StoryMash Creative Storytelling Forum

O.k. so we all have our "safe-zone" genres that we pretty much stick to when writting right? We branch out occasionally. I figured we could all help each other out and give a little insight into one another by sharing our favorite authors and genres we love! If we share interesting tidbits on the stories we personally read, others might become curious enough to reach out and explore themselves. In doing so, writers might become interested and excited enough about different and unfamiliar story lines causing them to try their hand in it! Could hurt right? So I'll go first. My favorite, all time, break your heart and make you cry author is Nicholas Sparks. Several of his novels has been turned into movies, the most current one would be 'The Notebook'. If you have seen and not read the book; you haven't experienced it at all. I think, no I know, I have all his works in my personal collection. He writes romance, sometimes mystery with a little bit of suspense and comedy thrown in for good measure. A must read. lol Anyway, I hope this topic is used and abused! May not, but "hey" I got my opinion out there! ;)

Fun idea :-) I read Francine Rivers - she's a romance writer, but not the cheesy stuff - ha. I'm also a big Ted Dekker fan - he writes thrillers. So I guess I'm all over the board in terms of genre :P

I'll have to check Ted Dekker out, sounds interesting. My favorite thriller/horror writer is....no, not Stephen King ;)... John Saul. King can make you see what he tring to say; John Saul can make you feel it. He used to keep me up at night, not wanting to put the book down and turn out the lights as a teenager.

Great discussion topic. John Saul is a great horror writer, I have read some of his work too. My favorite genre, as of late, is contemporary-fantasy/romance. The very best at this would have to be, Laurell K. Hamilton. Her 'Anita Blake' series has me hooked. I'm constantly checking her website for announcements for new books. lol She writes about a mix of vampires, one bad **** chick, were-anythings (werewolfs and such), zombies, and erotica. She is very descriptive, and witty. I would encourage anyone to check her out. A hint of advice though: there is a correct cronological order to her many series. You can get way thrown off the loop if you read out of turn. ;)

Hey good use of the forum dkk! Let's see, my favorite genre would have to be romance. Nora Roberts all the way. She is into too much Irish stuff though, for once I'd like to see someone write about us enjoyable cajuns! And not make us sound backwoods dumb.lol

Yay, cajuns! If you want, you can check out the Newpointe 911 series by Terry Blackstock (she's a Christian author). They're romance/suspense, and set in a small town near New Orleans. I fell in love with one of her characters, a very cajun older woman who was just hilarious.

Tim Downs wrote a good one, too called "First the Dead" about an entomologist (sp?) helping out after Katrina. I lived in LA for a short time, and felt he got the right feel of the area.

Anita Blake's good for a first few novels, then it just basically becomes supernatural porno, which just isn't really my thing. I like Dean Koontz, his characters are amazingly real, and his books are suspenseful. Check out Dark Rivers of the Heart, The Husband, Seize the Night, or his Frankenstien series, all really good. I'm currently hooked on King's Dark Tower series, really quite incredible.

Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and John Saul-- all pretty much in the same league.

I like historical fiction, I suppose. Sword and sorcery with out the sorcery. The author who I like the most is Bernard Cornwell.

He's covered things from Stonehenge to the Civil War and this guy can really bring you into a battle.

Love this topic! I used to read a lot, but here's a small sampling of some of my favorite authors/books.
Most of Stephen King and Koontz are great.
In scifi/fantasy: Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Le Guin, Zelazny, Orson Scott Card (original Ender series), Piers Anthony (Incarnation and Adept series (not Xanth). Category by themselves - the late Douglas Adams and the usually on time Terry Pratchett.

Jeffrey Deaver still spins a great yarn. Jonathan Kellerman and Patricia Cornwell - used to, not so much anymore.

(I'm with Cheeseliker on Laurell K.H., steady decline in quality probably due to editorial resistance. Same phenomenon for Anne Rice.)

Newest author to read: Scott Lynch (The Lies of Locke Lamora). The guy has only published two books of a planned five novel series, but they're both really well-written and exciting. It's like swords and sorcery meets Ocean's Eleven. Great fun.

I'll add more authors down the road.

Wolfram: Are you male or female?

Is it safe to admit I'm not a big reader?

Steve Martin (yes, the comedian) - Pure Drivel and Born Standing Up are brilliant, and he can run a narrative as Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company can attest.
I've finished about six of J. Kellerman's novels (Over the Edge, my fave). Two by Grisham (the Firm). A dozen by King (Misery and The Long Walk). Zelazny's Amber series. Douglas Adams, of course. For kids lit - Tedd Arnold (Parts), John Sciescka (Math Curse), of course Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein (Uncle Shelby's Book of ABZs - best book EVER). Complete comic strip anthologies of Bill Watterson, Gary Larson, Berkeley Breathed and Stephan Pastis. Marvel Comics of the late 80s (X-Men). Bill Simmons and DJ Gallo for idiotic sports columns. John Fischer for light, short Christian essays. Oh yeah - William Goldman for movie scripts. Listened to four Elmore Leonard books on CD (two good), if that counts.

This is the part where I'm supposed to include C.S. Lewis, Tolkein, and the other great fantasy stuff my mom read to me as a child. Unfornately, as I've never read any of it myself, I can't. Nor would my wife be pleased to learn that John Piper and J. Packer don't make the list. Thick words; I can't fight through them.

I made it a goal to read a book of most genres when I graduated college and went on the road. Romance, western, self-help, history, etc. I did not fulfill that goal.

I've re-gifted far more books than I've read, and those are books people buy because they think I'd like 'em. It's hard for me to find time to sit with a book. I'd rather be writing.

See, you dropped an X-men reference on me earlier and I was going to watch you for more.

I just recently sold my comic book shop.

Other authors that you may be familiar with that may or may not count with some folks... in no particular order...

Chris Claremont, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner, Peter David, Jamie DeLano, Garth Ennis, Jeff Loeb and Warren Ellis. Hmmm, I suppose I am also going to grudgingly put Jim Shooter on the list.

*cocks the 12-gauge shotgun menacingly and gestures at Nash*

I think ya better get on outta 'ere. We don't take kindly to folks that aren't big readers...Ya hear?

lol, I'm glad this topic is being received so well and being used and abused! Just as I always hoped (sigh) NASH- for not being a reader, ya sure in hell named off a bunch of authors bud! You a closet reader? hmmm... j/k

I am a big fan of Koontz and King. I don't think they've published anything that I haven't read and some of it more than once. My favorite genre is obvious..horror, thriller, suspense. I've also read a lot of Forsythe and Ludlow (guess I'm aging myself...lol) as well as Michael Crichton, Dan Brown and Anne Rice. Add JK Rowling..I LOVE Harry Potter...;o) Mark Twain, Tolkien and Thoreau. There are others, but I can't remember their names at the moment. Guess you could say that I read a lot...lol

I love Harry Potter too. I find it amusing that every time I have gone to see one of the movies, there are a vast majority of adults watching; hardly any kids! lol

I go for anything suspense! Ted Dekker is my all time favorite author - his Circle Trilogy is absolutely incredible. Bill Myers, Terry Blackstock, Sigmond Brower, Dee Henderson, Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunsetter, Harry Kraus, Randy Alcorn, Frank Peretti, Francine Rivers and Alton Gansky are a couple more that I enjoy.

I come from a family of readers, and luckily, we all seem to like the same stuff, so books make the rounds after holidays and birthdays. Ironically, I married a man who doesn't like to read, but I managed to get him hooked on Ted Dekker, too.

Hi guys!
How fun! My favorites - Jane Austen- such sublimely hilarious studies of human nature- Shakespeare ( I know-everyone says that-) when I can understand him- he wrote love like no one else- also Dan Brown,E.M. Forster, Agatha Christie, I like murder mysteries but not gore- sort of English country house murders- (more about mystery and motive than blood loss) historical fiction, art history, ancient history/ archaeology and some budding genuises on SM. I also admittedly revisit childhood's classics- Little Women, the Secret garden, Narnia...to see them in a new perspective. Dr Suess is genius and I get my Dr. Suess quote of the day on my log in screen! Wow it seems I'm sort of stuck in the past. Will have to check out this Ted dekker fellow! Happy writing and Reading!
Chloe

I loved secret garden as a girl! My Gran gave it to me and ever since then I have dreamed of having my won secret garden. I even found a place that closely resembles it to get married at. It had stone walls and all!

own= own Ugh...I type to fast....sorry

I believe you meant won=own...I guess you do type too fast...heh.

Haha- typing isn't my forte' either! A secret garden Wedding! Fantastic! (It's not in Pa. is it? I'm helping my sister in law plan hers!) I've seen several different versions of the Secret garden Movie also- a recent one on BBC (I think) was wonderful!
Chloe

No Texas, sorry hun. lol I was great, surrounded by a local lake, and it was a sunken garden! Stone walls with ivy, flowers everywhere (made seating wierd though), thirty or so natural steps down and a cobblestone path that split by a fountain.

damnit what the hell is wrong with me? I = It! I just flew right over the "t".

Dr. Suess is genius!!!

OOh! I bet the photos were amazing! I love going to weddings in really creative unusual spots! Thank God for folding chairs!

Is it safe to admit that besides the Dark Tower series (which I didn’t finish) I’ve never been able to make it through a Stephen King novel; I didn’t finish the Harry Potter series; and I’ve never been able to plough through an entire Anne Rice novel either?

Put down the gun, Cheese.

Some authors I have read all the way through and will love until the end of time are: Sherman Alexie, James Joyce (I’ve read ‘Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man’ like five times), Gabriel Garcia Marquez, John Barth, Dostoevsky, Nabakov, Thomas Pinchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Chuck Palahniuk, Faulkner, Angela Carter, Le Guin, Joseph Heller, David Sedaris, Jhumpa Lahiri, Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Grace Paley, Milan Kundera, Hemmingway, and Thomas Mann.
-Honey

I can't say much on the others, but there's no shame in not finishing the Harry Potter series - they got VERY different toward the end...

Ooh-ooh, I forgot to add David Sedaris- Love Him! I only made it to book two of Harry Potter also, although loved the premise and the fact that it made reading "cool" again! Never read a King- although liked the movie Misery. I wouldn't be embarrassed by not loving pop fiction - popular doesn't always mean "great literature." You obviously have a taste for the classics and there is a reason they have stood the "test of time"
Chloe

Oh my goodness David Sedaris makes me giggle uncontrollably!

For historical fiction:
--Authurian legends:
-Courtway Jones has a great trilogy, with the second book (Witch of the North) being the best of the three and the third book (A Prince in Camelot) being the worst (which may be why the library doesn't have it in their collection.
-Mists of Avelon by Marion Zimmer Bradley has an absolutely gorgeous and engrossing view of the tale - don't watch the movie version with Julianne Margulies though, it edits out too much information and a major character doesn't make it into the film.

--Other historical fiction:
-I'd recommend Les Miserables by Hugo, but I haven't finished it because of the long tangents that take the reader away from the story and spout political views and nonsense.
-Phantom of the Opera by Gaston LeRoux does a nice job of holding my attention.
-Timeline by Michael Crichton is a grand adventure.

For SciFi and Fantasy:
-Hitchhiker's "trilogy" by Douglas Adams is worth reading multiple times.
-Dune saga (orignal series and the prequels, sequels, etc by Herbert's son). Frank has keen insight into the society, the economy, and ecology. The intrigues keep the pages turning despite the length.
-His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman takes the reader on another interesting trip through alternative thinking and points a finger at the dangers of extremist thinking.

For children's lit: (okay, for entertaining my juvenile brain)
-Hank Zipzer series by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver. (How can you pass up something written by the Fonz?) Incredibly real, page turning fun.
-Junie B. Jones series by Linda Park. She pulls a dead fish around on the kitchen floor with a dog leash... and she has her reasons - very logical ones. Is there a reason to NOT read these books? Go read them. Now.
-Fudge books by Judy Blume. Fun adventures with funny characters - apparently I need to laugh a lot.

For nonfiction:
-In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. On the cover, his rules are stated three: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Vegetables. Then, he spends the book explaining what he means with common sense thinking - things you thought you knew, but had been erased by advertizing.

For autobiographies:
-Escape by Carolyn Jessop. Frightening look into the Fundamentalist church of christ and the latter day saints. I was done with the book in four days, interupted by work and a smidge of homelife responsibilites.

--Those are the books that immediately come to mind. There are others that I've read and seen other list (like Lord of the Rings), but they don't fall into my favorites catergory (Tolkien talks a lot about travelling...)

WOW! I am so thrilled this forum is being used! People really seem to enjoy it, am I wrong? I've got so many new names in my head, it will take me awhile to research them all. Thank you everyone for participating! I hope many of you are like me; excited to discover new worlds of literture.
I propose a new topic to dive into:

What was the single moment (if any) that sparked your imagination and filled you with the drive to write and create? Was it a story told in school? Your favorite book? A family member? A T.V. show? A real ife event?

Good question dkk. Uh lets see....hmmm... I'd have to say it was a combination of everything in my life. No one in my family were readers. I loved to read as a child and thought 'why can't I do this?' The first time I read 'The Giver' and 'Swalling Stones' I wanted to be a writer. My mom used to get so mad at me. We grew up in the country and during the summers she would never be able to find me. She said I'd be thirty feet up in some oak tree, either writting in my New Kids on the Block diary or reading books.

Yeah, thats right, I said New Kids on the Block! lol

You know, that's a pretty tough question. It seems as if I was always reading and always writing.

However there are two very distinct things that sparked my imagination.

In Second grade which, good lord, was the '74 -'75 school year, I found Susan Coopers "Grey King". This really had a large part in shaping my. It gave me a love for the past and folklore and history.

Then there was Star Wars. If you were a 10 year old boy when Star Wars hit... well, it changed everything. My best friend and I saw it 236 times in the theater. It gave me the dreams of the future.

Explains why I am never satisfied with the present, I suppose.

Great question! Everyone in my family reads (and I do mean EVERYONE), so I was reading simple books by the time I was in kindergarten. That, and I was blessed with a highly active imagination (sometimes overactive, in which case it isn't as much of a blessing - I'd be embarassed to admit how long I was afraid of the dark!) which randomly pulls new ideas out of the strangest little things I see or read. I believe that there is a 'storyteller' gene in my family - my grandfather had it, and if any little thing was said that reminded him of a story, he'd go right off into it, even if it didn't really relate to the conversation. I plan to be like that when I'm old, and no one will be able to say a thing about it because I'll be old :-) (And fun part - I'm pretty sure my nephew got the same gene, yay!)

This was so much fun to read. So many awesome authors mentioned. And so many that I now need to go check out. I think most of my personal favorites were mentioned at one point or another.
I own everything and frequently reread the works of:
Edgar Allen Poe
Ray Bradbury
Chuck Palahniuk.
I suppose my all time favorite genre would be horror. Like many of you I was a huge King fan growing up, however I’ve found it increasingly difficult to make it through any of his new stuff without taking some serious naps. I was at one time obsessed with Roland the Gunslinger and the ‘Dark Tower series…although admittedly, I have yet to finish it.
I was also addicted to the Anne Rice vampire novels way back in the day before Tom Cruise ruined Lestats for me. I also used to love those kooky ‘Flowers in the attic’ books by…eh…the name escapes me now. (V.C.Andrews) My girlfriends mother owned them all and I read them all. Petals in the wind and something about thorns and seeds and etc…etc. I remember being thoroughly inspired to create my own demented family after reading them.
I absolutely love the work of Clive Barker. ‘Books of Blood’, ‘The Great and Secret Show’, ‘Everville’. So creative. I think I would include him along with Bradbury and Palahniuk as my biggest influences. (oh, and as Chloe pointed out…Dr. Seus!)
There is a not so well known author by the name: D.A. Fowler, (she also goes by Debra Fowler), who has one of the most gloriously demented imaginations ever. If you can track down a copy of ‘What’s wrong with Valerie?’ or ‘What’s wrong with Tamara’ or any of her other twisted works I highly recommend them.
Some of my all time favorite reads:
Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett
River God – Wilbur Smith
The Beach – Alex Garland (possibly my all time favorite book…depending on the day)
Battlefield Earth – L. Ron Hubbard. Yea, the guy could write some pretty awesome Sci-Fi. This book translated terribly into a motion pictures…but the book is epic.
Great Expectations - Dickens (duh)
The Giver – Lois Lowry (magnificent…so easy and so deep)
The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
The Drowning People – Richard Mason
Since joining SM I have also become a huge fan of Honeygloom.
I have no doubt we will all be including her name on this list one day.

Loved Lois Lowry's 'The Giver', didn't that just make you see the world in a whole new light?

I echo the love of many of the authors mentioned: Le Guin, Zelazney, Anthony's Incarnations series (Love you, Chronos), anything by Ray Bradbury. I'll add to the sci-fi genre with Octavia Butler.

Dick Francis takes my prize for the British mystery. Crisp, no-nonsense sleuths get me every time.

For supernatural, I like Tananarive Due. She is seductively eerie. Kim Harrison has a fun, magical series with a heroine that is an absolute b-, er... witch.

I'm sure there's more, but I am going to scour my bookshelves first.

What I enjoy most out of reading is being able to step out of reality and into a world of an artist. Mainly I stick to fantasy, but every once in a while I will read alternate history such as Harry Harrison (Starts and Stripes Trilogy: Its about one small change during the civil war that changes the whole out come, hes a good writer and the story is deep.) But that is what I read when I haven't anything else to read. I love Fantasy and mainly George R.R. Martin, In my opinion he is the best character writer of all time. Hes series "Song of Ice and Fire" is so catching, its just pulls you in. I might spend a month reading a normal book of about 300 or so pages, but with his, 1200 pages I just can't put it down and get them done in less then a week. I've probably read through the the books he has already out a dozen times each. Waiting for "A Dance with Dragons" witch should be out next year. Check out this first book of the series, "A Game of Throwns" Now it is fantasy, but at the same time he does such a great job at keeping it so real, not all magic and dragons, and stuff like that. Its got romance, comedy, drama, tragedy, its got life in it and you see it through out the book. If you read the first 50 pages and do not like it, may the writing gods curse me for all eternity.

Surprisingly, I don't read very much in the genre I write. I prefer classics, though of course I'll branch out every once in a while and read historical fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. I also enjoy reading kids books - picture books, first readers, juvenile, and young adult.

My favorite authors are Alexandre Dumas, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, and Victor Hugo.

Whom ever enjoys fantasy should check out Shana Abe. She has written many books but her "Dragon Series" in amazing. 'The Smoke Theif' and 'The Dream Theif' were great! Just recently she published 'The Dragon Queen' as a third to the series. She writes to make you veiw the world in a whole new way, or dragons as it may seem! ;)

I've read Shana Abe, she is very creative. Brain Keere is one to watch out for--the new Stephen King.