Yipee! Another Author!

I harbour hopes of becoming an author.

Obviously, to write anything worth reading, you have to read a whole lot of other people who have written great stuff already!

I started reading Mills & Boons romance novels when I was in Primary 3 aged 8 years old. Any wonder I am a hopeless romantic?

I remember my mum had to drag me out for meals whenever I got my hand on a really good book. Enid Blyton kept me from becoming too weird as a reader of only romance novels at the age of eight. Famous Five, Secret Seven, and stories about fairies, golliwogs and elves.

Over the years, I have had various 'favorite' authors. Jefferey Archer, Harold Robbins and Jackie Collins with their best-sellers had my vote at some point. Danielle Steele's novels were too sad for her to rank in my top five at any time.

And then came Anne Rice with her Vampire Chronicles. After reading the Vampire Lestat, I wanted to sleep during the day and roam the night. I wanted to drink blood from evil-doers, cloud the minds of mere mortals and gain preternatural strength to bench-press a truck! I wanted to live forever!!!

Such was her power with the books.

I had read "Lord of the Rings" many years before the movie came to life and it is a testament to the art of Peter Jackson that the movies made me go back and re-read the book. My leanings turned from best-sellers a la Grisham, Clancy and Dean Kootnz to fantasy when I stumbled on Robert Jordan's Wheel of time! 12 books covering the same story and none able to be read on its own. It was in fantasy that my mind was able to travel beyond what I could previously imagine. And there were countless "trilogies" and six- sometimes seven - part fantasy novels in the market. But it is so hard to find one that will make you go to all the trouble of collecting all the parts and reading it. Very hard indeed.

Which is why for me, Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series is now one of my favorites. I am eagerly waiting for the next book to be published.

Of course we mustn't forget The Holy Grail otherwise known as the Harry Potter series.

And now I have found another author that has a whole series written (14 to be exact) and who I have taken the time to gather and read all the books in the series!

Please welcome Laurell K Hamilton to the list of authors with an approval rating of more than three stars (out of five) on Ladi's List of Authors. She is the author of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series

I actually stumbled on her by accident as well. Marvel comics had done a collaboration and made one of the novels into a graphic novel. Since I gorge on graphic comics as a matter of course as well, I found Guilty Pleasures a visually stimulating, complex yet easy to follow dish of a graphic novel. And when they said it had been inspired by the actual novels well... case closed!

Anita Blake lives in a parallel universe where were-wolves, vampires and necromancy are the order of the day. Of course if this not your cup of tea...

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SHARING MY FRIENDS

Name: Amit Desai

Time I have known him: Two and half years (almost)

Location: 'some position' in UBS Switzerland

Memorable Moment with Him:

My 25th birthday, getting hopelessly drunk at the bar we were in and Amit making sure I got home in one piece! I remember everything from that night which is not such a good thing as I did some pretty interesting things the least of which was waking up the neigbours!

What I like most about him:

His drive and ambition to be the best in whatever he did. His was the standard according to which I worked towards in terms of my role as an Intl MC member in AIESEC in Sweden!

Other Comments:

My favorite Indian. An intense experience in Sweden was shared with this dude. When things were coming thick and fast, his was the base upon which to reflect, share and be amazed with. Experiences are meaningless unless they are shared. My wonderful Sverige experience turned this smart, lovable, spoilt, Baroda-raised Indian into my brother from another mother! Thanks for all the Skype and MSN offline messages you leave me bro. You more than anyone!