Today I am being interviewed by J.C. Martin, the Author of the crime novel “Oracle”. As I looked over her interesting list of questions, one in particular stood out to me. At first I rolled my eyes, but then I really thought about it… “Who is your literary idol?” Now, most people will want to sound all smart and all and pick out a name from classic literature that would BORE ME TO TEARS if I read it, so I decided to be honest. You’ll have to hop on over to see who I chose.
But I am wondering… FOR REAL… who do you consider your own literary idol? A.K.A: Who do you want to be when you grow up?
Why all the hullabaloo? Well, it’s to promote my two new releases “Make Believe” and “For the Love of Christmas”
That’s why!
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Jennifer M Eaton 
I want to be Neil Gaiman when I grow up!
Hmmm new one on me.
He wrote “Coraline” “Neverwhere” “Sandman” “Mirror Mask” “The Graveyard Book” “Stardust” and much, much more…Brilliantly skilled with words. I love when words are so perfectly crafted, then I swear I could have an orgasm it’s such an immense pleasure to read lmao
Dang. I must admit I’ve never read those. Is that the same Coraline that was made into a move that kept my kids up at night for a month?
The very same lol
There should have been a parental warning on that movie. It was definitely horror from a little kid’s perspective
That book I’ve never actually read, so I don’t know how adult it is, but he mostly writes for adults. But don’t blame him for the way they marketed that movie 😉 He’s a genius. “The Graveyard Book” is awesome for I’d say maybe 5th grade and up. He commonly writes about parallel worlds. I would love to get inside his mind.
My favourite is Jane Austen, not as an historical writer but as a contemporary of her day. She had such a clear-eyed view of the people around her. She wrote characters that make you say “I know somebody like that!” Georgette Heyer had the same skill with a touch more humour. That’s what I want to achieve.
Yes, I see what you mean, although I believe this is another whose style could not be “copied” today and be accepted.
You’re right, both Jane and Georgette would get form rejections for their writing craft–the backstory dump alone would see the job done. But their concept of humourous, sometimes sarcastic, clarity will never be old-fashioned. Few authors have come anywhere near them.
Figure a way to blend it in and you’ll be a winner!
Dickens is my fave. I wish it was still acceptable to write with such beautiful prose. He did it so well.
Yeah, I don’t think his stuff would be accepted at all today. It’s a shame.
Well, Jennifer, I am one who hasn’t really read and studied the literary greats, but there are three authors that stand out to me. Instead of growing up reading the classics, I grew up reading Stephen King. Some of his stories I can’t get into, but the ones that I do get into, I can’t put down. I can still remember reading Pet Sematary late at night in college and actually looking around my bedroom for ghosts, being scared like a little kid. Margaret Mitchell is another one, as her characters in GWTW were so alive and made me feel emotionally involved. Just the thought of how Scarlett totally blew it with Rhett stirs frustration in me to this day. And finally, J.K. Rowling. Looking at a Christmas picture of my friends at Harry Potter World I think. . . .all that was from one woman’s imagination. Incredible.
Merry Christmas!
Walking into hogsmede in universal studios brought tears to my eyes. Not because I was such a huge fan, but because that came from an author’s imagination. Incredible.
Good questions from JC 😀
Mine would be Poe… Love his use of language 🙂
Poe is so creepy. But simple. It’s a great style.
My literary idol is Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, may he rest in peace. Not only is he my favorite writer, but he’s also one of my heroes and a huge inspiration for my writing, particularly my Russian historical fiction. He was prepared to die for his writing if need be, and went through so many tense, dramatic struggles to write and have his books smuggled out to the West. And he kept entire novels, plays, prose poems, and stories memorized in his head for years in the camps, before he was finally at liberty to write them down (and then hide them). I’ll always regret that I never wrote him a letter, since I assumed he’d live to at least 100.
Wow! Talk about conviction. I’ve never heard of him before. Thanks.