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This week I’m talking about the authors who inspired my passionate love for reading – a.k.a. turned me into a bookworm. This is a prompt I gleaned from 365 Days Of Writing Prompts For Romance Writers by Kim Knight. Read my review here and check it out on Amazon – it’s free with Kindle Unlimited. Here’s my list of authors that made me the reader I am today.

Brian Jacques

My parents both read to me when I was young. Notably, my father always read the Redwall series to me before bed. We read so many of these books, and I would not be the reader I am today if I hadn’t grown up listening to this series. Every time a new book was released, I was so excited! My dad did the best job with the voices of all of the characters. Each species of animal had its own accent, not just according to the way Jacques wrote their speech, but because my dad did such an excellent job reading their dialogue.

Gail Carson Levine

I first read Ella Enchanted when I was nine. (I recently reread and reviewed it on my blog!) Since then, I’ve read this book probably over 50 times. I revisited it so often as a child, and since my teenage years, I usually read it once a year. My grandmother had passed away a few months before my first read, and it was a difficult time for me. This book taught me that reading can be a wonderful escape.

Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson was probably my favorite author as a teen. Her YA books were such a comfort to me in middle and high school. Speak is the book by her that I have reread so many times, I would estimate at least ten. As a teenager, I understood Melinda’s depression, something I was dealing with. I revisited the novel as an adult, now a survivor of sexual assault. It was such a moving reread for me. I loved Anderson’s other books as well, and got to meet her in 2019!

Candace Camp

Finally, Candace Camp is the author that led to my embrace of bodice rippers. I bought one of her romance novels on my Nook back in 2014 because I thought it sounded interesting. I didn’t realize it was a the type of romance I always judgily avoided –  one with a heavy dose of erotica. I am so glad I bought that book, because it inspired  what I think will be a lifelong love of romance novels – the steamier, the better. I haven’t looked back since!

Which authors inspired your love of reading?