Well, I'm a product of the 80's-- a thorough pop culture junkie. I have more useless trivia in my head than I probably have real knowledge. Sometimes, I start singing songs that most people never even knew existed. Ah, if only I would have studied more in school instead of memorizing Wham! videos...
Susan Cooper... It's because of her Dark is Rising sequence that I became obsessed with telling a really good story.
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contemporary Christian-- leaning towards the rock and hip-hop side, but I love any good music.
Some of my faves include-- but so not limited to-- Evanescence, Hawk Nelson, Breaking Benjamin, 30 Seconds to Mars, mewithoutyou, Gym Class Heroes, Kids in the Way, Paul Wright, GRITS, KJ-52, Family Force 5, Superchic[k], Barlowgirls, hellogoodbye, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, and a bunch of others.Yeah, and then, there will always be these guys...
I'm a reality show junkie, but only the good reality shows like Survivor, The Amazing Race, and American Idol. Plus, you can't forget Mythbusters, Pimp my Ride, and Ghost Hunters. You know, quality television.
If you peruse my Friends' list, you'll "meet" many of my favorite authors.
There's no possible way to list all my favorite books. I have too many.
Of course, I love YA books. Books like Gingerbread by Rachel Cohen and The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler remind me why our genre is so important.
There's a lot of heat on our genre today-- some of it rightly so. But I don't believe in censorship. I believe in parental involvement in reading. I believe in dialogue between kids and parents about the subject matters dealt with in some books-- because if you are an adult who doesn't believe your kids aren't having to deal in one shape or form with these things, then you're either locking your kids in the closet or in total denial. I believe in my fellow authors and their passion for the life lessons they want to pass on in their works. I may not agree with all of their approaches, but mostly I believe that teens are mature enough to "learn" something from a story without the benefit of the main character learning it as well.
Some of the most challenged books happen to be some of my favorites-- and some of the most challenged authors of our day happen to be people very close to my heart.