The LL&L Rumpus Room

Who inspires you? What author is the one that makes you say "Oh, I wish I could tell a story like that!"

I know it's not easy. For me that list is long but here are a few:

Karen Marie Moning (romance)
Rachel Caine (fantasy)
Janny Wurts (fantasy)
Sherrilyn Kenyon (romance)
Janet Evonovich (comedy/suspense/mystery?)
Katie MacAlister (romance)
Dean Koontz (horror)

What do they have in common? All of them create fantastically memorable characters. Wurts and Moning weave words into things of beauty. Caine tells a story that grabs you from the first word and doesn't let you come up for air. Evonovich, Kenyon and MacAlister all have smart-elecky heroines. Dean Koontz just drags me in and scares the beejeebus out of me without getting gross to do it. Actually, that's just my reading list for this week

I'd love to be able to write characters that are uniquely themselves in a story that grabs the reader from the first word with imagery that stays with you. Ok. Smart-elecky I've got pretty well down pat, lol. The rest is a work in progress.



You've got to sing like you don't need the money,
Love like you'll never get hurt.
You've got to dance like nobody's watching.
It's got to come from the heart if you want it to work.
-- Kathy Mattea, "It's Got to Come From the Heart".