What Are They Doing Now?

If you are a reader like myself, you probably have favourite titles and/or authors as I do. Classics, now available in every format, these timeless stories we read regularly just to remind us of beautiful prose penned painstakingly perhaps on a writing desk lit by candlelight, an almost forgotten skill considering the age of computers and Internet access!

These fascinating accounts of past lives we would not know of otherwise, each one portraying breathtaking characters and depicting story lines we could never forget: Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, La Comtesse de Segur, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, Tolstoy, Jane Austen or the Bronte Sisters...Too many to list obviously, all favourites in my case though as you have yours, and read often.

 (E. Gaskell)

I find contemporary 'classics' from such talents as Catherine Cookson, Brock and Bodie Thoene, Cora ten Boom for i.e., to reflect fascinating historical facts and heartfelt messages I never forget, keepers! I lovingly dust each and everyone of these and pick up a title now and then to rediscover, good friends I cherish!

Upon visiting an old Norwegian book shoppe, I was advised by its elderly owner it would soon have to close its doors because of lack of support. Next to priceless first editions, each a collectible I would have loved to own, sat well stocked shelves of  known authors and not so well known, hardbacks and paperbacks. The problem it seemed was the owner would not allow drinks, food and gadgets of all sort to invade her precious floor plan and rightfully so in my opinion.
Looking at my selection (all sea stories if you must know) her counsel was: purchase what you can now, and substitute better copies later as budget allows. To date, we still follow that advice but sadly, the little shoppe is now closed!

As time goes by I have added also authors whose intriguing story lines I cannot resist, often based on real facts such Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, James N. Rowe's Five Years to Freedom...

Finally there are those authors whose fictional works I have enjoyed for entertainment and the research revealed in the special notes and acknowledgments, these surely as fascinating as the tales themselves!

With these consummate authors comes a wide rainbow of alluring characters and fascinating plot lines for any of us to luxuriate in! To list a few only here for illustration, and not by any preference (I like them equally) I included their website for the purpose of finding out what they are doing at this time should you be so interested.

Kate Furnivall
http://www.katefurnivall.com/

Laura Frantz
http://laurafrantz.net/

Dan Walsh
http://danwalshbooks.com/

Suzanna Kearsley
http://www.susannakearsley.com/index.html

Suzanne Woods Fisher
http://suzannewoodsfisher.com/

Julie Klassen
http://julieklassen.com/

Sarah Sundin
http://sarahsundin.com/

Ann H. Gabhart
http://annhgabhart.com/

Mesu Andrews
http://www.mesuandrews.com/

Carla Stewart
http://www.carlastewart.com/

I better stop right here and let you think of your own favourites! 
But before I close this I thought I would share with you a newcomer in the literature world, albeit not a fictional author, Marcy Hanson of No Maybe Baby blog side. Marcy has a very special book coming up this July and judging from her Publisher's book updates, she is quite a talented lady. 
Check it out here: http://nomaybebaby.blogspot.com/p/book-updates.html

Don't miss her wonderful post of Easter morning (here), the best I read for this glorious day!

Your turn:  What are some of your favourite authors/titles?
Need a few moments just to yourself? Grab a book and enjoy a good read with maybe a cuppa nearby!
Never forget to Live, love, laugh (and don't forget to dream!)

P.S. Don't get too excited, I only wish it was mine!

Note: Mention of favourite authors and their works was unrequested and reflects mostly my preference for Christian authors!