Friday, April 7, 2017

Book Blogger Hop No. 91: Meeting Favorite Authors


Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,
hosted by Billy @


For more information, and 
to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.


This Week's Question

If you could meet one author,
dead or alive, who would it be?

(Submitted  by Kristin @ 



My Answer

These questions in which we're asked to pick one of whatever-or-whoever-it-is are just too "hard" for me! Lol. The thing is, I can never pick JUST ONE. Nope! Impossible!

I should mention that I have met some favorite authors, but very briefly, at book signing events. What this question refers to, though, is probably a more personal meeting, one in which you could REALLY get to know your favorite writer(s).

The authors I've met at book signing events are: Stephenie Meyer, Meg Cabot, Melissa de la Cruz, Kami Garcia, and Maggie Stiefvater. These are all Young Adult Fiction authors.  

I really don't have to think that hard for a list of names of authors I'd love to meet and be able to chat with, but I am indeed having a hard time choosing! And so, several Classic Great Names and More Recent Great Names float in front of my consciousness, in no particular order: Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ray Bradbury, Lisa T. Bergren, and even a somewhat obscure but beloved author -- Elswyth Thane. And then there's Thomas Hardy, and Hermann Hesse, and OF COURSE Stephenie Meyer, and Richelle Mead, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mark Twain, and Lloyd C. Douglas (who penned that great Christian classic, The Robe), and Cordwainer Smith, and Ursula Le Guin and Daphne du Maurier.....and, well, you DEFINITELY get the picture by now!

I would be greatly honored to sit at the feet of any of these wonderful authors, telling them how greatly I had enjoyed their works, and asking them as many questions as I dared. 

But you know, I would also love to meet those authors whose works I have yet to read. Those might be the most interesting conversations of all! I would ask them to just read from one of their works, becoming a particular character as they read. If they were willing to do this type of thing, I would greatly enjoy myself! And these are the authors I would pick: Kurt Vonnegut (I might have read his Cat's Cradle somewhere along the way, although I don't quite remember), Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Nora Zeale Hurston, Larry Niven, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie, and Anthony Trollope. PLUS these YA authors: Mary Lindsey, Stephanie Perkins, Melissa Landers, Sophie Jordan, and Nicola Yoon!

So I find myself unable to pick one single author, or even three! There are just too many who have held my mind captive with the pictures painted by their magnificent words, the conjured quests of their various heroes and heroines, the slithering, venomous plotting of their Totally Nefarious Villains, and the sheer beauty of their imagined worlds, whether or not they are based on reality. Those whose books I have not yet read also hold the promise of all of the above, as I've seen from plot summaries of their works.

If it were possible, I would love to meet ALL of these wonderful people, have tea with each of them, and try very hard to treat them like regular folks. It would not be easy for me to do so, though, because I think that writers, artists, and heck, ANY creative people are much more important than royalty or those who are wealthy and/or hold political power. I would try VERY hard, though, to hold my fangirling as much as possible, and ask them interesting questions about their work, while enjoying fun conversations with them! 

And don't get me started on NONFICTION authors! Lol.


                       
What are your thoughts on
this topic?
Please leave a comment!
If you're participating in this meme,
I'll go comment on your 
own BBH post.
If not, I will then comment on one 
of your blog posts!
Thanks for visiting!!! 








16 comments:

  1. You picked some "heavy duty" authors. :) LOL!!

    I wouldn't know what to say to some of them.

    You are amazing, though, and I am sure you would have a wonderful conversation with any of those authors.

    Have a great weekend, and thanks for the Blogger help and information.

    Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog Hop Answer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Elizabeth!

      Yeah....I actually wouldn't know what to say to some of them, either! Lol. I mean, especially the classic ones! So thanks so much for the vote of confidence!

      You're very welcome for the Blogger help and info!

      Thanks for always leaving such sweet, positive comments!! Happy Hopping!! Have a WONDERFUL weekend!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)

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    2. My weekend will be good.

      My son is coming home, and we will be celebrating his 34th birthday. :)

      HUGS.

      Elizabeth

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    3. Oh, WONDERFUL, Elizabeth!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him!!! I hope you all have a GREAT time!!!!

      HUGS RIGHT BACK AT YA!!!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)

      Delete
  2. Great post Maria.

    I agree that this is an impossible question. Expanding the list beyond just one author, as you have done, is unavoidable!

    I always wonder though, how many of these famous writers might be disappoint and/or grouchy in real life :)

    I do have a fantasy of hosting an interview show where I am able to bring back deported authors for an hour or so for interviews.

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Brian!

      Glad you agree about not picking just ONE author! Yeah, I just have too many favorites. Each one is completely unique and special!!

      You are SO right about potential disappointment when the possibility of actually meeting favorite authors actually becomes a reality.... Some of them can be VERY arrogant!

      In contrast, I found both Meg Cabot and Kami Garcia very gracious when I met them! I met Cabot at a local Indie store called "Books and Books". I met Kami Garcia and Melissa de la Cruz at the Miami Book Fair, as well, and they, too, were very gracious.

      But you know, even some of the authors I've interviewed here on "A Night's Dream of Books" have struck me as arrogant. In fact, I decided to stop doing blog interviews because most of the authors I interviewed never thanked me for promoting them on this blog. And let me tell you, the interview questions were ALL my own. I have NEVER used previously prepared questions and answers sent to me by a book tour company.

      I think your idea of hosting an author interview show with deceased writers is TOTALLY FASCINATING!! If only it were possible.... But then, you might STILL run into some very arrogant, or otherwise unpleasant, personalities! Lol.

      Thanks for the FABULOUS comment!! Hope you're having a WONDERFUL Saturday!! :) :) :)

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  3. Replies
    1. Hi, Nicki! Glad you like them! Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Hi, Maria. Sounds like you would have some wonderful and thoughtful conversations with the authors you would meet if this question were ever to become reality. Unfortunately, I am very shy around authors and probably wouldn't do much more than stand there tongue-tied and star-struck. That's what's happened in the past. LOL

    It is hard to settle on just one though. Impossible really.

    Thanks for sharing! I hope you have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Wendy!

      Yeah, I know I give that impression! Lol. Of course, I'd LOVE to be able to have some great, intellectually-stimulating conversations with each of the authors I listed above. That's just wishful thinking, though. In reality, I'd probably be just like you -- "tongue-tied and star-struck"! Hahaha!

      I think that, when I met the authors I mentioned above, at book signing events, it was thanks to their kindness and patience that I didn't come across to them as an annoying fangirl! Lol. In the case of Stephenie Meyer, though, I didn't have much of a chance to say anything to her at all, as there was a LOOOONG line behind me, full of fans waiting to get their books signed, and their own two seconds with their beloved author!!

      I'm so glad you agree that it's really impossible to settle on just one author to chat with! Indeed it is!! Lol.

      You're very welcome for my sharing!! Thanks for the lovely comment!! Hope you have a great week, too!! HUGS TO YOU & MOUSE!!! <3 <3 :) :)

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  5. I think I would be too tongue-tied to be able to have any sort of coherent conversation with any author lol Unless gushing counts! What a wonderful thoughtful list this is!

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Verushka!

      Yeah....I probably would be too tongue-tied, too. Who am I trying to kid? So I probably gush, too. Unless, of course, I had some wine first. Lol.

      SO glad you like my list of favorite authors!! :)

      Thanks for the nice comment and compliment!! <3 <3 :) :)


      Delete
  6. I love Kurt Vonnegut! I am going to be doing a Vonnegut read-a-thon in November for his birthday month. I would love to have a sit down with him, for sure. Thanks for sharing your choices. :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi, there!

      Oh, that's GREAT!! I'll keep this in mind, as I would LOVE to join that read-a-thon!! I'll be in touch with you, too, to find out which of his books you plan to read! Thanks for the heads up!! :) :) :)

      You're very welcome for the share! Thanks for the nice comment!! <3 <3 :) :)

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  7. Hi Maria! You really do have list to infinity here....! But you are absolutely right - there isn't really just one author I would like to meet. Lucky you for meeting Meg Cabot and Maggie Stiefvater!!! So great.

    Aaaah - I would also love to meet Lloyd C Douglas. The Robe and The Big Fisherman are my two top favorite Christian novels ever.

    Maybe heaven has a really nice coffee shop where all the authors go and we can spend all eternity talking to them!

    Hope you will have a good week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Mareli!

      Yeah!! I have SO many favorite authors, lol. I've probably missed a few in this list, too.... :) I'm glad you agree that meeting just ONE would definitely not be enough.

      Yes, I consider myself VERY lucky for having met both of these YA authors! However, we didn't speak much, as they each had people waiting in line behind me to get their books signed. But I was tongue-tied, anyway! Lol.

      It would DEFINITELY be a REAL treat to meet Lloyd C. Douglas!!!! I haven't read "The Big Fisherman", but I HAVE read "The Robe", as well as "Magnificent Obsession". I LOVE them both!! I need to read his other books, including, of course, "The Big Fisherman".

      What a WONDERFUL picture you paint of Heaven!! That would be so VERY SUPER AWESOME, to be able to sip coffee and chat with all of these great writers for ALL of eternity!!!!

      Hope you have a good week, as well!! Thanks for the AWESOME comment!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)

      Delete

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