Author Spotlight week - Barri Byran shares her favorite author

Anne Hathaway as "Jane Austen"

If you had asked me when I was in my teens, "Who is your all time favorite author", I would have said without a moment's hesitation, Jane Austen. But that was before I discovered the Bronte sisters. As I read in swift succession Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, and Wuthering Heights they replaced Jane Austin and then each other.

That changed when I reached my twenties and time and perspective modified my tastes. Then I would have said without a pause, "My favorite author is Alice Duer Miller." When I read Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor, My favorite author changed again.
As time moved along, I discovered Grace Metalious. I was both repelled and captivated by her stories. After I read The Tight White Collar, I decided she was my favorite author for all time.

More time passed. My reading became more varied. I branched out into reading, not only romances, but also mysteries and detective stories. I read a lot of Harlequin Romances as well as books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rex Stout, Dashiell Hammett, and Mickey Spillane. If asked, during this period of my reading evolution, who was my favorite author, I'd have said Victoria Holt or Joanna Lindsey. Then I read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, and discovered, once again, another all-time favorite.
I must be fickle-must be? I am. Recently I read a book by Nicholas Sparks. He may be my current all-time favorite. Note I said may be. I like Mary Higgins Clark too. And of course, there's Danielle Steele...

I don't think I can say I have a favorite all time author. As I change and times change, my tastes in reading change too. I do have one all-time favorite reading genre. I love now, and always have loved, romantic novels.