- Katie MacAlister – She writes funny, engaging stories that border on the silly but are always emotionally fulfilling and enjoyable. I study her books for her use of dialogue—light, airy, but with impact. If you like dragons, check out her Aisling Grey, Guardian series; for vampires, her Dark Ones series.
- Terri Garey – She's a relatively new author to me; I just discovered her Nicki Styx books in the spring. I found them highly enjoyable and in some parts, laugh-out-loud funny. That series, about a woman who suffers a heart condition and wakes up with the ability to see the dead, starts with DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY.
- Lynsay Sands – I've read a number of Lynsay Sands' vampire Argeneau series, and one of the best things about her take on vampires is their origin. It's refreshingly new. I'll let you read it for yourself.
- Carrie Vaughn – While not a romance, Carrie Vaughn's Kitty the werewolf books are must-reads for paranormal authors. The arc she's explored with her main character from the first book to now is phenomenal. I love how she blends the wolf characteristics into Kitty's everyday life. The series starts with KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR. Also, do yourself a favour and follow her blog. Her geekiness will make you smile.
- C.E. Murphy – She seamlessly blends Celtic mythology with Cherokee spirtuality in her Walker Papers series. Her character is a reluctant shaman who barely believes in the magic that's suddenly revealed all around her, and, because of that, she's very relatable. The books are also subtlely funny. This is another author whose blog I highly recommend. Her blog posts never fail to make me think, or smile, or both.
- Kelley Armstrong – Another urban fantasy author I highly recommend. She writes fabulous, strong female characters, very conflicted, but very likeable. Her Women of the Otherworld series is not to be missed.
- Charles de Lint – The lone male author on my list. He's one of the first urban fantasy authors I ever read. I found he blended the magical with the mundane so effortlessly, I half-expected myself to stumble across the things he wrote about. Check out MOONHEART and JACK THE GIANT KILLER.
Have you read any of these authors or books? What do you think? Do you have any authors you would recommend as well?
5 comments:
I would also recommend Laura Kinsale's 'Uncertain Heart'. Kinsale doesn't normally write paranormal fiction but when she does, like with this book, she knocks it out of the park.
Also, anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Jai
John Crowley has a list on his LiveJournal of books that he claims are critical to the writing of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I nicked it from Neil Gaiman's blog:
http://crowleycrow.livejournal.com/38862.html
Basically, the books on this list are non-fiction studies into cultures and practices seen around the world, and are designed to help SF & F writers create the cultures and societies they will inevitably encounter when writing their own fiction. I haven't read any of them, but am most interested in Sons of Sinbad, by Allan Villiers. According to Crowley, the book details "[the] lives and work of Arab seamen on the Indian Ocean – written in the1930s when the last of them were sailing in the same dhows as they had for centuries."
While reading fiction as a basis for writing fiction is a bit of a no-brainer, non-fiction should also be implemented to give that sense of the real, and to suspend disbelief all the more.
@Jai - Yes, I should have included Sherrilyn Kenyon on my list. I've read a number of her Dark-Hunter novels.
@Jon - Good point about reading non-fiction too! I hate to admit I haven't picked up any non-fiction books lately. There's too many novels to be read (and written!).
I know what you mean, Jenn. I'm way behind on reading non-fiction, especially when it comes to world-building. For my next big project, I'm going to have to research books on sea trade merchants and piracy, as well as books on space travel and string theory.
That's great advice Jenn. I recently graduated from college with a B.A in English and I'm going into education policy. Ah, the places life takes you. But I have to say it was really helpful in shaping me to become a better writer. Well, there is a lot of writing. :^)
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