Back on the Blog Chain: Standing on the Shoulders of Other Authors

Wow, it's been a month since my last Blog Chain post. I started the last one, so I'm near the end this time. Christine started us off with the question:

“Which author or authors have most influenced your writing and how?”

Amanda posted before me, and Eric will share his thoughts tomorrow.

I think a couple of people mentioned earlier in this chain how they're influenced by every book and author they've ever read. I feel this way too. I started reading when I was three, so that's a lot of authors! I'll only mention a few of them here.

When I first started reading science fiction and fantasy, I read a lot of the really popular authors, such as Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffery, and Mercedes Lackey. Of the three, I would say Lackey made the longest-lasting impression, especially when it comes to interior monologue. My early novels had a lot of interior monologue, though I'm using less of it now. These days, one of my favorite authors is Patricia McKillip. I really admire her poetic style and her unique angle on story-telling, but to be honest, I don't feel my style is similar enough to hers to claim her as an influence.

These days, I read a fair amount of urban fantasy, and that's influenced the next project I have on my list, an urban fantasy about a pair of shapeshifting sisters. (Charles de Lint's work still defines the genre for me. Some of his novels have a pair of shapeshifting sisters too, though I intend to take my characters in a different direction.) While I read quite a few authors in this genre, I think the most influential one for me has been Carrie Vaughn. I like how her werewolf heroine and her mate still have to deal with mundane problems along with supernatural ones. They're ordinary people thrust into a supernatural world, and it makes them feel more real and easier to empathize with.

I'm sure there are plenty more authors who have influenced me, but that's all I can think of for now. Just as Newton said he saw farther by standing on the shoulders of giants (those who came before him), I stand on the shoulders of other authors. If what I write isn't the classic SF of the Golden Age, it's because the authors I mentioned above, along with many others, helped redefine the genre.

Tune in tomorrow when I answer questions from readers, as I promised in Monday's entry. There's still time to ask me something if you'd like, so please leave a comment in that blog post. Thanks!