Last year I interviewed over 50 indie authors for Indie April. I asked them what their favorite authors were and how they influenced their word. Here are some of their answers.
I’ve always heard that writers are thieves, they steal from everyone they meet. I believe we all unconsciously steal something good from every good book we read.
Iris Chacon
“I’ve always heard that writers are thieves, they steal from everyone they meet. I believe we all unconsciously steal something good from every good book we read. I love Dean Koontz and his way with description, introspection, humor, and pathos. I love Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte for the sheer poetry of their narratives. I enjoy the humor and character-building of Janet Evanovich, the survival skills and action/adventures of Steven Konkoly, and I could go on and on. I hope I have been influenced by all of them, in all the best ways. I’m influenced by a new author almost every week.” — Iris Chacon, author of Finding Miranda
“I grew up in the years of Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Princess Bride, Legend, Willow and so on. So, I always had a fascination with fairy tales, true love and fantasy.
Then I fell in love with The Lord of the Rings over a summer when I was 13 or 14. Neil Gaiman was the first huge author that made me want to write, when I read his book Neverwhere and the dark angsty scenes on Blackfriars terrified the young me. I swore to myself I would be published one day and I would twist people’s emotions like he had mine. In later years Darren Shan has been a huge part of my writing as well, after he encouraged me at a book signing. Offering me a lot of advice.”– Sarah Beth James, author of Love and Loki.
“Richelle Mead, Karen McManus, Casey Bond, Shea Ernshaw, J.R. Ward, and so many more have inspired my work. I read their books, absorbing word phrases and details. The more I read their work, the better I feel myself as a writer. It’s inspiring. “– Brandy Nacole, author of Deep in the Hollow.
“Oh, there are so many. My favorite historical author is Dorothy Dunnett, because of her wonderful characters, amazing plots, and complete inability to write down to her readers. She’s sent me to the dictionary more times than I care to admit, but I respect a writer who makes me work for my reading experience. I’m also a fan of Edith Pargeter, Margaret George, Libbie Hawker, and Barbara Kingsolver. Indie writers I’ve met through Twitter and whose books I’ve enjoyed are Marian Thorpe, Eva Seyler, and Annie Whitehead.” — Karen Heenan, author of Songbird
I have a notebook titled Mentor Texts. I enjoy reading non-fiction far more than fiction, however, I have turned to some of the “great” authors such as Charles Dickens, Phillippa Gregory, Jill Kerr Conway, and Bill Bryson. I read like a writer and dissect their words, often using their thoughts and ideas to inspire my work.
Lois Letchford, author of Reversed
“For me, Catherine Cookson was my first, Celia Rees, Debi Gloari was the next one I fell in love with and I went on to fall for Rachel Caine.” — Kristal McKerrington, author of Marie’s World
” Some of my favorite writers are Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Maya Angelou, they all have such an interesting way of looking at, and writing about the world. I’m also learning a lot from contemporary writers like Cheryl Strayed, Sally Rooney, Deborah Levy, and Angie Thomas. I like the style of Jack Kerouac, Hunter S Thompson, and Ernest Hemmingway, although I would probably have quite a different point of view from them on a lot of things.” — Charlie Lat, author of Novel in Pages.
” I enjoy crime and mystery novelists who create quirky characters and tell unusual stories, sometimes with multiple POVs. They include:
- Robert B. Parker – Spenser and Paradise series, among others
- Richard Price – Inner-city stories such as Clockers & Lush Life
- Elmore “Dutch” Leonard – Best known from the Justified TV series
- Craig Johnson – the Walt Longmire series
- Walter Mosley – The Easy Rawlins series and others
- For a change of pace, I like a light RomCom, especially:
- Indie bestselling writer Kathy Dunnehoff, author of The Do-Over & Back To U
- Caprice Crane, author of Stupid And Contagious & Forget About It
- Finally, impossible-to-categorize Max Barry, author of Company, Lexicon & Syrup
— Dixon Rice, author of The Assassins Club
Honestly, musicians inspire me more than authors. When I hear music, I see and hear stories. People like Kanye West, Michael Jackson, JPEGMAFIA, Poets of the Fall, and Parliament influence my work. Music inspired me to start writing novels.
Lamar Neal
“Honestly, musicians inspire me more than authors. When I hear music, I see and hear stories. People like Kanye West, Michael Jackson, JPEGMAFIA, Poets of the Fall, and Parliament influence my work. Music inspired me to start writing novels.
But (for authors), I would say Ernest Hemmingway or James Joyce. I like to see myself as loyal. I like to commit to someone or something. When that happens, you have me forever. Hemmingway and Joyce were some of my first introductions to literature, and both have my heart forever. No one will compare them either. I remember reading “For Whom the Bell Tolls” or “The Dubliners,” and I was losing my mind. Both of those books were my bible. I would read chapters from each before I wrote anything for inspiration.” — Lamar Neal, author of A Misc. Eden
“I grew up in the countryside, spending my days outdoors in nature, hanging upside down off branches of a Silver Birch tree and also going on long bike ride adventures through amazing woods with stunning views. This was certainly an influence on the type of books I liked to read and still to this day when I look back at these books, I am in total awe of the authors.
- My first-choice author is Cicely Mary Barker who wrote poems and illustrated beautiful fairies, titled The Flower Fairies. Cicely’s amazing flower fairy books created a sense of wonder and belief that there is magic all around us and that nature is so precious. To think that she was published in the 1920’s and the flower fairies tale lives on all this time later is amazing. I recently bought a pop-up book of the flower fairies for my daughters and we like to go into the woods and look for their tiny doors. That warm feeling of adventure, excitement and magic I had when I was a child flows through me every time we undertake that adventure.
- My second favourite author is Kenneth Grahame, who wrote ‘Wind In The Willows’ first published in 1908. This book is about a mole, rat, toad and badger which represents another classic countryside adventure. ” — Serena Hassan, author of The Tap-Dancing Pigeon of Covent Garden
“Jane Austen who lived during the Regency and Georgette Heyer who created the Regency novel genre are both favorites and influences.”– Catherine Kullman, author of The Potential for Love
“Jodi Picoult, Linwood Barclay, Gillian Flynn, Emma Donoghue, Joy Fielding, Liane Moriarty, Stephen King . . . There are so many. They all influence my work.” — Joy Goddard, author of Daredevils
“C.J. Box, Walter Mosley, Sandra Brown, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Karen Robards, Michael Connelly. (Those are just a few.)They influence me in that I’d like to achieve the level of story-telling craft that they have. Reading good books makes me a better writer.” — Barbara Meyers, author of If You Knew
“I love so many authors, but top of my list is Bryce Courtenay. Raul Dahl and Dr. Seuss – probably influenced my writing for kids.” — Ginny Stone, author of Sibo Makes a Difference
There are endless writers and books who influence me, and the list includes Hemingway, Steinbeck, Fran Lebowitz, Voltaire, Gore Vidal, Carrie Fisher. However, a writer who I always recommend, who is usually unknown to whoever I’m bothering, is Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the well-known Madeline children books. However, he wrote numerous books, and his humorous stories and anecdotes are some of the greatest escapes from the terrible times of reality. Hotel Bemelmans is my favorite and probably his best work. After you finish reading this sentence, go buy it.
Ryan Redmond, author of Millennial Lost
“Marian Keyes is my favourite author. I am also a big fan of Sophie Kinsella and Helen Fielding. Bridget Jones’s Diary is my all-time favourite book, written by Helen Fielding. Both Crayons and Chaos and Making March are written in first-person point of view, in diary form, and were inspired by the book. ” — Hayley Walsh, author of Making March
“My three favorite writers of all time are Ursula K. Le Guin, Jane Austen, and Hunter S. Thompson. I realize that’s a strange mix and haven’t really figured what it says about me other than my taste is somewhat eclectic.
I think Le Guin influenced my style of science fiction writing the most. Her work was ground-breaking and her world building without equal – but it was her characters, and the very the human stories underneath those otherworldly tales that stayed with me. “– Felicia Watson, author of We Have Met the Enemy
“Maya Angelou, my father Herve Florival, Félix Morisseau Leroy, Edwige Danticat, Elizabeth Acevedo, Nnedi Okorafor, Roshani Chokshi, Tomi Adeyemi.” — Lysz Flo, author of Soliloquy of an Ice Queen
“I like a lot of the classics. My biggest influence is probably Homer, HP Lovecraft, the Grimms Brothers, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Robert Howard.” Nick Alimonos, author of The Princess of Aenya
“I wonder about who my favorites are a lot. I know that Stephen King, James Patterson, Alice Sebold, and Veronica Roth are at the top of the list, but Max Brooks and Angie Thomas are wonderful authors who stole the top spots in recent years.”– Rae Shawn, author of Cane’s Justice
“My fave author is Stephanie Meyer. She has influenced my writing massively. I love her imagery and feeling and I try to incorporate a similar style in my own writing. If I’m having a day where I don’t feel like I can do it, I will pick up Twilight and it always inspires me, reminds me why I do what I do. It makes me believe in myself.” — Rebecca Ridge, author of Breaking Reeva
“Yes, there are many and all of them influence my work. To name a few I would say, Salman Rushdie, Franz Kafka, and Sadat Hasan Manto.
Other than books I’ve invested a good amount of time in screenwriting and a lot of screenwriters influenced me. I highly respect Charlie Kaufman, Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino and Vince Gilligan.”– Satyendra Pandey, author of Beyond Kissing
I have a few favourites: Louisa May Alcott, Stephen King, and Christine Leunens. Leunens novel Caging Skies comes closest in terms of inspiration, as it is about an Austrian boy living through Ww2 Germany, but our stories go in very different directions. Funnily enough, I have been inspired by many people, but very few of them are authors. I love people who paint outside of the lines and do things no one has seen before.
My biggest inspirations are Lin Manuel Miranda and Taika Waititi. They create art for themselves, not for the critics, publishers, or even a particular audience. I have a lot of respect for people like that.
Lauren Robinson, author of The Boy Who Saw in Colours
“Joanne Harris is by far my favourite writer now and I was addicted to Roald Dahl stories as a child. I still enjoy reading his books out loud. Joanne remains an inspiration to me and I am always reading two of her books, dipping in and out of them when I can.” — Jamie Adams, author of The Fathers, the Sons, and the Anxious Ghost
“Douglas Adams is both the reason for and bane of my existence. I loved the guy. I loved his books and they obviously played a very large part in influencing me as a tween and/or teen, so I’d be remiss to say that he wasn’t a big inspiration for my work. But at the same time, I’m incredibly wary of being compared to him, because he left such massive shoes to fill. Literally. The guy was like 6’5” or something.
Beyond the specter of Adams, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke basically defined science fiction for me, and Jonathan Hickman and Chip Zdarsky – two writers for Marvel comics – pretty much influence my taste for post-modern big picture narratives and zany absurdist comedy.”– G.M. Nair author of Duckett and Dyer: Dicks for Hire
“In terms of illustrated children’s books, the obvious reference points are Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler. Their books are fantastic, Lily loves them all. These have been a major influence, although I wouldn’t claim to be in the same league as them! More recently Kes Gray and Jim Field’s books are also brilliant. The ‘Oi’ series of books are very funny. “– Andy Stonehouse, author of Lily and Sam.
I have a lot of favorite authors as an avid reader. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts, Ray Bradbury, Emily Bronte & Edgar Allan Poe have all influenced me in some way with the writing.
Stephen King with making it feel okay to torment the characters to show the reader what they’re made of, Nora Roberts with relationship development, Ray Bradbury with world-building and showing customs of a world within the confines of even a short story, Bronte made me feel like happy endings are only needed if they fit the narrative and the character while Dean Koontz gave me a love of “connected all along” and Poe gave me the love for the general dark stories.
Nikki Flynn, author of Entwined Essences: Chasing Fantasies
“My favourite authors are Stella Gibbons, Margaret Kennedy, and Nancy Mitford. All of them are witty, subversive, and insightful. “– Samantha David, author of I Married a Pirate
“I have so many favourite authors, I doubt I could list or even remember them all, to be honest. I love authors such as David Walliams, Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, Anne McCaffrey, Anne Rice, JRR Tolkien, Elizabeth Chadwick, Jenny Colgan, Roald Dahl … and there are so many, many more that I enjoy, it’s ridiculous! I couldn’t say that any one person has directly (or even indirectly) influenced me, in all honesty. I’d rather stand out and be different rather than write something even vaguely similar to what someone else is writing.”– S.S. Long, author of Escape from Adiren
“Loren L. Coleman, John G. Hemry (aka Jack Campbell), Robert Thurston, Blaine Lee Pardoe, Michael A. Stackpole, Robin D. Owens, and Christine Feehan have all had an indirect influence on my work from me reading their books. Thurston’s book in the BattleTech series, Way of the Clans, was the first novel I’d ever read on my own as a kid (outside of school) and it really introduced me to science fiction. ” — Diesel Jester, author of Fallen Stars
“CJ Bishop is a favourite author without doubt, the first to make me believe I could do the writing world justice. I love books by Christine Feehan and JR Ward, who has given me advice in the past. GR Lyons has been a recent addition to my one-click list. They all influence my work in a way because when I read, I look at how they word things or describe things and it helps me to understand the written word better.”– Elouise East, author of Deep Down
You can read the full interviews for these authors and more here.
Who are some of your favorite authors?