10 Authors I'd Like To Meet (Dead or Alive!)

The prompt for Top Ten Tuesday over at The Broke and the Bookish this week is 10 Authors I'd Like to Meet. I've only met one author in my whole life -- and, granted, it was a good one -- Ann M. Martin, author of the Babysitter's Club books. My wonderful mom took me to see my hero in fifth grade and I'm still in possession of the Super Special she signed. I'd really like to meet more authors, but nobody I'd go to any trouble to see ever comes here to Dayton, and nobody at all came to Hawaii!

Here's me with Ann M. Martin, circa 1996.

On the surface this week's topic sounds similar to the recent prompt about all-time favorite authors (which I actually struggled with!) but really, there are tons of authors I'd like to meet who aren't necessarily absolute favorites. And... nobody ever said they had to be living!

Have you ever met an author? Did he or she live up to your expectations? What authors would you like to meet?

{J.K. Rowling}

I want to meet the woman behind my beloved Harry Potter series -- a woman who could somehow also write the dark and horribly depressing "A Casual Vacancy." I would really like to see what J.K. is like in person. Plus, really, what Potter fan wouldn't want to meet her?

{Janet Evanovich}

Other than a small handful of really old chick-lit and the new series she has with Lee Goldberg, I've read everything Janet has ever written. I wonder if she's just as spunky and fun as I feel like she is from reading her books. I'm really curious what Janet looks like in real life -- she's in her 70s but the jacket photos on all her more recent books would make you think she was in her early 40s!

{W. Bruce Cameron}
I actually DID have a chance to meet Cameron (he came to the Dayton area the Christmas before last) but I didn't go; in my defense I hadn't yet read any of his books. But now that I've got a couple of his works under my belt, I'm regretting my missed opportunity to meet a fellow dog-lover! (And he used to live in Colorado, my home state, and write columns for the Rocky Mountain News! Yay, Colorado! Yay, journalism!) Maybe he'll come back to Dayton when he releases his next book, "The Dog Master," in August. Fingers crossed!

{Tasha Alexander}
Tasha, who writes the Lady Emily mysteries, did make my favorite authors list the other week and I would absolutely love to meet her! I follow her on Facebook and she seems to be someone I would totally get along with in real life. Lady Emily's time period -- late 1800s England -- is one of my favorites to read about, and Tasha seems to love books, words, history and yummy food just as much as I do!

{Gillian Flynn}
Well, first off I recently learned that her name is pronounced with a hard G -- GILLian, not JILLian. So basically I've been saying that wrong for three years. Please tell me I'm not alone here?! Anyway, I would never turn down the chance to meet someone who looks so normal and stylish and pretty and nice -- and who could dream up the sick and twisted stuff that goes on in her books! She has got one hell of a creative mind and I envy her that. Also, I would love to know what kind of craziness she's going to release next!

{Pierce Brown}
Pierce was also on my favorite authors list a few weeks back, and I would totally love to meet him. I am just head over heels for his amazing Red Rising series. His writing is stunning, his creativity is massive. And I also have a crush on this good-looking, nerdy bookworm! (I follow him on Instagram and he seems really down-to-earth despite all that.) I feel like I would be nervous meeting him because I'm so fan-girly!

{Jane Austen}
I have never actually read a Jane Austen book (though I will one of these days, I promise!) but I have seen all the movies. It would be so interesting to talk to her about her time period and see what she would make of how much everything has changed. I bet she would be both thrilled and shocked at how different things are for women in the 21st century. I also wonder what she would make of everyone's obsession with Mr. Darcy (and which actor does she prefer in the movie versions?) as well as the crazy people who think they want to go back and live in Regency England.

{George Orwell}
Everyone should read "1984." If you haven't, go read it! It would be fascinating to meet someone with such a sharp mind and talk about all his adventures and viewpoints. I wonder if he'd be surprised to learn "1984" and "Animal Farm" are still required reading 65 years after his death? Probably not. I also wonder what he'd think of all the modern-day dystopias featuring government mind control that abound right now, like the Hunger Games and Divergent series (and even Red Rising, as mentioned above).

{F. Scott Fitzgerald}
I would, of course, want to travel back to the Roaring 20s to meet up with him. And I would definitely want to get his opinions on the newest movie version of "The Great Gatsby." Having never heard rap music before, what on earth would he think? (I do imagine he would like the casting of Leo as Gatsby. And I think he would appreciate the crazy apartment party scene, since I get the idea he did a lot of that sort of thing.)

{Mark Twain}
Every time I go to look up quotable quotes, there's Mark Twain. He had a way with words, an adventuresome spirit and created two fascinating little boys know as Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Plus, he got to stand feet away from the lava lake at Hale'ma'uma'u Crater in what is now Volcanoes National Park -- where I got to go a couple times when we lived in Hawaii. Now, of course, visitors can't get anywhere near the edge of the crater and I would definitely want his first-hand account!