I was asked my friend Teresa Cypher to play in the “Five Favorite Books” meme and I’m always game for a challenge so I said yes. Of course the problem immediately becomes HOW do you pick only five books??? (When you look at her post, you’ll see she gracefully “bent the rules” a bit LOL.) I decided for today I’d just take the first five that float up into my consciousness because there must be something especially wonderful about them, for my busy brain to offer them immediately.

Mara Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. This YA story of a slave girl who got caught up in the intrigues at Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s court, fell in love with the dashing spy who recruited her, endured hardship, found her courage, has a Happily Ever After ending….all set in Ancient Egypt, with a faint touch of the gods looking on – WOW. I’ve said before that this book was a huge inspiration to me, both in developing a love for ancient history and as a writer.

Frederica by Georgette Heyer. This was my first ever Regency and it took me three tries to read it, because I was totally new to the language, the pacing, the humor…but once I “got it” – I was hooked. I LOVED Alverstoke. Watching him become unstuffy – if only for Frederica and her engaging family – was hilarious and wonderful. The whole Baluchistan Hound escapade made me laugh out loud…I’ve read ALL her other Regencies (wish there were MOAR of them), and many by other people as well! Cotillion, Talisman Ring, Unknown Ajax…ummm, ok, I’ll stop…but These Old Shades is actually my favorite. I WANT to marry Justin Duke of Avon. One waltz with him will NOT be enough.

The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky. I can’t say I completely relate to the heroine BUT I have relatives living on an island off the coast of Maine and the setting of this book, and the characters completely drew me in and I could not put it down. I go back and reread parts of it fairly often. Her Three Wishes reduces me to tears every time (and I normally NEVER put myself in a position to be made to cry so the fact I do reread this one tells you how much I love it).

Restoree by Anne McCaffrey. Of course I love her Dragonriders of PERN series with a love brighter than the sun but this older, single title remains one of my favorites. I always wish there was more to the book, a sequel….but I’ve worn out multiple copies of this and have it on my kindle. I so enjoy the relationship between Sara and Harlan…

Wicked Ways by Cynthia Eden. This one is actually a novella and it’s on my list today because I was reading this when the light dawned for me that I was NOT a writer of technical science fiction (which trust me, I wasn’t good at but that’s what I thought I had to write, very long story, not for today)…I was a writer of paranormals and science fiction romance. OK, it’s hard to explain, even to myself, but you know how sometimes a light bulb just goes off in your head and you have some self realization you needed? Well, I had it that day. I immediately sat down and wrote the easiest 40,000 words I EVER put on paper (which means into the computer) of the WORST paranormal romance you ever read (still unpublished & probably always will remain so). It was amazing, it was FREEING and I kept working at it, improved my skills, wrote my paranormal novella Priestess of the Nile, which Carina Press bought…and went on from there. It was a happy day for me when I was able to tell Cynthia Eden what her story had done for me.

So there’s my list of Five for today (it might change tomorrow LOL) and here are five of my friends who I hope will play along and share their five:

Susanna Fraser

Brighton Walsh

Bev Diehl

Steve Vera

Angela Campbell