This week’s Inspired By is dedicated to Linda Lafferty author of The Shepherdess of Siena! Buy your copy today, and get an inside look at the five books that have inspired her most as a writer!

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy tells more than a simple tale. He creates a world for the reader—we see how that world shapes and develop each character. This Russian masterpiece inspires me to immerse my reader in real history in order to see how internal and external forces chisel changes—in all my characters.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Du Maurier is a master of mood. Her descriptions creep into the reader’s experience of her novel — evoking feelings of dread, fear, and even elation, often with the simplest details: weather, color, and sound.

 

City of Thieves by David Benioff

Beautiful, evocative prose — with a screenwriter’s eye to image! Benioff’s story of two unlikely comrades who stumble through the horror of Leningrad’s siege by the Nazis reminds me to create startling images but keep the story moving!

To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee

Harper Lee’s novel inspires my voice, with her creation of Scout’s feisty recounting of a moral tale. Is there anyone better with character than Ms. Lee?

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway reminds me to think of the reader. Avoid fancy words, extravagant punctuation. Simple dialogue is best. Get to the point! Oh, and do that with the masterful precision. (Well, we are talking about inspiration, not emulation!)