Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!

Man, this was a really touch question for me to answer…at first. Not because there’s so many writers that I admire, but because there aren’t that many that I do.

No, wait, wait a minute, that didn’t come out right all.

What I mean is, I took this question seriously, so I really had to dig down deep and figure out what writer I really do admire, one who really influenced my desire to write. There are a lot of writers whose works I like, but not all of them have inspired me TO write to the level that they’ve earned my admiration.

After some hard thinking this morning, I have to say that one of the writers I admire is author Christie Golden. She writes fantasy, horror, and science fiction (wow, just like me, lol!) She’s written a ton of original works, and also has penned stories for big title like Star Wars, Star Trek, Star Craft, and War Craft.

My first introduction to Christie Golden was sometime in the early to mid 90’s, I think, can’t remember. I bought one of her books titled “Dance of the Dead”: When the riverboat on which she works as a dancer docks at a zombie-plagued island known as Sourange, Larissa Snowmane must rely on the help of the swamp creatures to save her soul.

The story grabbed me within the first couple pages, and I was hooked. After reading this particular story is when I seriously began to think about writing. I wanted to take people on adventures through other worlds just as Golden had taken me.

I immediately read the boo again feverishly, soaking up everything I could, trying to figure out how she did it. How did she MAKE me like this story, the characters, everything so much? There was action, suspense, terror, relief, joy, all these sensations locked within the pages. I would take a section, let’s say one that I found particularly suspenseful, and read it over and over and over, trying to understand WHY it was so suspenseful. I had to know what elements, words, or magic did she use to make me feel the suspense, in the hopes that I would be able to transfer such skill into my writing.

Have I succeeded in figuring it out? I don’t know. I think I have, I hope I have. It’s an ongoing process. Not too many writers have made me feel the way Christie Golden has with their stories, so that’s why she is one that I admire. So, THERE!