Awesome Writers
These are my A-List authors. These are the writers whose books made a lasting impression on me.
William Shakespeare
To be honest, I didn't much care for his writing style when I was 12, but I always loved his stories. It seems that he's penned a story for every stage of my life. My favorite comedy was (still is) Much Ado About Nothing. What a mix-up! And mistaken identities. Of course, that's why I named my Hearts of Owyhee titles "Much Ado About M..." In each, there's a mix-up or misidentified character--sometimes a major character and sometimes not, but they're there. I can't say my stories rival old Will's, but he did give me inspiration. Don't worry about me following in his footsteps and writing tragedy, though. I'm still mad about Romeo and Juliette. They really should've had a Happily Ever After, dang it all.
Mary Renault
I loved Mary Renault's books so much that I haven't read her last one. She died and I know if I read the last one, there will never be another. Her work was first introduced to me in my college mythology class, where we were assigned to read The King Must Die. I loved that book so much I read all the others in that series--except the last one, The Nature of Alexander. It's on my keeper shelf, waiting for me. Her books brought Greek mythology to life for me, and I've been enthralled ever since. I wonder if I could get away with writing a series with Greek gods in the Old West. Hmmm. Rick Riordan wrote his in contemporary USA, so maybe that would work.
Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour introduced me to western historical romance, which is a subgenre I love. Most people don't think of him as a romance writer but have they read Hondo? Yes, it's a romance through and through. Only thing is, once he got to the good part, he backed off and that frustrated me to no end. I'm not talking about sex scenes--I'm referring to the build-up of the romance and the next thing you know, the woman is serving the main character coffee in the morning. He skips right over the part where they actually make some sort of commitment. But I enjoy reading his books--they have great action scenes and he's not above penning a cheap joke, too. So of course I was hooked. I've read several of his books and short stories, and have several more on my Kindle waiting for me.
Caroline Clemmons
The first book I wrote was a time-travel to the future. I'd always enjoyed time-travels so decided to write one. My second was a western historical romance. In between that book and the next, I read Caroline Clemmons's first published book and I've been her fangirl from that day forward. I wore out two copies of The Most Unsuitable Wife (The Kincaids Book 1) studying the characterization and structure. Now I'm looking forward to reading the first book in her new series--and OMG it's a time-travel! Yay, one of my favorite genres. The new book is titled Texas Lightning (Texas Time Travel #1). And it's waiting on my Kindle now--it'll be my reward for finally finishing my current book. I know before I read the first word that I'll love this book because Caroline can't write anything that I don't love. She's definitely and Awesome Writer.
Cover Reveal!
So far, this book is half-again as long as it was supposed to be and it's still not finished! Nothing like being two months behind schedule. But it's coming along and I only have about five chapters left to write, so I'm hoping it's done by the end of next week and ready for the editor.
Much Ado About Mail-Order Brides is the sixth book in the Hearts of Owyhee series. All these books are in Kindle Unlimited so if you're a subscriber, you can read them for free. Better get caught up!
And on that note, I better get to writing. And writing, and writing. See you next month, and Happy Reading!
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