Today we have a guest post from Zara Quentin, author of Spiritwoman! She is discussing books that have influenced her. Please enjoy!! 😀
As a writer, I’m often analyzing the fiction I read. I’m always wanting to work out what I like about a story and how I can apply that to my own work. Or I’m analyzing books I haven’t liked much, trying to work out why, and how to avoid that in my writing. It would be fair to say that I’m influenced by everything I read. However, these five books stand out as either fictional books that have driven my love for reading (and therefore writing) or craft books that have taught me about story-telling. Here they are (in no particular order):
1. Obernewtyn (Isobelle Carmody)
This was one of the first books I remember choosing for myself as a pre-teen and absolutely loving. It is what propelled me into the fantasy genre and started my love affair with the fantasy genre, which has never ended. It took Isobelle Carmody about 28 years to finish this series (seven books) and I was with her all the way.
2. Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkein)
My introduction into epic fantasy—I remember reading these books while sweltering in the heat during the school summer holidays. I always wanted to be the hobbit that stepped out of my hobbit house in search of adventure! With this series, I stepped into a world of adult fantasy–not that I ever stopped reading, or loving, YA but these books took me into a new phase of reading.
3. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
I love this classic story and have read (and watched) it over and over again. A story of a family of girls searching for husbands at a time when there wasn’t much more to aspire to—somehow it sets a standard for all love stories since. The relationships between characters fuels the story, along with the driving force of social norms and universal feelings of pride and shame. These aspects, with a good dash of humor, make for great stories—and I aspire to use those elements in my own writing.
4. Storyfix (Larry Brooks)
This book introduced the different elements of story-telling and story structure into a way that I could easily digest and understand. I still use the elements of structure that I learned from this book to build my basic story plans before I dive into my first draft. This book helped me to understand that story-telling is not (just) a gift, it is also an art that is improved through understanding and practice.
5. The Writers Journey (Christopher Vogler)
This is another book for writers about story-telling. Specifically, this book analyses the hero’s journey. I haven’t read this one for awhile, but I remember being able to understand the idea of character transformation throughout a story, and its force in driving the plot.
What about you? Are there any books that have influenced your reading or writing that you’d like to share in the comments? I’m always on the lookout for recommendations!
I’m so excited to feature Zara here for the second time! Thank you for the wonderful guest post, Zara!
SPIRIT WOMAN Digital Assets
About The Book:
Title: SPIRIT WOMAN
Author: Zara Quentin
Pub. Date: January 30, 2018
Publisher: Zara Quentin
Pages: 355
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Find it: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Goodreads
A missing dragon. A friend in mortal danger. A young woman’s quest to save them both…
Jade Gariq is wanted for treason. After narrowly escaping death at the hands of her uncle, she’s hiding in the Premyan jungle. Separated from her mother and brothers, at least she’s safe and alive—for now. But when a friend falls suddenly ill, and her fate is linked to the mysterious disappearance of a Dragon-God, Jade cannot hide any longer.
Sent beyond the Portal, Jade is not the only one searching for the Dragon-God. She faces invisible cities, a criminal underworld, and an old enemy disguised as a friend. To make matters worse, she’s a wanted criminal with a reward out for her capture. It will take all of Jade’s determination to pursue her quest. Can she evade her enemies and find the Dragon-God before death claims her friend?
Spirit Woman is the second book in the Airwoman series. If you like being immersed in captivating worlds, compelling characters, and a dash of romance, then you’ll love the latest in Zara Quentin’s action-packed adventures.
Buy Spirit Woman today, and let your imagination soar!
About Zara:
Zara Quentin is the author of Airwoman, the first book in the Airwoman series. She was raised in Adelaide, Australia, with one younger sister. Zara grew up with a strong sense of adventure, which she inherited from her parents, who took her and her sister on trips to the United States, Europe, and Asia.
She also inherited a love of reading from her mother. Throughout her childhood she explored fictional places through books, and in particular, through fantasy novels. She’d turn the black and white text on the page into the colourful worlds of her imagination.
After graduating from high school, Zara studied at the University of Adelaide and has lived in France, London, and Auckland, New Zealand. She is always determined to fit in as much travel as possible, spending time in Europe, the United States, southern Africa, Morocco, Peru, the Pacific and south-east Asia.
Zara now resides in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children. She is currently working on the next instalment in the Airwoman series.
Find Zara:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon
Thanks for stopping by! Check out the giveaway at the end of the post, and stop by some of the other tour stops!
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
3/5/2018- Bookhounds- Interview
3/5/2018- My Creatively Random Life- Review
3/6/2018- Daily Waffle- Excerpt
3/7/2018- Maddie.TV- Guest Post
3/8/2018- La libreria di Beppe- Spotlight
3/9/2018- A Gingerly Review- Excerpt
3/9/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post
Week Two:
3/12/2018- Blushing Bibliophile- Review
3/12/2018- Hot Town Cool Girl- Interview
3/13/2018- jrsbookreviews- Excerpt
3/13/2018-Jaime’s World- Spotlight
3/14/2018- Don’t Judge, Read- Excerpt
3/14/2018- lori’s little house of reviews- Review
3/15/2018- Sincerely Karen Jo- Spotlight
3/16/2018- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt
Giveaway Details:
Your chance to win one of 2 x US $25 book vouchers for your preferred ebook retailer.
Giveaway Link:
Thanks for having me! Any other questions? Feel free to ask them in the comments 🙂