Blog Post One – Who and What Do I Read?

Hello everyone and thank you for visiting my website and my first blog post. I am so grateful for every one of you and value your support. For my first blog, I wanted to just discuss the types of books I enjoy and who are some of my favorite authors. I like so many authors, but there are a few I usually read most, if not all, of their releases.

My first question is why do you read? Do you read for entertainment purposes? Do you read to relax? Do you read to escape? Does reading bring you pleasure? Many of us could say yes to one or maybe all of these questions, and add a few more reasons to the list. I enjoy reading just as much as I enjoy writing and letting my imagination flow. Maybe it is my imagination that is the draw. I feel I get involved with the characters, their lives, and situations. A good story always draws me in.

Many of the authors I follow build on their character’s or the supporting character’s story in subsequent books in a series (as I am doing with the Donovan Security Series). Again, they draw me in. Many times I want to know what happens to the main character or their friend/colleague. I’m like, “hey what about Joe, Luke’s best friend. Did he ever get over his old girlfriend?” A good author will tell a story so well you want to know what happens next for all of the characters. For books in any series I write or intend to write, this is what I hope to accomplish. Sure, you will be able to read them as a stand along novels, but what happens next?

This is where you all come in. I love to know what you like, what you want to hear about, things you wish I elaborated on. Feedback does help make us better writers. Since I am new to the scene, I value those who have helped me so far, and those who will in the future. Sure, we don’t always like every author, their style, or even the genre, but that is why there are so many choices (thank you for choosing to ready my stories, by the way.) This brings me back to what genres I like and who are some of my favorite authors.

As noted in the about section of my website, my genre of preference…wait for it…is ROMANCE! Was that obvious? Seriously, I love romance novels. To some people, romance is all gushy, mushy, kissy, kissy, books and everyone lives happily ever after. Sure, for the romance genre, the main characters do have a happy ending, but that does not mean there isn’t turmoil, action, suspense, challenges, etc. along the way. This is another reason I enjoy the romance genre. There are so many facets and a lot of sub-genres to pick from.

Basically, I go back and forth between the sub-genres. Sure, I tend to gravitate towards action, suspense, and erotic novels, but I enjoy such a large variety. For instance, I often like to escape to Wild West and read stories about mail order brides and those falling in love in their quest to move to new territories. Sometimes, I read very wholesome love stories and enjoy the contrast to the spicy bits you will come to see in most of my books. I also enjoy reading supernatural, time travel, and just all around contemporary love stories.

Romance is not my only go to genre. I enjoy thrillers, suspense, and even science fiction (um, hello, the Hunger Games - if you have not read the books and only saw the movies, I suggest reading the books.) There are so many good books to ready and just not enough time.

So who are some of my favorite authors you ask? Well, first I want to say this list is not inclusive. You do not have all day to read about all the authors I enjoy, thus I will name a few. Some of my top favorites are Meredith Wild, Helen Hardt, Roni Loren, Mya Banks, Shayla Black, Angel Payne, Victoria Blue, and many more. Okay, I’m taking a deep breath listing them. Oh, wait…I’m typing, not speaking. Yes, keep my day job, I am not a comedian, but it is fun to try. Again, please DO NOT think these are the only authors I read, but these are a few of my favorites. I will, in future blogs, talk about some of my favorites and also include some indie, self-publishing authors like myself, who I enjoy.

The reasons I like these fabulous ladies listed above is multi-faceted. From their writing style, their sexy and spicy relationships, to the variety of stories I have the pleasure to experience with each of them. Their books cover many sub-genres I enjoy including action, suspense, love triangles, and let’s not forget to leave out the panty melting sex. The dominant, yummy alpha males make your mouth water. Strong women and complex stories, all pull me in and I often find myself looking at the clock and notice it is 2am wondering where the time went and thinking, “I have to get up for my day job at 5am.” Yes, I have a day job as I am working toward being a full-time author.

Meredith Wild, in particular, is one author’s whose back story resonated to me and is one of the many reasons I decided to share my stories with everyone. I learned about Meredith first by discovering and reading her books. Obviously I enjoyed them or her name would not be mentioned in this blog. Another reason I admire her is how she got her start as an author. She left the tech industry started out as a self-published author, like myself, and now owns her own publishing company, is a best-selling author, and gets to do what she loves. Will I be the next Meredith Wild? No, I doubt it as I have no plans on opening my own publishing company, but yes, I do aspire to have some success as an author. It is inspiring to see other author’s self-publish and become successful. My goal is to one day make writing my one and only job, besides being a wife and mother, but the ultimate success is sharing my stories with others, like you, and you enjoying them as much as I do. That is the ultimate success.

This is what their stories and other good books do for me. Pulls me in, makes be forget about time and everything else around me (just ask my husband, and yes, he does get annoyed at times when I am so into a book and do not hear him speaking to me). I love immersing myself into a story that makes me feel I am a part of it, right there experiencing the moments with the characters. This is something I do, or at least attempt to do, when writing. I become so involved with my characters, it is like I personally know them, they are real people (many times we wish they were J). Isn’t that something we all strive to experience when reading a book? Feel the emotional connection.

Okay, sorry, I digressed, again. Now back to the subject. While I appreciate every one of you and your support in reading my book (soon to be books), I encourage you to check out some of the authors mentioned above and keep reading my blogs. As I said before, I will be blogging about a lot of things, including specific authors/books, new author’s, any anything else that strikes my fancy.

My next blog (or at least I think it will be) will be talking about Helen Hardt’s Blood Bond Saga. I am FINALLY finishing reading the saga, and yes, I know it has been out for some time. Like I said previously, so many books, so many good authors, so little time. Without revealing any secrets, I will try to illiterate how I felt reading about Dante and Erin’s story, what appealed to me, and why you should read the series. I am almost through, and as always, I have been pulled in by the characters and just NEED to know what happens next and how it all ends.

In closing, thank you all for taking the time to read my blog, visiting my website, liking and following me on social media, and most of all, supporting me and reading my stories. Please visit often for updates, new releases, new blogs, and just some other fun information. Without readers, an author’s stories will never be heard. Thank you.

L.M. Sutton