Authors and Books That Have Inspired Me

Eleanor Frances Lattimore: Fair Bay

Like a painter using a few delicate brush strokes, Lattimore creates in this children’s book a rich, imagistic world from few words, illustrating the principal that less can truly be more. This is the first book I fell in love with. It made me a reader and instilled in me the desire to be a writer.

Proust: Remembrance of Lost Time

Proust is a master at depicting the way sensory experiences in the present evoke the past. His work inspires me to include details of taste, touch, sound, and smell as part of creating memory in all my characters.

Virginia Woolf: The Years

Woolf is unparalleled in depicting the interiority of her characters through her groundbreaking technique, interior monologue. She excels at making the economic and social details of her characters’ daily lives as dramatic as any action-packed fiction. She’s my go-to author for capturing my characters’ thoughts.

John Casey: Spartina

Casey’s evocation of place is unparalleled. His lush, evocative descriptions cast a spell over the reader, immersing us in new worlds. At the same time, his prose is spare, accessible, and direct – something to emulate!

Nadine Gordimer: Berger’s Daughter

Gordimer takes complicated political situations and illuminates them through the prism of the individual. Her work inspires me to situate my characters in history and social conflict in order to explore the intersection of the outside world and personal stories.