Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group discussion

It's an interesting phenomenon how we as individuals can love a certain author for the same reason another reader hates him or her. I don't want to focus on the negative here. Instead, I want to ask you to pick your favorite author and explain why he or she is your favorite. This isn't so much a justification, but just thinking through what makes a certain author's writing style or books resonate with us. As always, there is no wrong or right answer.

My favorites are Catherine Anderson, Linda Lael Miller, J.R. Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, Suzanne Brockmann and a handful of others. I love these authors for the strong characters they've created in their stories.

I think this is hard to qualify at times. It is sort of like meeting a person and in the first 5 minutes you feel like you have know the person forever. Some books are like that, you can't really say why, but you know that when you pick them up they are a sure thing.

I do like creative worlds, quirky characters, and people that I can relate to.

Exaclty!!

Darcy wrote: "I think this is hard to qualify at times. It is sort of like meeting a person and in the first 5 minutes you feel like you have know the person forever.

My Fave is Gena Showalter, Kresley Cole, Linda Howard Nalini Singh and J.D.Robb.
I like their writing style, the world that they build, the interaction between the character ^^.
I admit, i like J.R.Ward too, but its down after Phury's books :(

I love authors who do the unexpected, use fresh imagery, surprise me with language... I read so much in this genre, I desperately crave variety. Strongly felt emotion is important too.

Darcy wrote: "I think this is hard to qualify at times. It is sort of like meeting a person and in the first 5 minutes you feel like you have know the person forever. Some books are like that, you can't really..."

I totally agree, Darcy!

@ Darcy
some kind like love at the first sight then, ^^ lol. I get that feeling when first read Naked in Death.


@Eugenia
i feel that too, its happen when i read Gena's books and Kresley's books. I'm so happy can read their books again ^^

My fave authors take me away into a world that I can relate to and at the same time make me root for the characters, all this hopefully in a light and funny setting. Dark is okay too but I get better ttaken in by the lightness.

Some of those who do this for me are Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, Jill Mansell, Adelle Parks, Jennifer Crusie, Janet Evanovich, Philippa Gregory, Martina Cole, Sidney Sheldon, Susan Wiggs.

They know how to 'grab' you, if that makes any sense.

Yup, pins and needles for the next release! That's the feeling too!

My favorite authors have these abilities:

1)Grab my attention and keep me involved on every level in their books.
2)Make the moments I spend with them worthwhile.
3)Bring a sense of trust fulfilled to me. What I mean is, they live up to their end of the bargain. I buy and read their books, they give me an enjoyable reading experience.
4)They can take a subject that makes me uncomfortable, and build a story around it that makes me get past my comfort zone issues.
5)They make me forget what's going on in the real world. I'm in their world and I'm loving it. And when I leave it, it's kind of a letdown to come back to the real world.
6)They make me feel what their characters are feeling.
7)I am astounded at their imagination, and ability to tell me an interesting story.
8)They can make me laugh one minute, and make me cry the next.

My favorite authors:
1)Anne Stuart
2)Diana Palmer
3)Kresley Cole
4)JR Ward
5)Lisa Kleypas
6)Christina Dodd
7)Christine Feehan
8)Rob Thurman
9)Jim Butcher
10)Simon R. Green
11)Sherrilyn Kenyon
12)Gena Showalter
13)Patricia Briggs
14)Laura Kinsale
15)Nalini Singh
16)Richard Matheson
17)MR James
18)Edgar Allen Poe
19)Cherie Priest (only read one by her, but it was soo good)
20)Connie Brockway
21)Jodi Thomas
22)Manly Wade Wellman
23)CS Lewis
24)Ilona Andrews
25)Matthew Reilly
26)Larissa Ione

I think what makes the work of my favorite authors (yep, like everyone else I couldn't pick just one) - J.R. Ward, Ilona Andrews, Adrian Phoenix, Patricia Briggs and Rachel Vincent - is based in their world building. All of these authors have a remarkable ability to develop rich, intricate worlds that make them more interesting than so many others. They introduce mythology, settings or dynamics unique to a lot of the cookie cutter series out there. Additionally, they all have wonderful characters with a combination of amazing strength and vulnerability, they are flawed but written so that you believe in them. I become so wrapped up in their stories that I basically shut down for new releases and mourn the time between them and the next installment.

Excellent list, Danielle! You have some of my faves in there.

My fave authors have a lyrical way of writing that grabs me into the story and holds me there right until the end. They're really good at characterization and plot building and always make me feel like I've had an adventure reading their works and can't wait for the next one.

I'm not sure I can pick just one, but on my list is:

Anne Rice
Anne Stuart
Aldous Huxley
Ray Bradbury
Philip K. Dick
Diana Gabaldon (her first 2 Outlander books)
Sandra Kitt
Suzanne Brockmann
Vivi Anna (her Necropolis series)
Teresa D'Amario
Richard Matheson
John Grisham
Jon F. Merz
Raven Dane
Rebecca Heath
Michael Crichton
Laurie Halse Anderson
Julie Kagawa
Jim Butcher
Sharon Cullars
Henry David Thoreau

I love how diverse your list is, Rae. I forgot to put Ray Bradbury on my list. I love him!

Thanks Danielle! He's such a great author indeed. :-D

Willaful wrote: "I love authors who do the unexpected, use fresh imagery, surprise me with language... I read so much in this genre, I desperately crave variety. Strongly felt emotion is important too."

That is so important to us heavy readers! I am so disappointed when one of my go-to authors puts out a book that is unworthy of them.

Dani, your list of what engages you is so well said. I especially like to read to get me away from the real world too (can't read books based on "true events" very often!).

I love Anne Stuart, Kim Harrison, Karen Rose, Suzanne Brockmann, Karen Marie Moning, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Marjorie M. Liu, J. R. Ward and many more. I find there are others who I love because of a particular series but sometimes only that series (i.e.: I adore Gena Showalter but I can't get into her Darkest series).

Yes,I think Darcy said it perfectly-like old friends,I pretty much know what to expect.

My fav. authors grab me from the first page

Meme wrote: "My fav. authors grab me from the first page"

And never lets me go.....leaves me wanting more.......

Keeps me up at night because I can't put it down.

True true....have had a lot of sleepless night this summer reading about Navy Seals (Tall Dark and Dangerous) AND those Vampires (BDB) Rhage and Z........sigh.....

Had to start reading something else just so I could get a whole night's sleep Ha Ha

What a wonderful thread! Thanks for the thought-provoking discussion, Lady D!

1. I look for quality in the writing. It doesn't necessarily have to be my favorite genre, but I want to be swept away by the best. Then, afterwards, I can use a little metacognition to understand just what it was about the setting, the plot, and the characters that intrigued me.

2. It must be plot-based fiction... romance, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy or whatever. I've no patience for the other kinds of stories our book club keeps choosing. Of course, with plot-based fiction, once one has said whether or not one likes the story, the book club has little to discuss, so they choose other types of books.

3. I have to feel like the characters are my kind of people. I've had a little trouble with some of the paranormal fiction because there isn't a hook that lets me identify with one of the characters, to understand what makes them tick. Motivations need to be shared with the reader.

4. I like an author to give me a fast-paced plot with some reflection showing character growth between the episodes of action. I want to understand why a character will choose the path they take, and for the author to show how the actions affect their growing understanding of themselves.

5. There have to be developing relationships. This was what turned me off to some series, for instance, J.D. Robb mysteries where Eve and Roarke are just a set. The first four had this element, now it is lacking. I hope I never come to feel that way about Cat and Bones.

6. There has to be a worthy adversary... a lame villain doesn't challenge the protagonists. Sometimes the villain is the fears a protagonist must overcome in order to gain something... this is why our tortured heroes are so popular.

I'm sure other things will come to mind, but these are the kinds of things I think of when figuring out why I love someone's work.

My favorite newer author is Nalini Singh... I'm just starting to collect secondhand copies of all her books.

My keeper shelves are full of Lora Leigh, Janet Evanovich, Georgette Heyer, Nora Roberts, Rachel Lee, Jayne Ann Krentz, Catherine Coulter, Linda Howard, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Susan Wiggs, J.R. Ward, Elizabeth Zimmerman (knitting books), Sandra Brown (just the romances), Linda Lael Miller, Suzanne Brockmann, Christina Dodd, Lori Foster, Tara Jantzen, Elizabeth Lowell, Julia Child (cookbooks) and Robyn Carr, among others.

Linda wrote: "Meme wrote: "My fav. authors grab me from the first page"

And never lets me go.....leaves me wanting more......."

Yeah that too. :)

Very articulate qualifications, Mollie. I have to agree with you on all points. I gravitate towards PNR because I have always had a love affair with the fantastic. What makes me hooked is seeing where the imagination of the author takes me. I look for the humanity in the characters are that are often not human.

Linda, you are having an exciting summer. Very cool!