K is for (Carolyn) Keene

Debra still enjoys a good Nancy Drew mystery.

There are a few authors I credit with my love of reading and Carolyn Keene is one of them. Keene is actually the pseudonym for a variety of authors who wrote the Nancy Drew series. Growing up while reading the mysteries, I had no idea there was more than one author contributing to the series. I was in awe that one person could write so many stories. Mildred Wirt is credited with starting the series and writing quite a few of the original stories. Those stories have been updated and rewritten over the years.

The series premiered in the 1930s and was updated in the 50s and 60s. Some of the stories stayed somewhat the same, with changes made to bring them up to date. Some of the stories were completely changed, even though they kept the same titles. New titles were added as well.

It was the updated books that I read when I was younger, and will even pick up now and again to this day. I was a library reader, heading to the corner shelves to those rows of yellow books every time I went. Only as an adult did I start collecting the books for my personal collection. Of the yellow hardcovers, I have probably 2/3 of them.

After the yellow books went out of 'fashion', the series continued in the 80s with paperback books, which (at the time) were much more modern. Those I collected first-hand and have about two dozen. Eventually, as the series continued to grow, I stopped buying and once again returned to my local library if I wanted to read a new story.

Now the series has expanded even further and gotten more and more updates. There are The Nancy Drew Notebooks and even a series for younger readers in which Nancy and her friends are in Third Grade. As far as I know, stories about my favorite teenaged sleuth are still being written. Which is fabulous. It makes me happy to know new generations of readers will still get to know Nancy for years to come. For me, it's still those classic yellow books that speak to my heart and make me smile. They bring back wonderful memories.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

N is for Nancy Drew

Before my love afair with romance began, my series of choice was the Nancy Drew mysteries. These were the first books I remember not being able to get enough of. I can still picture the shelf at the library where they were housed. I made a bee-line for that section every time we walked into the library. These books were the reason I went to the library. I had my checklist and would mark off the ones I'd read. Choosing a new four or five on each visit was nothing less than thrilling.

I wanted to be Nancy Drew. I was completely emersed in her world.

Now, even as an adult, I'll still pick up one to read every once in a while. I've collected some of the series, but not all. I'm always on the lookout to complete my collection. I love looking at those yellow spines on my personal library shelf.

Carolyn Keene is the offical author of the series, but this is a pseudonym used to cover a wide variety of writers who have actually written the stories. The first was Mildred Wirt Benson who penned twenty-three Nancy Drew stories. Some of the original stories have been updated throughout the years, and Nancy has gone through many changes herself.

But the overall feel of the cozy whodunnits has remained for countless generations to discover and enjoy.

I can honestly say my love of reading, and especially that craving of never having enough, stemmed from Nancy Drew. It was this love of reading that eventually led to my desire to be a writer. Nancy will always hold a special place in my heart.

(If you'd like a fun and nostalgic peek 'behind the scenes' of Nancy Drew, I highly recommend The Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys by Carole Kismaric ande Marvin Heiferman.)

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Favorite Books

Okay, this one is even trickier than choosing a favorite movie. There are simply so many books out there, to narrow it down is nearly impossible. To be honest, I'm not really a big fan of the classics,(I know, I know, I can hear your shocked gasps.) but there are books out there I've become attached to and think of as my own classics.

As a kid I devoured Nancy Drew books. In fact, I'll still pick them up today if I need a quick read. I'm in the process of establishing the entire collection. The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder are also still among my favorites.

When I started reading "grown up" books, I headed straight for romance. I had a subscription to the American Romance line from Harlequin. Each month four new shiny silver and blue books were delivered to my house. Heaven on earth. Through these stories, I developed my love of the hunky hero, the sassy heroine, and the happily ever after. I dreamed of writing one of my own someday. For many, many years, romance was the only genre I read (outside of reading for classes and such).

When I became a writer, I found myself straying a bit from reading only romance. Part of the reason is, as we've mentioned, when I'm writing, it's difficult to be reading something in the same genre. But romance will always be my first love. In romance I enjoy contemporary the most. One of my favorite sets of books is an old SuperRomance series: Calloway Corners - Four stories by four different authors that follow four sisters - Mariah, Jo, Tess, and Eden. (My copy of Mariah is completely beat up because I've read it so many times.) In historicals my all time favorite is Heather Graham's Civil War trilogy: One Wore Blue, One Wore Gray, And One Rode West.

As I've mentioned before, I love vampires. I first fell in love with them in Linda Lael Miller's trilogy: Forever and the Night, For All Eternity, and Time Without End. These days it's the Twilight series (which I just finished reading for the eighth time) and the Sookie Stackhouse series.

For action-adventure, there's no one better than Clive Cussler. His Dirk Pitt stories are my favorites in that genre.

Obviously, I could go on...but I think we'll leave it at that for the day...

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com