Top Ten Tuesday- Authors Who Deserve More Recognition

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created over at my other blog, The Broke and the Bookish.
 

Lisa T. Bergren- I’m not sure if I would have heard of her if a friend hadn’t recommended her book series, then later I saw someone mention it during a boutofbooks chat. After that I looked the River of Time series up… and fell in love with the story. 

Stephanie Fowers- I love talking about local authors. Stephanie’s books are light, and filled with humor. Her characters are so relatable that if I were to cast the actors in the play or movie version, I have a friend that would fit every role perfectly. 

Lindsey Leavitt- Okay, she’s fairly well known. But more people need to know about her. Her Princess for Hire series is an absolute delightful read.

Maria V. Snyder- How she isn’t more well-known is a mystery to me. Maria is the queen of strong, relatable heroines. Her Study series features a lead named Yelena, and is one of my absolute favorite heroines. Wonderful world building, fantastic characters (you’ll love Ari and Janco too!) and absorbing story telling.

R.L. LaFevers- I think by now a lot of the blogging community has heard about her and her fantastic books. However, if it weren’t for all the amazing bloggers out there I may not have found her books! 

S.J. Kincaid- Another author I know of because of blogging. I read Insignia last year and loved it. A YA novel with a male MC! 

Elizabeth Fama- I got to meet Elizabeth, be jealous. No seriously, you should be jealous because she’s awesome. When you think mermaids, you think red hair, dinglehoppers, heart of gold, couldn’t hurt a fly, etc, etc. Elizabeth takes that stereotype,  flips it upside down and makes it ever so much more interesting. Monstrous Beauty is a great read if you’re looking for something that’s a mix of romance, historical fiction, mystery, and fantasy. 

Chanda Hahn- I don’t even remember how I heard about her series, but it’s wonderful. I’m a sucker for a fairy tale retelling, and her books are fantastic! 

Jessica Day George- I discovered her by accident (another local author!) when I won the audio for her book, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. I think she might be more well known among MG readers, not many realize she writes YA as well.

So… I only made it to 8. Turns out a lot of my favorite authors are already well known. 

Who is on your list? What delightful authors have I yet to discover???

Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created over at my other blog, The Broke and the Bookish.

Okay, this list was not easy for me! It made me realize just how many authors I automatically buy books from, narrowing it down to just ten was difficult.

1.       J.K. Rowling- I didn’t even care for The Casual Vacancy, in fact, I didn’t even finish it. ( You can read my discussion about it with some of the gals from The Broke and the Bookish, here) However, Rowling will forever remain an ‘auto-buy’ for me. She wrote the books that made up my childhood, and most of the time I really love her writing.

2.       Maria V. Snyder- I’ve purchased every book she’s written and will continue to do so. She never disappoints. She creates detailed and intriguing worlds, strong heroines, hilarious dialogue and swoon-worthy guys.

3.       Robin LaFevers- She became an instant favorite when I read Grave Mercy, and when I was offered an arc for the sequel Dark Triumph I was so giddy I was dancing around my living room. I love her writing, and the amount of research she puts into her books is fascinating. Find her on tumbr, she posts some fun stuff.

4.       Gayle Forman- One of the only authors I know that can put every emotion that a human is capable of feeling all into one book. I cry, sigh, laugh, yell at the characters… Any time I hear she has a new book coming out I hunt for every sneak peek and tidbit that I can find until the book is actually published.

5.       Ally Condie (Allyson Braithwaite Condie)- I get to brag, I’ve been a fan of Ally’s since before Matched. I read her books that she had published through Deseret Book.  I remember when I first heard about Matched. I’d spent a few years telling everyone to read her books, suddenly Matched was published and I was the one being told all about her. I’d just secretly gloat that I’d known about her before. (I've even been lucky enough to meet her!)

6.       Cinda Williams Chima- I downloaded the first Seven Realms book, Demon King, from Audible on a whim… About a month later I had listened to the first three books and was patiently waiting dying while waiting for the last book to come out.

7.       Garth Nix- Humor, incredible world building, outstanding characters and great stories. What is there that you could possibly dislike?

8.       Rick Riordan- I actually haven’t read ALL of his books, yet. He’s yet to disappoint me with a book, however, so he remains on my auto buy list.

9.       Brandon Sanderson- Again, I haven’t read ALL of his books yet. Love his writing style and his ability to create a world  and characters that are so vivid that I disappear completely when I’m reading.

10.   Maureen Johnson- I just finished another of her books The Madness Underneath. Absolutely loved it! Which is just about how I feel about her other books.

 

Others that I didn’t list because I can’t exactly consider them auto buys anymore… because they don’t exactly publish new stuff: Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Michael Crichton…

What about you?? Who is on your list?