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Thursday, July 21, 2011
Fan Letters From the Grave, Or Not!
Okay, I know we hash this out over and over, but I want to take off a bit on something the Bo’sun covered a few weeks ago. Extrapolating on something I realized during her blog…
Of all the authors you read, as far back as the first books…which of them do you wish you could impress? Dead or living, no reservations. Who would you like to read you and write a favorable review? Or write you a personal fan letter, debating some aspect of what you wrote. Or better yet, admitting they wished they’d thought of that!
I mean, I recently dug into some of my old mass market paperbacks to unearth a bunch I realized were the inspiration for what I write. And I thought, “Man, wouldn’t it be great if I impressed this guy?”
Then I realized he was dead, so unless he’s reading in heaven, or nirvana or wherever his spirit went to, that wasn’t going to happen…
Yet…if I could write the ultimate dedication on who inspired me, his name would be right there, on that list.
Who would you like to read your books and give you a wink? (And my apologies to begin with. I will be at a big motorcycle race most of today and won't be checking in very often...sorry! I'll do my best! Please, the bar is open, entertain yourself!)
Of all the authors you read, as far back as the first books…which of them do you wish you could impress? Dead or living, no reservations. Who would you like to read you and write a favorable review? Or write you a personal fan letter, debating some aspect of what you wrote. Or better yet, admitting they wished they’d thought of that!
I mean, I recently dug into some of my old mass market paperbacks to unearth a bunch I realized were the inspiration for what I write. And I thought, “Man, wouldn’t it be great if I impressed this guy?”
Then I realized he was dead, so unless he’s reading in heaven, or nirvana or wherever his spirit went to, that wasn’t going to happen…
Yet…if I could write the ultimate dedication on who inspired me, his name would be right there, on that list.
Who would you like to read your books and give you a wink? (And my apologies to begin with. I will be at a big motorcycle race most of today and won't be checking in very often...sorry! I'll do my best! Please, the bar is open, entertain yourself!)
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23 comments:
And I’ll answer my question first. I’d like Fritz Leiber to give me the nod. Clifford D. Simak, Ray Bradbury…and Edgar Rice Burroughs. In real life, I doubt any of these authors would read my books. But in the dream world, I will say they put aside their social mores of their generation (a book about a woman adventurer who likes sex as much as the guys do, with pirates? I think I know their limits, sad to say. They would be tainted by their upbringing as manly men.)
If I could pick a living author (I think Ray is still around, by the way) I’d love or Simon R. Green or Jim Butcher to wink at me. Jennifer Ashley? Yeah. That would be sweet…
Though to be honest, any fan letter from a published author would float my boat!
I would want to impress a scientist. Someone who could really understand where I'm coming from. There aren't many to choose from but to my mind Fred Hoyle stands out as a brilliant astronomer who wrote some rather good SciFi in his retirement. Yep, a pat on the back from Fred would put me into orbit!
Of the romance writers I love, I think an encouraging word from Georgette Heyer would make my day, though I believe she was rather a crusty old bird in private life.
Of the active writers I like and respect Eloisa James would do nicely, though an encouraging word for my poetry from Janga would have me glowing with pride ..... OK. I know its awful! :lol:
Who would I want to impress? Jane Austen and Mary Elizabeth Braddon. George Eliot.
Writers of today? I'd think I'd like to impress Lisa Kleypas. And Christina Dodd. And Loretta Chase. Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux.
I think it's funny that you say who I'd like to impress, not who has inspired my writing. Or me. But I think they're the same. These are the women who I'd love to be compared to some day.
But I agree; hearing from a published author saying my stuff is good is a big high.
Rosemary Sutcliffe. She got me excited about historical fiction back when I was a kid.
Anya Seaton. Brought history and romance to my teens!
Marion Zimmer Bradley, whose books at times give me chills.
Laura Kinsale, who showed me that genre romance can be as brilliantly written and moving as any other genre. But fortunately she's still alive--not that she's likely to be impressed by me unless I get my ass in gear and kick my writing up another ten notches!
Q - Wasn't Asimov a bit of a scientist? But I totally get what you're saying...
Marn - I guess they're sorta the same thing. The authors that inspired you are the authors you'd like to impress! I know it's the same for me... And yeah, saying they are who you'd like to be compared to...doesn't that just give you chills? Good chills!?
Jenny - Yeah, those who got you excited...sigh. It was such a wonderful thing, to wake up to how exciting some writers are... Totally with you on MZB...
Have a wonderful day crew! I hope to be back in a bunch of hours! Time to go watch loud bikes turn left and right and go uphill and downhill...
I never did google those motorcycle guys to see who I'd like you to bring back for me. Dang it.
I'd like to make Crusie laugh. And impress her with my storytelling. That would be the best thing ever. Or SEP. It comes down to wanting the people who have achieved what I set out to achieve read my work and say, "You did it."
Talk about validation.
Mark Twain. Though I'm afraid he might think I wrote too much like Jane Austen. Also he might say I was copying him with the Adam and Eve bit.
Nowadays? I'd love it if Sophie Kinsella had a fan girl moment over me. *LOL* Hester Browne. Jude Deveraux. Julie Garwood. Sherrilyn Kenyon. J.K. Rowling--OMG, if J.K. Rowling read my stuff and said it was funny...I'd fucking lose my mind!
I'm too superstitious to say any names out loud. LOL Heck, I'm thrilled when people tell me how my tweets make them laugh. I'd have a fit and fall in it if my fave authors felt that way about my books. :)
You want to impress Twain? Well. Go big or go home, I guess. Personally, I think he'd laugh his ass off reading your stuff. I know I do.
BTW, I'm going to have to use the line "have a fit and fall in it" sometime this weekend. That is hilarous!
Go big or go home? YOU want to impress Jennifer Crusie! *LOL* Hellooo!
It's something we've always said at my house -- I think it might have been my mom's. LOL She also said "forty eleven" to denote a huge amount of something. That's still in my vocabulary too. LOL
My list does seem to be full of current day authors...not sure what that means!
I'm going with Cruise and Lisa Kleypas as well. But I'd add in Victoria Dahl and Kristin Higgins too.
There's a definate theme of laugh out loud romance there...
I'm with Donna. I fear making the dream public would jinx it. In the mean time, I float for days after I get a comment from an author I admire on one of my blog posts. Yesterday Connie Brockway called my H & H post "excellent." I was thrilled.
Everything you write is excellent, Janga. Not that any of us who tell you this regularly are nearly as cool as Connie.
:)
Donna's funny sayings remind me of one a friend used to say. Everytime someone asked "How much is that?" he'd say "A buck two fifty."
For romance, I'd say Jennifer Cruise.
Stephen King. Because I grew up reading a steady diet of his stuff and he's probably a huge influence on my writing.
For fantasy, I'd go with Tad Williams or J.K. Rowlings. Oh, and George R.R. Martin. For steampunk, China Mielville.
Oh, Neil Gaiman. I'd wet myself if I even got a negative review from Gaiman.
Also Holly Black, Emma Bull, Janet Evanovich, or Diana Gabaldon. Or Anne McCaffery.
So many authors...
That's a long list, Pat. I feel like I need to branch out now.
Did you see you won Miranda's book on Wednesday??
I'm back! For a little while, then back in the car for the ride home... Wow, those bikes are really loud! I slipped my earplugs off too close to the grandstands and my ears almost jumped off my head to hide in my shoes...
Bo'sun! Yes, JC would be the apex of authors you want to make laugh!
Hellion - Twain...yeah, that would be really cool! And making him laugh would be fab...
I would like for JK to look me in the eye - or even just whisper it in the dar - "I wish I'd thought of that!"
Donna - Ya gots to get braver! You worried yer fav author is going to read this and tilt an eyebrow at you!? ;-)
And yeah, that's a good one...have a fit and fall in it...
Scape - I do think it says a lot about what you want to write to actually name the author you want as a fan. I might like to read Annette Blair or Donna Andrews or a bunch of mystery authors...but who do I want to read me? Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jim Butcher and Jennifer Ashley! ;-)
You got a good list there, darling! And I bet you've met most of them...so who knows? You might have a better chance than most of us...
Janga... I must be totally without fear... I'll name them! And wow, that is awesome that Connie liked your blog!
I was sorta thrilled when I got Gail Carriger to comment on the blog here... ;-)
Pat...I still think we're actually twin daughters of different mothers, because I've read everyone on your list... And so totally would love each and every one of those. Emma Bull was in the stack I liberated from my Mum a few weeks ago!
""That’s a long list, Pat. I feel like I need to branch out now.
Did you see you won Miranda’s book on Wednesday??""
I know. She emailed me. *Happy Snoopy dance.*
Great question. On the hot side, I'd love to hear from Megan Hart. She's an inspiration for me. On the romance side, Nora Roberts. I love her writing.
Then there's the mainstream side of me, yet unpublished but cooking up ideas all the time. I'd love Michael Connelly's work, and to hear from him - once I publish mainstream - would be awesome!
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