Who's your favorite author?….and my first interview

My very first “author” interview is up at Vivienne Westlake’s blog. She writes steamy historical romances. Check it out here.

My Little Sis and I were chatting last night and she surprised me by asking who my favorite author was. I think she knows that I kind of hold that spot for someone as if it were the heavyweight championship and only rarely does the title get handed over.

I hadn’t thought about it in a while, but the answer was still Kurt Vonnegut. I offered up Stephen King as a maybe, but the last thing I’ve read by King was On Writing. I actually haven’t read anything by either of them in a while. So why do they get the title? Why not someone in romance or historical fiction?

I guess if I had to choose only one author, I’d want it to be an author that I can pick up any piece of writing from and know that I’m going to read from start to finish. It has to be someone who’s changed the way I think of the world and has to have done it for years. Each new work I read from them has to provoke something new in me. Ray Bradbury used to have the title for the longest time. Then I read Slaughterhouse Five, Cat’s Cradle and Breakfast of Champions and decided Kurt was my favorite. He’s nothing at all like what I write or will ever write. Stephen King was always high on the list. No one makes me care about a character like King. Then On Writing just had such a huge effect on me as a writer and a person that he’s definitely a contender.

So who’s your favorite author? Do you think it’s one that others would expect?

10 Comments

  1. Lisa
    May 20, 2009 @ 08:00:56

    I’m totally with you on Stephen King. I’ve read every book he’s ever written and I think he’s a genius. The Stand is just amazing, definitely one of my favorite books. It’s amazing how he writes stories that you just can’t put down. I’m always so invested in his characters. He’s just that good.

  2. Kristi
    May 20, 2009 @ 08:05:41

    I’m not good at picking favorites. I have a list of authors whose books I will almost automatically buy. Amanda Qucik/Jayne Ann Krentz. Maeve Binchy. I’ve recently added Alison Kent to the list. There are probably others. The “favorites” that have lasted the longest have been Jane Austen and Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters. I like Stephen King, but his books make me too uncomfortable to call him a favorite. I have to be in the right kind of mood to read his stuff.

    Does that make me predictable? Who knows 🙂

  3. Jeannie
    May 20, 2009 @ 08:46:20

    Ah Lisa, we can have a long, spirited discussion about The Stand! I always say that the first half of The Stand is one of my favoritest (<--yes bad grammar) book. And after reading about how Stephen King struggled with the end, I totally understood why I felt the way I did.

  4. Jeannie
    May 20, 2009 @ 08:47:27

    Kristi — I know what you mean! If Little Sis had asked, who’s your favorite author(s), we’d be out of Anytime minutes before I was done!

  5. Dara
    May 20, 2009 @ 09:49:45

    That’s hard! I have a lot of favorites. First would be my beloved Jane Austen 🙂 But I also love Lisa See–her books always transport me to another time and the stories are always so enriching. I haven’t read her mysteries yet but I keep meaning to try them.

    Two other favorites are the Christian romance/historical fiction authors Francine Rivers and Liz Curtis Higgs. Francine wrote a trilogy set in Ancient Rome that was simply breathtaking and epic. Liz has written a series set in 18th century Scotland based off the biblical story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel. I wondered how she’d make that work in that time period but it came out spectacular!

    Those are my top authors now, but it could change 🙂

  6. Jeannie
    May 20, 2009 @ 10:47:52

    Dara – Lisa See is one of my favorites too. And I have to check out Francine Rivers. I do love an epic.

  7. kate willoughby
    May 20, 2009 @ 12:42:44

    This is going to sound crazy, but my favorite author of the moment is Patrick Rothfuss, and he’s only published one book. BUT. That book was AMAZING. (He’s finished the first draft of book 2 of the trilogy. I cannot WAIT for it to come out.) The book I read that amazed me is The Name of the Wind. The world he created was so mesmerizing that I felt like I was living inside it for over a week after I’d finished the last page. It’s THAT engrossing. Another plus in his favor is his hilarious blog.

  8. Vivienne Westlake
    May 20, 2009 @ 22:01:11

    I have to agree with Kristi: my favorite author is Jane Austen overall. My favorite romance writers are Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz, Karen Marie Moning, and Kresley Cole. They all write the books I wish I had written.

  9. Jeannie
    May 21, 2009 @ 07:20:59

    Kate – Sounds like he made a huge impression! I’ll have to check him out.

    This is cool, I think Jane Austen and Stephen King will need to duke it out.

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