Dream Author Panel

Have you ever dreamed about meeting some of your favorite authors? Or thought about how amazing it would be to hear them speak about their books, characters and life in person? I think about this ALL the time when I’m reading a book by an author that I really love.

Recently, I was inspired by Eventbrite to come up with a dream author panel. No limitations – if I could put anyone together in a room, who would it be? Sign me up.

Eventbrite has a great tool on their website to help anyone plan and execute events in their local areas. With an awesome tool like this, maybe some of these dream author panels really can come true!

I thought a lot about who I would want on this panel and it was not an easy choice. I finally decided though that if I had this ONE shot, I would want to see a panel full of bad-ass female authors. Remember, there are no limitations with this so, it’s really not a lot that I’m asking for some of these authors to come back to life for this event.

Here are my choices:

Virginia Woolf

Woolf is one of my absolute most favorite female authors of all-time. She was such a free-thinking, influential author of her time that I just can’t help but be inspired by her. To imagine hearing this woman who gave us the quote, “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” in person…I would not be able to contain my excitement.

Margaret Mitchell

Mitchell is not quite the same feminist powerhouse that these other authors are but I couldn’t leave her out of this. Gone With the Wind is my favorite book and I would love to see her in the company of these other powerful women. Mitchell was much more understated in her rebellion and dealt with a lot of struggles in her short life, including spousal abuse. I believe, that rather than incorporate feminist themes in her work, she preferred to offer a more romantic view of life and love to fill those gaps she had in her own life.

Jane Austen

It’s hard sometimes to remember that Austen was writing novels during the late 1700’s. She consistently pushed the boundaries with strong female characters who challenged the social and economic status of women. It’s not surprising that her characters, themes and messages have stood the test of time and ring true still to this day.

Toni Morrison

There is no denying Morrison’s influence as an author. She wrote novels with complex, rich characters and deep, meaningful themes. There’s also no doubt that she is a strong, opinionated woman. However, she is careful to somewhat distance herself from the term feminism and offered up a different view on her writing when she said “In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand articulation, rather than to close it, to open doors, sometimes, not even closing the book – leaving the endings open for reinterpretation, revisitation, a little ambiguity."

Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid’s Tale is one of Atwood’s most popular novels and due to the recent social and political climate in America, it’s been making a resurgence. Atwood consistently portrays female characters in her novels that are held down by an overpowering patriarchal society. However, it appears that Atwood prefers to take a more “realistic” approach to her world than a feminist one. Regardless of how you coin her, Atwood absolutely tackles gender and societal issues and would be incredible alongside these other writers.

Who would be on YOUR dream author panel? I want to know!

Author Spotlight - Ernest Hemingway

If someone ever asked me to pick my favorite author, I don’t think I would be able to do it. I have too many authors that I enjoy over and over. One of those author’s that I find myself going back to time and time again is Ernest

Hemingway. His books are so classic and full of life.

Hemingway was an incredibly interesting person who lived an incredibly interesting life. His writing career began during high school where he worked on the newspaper. After high school, he went on to work for a Kansas City newspaper. His time as a journalist really helped develop the stripped-down style of writing he is known for.

After World War I, Hemingway met and married his first wife and they moved to Paris. This was during an era of time now known as the “Expatriot Era” of history. Artists were fleeing to Europe left and right looking for that inspiration and free life that European living can offer. It was here in Paris that Hemingway met other famed artists like F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce and Pablo Picasso.

Hemingway would go on to marry 3 more times and move between Paris, Key West and Cuba. His most well-known works are The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. It was for The Old Man and the Sea that Hemingway finally won a Pulitzer Prize.

Hemingway was never a very healthy person and struggled with old injuries, illnesses and depression throughout his life. Some say this is part of the reason why his books are so good. Others say it is because of the Absinth – his drink of choice. The world will never know as Hemingway committed suicide in 1961.

His creative talent could never be denied. When asked about his art, Hemingway famously said:

"From things that have happened and from things as they exist and from all things that you know and all those you cannot know, you make something through your invention that is not a representation but a whole new thing truer than anything true and alive, and you make it alive, and if you make it well enough, you give it immortality."

Author Spotlight - Kate Morton

This is my first Author Spotlight that I’ve done on my blog but I’m so excited to share this with all of you. If you haven’t heard of KateMorton, go check her out right now. Her books are awesome. If I had to pick a favorite (and trust me, this is NO easy feat – I loved all of her books) I would choose The Secret Keeper.

I received a sneak peek this morning in my email of Kate Morton’s new book The Lake House and I can’t wait. Since her book will be released this October, I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce all of you to her.

Straight from her website – here’s a bit about her:

Kate Morton is the eldest of three sisters. She was born in South Australia and moved with her family numerous times before settling, finally, on Tamborine Mountain. There she attended a tiny country school and spent much of her childhood inventing and playing games of make-believe with her sisters.

Kate fell avidly in love with books very early. Her favourites were those by Enid Blyton, and Kate escaped many times up The Faraway Tree or with the Famous Five into Smugglers Cove. It was a love deeply felt, for it is still mysteries and secrets that dance around the edges of Kate’s mind, keeping her awake deep into the night, turning or typing pages.

Morton has written 5 books, including her yet to be released new novel and has some serious accolades to back up her stories. Her books include The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours, The Secret Keeper and The Lake House.

The House at Riverton was a Sunday Times #1 bestseller in the UK in 2007 and a New York Times bestseller in 2008. The Shifting Fog won General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA), and The House at Riverton was nominated for Most Popular Book at the British Book Awards in 2008.

Her second book, The Forgotten Garden, was a #1 bestseller in Australia and Spain, and a Sunday Times #1 bestseller in the UK in 2008. It won General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2009 Australian Book Industry Awards and was an Amazon Best of the Month pick and a New York Times bestseller in 2009.

The Distant Hours was an international bestseller in 2010 and won General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2011 ABIAs.

The Secret Keeper debuted at #8 on the New York Times Bestseller List and has won a number of other awards and accolades including the 2013
 ABIA for General Fiction Book of the Year and The Courier-Mail’s People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year.

Kate’s books are published in 38 countries and in 32 languages.

All of Morton’s novels take you on a journey through time, usually with 2 parallel stories – one in the present and one in the past. They are full of mystery, family secrets and are written with passion and grace. The characters pull you in from the very first pages and don’t let you go. Her stories are enthralling adventures of growth, discovery and love. Once you pick them up, you won’t want to put them down.