What do I read?  I read my Bible and some inspirational nonfiction books.  My favorite books to read are fiction and of those I prefer mystery/suspense, mystery/romance, general or mainstream fiction, Christian romance, classics and a very few horror/suspense.

Now, I will clarify my answers to the previous question by listing my favorite authors and/or the book they wrote which is my favorite, for some of my favorite books are the only book I read by that author:

Danielle Steel

Jeanette Oke

Frank Peretti

Dee Henderson especially her O’Malley Series

Charles Dickens

William Shakespeare

Maeve Binchy

Laura Childs’ Tea Shop Mysteries

Terri Blackstock

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights

Jude Devereaux’s A Knight in Shining Armor

Nicholas Sparks

Dean Koontz (I like a lot of Dean Koontz’s books, including the Brother Odd books, but Watchers is my absolute favorite)

This is not an exhaustive list by any means.  I read A LOT of books, but I don’t often read many books by the same author unless I really like something that I read by that author, or unless it is part of a series.  Lately, I have taken to downloading free e-books and reading them on my tablet.

I believe every author I read has an influence on my writing, especially the authors I read a lot.  I enjoy reading as much, if not more, than writing and I look forward to one day being able to put more hours in the day into these two activities.

What authors and books do you like to read?  How do you think they influence you?