Talent Tuesday: Unsung Authors

Good morning everyone!

Today, I’d like to celebrate the “unsung” authors we love and admire, but can rarely find anyone else who has read their work. Those authors or books that make people go, "Huh?" when mentioned. Here are some of mine:

Jenny Siler aka Alex Carr: I know, I know, if you’ve read my blog at all, you know I love her :) I’m reading The Prince of Bagram Prison right now and here’s one of those reasons why I devour her books:

They beat us, Jamal had said once, talking about his childhood at the orphanage, and Kat had thought, Yes, they beat you. But the boy’s words came back to her as she followed Kurtz into the putrid maze of the courtyard shantytown. They beat him, she thought, and the beating themselves now seemed trivial in relation to the utter brutality of the actual place.

Third World slums can be dangerous for outsiders, especially those with obvious means, and Kat had prepared herself for a confrontation. Btu she could see now that there was no reason to be afraid. The inhabitants here were castoffs of the castoffs, the ancient and the sick and the mentally faltering, those from whom life had been drained like the juice from an orange, and whose deflated faces followed Kat and Kurtz with dispassionate interest.

Robert McCammon: Okay, so those who read broadly might have heard of him, but not often do I run into people who have read a lot of his books. The first book I read by him, Mystery Walk, led me to read his others, with Wolf’s Hour and Swan Song being my two favorites. Here’s a bit from Swan Song:

“I just touched it,” she answered. “I felt like it wasn’t dead, and I touched it because I wanted it to keep living.” She was embarrassed that the old man was down on his knees beside her, and she wished he’d get up and stop crying. His wife was looking at Swan with a mixture of revulsion and wonder, as one might regard a toadfrog with golden wings. All this attention was making Swan more nervous than when she’d frightened the old man and woman last night. “Please,” she said, tugging at his coat. “Please get up, mister.”

“It’s a miracle,” Carla murmured, watching the blossoms blow. Nearby, Killer ran through the snow trying to catch them between his teeth. “She’s made a miracle happen!” Two tears crept down her cheeks, freezing like diamonds before they reached her jawline.

Swan was jittery and cold, afraid that her misshapen head might tilt over too far to one side and break her neck. She could endure stinging wind no longer, and she pulled away from Sly Moody’s grip; she turned and walked toward the barn, probing in the snow before her with Crybaby as the old man and the others watched her go.


There are so many more. Milli Thornton, the author of Fear of Writing has saved so many authors from giving up, myself included, that I wish I could put her book in the hands of every aspiring author to get them through those tough first years. Douglas Clegg, who is an accomplished and awesome horror author. The list could go on and on, but I want to hear from everyone today.

Who are your favorite authors you wish were more widely read so you could discuss their books with others? Perhaps you have one of your own to share! :)

Warmly,
Jenny :)