Top 5 Authors

I'm a big reader, and have been since I was young. I especially love fantasy series, because I love getting into a magical world with powers and fantastic elements and being able to travel with it for a long time. So anyone who can get me sucked into a new place and go on an adventure, I'm really grateful to. So here's my list of my top 5 wizards of literature, the captains of the voyages to new worlds, my top 5 authors!

5. Jeaniene Frost: Since Stephanie Meyers' Twilight series became popular, pop culture has seen a resurgence in vampire fiction, especially in young adult series such as The Vampire Diaries and House of Night. Jeaniene's Night Huntress series, however, is definitely not for "young" adults, and her vampires aren't as mopey and peace-loving. Her vampires fight, kill without a second thought, and are so hot-blooded between the sheets, you'd think they were alive. The Night Huntress universe is so easy to follow and the characters are so witty and out-there that the series is an enjoyable read, and the more passionate scenes don't feel forced or sappy in any way. Jeaniene, you reminded me that not all vampires trail behind uninteresting mortals and reject their own natural instincts, some of them kick ass, takes names, and take lovers while they're at it! Jeaniene's series walked up to Stephanie's, slapped it in the face, and told it to make her a sandwich, which it did; yeah, that's how pimp her books are compared to Twilight.


4. Laurell K. Hamilton: A lot of people know Laurell for her popular Anita Blake series, but she trapped me with her second series, Meredith Gentry. Look, I'll be honest; the writing could be a lot better. I don't need to be reminded of the same facts I learned from previous books in every single new one I pick up. But I did wind up genuinely caring about the characters, and it's fun to see how different a human's mind and lifestyle is to the creatures she brings in her books. In her world, anything is possible, and I mean anything, and that's half the fun right there!

3. Darynda Jones: Darynda is one of the best new authors today, in my honest opinion. Her Grave series, featuring private investigator and grim reaper Charley Davidson and her dysfunctional family and friends (both living and dead), is funny in all the right places, serious whenever it needs to be, and fantastically written everywhere. Charley reminds me of myself, and I swear that Darynda's following me and writing down my imaginary adventures. The characters are irrevocably loveable, the concept is very fresh, and her writing style is enviable. In the days where vampires and werewolves are holding the top spot, this shining little gem of literature is making its own spotlight, and it's more than well-deserved!

2. J.K. Rowling: The Queen of Magic herself, J.K. Rowling opened the doors to Hogwarts and generations of avid and dedicated readers have no plans to leave! Of course, J.K. is the one who introduced us to the little boy under the stairs, The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, and over the course of seven spell-binding books, let us travel his magical journey of realizing who he is as a wizard and as a man. The Harry Potter series inspired people to read and rewarded its readers with lessons of friendship, responsibility, and finding magic within yourself that doesn't need a wand. J.K.'s shining series was so successful, it spawned a multi-billion dollar movie franchise, videogames, merchandise, and a website called Pottermore. If Jo isn't the queen, then I don't know who is.

1. Sara Douglass: Sara is the most bewitching and enchanting author to ever set a book in front of me. Through her multiple series, she inspired me to write, to let the story write itself instead of trying to dictate its message, and that every situation, no matter how hopeless, had a solution, even if the solution doesn't seem even remotely possible. Her somber and intense Troy Game quartet was the first rabbit hole I fell in, and then I ended up in Tencendor in Wayfarer Redemption. Sara died in 2011 from cancer, but what she gave to me will live on in myself, and my own writings. Axis and Azhure will keep singing and riding across the land. WolfStar will keep causing trouble. Brutus will keep breaking hearts and becoming the better person he always had the potential to be. Thanks to her, I will always hear the StarDance, and know beauty exists, because nature put it there. Sara is, and will always remain so, my favorite author of all time, because she made, within her characters and her magical word, a home for me that I fit in with.
Thank you, Sara. May your ears always hear the StarDance and your feet always always find the path to the Sacred Grove.