Who Influences My Writing. I Hope.

Thursday was neuter day for the boy cats. I've had 3 drunk kittens on my hands. It turns out that drunk kittens do not simply drink water. They stand IN the water dishes and start digging. This lead to an inch of water in the bathroom, a sodden kitchen counter, and three kittens dripping water from their bellies down. I'm have no idea what was in the pain meds the vet gave them, but I want some.

Oh. Right. I was supposed to tell you about the influences on my writing, not hallucinating kittens. None of these authors will be a surprise to anyone. I've mentioned them all before. As I look across the list, though, maybe this is my wishful thinking list. These are the people I'd like to have influencing my writing, because in each case, I love the turns of phrase. I adore the images these writers create. Certainly, I'm reading modern authors whose work with words makes me swoon, but it's probably early to claim they influence me as a writer just yet. So my no-surprise-to-anyone list of influencers:

1. Andre Norton
2. Charles de Lint
3. Robin McKinley
4. H.M. Hoover
5. Arthur C. Clarke

Andre Norton was my first book love - the one where I read a single story of hers and I was hooked and had to hunt down everything she'd ever written. I'm still looking for the westerns.

Charles de Lint writes words the way I imagine most people write music. I love the way his words go together. I can't figure out if it's painterly or musical or both. I just love his facility with the language.

Robin McKinley makes me love her worlds and her characters. It's no secret that Sunshine is one of my desert isle books.

H.M. Hoover - how do I explain this one. H.M. Hoover wrote kids books. These books are pretty damned dark. But to this day, despite my age, H.M. Hoover's writing makes me identify with a 10 year old heroine every single time.

Arthur C. Clarke - I love the themes in his work. Always have. The stories go together in a way that feels so effortless. Complex ideas and descriptions slid down so easily. I love getting to the end of one of his stories, my head whirling, and wonder how I got from page 1 to The End.

I guess the common theme is that these are people who write books that stay with me. In every case, the stories stuck with me not just for days, but for decades. These are the books that I kept in storage during the boat years, and then paid to haul across the continent when we moved. I can walk into my office right now and put my hands on books by each of these people. That's what I aspire to be. So yeah. This is my man-I-want-to-be-like-them list of authors who I hope influence my writing.

Who are your influences?

So, whenever that question pops up, I can't help but think of Jimmy Rabbit, trying vainly to hold auditions for the Hardest Working Soul Band in Dublin.

It's funny, because when I think about the books that influenced me, I'm kind of at a loss.  I mean, nothing that I read in my youth really matches what I write.  I cite Zilpha Keatly Snyder and David Eddings as influences, and it's true.  They both opened my idea of what fantasy could be, and more specifically what it didn't have to be.

That was important, because on some level I was always dissatisfied with the trappings of 'traditional' fantasy.  Even though Eddings fits in that category, it did it in a way that defied my earlier expectations.  Both Green-Sky and The Belgariad showed me that Fantasy didn't have to fit neatly into the genre boxes.

And of course, there's Watership Down, which is more myfantasy epic than any others. That book showed me a thousand different ways to make a different culture, different world, feel both comfortable and familiar while being alien and strange. It's just a gorgeous work.

Then there's the stuff outside of the genre boxes, which shaped how I looked at storytelling and world building. Something like, say, Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel was a huge influence on the way I looked at how societies grow and advance, and thus how world building works. 

I'm thrilled that nowadays there is such a wealth of fantasy nowadays that doesn't fit neatly into the boxes.  The stuff that's proliferating today is exactly the sort of thing I craved back in the day.  And I'm glad to be a part of that.  Because the stuff I'm writing is, to a large degree, the sort of thing I wanted to read back then.

Hopefully that will influence some writer of tomorrow.

Inspired to write and permission to be

I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember being alive, but I didn’t always embrace that ritualistic bleeding out of my brain and then sharing the resultant mess with others who evinced only middling interest. I didn’t always want to write, in other words, but reading the work of these five writers certainly gave me a shove at key points in my own journey:

When I was in grade school and receiving messages that people like me were less-than, Madeleine L’Engle made me want to put nerdy, socially awkward girls front and center in my stories.

Starting in sixth grade while the non-sense-making world around me became increasingly infuriating, J. R. R. Tolkien made me want to live in another world. And write about it.

In high school and college, when I was spitefully becoming myself, Haruki Murakami and Gabriel Garcia-Marquez made me want to experiment with structure and form and magic. Also to question the validity of all worlds, including the one we all accept as real.

Later, when I was less angry and ready to start living joyfully, Mary Balogh made me want to write romance.

Because, in the end and no matter who fights or what he fights or what world she’s fighting in, readers deserve the soul-satisfying win of a happy ending.

KAK's 5 Authors Who Influenced My Writing

Buckle-up, Betty, it's time for...

KAK's 5 Authors Who Influence My Writing:

1. Eleanor Hibbert aka Victoria Holt -- First author whose complete gothic romantic suspense works I devoured as a budding tweenager. She had at least eight pen names--one per genre. Had I grokked the concept of multiple pen names at that time, the base librarian would never have gotten rid of me. Holt sparked my love of mysteries. 
2. Morgan Llywelyn -- author of Irish historical fiction and mythology, she got my attention with Lion of Ireland, lured me back with The Bard, and hooked me forever with Red Branch. When she moved way ahead in time to 1916: The Irish Rebellion and followed that up with 1921, 1949, 1972 my American education hadn't prepared me for the gut-wrenching history through which the fiction was threaded. If Llywelyn's written it, I own it, with the exception of her Young Readers books. She rules world-building and balances it expertly alongside character development.
3. Sherrilyn Kenyon -- Comedy, action, romance, and the paranormal. When I decided I wanted to take writing seriously, she was the "it" author at the time, the darling, the rockstar. I read everything she'd published. It wasn't hard. These were easy, fast, fun reads centered around characters who stuck with you. That last part was the skill I was trying to develop as an author. Showalter, Cole, Sands, etc., are all part of the PNR Romance writers whose stories helped me dissect character-driven plots to get to the heart of the characters. 
4. Nigel Tranter -- Scottish historical fiction author (among other things). Deep, deep conspiracy-laden whodunnit court intrigue wrapped around actual historical figures. I bought the Bruce trilogy/omnibus-doorstop to take on a road trip. By the time I'd finished the tome, there would never again be a billion dollar Hollywood movie that could conjure vivid settings like a Tranter novel. I'd been spoiled by a man who got into writing fiction because of his interest in the architecture of medieval castles. Tranter was very prolific. I wish I could say I had read all of his fiction, but his works require intense focus because they are so rich.  His books are like a seven-layer chocolate cake that you love, but can only eat one thin sliver at a time. I aspire to weave the kind of engaging complexities into my novels that he did. 
5. Bernard Cornwell -- Historical fiction author of the best battle scenes ever. While Stonehenge is my favorite of his (yet probably the book with the fewest combat scenes), Sharpe's Eagle was where I cut my tweenage-teeth on boys in battle, the build-up, and the fallout of the actual shots-fired-conflict. That love hasn't waned. In case you're wondering, Sharpe is probably the only show/series in which Sean Bean actually lives to the end.

If you haven't read at least three books by each of these authors, do it. They're very different storytellers in voice, style, and content. Yes, my influences are all...white. Yes, that is a large part of the reason I'm making a conscious effort now to read more diversely. I'm eager to learn from a wider pool of influencers.

Top Five

This week's subject is my top five influences as a writer.

Yeah.

That's never gonna be easy, but I'll give it my best shot..

1) Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Okay, so yes, I know that's two people but the fact of the matter is they worked together a lot on Marvel comics and they had a very serious influence on me. I could add a dozen or so names of artists and writers in comics but we'll just put them all here under this one big as hell Umbrella, okay?

2) Rod Serling The man who created the Twilight Zone and The Night Gallery was decidedly a powerful influence on me. His sense of story and the ability to develop meaningful characters and conflicts in a limited amount of time was very profound for me.

3) The very first series of books that every drew me in and kept my attention was The Eternal Champion series by Michael Moorcock. The sense of awe, the often dark and depressing mire of human emotions, the vast series of worlds that Moorcock created and populated was massive. Corum Hawkmoon, Count Brass,  Elric, et al. The Lords of Order and Chaos, the multiverses traveled and the incarnations who crossed paths...The books had a very profound impact on me and to state otherwise would be a lie on my part.

4) Stephen King has had a massive impact. His tales of horror and his blending of genres were eyeopeners for me from the very first.


5 John Irving's mastery of the absurd and the surreal has always fascinated me. His characters are realistic and whimsical at the same time and that, folks is damned impressive.

There. That's five. I could do fifty more, but that's enough for one post.

The Godparents: Jeffe's Top Five Influences as a Writer

We're heading into the last week of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Fantasy Storybundle. The theme is "Kickass Heroines" and this is such a kickass collection. I was one of the first to download it, even though my own book is in it, and I've read a couple of others. So many fantastic books for an amazing price.

The Bundle was curated by Terry Mixon who says:

SFWA is over 50 years old and its membership consists of professional writers and publishing professionals from around the globe. It administers the Nebula Awards each year, and so very much more. It was a real pleasure reading the submissions from SFWA members this year and, as every year, we had a rough time narrowing the selection to just a few books. We think you'll be delighted as there is something for everyone in this great bundle.

 • The Arrows of the Heart by Jeffe Kennedy. What do you do when your boyfriend is an animal? Really. An animal.

 • The Twenty-Sided Sorceress, Books 1-3 by Annie Bellet. Gamer. Nerd. Sorceress. After twenty-five years fleeing from a powerful sorcerer, a mostly-human woman is finally safe – if she can resist using her magic. Or can she?

 • The Dragon Blood Collection, Books 1-3 by Lindsay Buroker. A dashing pilot, a comely sorceress, and a smart-mouthed soulsword all come together in a world intent on killing them.

 • Radiance by Grace Draven. A marriage between alien kingdoms – and two "spares" who find beauty in each other, and that heroism comes in many forms.

 • Ashwin by Kit Rocha. Can a genetically manipulated soldier be a hero? A healer finds a way to love a man without feelings—and fight for brightness in a dark world.

 • The Raven and the Reindeer by Ursula Vernon. An enthralling remix of a classic fairy tale, with a practical heroine who follows her heart to a very different ending.

There are more than those, too. Check out the deal here. 

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Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is "The Godparents: Your top five influences as a writer."

At least the person who suggested this one is letting me have five?

This isn't the definitive list, but it does come pretty close to encapsulating my major influences. These are the authors I not only love, but who influenced the way I write.

Tanith Lee

Anne McCaffrey

Patricia McKillip

Robin McKinley

Anne Rice

I linked to the best pages I could find for each (avoiding Wikipedia if possible). Sadly Tanith Lee and Anne McCaffrey are both dead now. I have no idea why three of them are "Mc" names - except that perhaps I identify with the Celtic voice, and they would've all been shelved close together. This goes beyond discoverability, however, as I started reading Robin McKinley much later.

All of these women write vividly sensual fantasy with women who are the front and center heroes of their own journeys. (With Anne Rice, it depends on the book.) They all created worlds I wanted to live in, presented complex interpersonal relationships, and explored shades of morality in fascinating ways.

They have been wonderful Godmothers to me, one and all.

New Release STAR CRUISE MYSTERY DANCER

Cover by Fiona Jayde

This week's actual topic is fanfic but as I've never read nor written any whatsoever, not much to say here....my Muse is never tempted to write about other people's characters.

I DO have a new release to report though:

STAR  CRUISE: MYSTERY DANCER

First published in the Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3 anthology...which was a USA Today Best Seller and which also received two SFR Galaxy Awards last week! But it's no longer on sale so here's my story as a standalone.

I haven't revised the story or added any new content. My muse is really resistant to working on a story that's been 'finished' previously.

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The blurb: Tassia Megg is a woman on the run after the death of her elderly guardian. She needs to get off the planet in a hurry when chance directs her to an open dance audition for the luxury cruise liner Nebula Zephyr’s resident troupe. One thing Tassia can do is dance.

Security Officer Liam Austin is suspicious of the newest performer to join the Comettes. She shows all the signs of being a woman on the run and seems to fit the Sectors-wide broadcast description of a missing thief, accused of stealing priceless artifacts. As he gets to know Tassia during the cruise, he starts to wonder if she’s something more – a long vanished princess in hiding from deadly political enemies of her family perhaps?

And what’s the story with the three eyed feline companion other crew members swear Tassia brought aboard the ship? Does the animal even exist?

As the ship approaches its next port of call, all the issues come to a boil and Liam must decide if he’ll step in to help Tassia or betray her. F’rrh the alien cat is the key to the mystery and Tassia’s fate.

A science fiction romance take on the Anastasia tale...

Amazon   Kobo     Nook    GooglePlay and Apple Books coming soon

FanFiction: Which Playground

Every writer started writing by being a reader. Sometimes as a voracious one. The mental stacks pile high, creaking under the weight of other people's characters, plots, worlds, languages, and adventures. A writer's lifetime of reading (and movies, TV, music, other art - wherever story can be found) becomes the fertile soil out of which her own stories sprout. My strong suspicion is that we're all of us writing fanfiction after a fashion - in this case, it's our stories that stand on the shoulders of giants. Though most of us have enough imagination to avoid cease and desist letters from publishers. 

Granted, I do have a few stories in my files from my early days as a writer that are unabashed fanfic. They are complete copywrite violations. But I think they taught me voice. I could switch from writing a story in Anne McCaffrey's Pern and make it come close to matching her tone, then I could write a Star Trek story that I thought did a fine job of matching the tone of those characters. From there, you can deduce which worlds I'd write in if I could. Star Trek. Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Rider series. Anything Andre Norton - except The Witch World series. That one's not my fav. I'd totally write within the worlds of some of the MMORPGs out there in the world. 

Since I'm not authorized to write officially in anyone else's playground, I simply acknowledge that I am paying homage to each of my literary heroes in what I write. I hope.