degree in public relations and a background in marketing. She credits her abnormal psychology minor with inspiring many of her characters. When she's not writing, she loves reading, playing board games, and sitting in her hot tub. Her dream is that someday she can do all three at the same time. She has two young sons and a wonderful husband. In fact, other than her cat, Cleo, she's nearly drowning in testosterone.

You can connect with Jenn at these places:

Twitter

Goodreads

Website

Blog    

P.S. If you want a chance to win Insomnia, head on over to her blog FAST and enter the giveaway. It ends soon!

Authors Pick Five: Donna K. Weaver

As part of the blog tour I'm participating in today, I've asked the author of A Change of Plans, Donna K. Weaver, to answer this question:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

Here's her list:

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
I discovered this book when I was in fifth grade. My teacher commented at the end of the school year about how many times I’d read it. That was the year the library became one of my greatest resources.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The summer before I turned fifteen, my mother died from complications following a brain tumor surgery. We’d just moved to San Francisco, school was out, and I knew NO one. I picked up my list of books recommended for college-bound students and headed to the base library. Enjoyed so many books that summer (except Wuthering Heights), but it was Jane Eyre that really stuck with me. Perhaps it was because I was a stubborn little thing, too. Maybe it was because she and I were both lonely. But I still love that story and read it every few years.

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
I first discovered this gifted author in an anthology of Hugo winners with her novella, “Weyr Search”. I fell in in love with the planet and the characters. I wanted so badly to read more; the short story wasn't enough. One day a few years later, I decided to check and see if she had written more. I found three books—the first three books of the Dragonriders of Pern series—which became one of my favorites. I love Anne’s vocabulary. She was a prolific writer, and created some fun worlds. Anne died a couple of years ago.

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
One of my sons discovered this series before the fourth book came out, and I had to read it to see what all the excited was about. Got totally sucked in. I enjoyed the first three books so much that I told my husband he would like them, too, so I went back to the beginning and started reading them out loud to him--and discovered what a hidden treasure was in those books. By the time Half Blood Prince came out I had to talk about it to someone and found The Leaky Cauldron online. I was hooked when I saw the "Dumbledore Isn't Dead" thread. I got so involved in the book discussions that I was asked to be a moderator which I did for six years. Through my own reading of this series and discussion with others, I found what a treat it is to “hide things in plain sight” and to use foreshadowing. Jo spoiled me for many other authors because I keep expecting them to be as clever as she was.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Set in London and the island of Guernsey right after the end of WWII, it is filled with delightful characters--richly portrayed through letters and telegrams.  While it touches on some of the terrible things people did in the war, it manages to be hopeful and encouraging. Like Prince Edward Island, someday I would love to visit the island of Guernsey.

Thanks so much for participating Donna! I think we are reading soul mates! :)

More about the author:  Donna K. Weaver has always loved reading and creating stories, thus she’s been ever entertained. A Navy brat and U.S. Army veteran, she’s lived in many U.S. states as well as South Korea, the Philippines, and Germany. An avid cruiser, she’s sailed the Pacific four times. When she retired from Shorei Kempo Karate with a black belt, she decided it was time to put her imaginary friends and places on paper. She lives in Utah with her husband. They have six children and eight grandchildren.

Visit her:

Website    Facebook    Twitter    Goodreads

Authors Pick Five: Josh Hanagarne

Please welcome to my blog, Josh Hanagarne, author of The World's Strongest Librarian! (My review here.) I was so very anxious and excited to ask him my favorite author question, with him being such a book connoisseur and all.

The question:

  What five books are most important or influential to you?

His answer:

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.

This is a book I both love and hate. It is the only book I can think of that rattles me so badly, but that I can't seem to stop returning to. Emotionally, I'm only up to reading the whole thing every few years, but not a month goes by that I don't pick it up and reread passages and paragraphs, despite knowing how shaken they'll leave me. Why? I don't know. And that's what keeps me coming back.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Nothing has the potential to age more poorly than humor. So when I pick up Don Quixote and something on every page makes me laugh and it was published over 400 years ago, I'm in awe. I doubt people will be laughing at my jokes 400 years from now.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Just about all of my opinions and ideas about humor can be traced back to this book. This is the book that taught me that it's rare to have humor without an element of sadness in it. I read Confederacy every year, because it feels like a new book to me every time.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

I love words. I love language. Catch 22 better illustrates how meaningful (and meaningless) language can be than any other book I know.

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

The first Vonnegut novel I ever read, and the one I know I'll be rereading for the rest of my life. I don't think kindness is ever a mistake, and Slaughterhouse Five is a book about what happens when we fail to be kind to one another. I'm hopelessly clumsy when discussing this book, but it gives me goosebumps every time. 


Doesn't that make you want to add every one of them to your TBR? Thanks so much for participating, Josh!

For more about Josh, here's what he has to say about himself on his blog:

The short answer: just some guy.

• I’ve got a pretty simple philosophy of life.
• Take care of your mind and your health
• Protect your family and make sure they have what they need
• Help who you can help
• Laugh as often as possible
• Ask lots of questions
• Distrust the humorless
• Nobody understood human nature better than Mark Twain
• There’s always a way to be compassionate
• Every situation can be improved

Not too profound, but it works for me.

Other places to find him: Twitter and Facebook

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.

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.

Authors Pick Five: Angela Corbett

Utah Book Month is officially over, but I have one more Authors Pick Five post to share featuring a Utah author. Let me introduce Angela Corbett, author of Eternal Starling (my review here.) Here's what she had to say when asked:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is the very first book I remember reading. My parents had a set of read-along children's books. I listened and tried to read along to The Hobbit every night. My dad used to read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy to me before bed too. I'd go to sleep dreaming of hobbits, elves, orcs, and wizards. The Hobbit was the book that made me fall in love with reading and its ability to take me to new worlds...and made me want to make worlds of my own.

The Fairy Rebel, by Lynne Reid Banks

I spent a lot of time during elementary school in the school library, looking for new worlds to escape to. My school librarian recommended The Fairy Rebel to me. I fell in love with the fairies and the little girl with blue hairs. I always wondered if maybe I had a fairy out there somewhere that I couldn't see. I even had my sister look for blue hairs hiding in my head. This is the book that made me say hmmm...what if magic is real?

Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

I read this during my high school AP English Class and actually wrote one of my essays for the test on the book. The writing is so lyrical and poetic that I was easily caught up in the prose and the story. I was fascinated by the societal structure, Janie's quest to find true love, and everything she had to endure to get there. Every time I read this book, I discover something I love even more about it. I have quotes from Their Eyes Were Watching God on the wall of my office.

A Cry in the Night, by Mary Higgins Clark

This was my first Mary Higgins Clark book. I read it when I was 13. I was completely captivated by her storytelling, and got in trouble during band class because I couldn't put the book down! After that, I devoured every Mary Higgins Clark book I could get my hands on. I love how the mysteries in her books unfold, and love trying to figure out the bad guy and plot. She's still my favorite mystery writer.

Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs

I love the Mercy Thompson series because Mercy is such a strong heroine. I really like heroines who are independent and don't take crap from anyone. I'm also a sucker for romance and most books I read have a romantic element. The romance in this series is fantastic--especially in Bone Crossed. I also love that the heroes in the Mercy Thompson series are alpha males who aren't always overbearing, controlling, jerks.

Thanks for your list Angela! I need to read most of these still!

From Angela's website, we learn that she graduated from Westminster College with a double major in communication and sociology. She started working as a reporter for her local newspaper when she was sixteen and won awards for feature, news, and editorial writing. She has also done freelance writing. In addition to writing, she works as a director of communications and marketing. She loves classic cars, traveling, and listening to U2. She lives in Utah with her extremely supportive husband and their five-pound Pomeranian, Pippin, whose following of fan girls could rival Justin Bieber's.

Places to connect:

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Authors Pick Five: Amber Argyle

Here's yet another Utah author that I've invited to participate in Utah Book Month by highlighting her in this  Authors Pick Five feature. Please welcome Amber Arygle, author of Witch Song and its soon to be released sequel, Witch Born.

What five books are most important or influential to you?

Here's what she had to say:

1. My scriptures. I'm a very religious person. I grew up with them and I've never stopped reading.

2. Eragon was the first true fantasy book I've ever read. Plotting gears started turning in my brain before I'd ever finished and I felt this incredible drive to write in the same genre--something that had never happened to me before. I remember distinctly thinking that if this kid could write and publish a book, so could I.

3. Robin McKinley--I searched for books like what I wrote--YA high fantasy with a female main character--they were few and far between. Robin gave me hope.

4. Harry Potter--For so many years, dry literature was force fed to children who responded by never picking up another book after graduation. Rowling opened the doors for reading. She made it possible for people to see books as fun instead of dreary. And she opened the doors for the rest of us.

5. Books on the craft of writing. King and Card both have one. Farland has a fantastic newsletter.

Thanks so much for participating Amber! I love these books too.

Amber Argyle is the author of Witch Song and its sequel Witch Born which will be released next week. She grew up on a cattle farm with her three brothers and says she spent much time in their creepy barn which fueled her imagination for high fantasy! She currently lives in Utah with her husband and three children. Places where you can connect with her:

Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Authors Pick Five: Kristen Landon

Once again, I've invited a Utah author to participate in Authors Pick Five here on the blog today as part of Utah Book Month celebrations. This time, I've asked Kristen Landon, author of The Limit (which I recently read and reviewed here) to answer this one question:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

Here's what she had to say:

This has been a really hard assignment! Instead of saying these are the five most important or influential books to me, I'll have to say these are five of the most important or influential books--because, just as soon as I hit the send button, dozens of books will come to mind that I'll wish I had included on the list.

1. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg I'll start with a book that I remember being fascinated with during my childhood. First of all, the idea of running away from home was one I romanticised in my youth--so this was really cool. But running away and living in a museum! Major coolness. It showed me that I could experience things in a book that I would never dare to do--or even imagine I could do--in real life.

2. Summer of Fear by Lois Duncan I stumbled across this book during my high school years. I was always in honors English classes, and all my reading time was monopolized by those classic literary books from my English teachers' reading lists. Take a look at the cover of this book sometime. It fascinated me, and I had to read it--even though it wasn't 'aproved' by my English teachers. It's an exciting, creepy book, and tons of fun. It allowed me to remember that reading could be just for fun at a time when reading was often a homework assignment.

3. The Giver by Lois Lowry When I wrote THE LIMIT I didn't know it was a dystopian novel. I hadn't even heard of that genre. The world of THE GIVER fascinated me, and I longed to write a book set in a world close to our own--but with a few creepy twists. Looking back now, I can say that THE GIVER was the first dystopian novel I fell in love with.

4. Holes by Louis Sachar (Seems like most of the authors on this list have very similar first names!) The books I write tend to be more plot driven than character driven. This book inspires me because I believe it to be one of the most brilliantly plotted books of all time.

5. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom I don't read many adult books, and I read even less non-fiction. So for me to include an adult non-fiction on my list, you know it has to be special. This book just inspires me to be a better person. Corrie and her family helped others at great risk to their personal safety. Surely I can help others, even if it is an inconvenience to me.    

What a fabulous list! I love seeing books that influenced all these authors!

Kristen has split her life between both Utah and Michigan. She has seven brothers and sisters and now four kids of her own. She has been writing since age three! Besides The Limit, Kristen has written another book called Life in the Pit. She has also contributed to a short story collection called Family Ties. Be sure to check them out!




Places to connect:
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Authors Pick Five: Sheila A. Neilson

As part of Utah Book Month and in conjunction with my reading and review of her book Forbidden Sea, I've asked Sheila Neilson to participate in my Authors Pick Five feature and answer this one question:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

Here's what she had to say:


Trixie Belden Series

I used to be one of those kids who was obsessed with horses. There was a time when I refused to even look at any book if it didn't have a one starring somewhere in it. Trixie Belden had horses--but she also solved mysteries. Because of Trixie Belden, I discovered that I liked mystery books even more than I liked horse books. That was when I--*gasp*--branched out and started reading books without horses in them. Thank goodness for Trixie Belden. 

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

This was my favorite book growing up. I've probably read and re-read this book more than any other novel. I felt a real connection to Emily, who wanted to be a writer just like I did. Emily didn't let anything stop her from reaching her goal and I wanted to be just like her. Many years later, I read these books aloud to my aging grandmother. She was just as delighted with them as I had been as a child. Now that my grandmother is gone, I still carry in my heart, those tender memories of sharing with her my favorite childhood books.

Beauty by Robin McKinley

This was the book that introduced me to fantasy--now my favorite genre to write. Before Beauty, I had mostly read contemporary fiction and mysteries stories. It was Beauty that showed me all the possibilities of a fantasy book well written. My own novel, Forbidden Sea, owes a great deal of its fairytale flavor to a love of that style which Beauty awakened in me long ago.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

As an adult, I gave up reading middle grade and young adult books for years before rediscovering them a second time. These were the two books that helped me remember the joy of reading juvenile fiction all over again. Without them, I would never have become an author of teen fiction--or a children's librarian, for that matter. Oh what a world of opportunity I would have missed had I not picked both of these titles up and given children's literature a second chance!

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Sheila has been a children's librarian in here in Utah for 15 years, but she says she hopes to be a full time author some day. About her many hobbies she says: "Among my top five interests are doll collecting, art, reading, writing, and horseback riding. I also collect mermaids--but ONLY those wearing fantastic mermaid outfits. Which is near impossible to find, believe me. But that is what makes collecting them so much more fun than the regular kind. : )"

You can follow her at these places:

Blog
Twitter
Facebook

Thanks to Sheila for participating! I love your list!

Authors Pick Five: E.J. Patten

As part of the blog tour I'm participating in today of E.J. Patten's book, Return to Exile, (see my review here) I've asked him my favorite author question:

What five books are most important

or influential to you?

Here are his answers:


Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: Years ago, I was trying to decide what I wanted to write. I read Harry Potter and declared, “I want to write something like that.” Harry Potter is the reason I write middle-reader adventure books.


Neuromancer by William Gibson: With Neuromancer, Gibson captured the essence of coolness. It’s one of the defining novels of the cyberpunk genre (a subset of dystopian, which is a subset of sci-fi). The prose are just beautiful. Bleak, but beautiful. They’re recursive, perfectly mirroring the world Gibson’s creating, like the opening line: “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” Seriously cool. I read this book in high school and I’ve read it many times since. The reason I like it so much is because Neuromancer combines complex prose with an engaging story— a feat most “literary” works (i.e., prose-focused and boring) and popular fiction (i.e., story-focused with utilitarian prose) never achieve. A warning, though, for my fans: Neuromancer isn’t a middle-grade or YA book. The overall message is pretty nihilistic, and there’s a touch of language and adult themes.


Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein: This is the first book I can remember reading by choice. I read it over and over again when I was a kid, until I’d memorized every poem. I don’t remember any of them now, but I remember loving them.


Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: I used to read this series every year. I love the depth and complexity of Middle Earth and the history Tolkien created to make the world feel real. When I wrote Return to Exile, I wanted to make my world feel like Middle Earth, even though it’s based in the modern-day United States. I studied the devices Tolkien used to add richness and detail to his world. Because Return to Exile isn’t really a milieu-driven book, I had to figure out how to adapt the devices to a character/plot driven story. In other words, I had to figure out how to balance the richness of the milieu with the demands of a modern middle-grade pacing. But Tolkien put my feet on the path.


Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card: What Tolkien is to milieu, Card is to character. Card has an amazing gift for taking you into a character’s mind and plumbing the depths of their psychological underpinnings. Card not only folds you into Ender’s mind, he drives you through a great plot that arises naturally from Ender’s needs and personality. That’s incredibly hard to do and Card executes it masterfully. In Return to Exile, I took a note from Card and tried to create a plot and world that arose from Sky’s inner needs and conflict. Sky, like most people, struggles to survive in a world that’s full of traps, and constantly changing around him. He wants to fit in like his sister, Hannah, and be normal for once, but he knows he’s not normal. In Sky’s world, nothing is ever as it seems—not even him.

As always, thanks for such fun answers! I love how this question lets us get to know authors quite well!

E.J. Patten lives here in Utah with his wife and three kids. This book, Return to Exile, is his first book... but many more are planned (six in this particular series I think.) I don't know a whole lot more about him because his author bio is quite vague, but I DO know that he's a really nice guy, (even with that goatee!) and he's also, like most in this little crowd of Utah authors, quite funny too! :)



You can read his blog here.
Follow him on Twitter here.
Learn more about the book Return to Exile here.
Follow the blog tour here.

(P.S. I think goatees are awesome!)

Authors Pick Five: Bree Despain

This week I had the pleasure to review Bree Despain's latest book, The Savage Grace (see my review here) and as part of that blog tour, she is guest posting here today by answering the following question (you know the one!):

What five books are most important or influential to you?

Here's what she has to say:

First off, asking me to pick only five important books feels like asking me to decide which of my children is my favorite--you cruel, cruel, woman! :) But I will do my best . . .

I think I'll go with the 5 books that have had the most impact on me as a writer.

1. The first book is one that I am not actually quite sure of the title. I believe it was called DUCK TALES (not the Disney Ducktales). It was a chapter book I found in my Easter Basket when I was about 8 years old. My reaction was probably something like, "A book? That's a dumb thing for the Easter Bunny to bring!" I struggled a lot with reading as a child and even though I enjoyed the bedtime stories my father used to tell me, I thought at the time that reading was boring and hard. However, this was the first time anyone had ever given me a chapter book to read, so decided to give it a try despite thinking it was going to be too difficult. But within a few pages, I was completely enthralled by this story about a little lost duckling trying to find his family. I found myself staying up late, reading under the covers to find out what happened. And then asking for more chapter books when I was done with this one. This was the book that turned me into a real reader.

2. JACKAROO by Cynthia Voigt. Even though I still struggled with reading through most of my childhood, I continued to enjoy it and always sought out new books to read. When I was in middle school, I found this book in my older sister's collection. I read it and fell in love with this story of a girl who must pretend to be the famed hero/bandit "Jackaroo" in order to save her town. I became so enthralled by the story, I started writing my own little stories and poems about the characters. Then I started writing my own stories about my own characters. This is the book that turned me into a writer. It also had a strong girl-power message that gave a me a confidence boost as a 13 year old.

3. HE SHALL THUNDER IN THE SKY by Elizabeth Peters. In high school, I found myself bogged down by all the assigned reading I had to do for my honors English classes. I was a very slow reader and and I had to work very hard to keep up with my homework--which means I hardly ever got to read for fun anymore. It wasn't until I was in college that I got back into reading for pleasure. My sister introduced me to the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters and I pretty much became obsessed with it. It is a long series with several books, and I spent a lot of time combing the dusty stacks of my college's library (that was being renovated at the time) to find the each next book in the series. I remember once wading under what felt like miles of plastic sheeting in a dark library basement--with a flashlight--because I HAD to get the next book! My favorite book in the series was HE SHALL THUNDER IN THE SKY. This was the book I was reading when I came to the realization during my junior year of college that instead of being an attorney, archeologist, or actress, I really wanted to be an author.

4. At the time that I decided that I wanted to be an author, my roommate was student-teaching a third grade class. She told me all of her students were really getting into this book called Harry Potter. I was a volunteer reading tutor at a local elementary at the time, and I was always searching for books my students might enjoy, so I decided to check the book out. I enjoyed the first one, so I read the second one. Both were really good, so when HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN came out a few weeks later, I ran out and bought it--and I LOVED it! It is still my favorite of the series and still one of my all-time favorite books. This is the book that made me decide to enroll in a series of "writing for children" classes at my college.

5. When I first started taking those writing classes in college, I thought I wanted to write middle grade books like my beloved Harry Potter. However, during one of my writing courses, I was required to read a few Young Adult novels and then write the first chapter of a YA novel. One of the books I chose was THE PRINCESS DIARIES by Meg Cabot. I loved this book! And when I took a crack at writing a first chapter of a YA novel, I realized that YA was where my voice really belonged, and that's what kind of books I wanted to write. Princess Diaries was the book that made me want to write YA. And if I can sneak a 6th book into here, I would say that reading SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson solidified me as a YA writer for sure. I find so much inspiration in that book.

Thanks for the interview! It was fun to talk about some of my favorite books. I find myself wanting to re-read them again.

Thanks Bree for a look into your book inspiration to becoming a writer! I want to re-read (or read for the first time) some of these books too!

Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy which includes The Dark Divine, The Lost Saint and the new book The Savage Grace. She became interested in writing during college days where she at first thought she would be a lawyer. But she really started writing after a car accident when she realized life was too short to not do what you love to do. Bree lives in Salt Lake with her husband and little boys. For more info, click here for her website and you can read her blog here, and follow her on Twitter here.

Authors Pick Five: Caroline Starr Rose

Oh wow, it's been awhile since I've done an Authors Pick Five post. It's only fitting that I start up again by asking blogging buddy and now author, Caroline Starr Rose, my favorite question:

What five books are most important or influential to you?

Here is how she answered:

1. Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby books

The thing that has really struck me as an adult re-visiting the Ramona books is the compassion Beverly Cleary has for her character. Though she doesn't shy away from awkward moments, there is a tenderness in the way Cleary deals with Ramona when she throws up in class, when she kicks her bedroom walls in anger, when she names her doll the most beautiful name she can think of -- Chevrolet. 

These books have reminded me what it was like to be a child. They've nudged me to be more patient with my own children. They've encouraged me to treat my characters with compassion.

2. The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, volumes 1-5

L. M. Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables and Emily Starr books (as well as dozens of others), kept a journal from the age of fourteen until the time she died. The two of us share a lot in common -- teachers who later became authors, pastor's wives, mothers to two boys -- though her life was decidedly harder than mine. As much as I love her books, I love these journals even more. Getting a real picture of her experiences, from the mundane cleaning of her kitchen chimney to her writing routine, has made her world, her moment in history, and her stories even more dear. I plan to re-read her journals this year.

3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn -- Betty Smith

I've always felt Francie Nolan and I would have been good friends. Plus, this quote says it all: "Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere--be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost." 

4. Silence -- Endo Shusako

I have never been more moved, more disturbed, more changed by a book as by this one. 

5. Catherine, Called Birdy -- Karen Cushman

I discovered this book in my adolescent literature class in college. I loved the way the history was so accessible and Catherine was such a real girl. Karen Cushman has taught me so much about writing historical fiction for young people.

Awesome fun list! Thanks for sharing!

Caroline Starr Rose has had quite the adventurous upbringing. Living in all sorts of places from Saudi Arabia to Australia and all over the US, she learned early the joy of reading, including the ones mentioned above. She was especially inspired to write May B. after being obsessed with the Little House books. She currently lives in New Mexico with her husband and two sons. This is her first novel. Be sure to check out her website for more information.