Books I've Loved

I have loved the world of books since I was eight years old.  Well that was the first I can remember actually falling in love with reading anyway.  Before that I remember my mom would read me Aesop's Fables before bedtime and my imagination would run wild as I listened to her voice reading about the animals and crazy characters of the world of Aesop.

Then when my parents were going through their separation and divorce when I was eight, I dove headfirst into the world of Beverly Cleary as she wrote about memorable characters like Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, Beezus and her sister Ramona and Otis Spofford.  I read Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew.  I read Robert McCloskey's Homer Price and John D. Fitsgerald's Great Brain series.  I was crazy about the Great Brain series.  The descriptions were so vivid to me.  Part of their appeal I'm sure was the excellent cover art.  That seems to be a vital part of the total book experience to this day.  I will be researching sources of amazing cover art in this whole new process of creating a fun, exciting story to tell, you can be sure.

When I was a little older I ventured carefully into the scary worlds of Stephen King.  My very first mega novel was his book, It.  Clowns were never the same to me after that.  It was in that book that I noticed the importance of inner dialogue and how important it is to the reader to be able to relate to the characters.

I enjoyed classic works as well. Of Mice and Men was one I enjoyed.  Moll Flanders, not so much.  Lord of the Flies was awesome--I love a good deserted island story.  I can't wait to write my own soon.

These books got me through childhood and young adulthood.  They are precious to me.  I am so thankful for the impact they had and the escape route they provided so that I could step out from this world for just a few hours and let my mind soar.  I truly pray that I can create books that give readers this same kind of experience.