25 Authors and A Give Away!

Now For a Meme that was sent my way by Weldable Cookies. (Go here to read hers) First of all how intriguing is her blog name? Second of all I am honored that she thought of me. This Meme is focused on authors who have influenced me. So the Meme is to list 25 author’s who influenced my writing. This is so hard for me because I can honestly say I have never picked up a book that didn’t influence me in one way or another. Even the manuscripts that were terribly written and totally incoherent influenced me. I owe my love of reading to my father. He set forth an excellent example for me to follow. That being said here is my list of 25 authors who influenced me in life and in writing.

1. William Shakespeare. Oh I know, everyone says that but for me it was the lyrical alliteration that painted the words. Plus I’m a sap for his sonnets

2. Truman Capote. Not the In Cold Blood Capote but the side of him who wrote The Grass Harp. His words rolled off my tongue as I sat under a Mulberry Tree reading aloud to my group of girlfriends. I felt I was part of the story.

3. Harper Lee. Need I say more than To Kill a Mockingbird?

4. Larry McMurtry. He showed me that you can write about everything from a Middle Aged Man going through a mid-life Crisis in Duane’s Depressed to cowboys on the Mexico Border and tell a rip roaring good story with humor and adventure.

5. Fannie Flagg. She made me laugh, she made me cry and made me want to go live in that little Missouri town and listen to Neighbor Dorothy on the radio.

6. Earnest Hemmingway. I had never read A Moveable Feast until a couple of years ago and it moved me. It was as if he had reached into the recesses of my mind and said what I wanted to say and did so much better than I could.

7. Jane Austin. I fell into her books and never climbed out.

8. David Sedaris. Because life doesn’t have to be all serious and deep.

9. Clive Cussler. Because sometimes a girl needs a little Dirk Pitt in her life.

10. W.E.B. Griffin. This was a group of books my dad got me hooked on. It was a series of war heroes.

11. Elmer Kelton. What can I say I have a thing for cowboys.

12. Danielle Steel. She made me realize you can write complete crap and sell millions of books then just change the setting and the character names and sell it as another book.

13. John Irving. I loved his ability to broach controversial subjects such as homosexuality and abortion with empathy and balance.

14. Langston Hughes. He let me look at myself from the inside out.

15. EE Cummings because is there any better poem than She Being Brand New?

16. Wally Lamb. He is able to take you to the highest highs and the lowest of the highs and right back up again.

17. Jill Conner Brown. THE Sweet Potato Queen. She made me come out of the hole I had buried myself in and find the humor. She gave me an open door to kindred spirits.

18. Byron Katie. She forced me to change my perception.

19. L. Ron Hubbard. He taught me you can take a science fiction concept and make a whole new religion out of it. Which in turn causes movies stars to loose their minds and jump on chairs and act like lunatics.

20. Janet Evanavich. She made me realize that goofiness sells and I have plenty of goofy.

21. Nicholas Evans. I just like his sensitive side.

22. John Steinbeck. I am not old enough to have lived through the last Great Depression and he took us through it.

23. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Because spending the day with her on the prairie was much more desirable than spending it cleaning toilets.

24. Steven King. He showed me that having phobias can be fun and profitable.

25. J.K. Rowling. She showed me that you CAN make millions of dollars riding the bus.

Those are my authors and like I said I have left a bazillion of them out. The bad ones I try to forget the goods ones I hold in my heart.

Now I am passing this virtual chain letter request on to the following people. I want to know what they read and how it influenced their lives.

1. Liveit, Love It –
2. QueensBlog
3. Nanny Goats in Panties
4. Country Doctor’s Wife
5. Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder

Now go forth and Meme...

************************************************************************************

Stay tuned for Give Away later today. Go on... go blog and then come back and visit me later. I'll leave the light on.

Oh OK I'll give you a hint....it's Animal.