I’ve never had siblings – although I always dreamt of an older brother – but over the years I have had a few fantastic girlfriends who were to me, by choice, more than any sister, by nature, would’ve been. Physical distance keeps us apart now, but the feeling is still there, that feeling of solidarity, of belonging, of shared secrets, of complicity, if you want.Much of the same warms my heart now when we exchange thoughts and feelings on our blogs. I’m very grateful for it. And so I’m glad for the opportunity to show a little of my appreciation by giving the award to (unfortunately only) a few of my… sisters:
Absolute Vanilla & Attilah
L.A. Mitchell
Lisa
Miladysa
Sarah Hina
Now for the meme…
Sarah has tagged me with a list of the twenty-five authors who have influenced my writing. Hmmm… It wasn't easy to assemble it, but in the end I realised there were several other writers that I would've liked to add to the list and couldn't.
This is my list, in alphabetical order:
1) Greg Bear (for “Eon”, “Eternity”, “The Forge of God”, and “Anvil of Stars”)
2) Jorge Luis Borges
3) Edgar Rice Burroughs
4) Raymond Chandler
5) Agatha Christie
6) Willkie Collins
7) Michael Crichton
8) Arthur Conan Doyle
9) Alexandre Dumas
10) Thomas Hardy
11) E.T.A. Hoffman (the German Romantic author)
12) Stephen King
13) H. P. Lovecraft
14) Thomas Mann (the German author of “Buddenbrooks”)
15) Daphne du Maurier
16) Margaret Mitchell
17) Edgar Allan Poe
18) Jean Ray (the Belgian master of the fantastic, author of “Malpertuis”)
19) William Shakespeare
20) Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
21) Robert Silverberg
22) Dan Simmons (the “Hyperion” series)
23) Bram Stoker
24) Jules Verne
25) Emile Zola
I think that Sarah has said a very wise and true thing, and I couldn’t agree more with her. I have learned tremendously from my fellow bloggers over my almost two years among them and, for this, I am very grateful.
It’s my turn now to invite Bernard, L.A. Mitchell, and Miladysa to play along.
19 comments:
Thank you for passing on the sisterhood award. You have truly made my day :)
I love your meme choices. They have piqued my curiosity about you as a person even more than it already was. Very impressive and fascinating list!
xo
A well deserved award for you and an impressive list of favorite writers.
Wishing you a wonderful day.
Hugs, G
There's a fair number on your list of influences that would be on mine too. Strange, I was just thinking of Carmilla last night.
Vesper - Your list is quite diverse -- from Greg Bear to Margaret Mitchell! I haven't found too many sci-fi lovers out here (can't beat a good sci-fi for ethical examinations), so it's good to see that someone else can love Thomas Hardy and Stephen King at the same time! I don't know Jean Ray or Le Fanu, so I thank you for giving me a quest!.
Yay! Another 25er. Love your list Vesper. I can see these being your influences.
grats v... so well-deserved :D
great meme, too... i could never list just 25, though
Vesper...There is some commonality to what would have been on a mutual list, Poe, King, Stroker, Dumas, Doyle but what...no Dickens?
Grats on finding sisters.
Lisa, you’re very welcome! This is how I feel – I hope you feel it too… As for the list, I’m glad you found it interesting. :-)
Thank you, Geraldine! And a wonderful weekend to you. *many hugs*
I thought so, Charles. :-) Your mentioning of Carmilla made me start reading it again last night. Although I love all his stories, my favourite of his is “A Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter”.
Karen, I must admit, I love science fiction. “Somebody else”? – hmmm, I remember seeing Thomas Hardy on your list, but no sf... I’m glad to hear that. :-)
Le Fanu is an Irish writer, a master of the Gothic art. You can find stories on gutenberg.org. Jean Ray will be more difficult to find. I believe there exists a volume (maybe two) of his short stories translated into English, but even if you read him in French, as I do, his work is very hard to find.
Thank you, Cat! :-)
Thanks, LW! :-) Yeah, I too had a hard time limiting the list to 25 names.
Mark, Dickens, certainly, and many others, but I had to stop at 25. :-)
Aww, thanks so much for the award, Vesper! You are such a sweetie and a great sister.
Funny that, I don't have siblings either and also always wanted an older brother!
Love your list of influencers - brilliant!
xoxoxox
Thank you, Vesper!! What a sweet perk to my morning. Though I shall steal a few of yours, I'll do my best to pass the torch on Monday :)
Have a fantastic weekend!
Congrats on your lovely Sisterhood award, and I enjoyed reading your list of influential authors, too! May your name appear on someone else's list someday :).
I like your list very much except for Thomas Hardy. I never recovered from reading 'Jude The Obscure'. :)
Thank you so much for the wonderful Sisterhood award, Vesper. I've felt that connection in our words from the very beginning. :) It really does touch me that you see it, too.
Your list is wonderfully diverse, and I can see those influences in your work. You have a wonderfully romantic side (which especially dazzles in your poetry), but also a more keenly scientific perspective, too. It's a unique talent to have that range, I think.
And I have to disagree with Bernard. ;) I loved poor, wonderful Jude! Tess, too. In fact, Hardy almost showed up on my list. :)
And I'm glad you reminded me of Thomas Mann. Death in Venice is a personal favorite.
I am blessed with friends who are sisters to me, too. Isn't it imperative!
Love your list; it would be pretty similar to mine, but I'd add Khalil Gibran, Rudyard Kipling and Robert Fulghum.
How do we only choose 25?
Scarlett &
Thank you for the award Vesper - I'm honoured :D
Loved your list of authors - there are quite a few in there that I would have to choose too. I'll play along - it might take a day or two but I'll let you know once I've posted.
M x
What a varied and interesting list! I certainly share in your enthusiasm for Stoker, Poe, Burroughs, Shakespeare, King and wow!!!I love Du Maurier! ;)))
Done :D
Vesper - I'd like to invite you to my "welcome back to the blog world" party over at my place. Check it out.
Vanilla, my pleasure and it is the truth! Hmmm, interesting the similarities…. :-)
xoxoxo
L.A., you’re very welcome! Thank you for playing along. :-)
Thanks, Marilyn! :-) You’re much too kind. It would be enough if I would see my name on a book cover… :-)
Thanks, Bernard. It’s true, “Jude the Obscure” was dark, but I still like Thomas Hardy. :-)
Sarah, yes, the connection is definitely here… :-) And I think you’re a very good judge of characters…
xoxoxo
It is, Scarlett! And you’re right – it’s difficult to stop at 25. :-)
You’re very welcome, Miladysa! I’m off to see your list now! :-)
I’m glad to hear this, Kaye! :-) I love “Frenchman’s Creek” and “The King’s General”. “Rebecca” too, obviously.
Thank you so much, Hoodie! I’ll be there! :-)
Post a Comment