In celebration of the official publication of Ghosting we are thrilled to dedicate this week’s Inspired By to author Edie Pattou!

Here, Edie shares the 5 books that inspired her to become a writer…

The Blue Fairy Book, a compilation of fairy tales edited by Andrew Lang

“This is where I first met that fierce unnamed heroine who undertook the impossible journey to a land that lay east of the sun and west of the moon to rescue her prince (the inspiration for my novel East). It also kindled in me an ever-lasting love of fairy tales.”

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

“The book that opened my eyes to the enchantment of traveling to fantastical lands where animals spoke and magic was real, and this was all made even more wonderful by the possibility that one could gain access to these worlds by something as simple as entering a wardrobe. Or in my case, a library.”

 

  To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“To my mind, the perfect novel, with a stunning combination of powerful, exquisitely rendered characters (has there ever been a finer fictional character than Atticus Finch?!), a plot that grips you from the first page, a setting that is perfectly captured in all its Southern eccentricity and charm, and a denouement that knocks your socks off.”

 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“A story by a brilliant writer, who captured a very specific time and place, the Jazz Age, with a unique flamboyant style that still dazzles. My dad used to love to recite for me the list of party-goers at Gatsby’s over-the-top soirees. “

 

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

“A fantasy that, long before Harry Potter, told the story of a young wizard who finds his gift and his place in the world, and then must fight against dark forces to save his land. It is told in gorgeous, taut, mythic language that I am still in awe of.”