With this whole writing gig, I’ve been doing a lot of research on authors, specifically LDS authors: who they are, where they’re being published, and that kind of stuff. And let me say, there are TONS of LDS authors out there in the publishing world. I had no idea. And many of them are not just writing for the LDS market, but are doing extremely well in the national market, like Ally Condie for example (if you haven’t read MATCHED, read it, it’s great). So that got me wondering…
Who is your favorite LDS author and why?
What do you like about their style?
What is your favorite book they’ve written?
I’m always looking for good books to read and while I don’t exclusively read LDS authors because that would be strange, now that I realize how many are out there, I’m curious to read more of their stuff. I’ve been following the Whitney Awards for some time (if you don’t know what that is, more info here) which has alerted me to some really amazing books, but I’m very curious to see how you guys would answer those three questions.
Comment below if you have a second.
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My favorite LDS author is me.Lol, I'm just kidding. I'm in a bit of a crazy mood today!I'm a big fan of Brandon Mull cuz Fablehaven rocks!Jolene Perry just came out with The Next Door Boys, which was great. And Maggie Freschner (I think I'm totally spelling that wrong btw) wrote Growing Up Gracie, which was really good too!And I heard Rebecca Billiston's Sadie is AWESOME! I'll have to let you know once I read it ;)
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Haha, Cassie. You're so awesome. I've just started Fablehaven and I'm really liking it so far. I'll check out the others. Thanks!
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we LOVE Fablehaven! Go Brandon Mull! Love David Wooley, Dean Hughes, and some guy named Gerald Lund… They all incorporate historical fiction in a believable way. Each of them have grown with each book as far as flow and character development. My favorite part about Fablehaven is that there are consequences for every action (positive and negative) and that is a terribly important life lesson. (And my 8 year old made his own emergency kit to keep under his bed while we read the first Fablehaven- so I am certain it really speaks to everyone!) I love the Ally Condie Matched series. I used to enjoy Anita Stansfield, but it's felt a bit stale and out of my comfort zone for the past 5-6 years. In my late teen years Jack Weyland really spoke to me, and so did Chris Heimmerdinger (and my kids are just beginning tennis shoes as well- BUT I cannot listen to him reading his own book! It's really horrible…) The Shannon Hale books look really good, and I own a couple but we haven't gotten to the yet. I also loved the MAze Runner by James Dashner, who I didn't realize was LDS until I noticed he's written the 13th Reality Series as well. I also like Richard Paul Evans and his gentle story telling style. It's hard to pick a favorite, since they are all so different. We started the Beyonders by Brandon Mull and even though we are more then halfway into it, I am still trying to decide if I love it. It is written with much more complex sentence structure and a deeper vocabulary and I find myself having to stop and explain several words to my 8 year old. Maybe my favorite author will be you! I'll let you know in about 10 days after my order arrives from Deseret Book! (Can't wait.) Have a great week, and I am so glad you post so frequently.
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Awesome list. I've read all the James Dashner my library here in Michigan has (which isn't much) and really liked Maze Runner. Shannon Hale is one of my personal favorites. You should read her stuff. My fav of hers is Book of a Thousand Days. I've read quite a few Gerald Lund books ;) but not much of the others you mentioned. Thanks for the new ideas!
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Oh…and I hope you like SADIE too. :)
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did i even mention stephanie meyer?! i loved twilight, granted it wasn't the best piece of work from a literary standpoint, but I literally couldn't put it down. I'd look be reading and look at the time and found I'd lost a couple of hours!!! To me, that's a good book.
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Stephenie's books are on the top of my fav list. The HOST is awesome! I thought it was her best book by far and I'm very excited for the movie. And I know what you mean about losing hours. That really is the best gauge, right?
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Sorry, jumping in the conversation again, lol. I read Beyonders, and it was okay…but I think I was expecting so much more because, like I said Fablehaven totally rocked! And Stephanie Meyer's Host was great! I'm a fan of Twilight too. :)And I think The Forgotten Locket is written by an LDS author, but I'm not sure…but that's a really good one too!
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Lisa Mangum, who is LDS, wrote the Hourglass Door trilogy, which includes the Forgotten Locket. I've only read the first book in the series but I really really liked it. I need to get the next two.
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