What do you read?

Dear Readers,

The other day a woman asked me if I read much, and if so, what do I read? Ultimately she wanted to know if my choice of reading material influences my stories. The simple answer is that I read a great deal, and "yes", I imagine that my choices probably do subconsciously influence my writing, as I admire their writing styles. How could it not?

I'm talking about authors like Lisa See, Gail Tsukiyama, Anita Diamant, Jennifer Chiaverini, Bille Letts, Fannie Flagg, Amy Tan and many other female writers. As for male authors I'm a big fan of Tony Hillerman, Dan Brown, Paulo Coelho, John Steinbeck, Gregory Maguire, and Mitch Albom. I also love to read fairy tales. One would think I would be long past reading these type of stories but I know that I am not alone. The popularity of the television shows Once Upon a Time and Grimm are a testament to the public's enduring fascination with tales we read as children. But getting back to who I read these are not my only favorite writers just the ones that quickly come to mind. Each and every one of them spin a fine tale full of imaginative story lines, a simple yet defining "voice" and enough visual description to allow me to "see" the story. That is something I always strive to do, show my readers what I am seeing in my head. Not an easy task.

I'm now wondering, who are your favorite authors? And what are some of your favorite books? I'm curious. Please send me an email, and I'll tally the responses. After I hear back from you I'll address this in a future post.

Thanks and have a splendid rest of your week.

Jeffree