When you love story as much as I do, and I suspect, as most of you, my lovely readers do, there is nothing more exciting than discovering a new author to read. Even better in many ways, if you have discovered them some time after being published and you have the pleasure of enjoying a back list of books!
For me, it was David Eddings back in the late 80s, when I had the joy of reading his entire his Belgariad series back to back, and then on to the Mallorean series. As for Christian Fiction, well, ahem, I’ve been reading it so long it hasn’t really happened like that for me!
So, a simple question today, what multi-published author was new to you and you had the joy of diving into their back list of novels?
March 21, 2016 at 10:19 pm
I discovered Julie Klassen in the fall of 2014 and promptly read almost every thing she has written. I still have her debut on my TBR, but have read all the others. A great find for me!
March 22, 2016 at 10:16 am
Love it, Staci!
March 21, 2016 at 10:33 pm
Hm… there are so many authors I’ve discovered since I started reading CF a couple of years ago. Can’t even count them all (okay I can, but I’m lazy). My favourite finds so far have been Julie Klassen and Laura Frantz.
March 22, 2016 at 10:16 am
I understand, Bee ๐ Julie and Laura are great discoveries!
March 21, 2016 at 10:38 pm
Like you, I’ve been reading Christian fiction for so long that most authors’ backlists weren’t very long when I discovered them (though now if I did a reread, someone like Janette Oke or Gilbert Morris would be a challenge). Right now I’m reading through Jill Mansell’s (British chick lit) backlist. Even though I’ve been a fan of hers for years, she’s still written enough books that somehow there’s still 4-5 that I still haven’t read yet.
March 22, 2016 at 10:17 am
Excellent, Deborah – it’s always so delicious knowing you have more books to get through from a beloved writer.
March 22, 2016 at 2:05 am
My most recent discoveries are Becky Doughty and Eva Ibbotson. I fell in love with Becky’s new YA series and am eagerly awaiting the third book which will be released in May. Eva would not be classified under Christian fiction, but she wrote clean novels. So far I’ve only read The Secret Countess but was utterly charmed.
March 22, 2016 at 10:17 am
Thanks for sharing, Brittaney…heading off to look up Eva now ๐
March 22, 2016 at 2:22 am
Thanks to you my dear book compass, I have recently discovered Tamara Leigh and I can’t thank you enough!! I had to wait for her books to come out in print, but once they did I bought every one and inhaled them. I’m currently reading “Baron of Emberly” and will be sad once I finish since I’ll have to wait a while before the next book in the Feud Series is released. Oh well…I’ll just go back and re-read all of her other books again, not a bad cycle to repeat, no?
March 22, 2016 at 10:18 am
You are a sweetheart – love that! Isn’t Tamara fabulous? Here contemporaries are terrific, too, once you get through her medievals.
March 22, 2016 at 1:24 pm
Thank you so much, Amy! Made my evening. And thank you, Rel, for introducing us ๐
March 22, 2016 at 2:55 pm
Tamara Leigh ยป Always a pleasure, Tamara xo
March 22, 2016 at 2:59 am
Like many, I’ve been reading for years so there hasn’t been a lot of surprises. But, when I discovered Ronie Kendig I was able to read her Discarded Heroes series then moved on to her Breed Apart series. She’s a great writer of action/suspense/romance. She also has an amazing kindle series, Operation Zulu. I read it back to back when I was evacuated because of a fire. It proved to be an amazing distraction.
March 22, 2016 at 10:19 am
You know I love Ronie, but that’s so great to hear. Books can be such a comfort or distraction when we need them, Tamara.
March 22, 2016 at 1:34 pm
Oh my goodness, Tamara! So sorry about that fire. But I’m glad OZ was a good distraction for you during that. THANK YOU for your super-complementary words!!
March 22, 2016 at 4:06 am
That would be Dorothy Simpson’s Inspector Luke Thanet series. There are fifteen books in this cozy mystery series published from 1981-1999. Inspector Thanet’s cases, marriage,friendships, and life are given to us in real-time. In the first book his children are in the 2-5 age range and he’s a grandfather by the end of the series.
In Christian fiction I would say Lauraine Snelling maybe. I’ve listened to one audio book by her and am considering reading her others. She has so many that I’m not certain if I’m up to the task of reading her whole back list and keeping up with her current ones too. MaryLu Tyndall might be another one. I started reading her books in 2013 and haven’t completed her backlist yet. I’m getting there though.
March 22, 2016 at 10:20 am
Wow, Sylvia, that sounds like a great way to develop a series. Hope you get through Lauraine’s and MaryLu’s books, too.
March 22, 2016 at 10:56 am
I just finished an ARC of Lead Me Home by Amy K Sorrells that I won in a blog giveaway, loved it! She has only two previous releases but I was happy to discover that I have one of them on my Kindle.
March 22, 2016 at 2:52 pm
Always a plus to discover more books, Patty ๐
March 22, 2016 at 12:33 pm
I discovered Denise Hunter after The Wishing Season was featured here. Now I’ve read all her works, and it was a blast.
March 22, 2016 at 3:13 pm
Amanda J. ยป I love hearing that, Amanda. Denise is one of my absolute favourite romance writers. Do you have a favourite book of hers now? I must admit, and Denise knows this well, that The Convenient Groom is probably my sentimental favourite. Did you know it is going to be made into a Hallmark movie?
March 22, 2016 at 9:58 pm
Oh, you have made this chilly morning in Florida warmer- a Hallmark movie!? I love a sappy Hallmark movie second to a great book. So…I’ve been trying to decide, while I loved The Convenient Groom (I mean how could you not love Lucas), I’d have to say Married Till Monday and Dancing with Fireflies have stuck with me the most. Both heroes were so gentle without sacrificing their masculinity. But picking a favorite is like picking my favorite Starbucks drink- they’re all so good…white chocolate mocha, caramel macchiato, pumpkin spice latte. You see?
March 22, 2016 at 1:35 pm
I discovered mainstream author David Baldacci only last year and am reading his books like crazy. I haven’t really “discovered” a new Christian author because I’ve been involved with the industry for so long and have kept up with most of them as they debuted then continued writing.
March 22, 2016 at 2:54 pm
Ronie ยป I’ve only read one Baldacci novel, some time back. Must rectify that ๐
March 22, 2016 at 1:56 pm
James Rollins was a fantastic discovery for me. He already had 10 fabulous action thrillers published when I discovered him and I ripped through them like a mad woman. For the Christian fiction market I would have to say Anne Elisabeth Stengl is a recent discovery whose backlist I am thoroughly enjoying.
March 22, 2016 at 2:54 pm
Liz R ยป You and Ronie should chat about your mutual love of James Rollins novels, Liz ๐
March 22, 2016 at 7:42 pm
I would have to say back when I started reading again it was first Jeanette Oke. I read the first in the Canadian west series and then had to read all the books she had out. Then a bit later would have been Gilbert Morris. They are 2 that stand out.
March 22, 2016 at 10:16 pm
I’ve been reading all the Melanie Dickerson I can get my hands on!
March 22, 2016 at 10:56 pm
I love mystery/suspense and am always excited to “discover” a new author. Two authors that were not on my radar were Sibella Giorello and Creston Mapes. When I finally found them, I was excited to find I had a lot of reading enjoyment ahead of me.
Now I discover that Sibella has a new series featuring Raleigh as a teen — wow that’s great!
Great question, Rel, as always! ๐
March 23, 2016 at 2:07 am
Hum, I feel like I’ve done that with a few. I saw Ronie mentioned David Baldacci and I’d agree he’s one. I would also say, funny enough, Ronie was one of those ๐ I read Talon, the second in the series, to review and was hooked. Now I have pretty much everything she’s written LOL!
March 30, 2016 at 6:09 am
The only name that immediately comes to mind is Ronie Kendig! And I still have MANY of her novels to read. ๐