Today, my friend Shawn posted an interview with my (I wanna say friend)
K.L. Going (click there, or SEE LINK BELOW). She's not "really" my friend, but we've spoken on the phone a few times, and she's critiqued some of my early manuscripts, and I even helped her out once, with something small she needed.
Why am I proud of this fact? Why do I wish I could call K.L.Going a friend?
Because I admire her. She's brilliant. She's everything as a YA writer I hope to be.
I didn't know this when I first pulled, The Liberation of Gabriel King off the B&N shelf years ago, but I knew it the minute I read it to my kids. And I knew it when I bought St. Iggy after it, and as each of her new, award-winning novels come out. K.L.'s characters come alive, her stories are both poignant and funny, her writing is both beautiful and evocative and accessible.
As a YA writer, I aspire to be one iota as good as K.L.Going. If you haven't read her, you should.
Who makes you aspire and admire? Who is your K.L.Going?
http://community.livejournal.com/2011debuts/69870.html
I'm going to buy it right now. well. in an hour or so. after I dry my hair and draw. and wish I could write like marcus zusak (the book thief) and the french woman who wrote the elegance of the hedgehog.
ReplyDeleteBtw, this interview is posted on the Elevensies website (link to your right). Please go and check out all the debut YA authors there!
ReplyDeleteGae
Yes, Marcus Zusak is amazing. I lent the EOTH to my mom so I haven't read it yet. She had a very hard time with the writing - found it not engaging? But I know that book is on many favorites lists.
ReplyDeleteIn my women's fiction, it's Nicole Krauss I aspire to and admire. History of Love. If you've never read it, Lori, OMG, you should.
A few years ago I would have said JK Rowling, but now I know Jay Asher is definitely mine. And he's very new. His book, 13 Reasons Why resonated with me for days. And I wanted to make people feel like that. I wanted to be a writer that made people think, laugh, cry, contemplate. And he's a cool guy. Very approachable and helpful. (yes, now I'm gushing)
ReplyDeleteFor my genre, it sounds mainstream and predictable, but it's Stephen King. I read my first book when I was 11 and I said "I want to be a writer." And every book of his I read since then, even books of his that I thought were weaker compared to his others, only strengthened that conviction. Since then, I discovered Neil Gaiman, and Robert Heinlein and Ursula K. LeGuin and realized that if I can find a way to amalgamate all of those authors, it would be what I'd want to write. :)
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ReplyDeletelove reading yours all! And Randy, I dig you.
ReplyDeleteFrom Ian Healy, who could post directly to my blog today:
My K.L. Goings are comic book authors Alan Moore (of Watchmen and V for Vendetta) for his intricate plotting, Frank Miller (Batman: the Dark Knight Returns, 300, Sin City) for his storytelling, normal authors George R. R. Martin (Wild Cards series) for writing superhero stories for grownups, Mike Resnick (Santiago) for his storytelling, and Alan Dean Foster (Spellsinger series) for his sense of fun. :)
ugh, that was supposed to say, "couldn't post directly to my blog today." >:(
ReplyDeleteMy posts on this blog seem to vanish (i.e., they're not here when I return to see who else has commented) -- but I shall give it another shot!
ReplyDeleteMy K.L. Goings include Philip Pullman, Ray Bradbury, Cornelia Funke, Susan Cooper, Neil Gaiman, and Madeline L'Engle. I want to write YA fantasy that reaches other people the way those authors reach me -- not in every single piece they write, but in some of their work, some of the time.
My computer went awray right in the middle of me editing my commnet above. Rats.
ReplyDeleteWhat I said was I admire writers who take risks and who are confident in their risk taking.
In real life, and at the oddest times, I find myself saying out loud "What would Kurt Vonnegut do, Randy?"
This really helped me through some tough re-writes. Not that I can do what he did, but I can try.
okay, make that: awry. Sorry.
ReplyDeletego with aft gang agley, Randy. ;)
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