Wednesday, September 29, 2010

My favorite authors by Morgan Mandel

I have lots of favorites, especially those from my writing groups, but my very favorite authors have to be Mary Higgins Clark and the late Sidney Sheldon.

What makes them favorites is their style is easy to read, yet not dummied down. Their plots are compelling, yet not too complicated to understand. Mary usually writes about everyday people, while Sidney's books tend to be about the larger-than-life ones.

Which ones are your favorites, and why?

11 comments:

Debra St. John said...

Well, you know I'm the vampire girl, so Stephenie Meyer and Charlaine Harris are among my favorites.

I am also partial to Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels. Joanna Carl's Chocoholic Mysteries are fabulous, and Lois Greiman's Crissy McMullen series is spot on.

I started my romance collection with books by Sandra Brown and Jayne Anne Krentz, so my shelves are full of them.

Brenda Coxe said...

That's a hard one since I like both mystery and romance. James Patterson, John Grisham and Dean Koontz are at the top of my list along with Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts. I've only recently begun reading Sandra Brown and find it a refreshing change. I love Patrick Taylor's "Irish Country" series as well. I can't really say why I enjoy one author over another, but I will say I read 2-3 (or more) books a month--I couldn't be a writer without being a reader first.

Maggie Toussaint said...

I've read books by your favorites, Morgan and also highly recommend them. Jayne Ann Krentz in all her many guises is my fav author. I have to say I like Vicki Lane the best in mystery. Her books give me such a good feeling, like I'm living the story.

P.I. Barrington said...

Lately I've begun to realize that many times what we read isn't necessarily what we write. That's true for me in at least. I love ancient historical but not necessarily romantic. I adored Allen Drury's A God Against the Gods and Return To Thebes yet what I write is futuristic crime thrillers with a romantic element. But then I also love Tom Clancy, James Michener and most recently Colleen McCullough's Masters Of Rome series. And of course Stephen King goes without saying.

Liana Laverentz said...

I'll add Barbara Delinsky and Eileen Dreyer to the list!

Pamala Knight said...

Excellent question, Morgan! Your favorite authors are both wonderful and the description of why you like them sums up their storytelling abilities perfectly. That's always important with me--being able to enjoy and follow the story.

I have so many favorites that it's hard to choose but I'd say that currently Neil Gaiman, Taylor Caldwell, Robert Fate, Jane Austen and John D. MacDonald come to mind. The members of my RWA chapter are all favorites of mine too. Very lucky and pleased to be a part of a group where so much talent resides.

Unknown said...

Since I've discovered ebooks, I no longer read mainstream authors, so all of my favs share my same industry...and heck, they need the promtion much more than some of the names I see above. *lol* I have far more than I can list, but to name a few:
Margaret Tanner (Award winning Australian author)
Tricia McGill (another Aussie)
Anita Davison (British author, stunning Duking Day Series)
Diane Lewis Scott (U.S. Author)
Ciara Gold (U.S. Author)
See...I warned you I had a long list, and it grows every day with ever book I read on my new Kindle.

Keena Kincaid said...

Is it odd to say that I really don't have a favorite author? I have favorite stories.

I do read some authors more than others, but I don't have any on auto-buy, and who/what I read so depends on my mood.

Also, but not as I odd as I thought, I rarely read anything in the genre I write (historical romance with a touch of paranormal). I seem to read a lot of regencies (will likely never attempt to write one, but I like the lighter voices that the genre seems to draw) and contemporaries.

Fiona McGier said...

Desmond Morris, cultural anthropologist. The Mental Floss folks who write amusing trivia.
Shakespeare. I guess I have eclectic tastes, eh? So many of the authors I used to love have grown formulaic, so I know the plot arc just from reading the blurb. I need to do more reading of indie authors, since I am one. But what little "free" time I have, I try to spend writing. Maybe someone will give me an e-reader for Christmas?

Anonymous said...

My favorite authors include John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiaasen, Dick Francis, Upton Sinclair and Bertrand Russell. Too many to list all of them, of course.

BrendaW.

Ann Parker said...

I'm a fan-girl of Martin Cruz Smith. I'll read anything he writes. :-)