Top Ten Tuesday: #1 All-Time Favorite Authors

My friend Denise pointed me in the direction of the Top Ten Tuesday blog, and I was intrigued by the idea so I thought I'd try it out. This week we're to name our top ten all-time favorite authors. Well, this might end up being longer than ten, because you know there are just so many to choose from, but I'll give it a whirl and see what happens. These are in no particular order, I might add, just as they come to me.

1. Mike Carey - He wrote the Lucifer graphic novel series, which I simply adore, worked with Neil

Gaiman on Sandman, and on Hellblazer, which of course produced John Constantine, whom I love. And he wrote the Felix Castor series. I would love to meet this man and pick his brain. I bet he has a lot to say.

2. PG Wodehouse - I love his sense of humor, he's hilarious and he creates the best characters, especially Jeeves and Wooster. But pick up any of his books - Blandings, Jeeves and Wooster, or any other title - and you're in for a great read.

3. William Faulkner - There is something about him that draws me to him, and he's been a great

influence on my writing, although some might say not for the better, as I think I learned how to write incredibly long paragraphs from reading him. He especially writes about Southern characters, and I especially love the books set in his imaginary Yoknapatawtha County in Mississippi, about the Snopes family - The Hamlet, The Town, and the Manse.

4. Edgar Allan Poe - This man was a master of the short story, and the father of the modern detective story, with his Purloined Letter featuring his detective C. Auguste Dupin. He had a way of sending chills down your spine, with stories and with poetry. Everyone knows The Raven and can quote it. I really love The Black Cat and the Cask of Amontillado, and the Tell-Tale Heart.



5. Margaret Mitchell - I've read Gone With The Wind 17 times so I must like it lol There's something

about Scarlett that you can't help but like even when she's at her most unlikable. She's got a lot of spunk, even if her taste in men is questionable. A Southern belle at the beginning of the book, she is forced by circumstance to adapt or be winnowed out. She chose to change, and nothing could knock her down. She only wrote one book, but it was a dandy.

6. Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child - So sue me, they're two people. But the series they created featuring FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast is amazing. These books are mystery, thriller, science fiction and fantasy rolled into one, and they are real page-turners. I hope they adapt them to the screen some day (not counting the awful version of Relic that's out there). I think Benedict Cumberbatch would make a great Pendergast.

7. Charlaine Harris - I loved the Southern Mystery series, with Sookie, Bill, Eric and the rest. The books are mostly better than the series, although I loved the series, but it veered so far left it flew off into space and lost itself. Her books have a great humor and fantastic imagination. I could easily hang out with Sookie Stackhouse.

8. John Milton - I didn't read Paradise Lost until a couple of years ago, but I loved it right away, basically because of Lucifer. He's a fascinating character, and I have to believe Milton admired him, whether he admitted to it or not (probably not a popular thing to do back then). The poetry is beautiful, although the parts without Lucifer are less interesting. Even better than the Inferno by Dante.

9. Thomas Harris - I've read all his Hannibal Lecter books, more than once. Hannibal is a great

character, well-developed. I could never fear him. Respect him, yes, but fear him no. I was more afraid of Jame Gumb, because he was unstable, an unknown quantity, and you didn't know what he might do. In Red Dragon, I felt rather sorry for Francis Dolarhyde, and wished him well, but in the end his grandmother's evil influence was too strong for him to break. I wish Harris would write more Hannibal, but I don't expect that to happen.

10. James Michener - Known for his sweeping historical novels, he wrote some wonderful books. Some of my favorites are Hawaii, Centennial, and Chesapeake. Rich in characters and brilliant in detail, he gives you a real feel for the age and people he writes about.

11. Irving Stone - He wrote some very amazing biographies, including one of Van Gogh, Michelangelo, and Andrew Jackson's wife. One of my favorites is about the artist Pisarro, and features a bunch of the Impressionists, who are my favorite artists.

12. Isaac Asimov - One of the best science fiction writers ever, I love the Foundation books, especially the story of the Mule.

13. Frank Herbert - Another great sci fi writer, I love his Dune books, my favorite being God

Emperor Dune.

14. Sherrilyn Kenyon - Her Dark Hunter books are amazing, and I can't get enough of them.

15. Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre speaks for itself, a great book and a great love story.

16. Thomas Hardy - While I didn't care for him in school, I learned to love him after I graduated, and I especially enjoyed The Return of the Native, and have read it a few times. Also The Mayor of Casterbridge.



I think this list is long enough now lol  Happy Tuesday, and let's try this again next week, shall we?