Over at She Wolf Reads, Lee does a really cool thing called Five by Five, in which she asks five authors to talk about five books that have influenced them. I was invited but the request came in during crazy, crazy travel and I couldn’t. My New Year’s resolution was to clear my email box (Achieved!) and so I wound up dropping Lee a not moooonnths after she asked, just to thank her.
Because she is wonderful, she invited me to participate anyway.
Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamourist Histories was made for me. As a diehard Jane Austen fan, Kowal’s mixture of Regency England and fantastical magic just called to me. And I boy was I glad I answered that call. After finishing her first book in the series, SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY, I was hooked on Jane Ellsworth, the brilliant heroine of the novel, and her brooding artist, Vincent. The magic, romance, and mystery of the story set a fantastic tone for the start of the series thereby cementing Kowal as one of my favorite authors.
So, you can read about five books that influenced me, plus Jane and Vincent’s favorite book. As if that’s not all? She’s giving away your choice of one book from my top five list and one of the Glamourist Histories books, with a signed bookplate.
Go forth and read it at shewolfreads.
