A warm welcome to Debra Brown!
I was delighted when Ruby asked me to share my ten favourite authors on her new blog. I settled down with a large glass of wine to think long and hard, back to where it all began – over thirty years ago. Books weren’t an every day part of my childhood like they are now. I didn’t ‘find’ them until my teenage years. Actually I more ‘borrowed’ them off other people’s bookshelves to start with. But once I’d found them I was smitten. And in between reading the many books I enjoyed (and others I didn’t) I realised I actually fell a little bit in love with certain authors and their words. Because of the way they made me feel. And here they are…
- Jilly Cooper
Riders, Rivals and Polo. What a trilogy! The characters, the plot, the pace. Her words were full of excitement. My heart raced its way through them. I didn’t want them to end. Of course they had to, but when they did I was changed. I needed more.
- Danielle Steel
I can’t recall the first of her books I read but I know I ended up hurtling through another twenty-six straight after that one before the heart-swelling gradually began to fade. I needed to move on.
- Rosamunde Pilcher
Again I can’t think of the first title of hers I read, but I know the one that made me fall in love with her words – The Shell Seekers. I wanted to live in that book, in that place, with those characters. I wanted to be part of her wonderful world of words.
- Hannah Beckerman
Hannah’s debut, The Dead Wife’s Handbook had me instantly transfixed. I loved the whole concept, albeit a very tragic one. A young mother dies, leaving her husband to look after their child, while she watches from heaven. Oh my heart! I cannot wait for Hannah’s new words to be released into the world.
- Stephen King
It would be impossible not to include this great author. For me, On Writing has to be his best. It’s a book I often refer to for my own writing.
- Iona Grey
Another debut – Letters to the Lost made my heart beat the hardest and fastest ever! I devoured Iona’s words until there were none left and then I sobbed my heart out. My biggest book hangover ever (lasting several very long months) followed the ending of this book.
- Markus Zusak
The Book Thief is full of the most incredible words. With death narrating a story so full of passion and sorrow, it was impossible not to fall under its spell. I swear I could hear his voice reading aloud in my head as I tore through the pages. My second biggest book hangover followed.
- Jess Kidd
Magical Realism wasn’t something I’d really come across before I opened Jess’s debut – Himself. Swiftly followed by The Hoarder. I was mesmerised by her magical words. Again, I felt as though she were reading to me herself.
- Mitch Albom
I started with The Five People You Meet in Heaven on a friend’s recommendation and then quickly sailed through another six of his books before feeling able to move on. His words soothed my heart just when I needed it.
- Fiona Cummins
First came her debut, Rattle and then its sequel, The Collector. Both I read in two galloping, heart-thundering sessions simply because I couldn’t put them down. There’s something about Fiona’s words that make them feel incredibly real.
Biography:
Debra lives with her husband and daughter in the beautiful Sussex Countryside. When she isn’t lost in a book she’s at her laptop, trying extremely hard to write her own words. You can follow her on Twitter: @debrabrown_ and her blog.