Author Influences
The authors I like to read
Truthfully, I never enjoyed reading very much as a child. I was always more interested in art, sports, and creative writing. My parents are both very well educated—my mother a retired teacher and school district superintendent, my father an attorney and president of a risk management company. They always encouraged me to read and write—inevitably with a red pen ready for their editing.
Early in my reading maturity, I enjoyed simple stories about sports—mostly those with pictures. I enjoyed reading The World's Greatest Athlete. Remember that one by Gerald Gardner, early 1970’s? I recall thinking I could take a liking to reading after finishing Gardner's book. And, the movie with Tim Conway and Jan-Michael Vincent is a classic by my account. I was probably nine or ten when I first saw it.
I moved ahead as I grew older—influenced mostly by what my parents and older brother read and suggested. Dad was an early Robert Ludlum fan. I’ve read many of his works—preferred the Jason Bourne series, but also liked the The Icarus Agenda, and The Prometheus Deception. Mom also liked Ludlum, and had many other favorites, but lately she’s been overloading me with Jonathan Kellerman, Sue Grafton, and David Baldacci. Dad favors Nelson Demille at the moment.
Reading for me has always been most interesting in the mystery/thriller genre. I’ve read some classical literature, historical, and non-fiction, but I prefer to hang on the edge of my chair throughout the read. Not to say that novels like The Art of War, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and The Great Gatsby didn’t give me great perspective, or at least perceived perspective; they did. And, maybe some of these reads were less enjoyable than they could have been because when you're a college student, you're stuck on every page as if it's all that stands between you and getting to the evening's social event with your friends.
I like to read when I travel on a plane or in a hotel room, and occasionally at home—always with one goal when I first pick up a book. I want to be entertained, intellectually challenged, and I want to try to read from cover to cover in less than four sittings.
Some of my all-time favorite contemporary authors are: John Grisham—read all of his works. Bleachers was the latest and very touching for me, having grown up and played football in a small town like the setting. I finished it in one plane flight. Tom Clancy is the master of intellectual challenge. Why has Without Remorse not been made into a movie yet? I love many others of his books; what's not to love about the Jack Ryan series? But, Remorse has always stuck with me as a great story. John Kelly, to me, is a more heroic protagonist than Ryan—probably because Mr.Clark(Kelly) is so mysterious and skilled. Dan Brown’s got an intriguing novel out right now, it's on my bedside table—The Da Vinci Code. Baldacci—Absolute Power was my first and favorite of his, though Total Control is a close second. Patricia Cornwell, Julie Garwood (just finished Killjoy, it was fast-moving), Stephen King, Michael Crichton, and Dean Koontz—all very good reads to me. There are, of course, many others. Too many to list. I’ve read some Nicholas Sparks—it started because he, too, was an ND graduate. He's typically more regarded as a romance genre writer, but I really liked The Guardian—his first cross-over to thriller. And, I have Nights in Rodanthe on my bedside table up next. I’ve also read and enjoyed Alan Jacobson’s novels, False Accusations and The Hunted—I was turned on to his books by his neighbors, our friends. He’s given me some good advice along the path to becoming an author. A new release by any of the above listed author's would entice me to buy their hardcover.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and Tuesday's with Morrie by Mitch Albom were compelling non-fictional reads for me.
My wife and I read from the Harry Potter series with our boys in the evenings. My older son has quite an imagination; he really loves to lay and listen. My younger is more partial to dinosaur books—those picture gems I once enjoyed breezing through as a child.
In summary, reading is truly a key developer of the senses per se—the sense of imagination. Although I may never achieve the level of these writers, I’d be proud to be half as well respected. Regardless of my achievements, I will always love a good thriller—preferably one that will come out in a motion picture at some point so I can watch and compare as I always enjoy doing. I’d love to someday see Coalwater, or another work of mine, produced into a film. That would be the ultimate thrill!
Keep reading! Hopefully, you'll enjoy my writing. I know I have a long way to go to fathom true fictional excellence. But, I do believe many of the authors listed above started along a path much like mine. I hope I’ll be on a list one day, and I pray it's not the top ten bombs of the decade.
Kevin
