Who & what I read . . .

I read, and have read, A LOT. I have bookshelves with 3 rows of paperbacks on each shelf - and that isn't even everything I've read or owned. The books I read as a child were all placed in storage and eventually lost, and included The Black Stallion series, books by Marguerite Henry, and dozens of children's and young adult classics. I was actually introduced to fantasy by my 5th grade teacher who read a chapter of The Hobbit to the class every Friday as long as the class behaved that week. Once I started reading fantasy, there was no looking back and the majority of my reading now encompasses fantasy authors. I do read, and enjoy, others, but primarily fantasy novels. Among the many currently gracing my shelves: Patricia McKillip, Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, Katherine Kurtz, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Barbara Hambly, Jennifer Roberson, Steven R. Donaldson, Jack L. Chalker, C.S. Friedman, Alan Dean Foster, Raymond E. Fiest, Laurell K. Hamiltion, Philip Jose Farmer, and many, many others. And I think the following have been the most influential:

Tolkien: an obvious choice since The Hobbit is what introduced me to fantasy in the first place. From there I went on to A Wrinkle in Time and C.S. Lewis and all my other favorite authors, literally becoming immersed in fantasy writing. For a deeper look into Tolkien and his work, visit One Ring

Dare: an out of print book by Philip Jose Farmer and my first introduction science fiction and the idea of not just fantasy worlds but entirely new worlds in a modern or future timeline.

Anne McCaffrey: this lady was the beginning of my love of dragons, and was a major influence in making them an important part of my world, Alden.

Mercedes Lackey: an incredibly visual writer with exceptional details and descriptions that put you into the scene, she gives me hope for my own style of descriptive writing.

Mistress of the Empire (trilogy): a strong, intelligent female in a male dominated, oriental type society as the main focus of a fantasy book. This series gave me a new take on the idea of an oriental culture in a fantasy setting, and showed me how a rich setting and strong characters can be so intertwined with the plot that they become an inseparable part of it.

Melanie Rawn: another wonderfully visual author, her work, along with that of Tolkien and Kurtz, has shown me the value of an intricate culture and consistency in my writing.

Katherine Kurtz: combining true historical elements with fantasy and magic, Kurtz is actually one of the "founding" authors of trade paperback fantasy books and has given me a taste for world building in a coherent manner that, hopefully, will result in less contradictions in my "same world" writings.

Marion Zimmer Bradley: my copy of Mists of Avalon is so worn out that it's time to get a new one! Her Avalon books are another one for the female hero, but also introduced me to telling a story from a different perspective.

Patricia McKillip: only recently introduced, her writing has fascinated me and given me a clearer idea of what I want to aim for in my own writing. Her works are incredibly rich and textured, many layered, deep and beautiful.