Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Books?

Somebody help me, please!

 Hi, I'm Lily Silver, author and historian. Thanks for joining The Beach Book Blast Thankful for Great Books Event!  Our Grand Prize for this event is a Olive Garden Gift Card. Whoo Hoo, I love Olive Garden. Enter to win the Olive Garden gift card on the main BBB site and maybe you'll be going out to eat a romantic dinner on us! Also, leave a comment for me here with your email and be entered to win a $15 iTunes Gift Card on me! 

I'm an avid reader. My favorite pastime as a teen was being cloistered in my room reading a great book. Even better when summer came, as I'd spread a blanket on the grass under a shady tree in our back yard and read away the afternoon.  Bookish, yes, that was me as a teen.

Not much has changed over the decades. I still always have a nose in a good book. The trouble is, these days I find there are just too many good books to read and never enough time. I work at a library. It's heaven, and it's hell. Heaven because I literally have books come to me daily as I work the circulation desk. It's like a kid in a candy story. I check the books in as patrons return them, admire the lovely covers, read the blurbs, and inevitably end up taking many of them home. More of them than I can possibly read. The hell part comes into play when I have to return some of them because they are due, (being a conscientious library employee) without even being able to read them. When it comes to books, I don't have a lot of self restraint. And that's not a bad thing. Nobody died yet from reading too many books.

My first truly memorable read, aside from the ones we all read in school was Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice. It was a new book, back in the '70's. I was a teen and nobody had heard of Anne Rice. I loved Louis, the tortured, angst ridden vampire. I loved the setting of New Orleans in the 18 and 19th centuries depicted in the novel. I loved the time travel feeling as Louis told us about his life back then. Those elements stuck with me. As a writer today, I like historical fiction, mainly romance. I love time travel romance, and I love fantasy (the vampire element of Interview).

As a young adult, I went on to discover Kathleen E Woodiwiss, and her wonderful historical romance stories. My first by her was A Rose in Winter, a historical romance set in 18th century England, with a masked, scarred Lord, and a very poor woman who agrees to marry this dark and scary man in exchange for her stepfather's debts being paid. It was a lot like Beauty and the Beast. I read this book several times, and still have a copy. I've read all of Ms. Woodiwiss' books, but have always considered A Rose in Winter to be her best.

So, as a power reader, I feel I owe tribute to these two women, Anne Rice and Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, for shaping my reading tastes and for influencing my writing career. Anne Rice gave me an imaginative peek into the supernatural and let me see the historical world changing through the centuries through her vampire character's lives. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss gave me wonderful romantic fantasies set in exotic locals of the past that were rich with detail and packed a strong emotional wallop. I'm eternally grateful to these two grand ladies, for opening up new worlds to me as a reader and giving me something to aspire to as a writer.

As for my own stories, I do like to imbue a strong element of fantasy within them. The romance genre is all about fantasy. I have heroines who are seers, fairies or as in my most recent release, a celebrity. And my heroes are always a little larger than life. Yeah, that's a fantasy for most of us, isn't it? Being wealthy and famous. But what if . . . what if you achieved success, lived in a nice posh home in Malibu and the guy next door was  . . . a Rock Star! A real rock star--the one you used to fantasize about when you were a teen? And what if  he believed you were his lover in a past life and he wanted you to marry him . . . right now, without hesitation? Would you? Or would you be a little worried about this scenario?

That's the storyline of my newest release, The Rock Star Next Door. It's every woman's fantasy from her teen years. Doesn't matter if it was Elvis you drooled over or Justin Bieber, or maybe you dreamed of country music stars instead. Doesn't matter. You get it if you're a woman. You dreamed of meeting your idol, kissing him, and maybe a little more, maybe a lot more. Well, here's your fantasy and mine . . . your favorite Rock Star chasing after little ol' you.

So now it's your turn:
What are your most memorable reads?  What writer influenced your tastes as a reader today? 
Leave a comment here with your email address and be entered to win a free $15 iTunes card on me, so you can buy more good books! I wish for you the same wonderful dilemma; so many books and so little time!

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Be sure to visit our other awesome authors for more great books, great fun, and prizes.

Fabio Bueno @ http://www.fabiobueno.com

Debra Burroughs @ http://www.DebraBurroughsBooks.com

L.C. Giroux @ http://www.lcgiroux.com/thoughts

Stacy Green @ http://stacygreenauthor.com/

Stacey Joy Netzel @ http://staceyjoynetzel.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanks-for-great-books-blog-hopfall.html

Janice Lane Palko @ http://www.thewritinglane.blogspot.com

PJ Sharon @ http://www.pjsharonyawriter.blogspot.com

Tamara Ward @ http://www.authortamaraward.blogspot.com/