Fifteen Authors that Changed My World
I
grew up when classics were still revered as required reading in school, so they
shaped me at an impressionable time. Looking back, I’m grateful that such
powerful literature filled my heart and mind, in contrast to the book market of
today.
Christ
will always be first in my life for every role model, and His words have molded
me as no other author can. Scripture is the sieve through which I filter my comparisons
of worldviews and morality, and it inevitably influenced the choices I settled
on for this post.
1. Robert Louis Stevenson
I
love anything by Stevenson, but the two books that often still come to play in
my life are Treasure Island and A Child’s Garden of Verse. I truly
admire this man, for he conquered the pitiless adversary of chronic illness and
used the forced periods of rest to write books that contributed immeasurably to
the world. He’s also a terrific example of how writers can enthrall audiences
by creatively crafting rough characters and situations to make them readable
without course language.
2. James Herriot
When
I was a teenager, I babysat for a professor and his wife who lived across the
street from me. They introduced me to James Herriot’s work by giving me All Creatures Great and Small. Herriot’s
true accounts of his escapades as a veterinarian in the English countryside
were profoundly insightful peeks into human nature, and he told them in ways that
left me gasping in laughter!
3. Margaret Mitchell
This
author’s classic story of the war-torn South has always been a favorite for me
because of her fascinating characters in Gone
With the Wind, though I personally think that she failed readers in the
ending. The line that shocked so many was also the point where Rhett had a
chance to shine as a hero, but he fell, and Mitchell left readers unfulfilled.
I’m so glad another author, Alexandra Ripley, came through in the 1990’s with
the sequel, Scarlett. The sequel was
satisfying in her redemption of Scarlett and Rhett.
4. Jane
Austen
I know, this is predictable. But on so many levels, she is the ultimate in classy romance writing.
I know, this is predictable. But on so many levels, she is the ultimate in classy romance writing.
5. Catherine
Marshall
Christy was the novel that opened my teenage eyes and heart to the need for missionary work in the mountains not far from my own home. She also taught me that romantic love doesn’t conquer all.
Christy was the novel that opened my teenage eyes and heart to the need for missionary work in the mountains not far from my own home. She also taught me that romantic love doesn’t conquer all.
6. Jules
Verne
I love adventure, and Around the World in Eighty Days is unforgettable!
I love adventure, and Around the World in Eighty Days is unforgettable!
7. Lew
Wallace
Ben-Hur, a Tale of Christ was a story that deeply affected me, and the movie adaption is still one of my all-time favorite Biblical tales. This profoundly moving story covers almost every universal situation in one timeless epic.
Ben-Hur, a Tale of Christ was a story that deeply affected me, and the movie adaption is still one of my all-time favorite Biblical tales. This profoundly moving story covers almost every universal situation in one timeless epic.
8. C.S.
Lewis
Narnia, Mere Christianity, and the Screwtape Letters are truly books to study, not just read through.
9. J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are gold mines of life truths and encouragement for spiritual battles.
Narnia, Mere Christianity, and the Screwtape Letters are truly books to study, not just read through.
9. J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are gold mines of life truths and encouragement for spiritual battles.
10. Bram
Stoker
Many people don’t realize that the original Dracula is written from a deeply Christian perspective, and that we battle spiritual “monsters” every day. Hollywood deviations are far from the spirit of Stoker’s masterpiece.
Many people don’t realize that the original Dracula is written from a deeply Christian perspective, and that we battle spiritual “monsters” every day. Hollywood deviations are far from the spirit of Stoker’s masterpiece.
11. Frank Peretti
This
Present Darkness gave me new eyes to imagine the
dimension of the spiritual battles I already knew were raging around us.
12. Robert Whitlow
The
List was another nudge for me in the direction of
Southern fiction and the spiritual dimension behind so much that happens in our
lives, sometimes for generations.
13. Jeanette
Windle
This author’s missionary background and the way she crafted rough, dark settings and characters into art, rather than communicate with offensive words, inspired my writing style. Crossfire and DMZ are so well written that she’s been interviewed by governments about her knowledge of the settings!
This author’s missionary background and the way she crafted rough, dark settings and characters into art, rather than communicate with offensive words, inspired my writing style. Crossfire and DMZ are so well written that she’s been interviewed by governments about her knowledge of the settings!
14. Jerry B.
Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
The Left Behind series was eye-opening for my family, for we were reminded of the impact that scripture could have when presented in a dramatic story.
The Left Behind series was eye-opening for my family, for we were reminded of the impact that scripture could have when presented in a dramatic story.
15. Edgar
Rice Burroughs
While there is a wide gap between this author’s outlook and philosophies compared to my own, he created an amazing character in Tarzan. Derivatives of this novel stirred my imagination for years, and a few elements from it influenced Jaguar, my latest novel release in the Painter Place Saga. My worldview of Tarzan leans toward marveling at God’s provision for a man whose only environment in his formative years was survival in the jungle, and how the man’s reactions play out with the Biblical truth that we are not evolved from animals but created in God’s image, with His moral truth stamped into our very essence of heart, soul, and mind.
While there is a wide gap between this author’s outlook and philosophies compared to my own, he created an amazing character in Tarzan. Derivatives of this novel stirred my imagination for years, and a few elements from it influenced Jaguar, my latest novel release in the Painter Place Saga. My worldview of Tarzan leans toward marveling at God’s provision for a man whose only environment in his formative years was survival in the jungle, and how the man’s reactions play out with the Biblical truth that we are not evolved from animals but created in God’s image, with His moral truth stamped into our very essence of heart, soul, and mind.
About Jaguar, Painter Place Saga Book
3
Caroline
and Chad Gregory are happy on their island home at Painter Place. But an old
vendetta against them puts Caroline in terrible danger. Her enemies are closing
in, and the future of Painter Place is at stake. Her only hope of escape is a
man known as the Jaguar, a legendary international operative and Caroline’s
one-time boyfriend. Even if he and a miracle can save her, Caroline will never
be the same sheltered woman who has been groomed from childhood to inherit the
island.
About the Author
Where to Find Pamela Online
Main
Website: www.pamelapoole.com
Southern Sky Publishing Website: www.southernskypublishing.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/PamelaPooleFineArt
Southern Sky Publishing Website: www.southernskypublishing.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/PamelaPooleFineArt
Pamela Poole is an author I want to read; I love reading books permeated with a Christian worldview since they encourage and inspire me. Thank you for introducing me to this author.
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