When I was little my mum always read me Enid Blyton books, and when I was little nothing sparked my imagination more. The idea that toys could come to life, the characters of the Faraway Tree, characters of Little Golden Books, just made my childhood magical. I've always known I needed to write, nothing feels more right for me.
I read King Lear and the Crucible in year High School and both these plays really stayed with me. I guess I'm fascinated by human nature, and the brutal themes in these books made me wonder what kind of people could do these things?
Especially because the crucible is based on a true story, which make sit even more bizarre. Sometime truth really is stranger than fiction.
I always knew from a young age I wanted to write. I remember seeing books with gold sticker on them and the librarian telling us that that mean the author had won an award. I remember saying to myself in my mind at only seven or so, that one day, I would win one of those! I FELT it in my soul.
Haha we will see, but whatever happens or how many people read my books, I just have a desire to tell stories and I hope that they bring some pleasure to children and adults.
So, here's a list of books that changed the way I thought about writing:
The Faraway Tree
I loved the characters Moon face and the pixie. I loved the old Dame Washer women, and I loved that you never knew what was going to be at the top of the tree when they got up there. I remember just being so enchanted and excited by these books, it was like anything was possible.
Little Golden Books
I always loved the illustration, even now as an adult I will sit down and admire the illustration of these books, mostly the vintage ones. They have a quaintness and an innocence about them.
The Princess and the Goblin
This book was the first gothic work of fiction I ever read. I’m not sure if it would be classified as such, but I remember the way this book made me feel. It was kind of gloomy and oppressive and strange and romantic all at once, and this is the type of story I want to write.
Anne of Green Gables and The Story Girl
Who doesn’t love Anne’s fiery temper and over dramatic musings? Anne Shirly made me want to ne a writer and teacher.
The Story Girl to me was even better than Anne of Gren Gables. It was just sooo romatic and beautiful.
Huckleberry Finn
This is the first adult book I ever read and I was blown away by the beautiful language. I got to go along the Mississippi when I went to America, so it was a magical moment for me.
There’s just such a magic that some old book possess, it’s the descriptive and beautiful words that just hit you in the soul and you can’t quite explain why, but they just speak to you and move you.
King Lear
Now this play is the best play ever! Forget Romeo and Juliet, I love the brutalness of this play. The savageness of it all. It’s dark and brutal and it just is a lot meatier than Romeo and Juliet and much more interesting. Cordelia is a pain, but we need her in there to create relief from the rest of the savage bunch.
Flowers in the Attic
I don't care what anyone says, Virginia Andrews has a name for her trashy books, but I love every minute of them. These were the most adult books I had ever read at fifteen and I was shocked by the content, but it opened my eyes as to how messed up adult relationships can be, and again the whole idea of revenge and what a motivator that can be really inspired my own writing. We fall in love with Cathy as the protagonist of the book, but as the story goes on we see how she becomes bitter and angry with her mother, and the idea that someone can live their life, but underneath this hatred can dwell, it makes for an interesting story.
The Hobbit
I read this book in year nine and I feel in love with it. I knew that one day I would write a book like this. I did feel a little overwhelmed when reading it as there was just sooo much happened in in it. I guess I never really read such a fantastical book before. It definitely inspired me and still does.
To Kill a Mocking Bird
As with the Crucible, this story fascinated me, not only for the beautiful way it is written, and the magic of the story being told through Scout's eyes, but the fact that it is really a story of mass hysteria and human fear. As I 've grown up and seen people react in ways that I don’t understand or comprehend, I've realised a lot of the time it is fear based. Racism is fear based, hate crimes are feared based, and I think it's basic human nature to want to protect ourselves from the unknown. It's a survival mechanism, but obviously, it has been taken to far on many occasions. If only in a moment of fear and hatred, if people could stop and look at who and why they are hating, then there would be a lot less misery in the world.
The Colour Purple
This book really shocked me when we read it at school as it is full of 'colourful language' and the main character has a lesbian relationship with Shug.... It really opened my eyes though to how people can relate to each other and how these two characters developed their relationship, and it wasn’t about being gay or straight, but about how humans have a basic need for love.
The Crucible
This book changed my life, as I have a fascination with psychology and I have always wondered what drives people to do what they do. The story of Abigail Williams and how an entire town became hysterical over witchcraft has always fascinated me since I read it and saw the movie. It is so hard to believe that such a thing could occur. That someone could not just say, this is madness? If anyone stands up to the status quo, everyone else becomes scared and starts to attack that person to keep them inline. You can witness the very same thing happening in this day and age on Facebook. One person disagrees and you have five or six people jump on their case...
Mob mentality. It is whatever is deemed to be right or wrong a the time.
Gormenghast
All thought I have never actually read the book, I watched the movie when I was a teenager and it just blew my mind. I just knew I was on the right track writing fantasy, there's just something about fantasy that sets my souls a light. I will have to track down the book and read it.
So now that I have written out this list, I can actually see why I write what I do. My favourite genre is Gothic Fantasy, and I LOVE to explore the motivations behind why characters are the way they are. There must be heart, otherwise you have nothing.
