During elementary school, all I thought about was playing with my dolls, riding my bike, and watching Shirley Temple movies. I remember reading the Dick and Jane books in reading circles in the second grade. It wasn’t until middle school that I was introduced to the school library. This is where I discovered a card catalog (yes, that long ago). I learned how to look up genre’s and/or book titles or authors in small file drawers where the information was typed on individual cards about the size of an index card. We didn’t have internet then. Imagine that.

Since all listings were in alphabetical order, in the card catalog, I found Agatha Christie first. The description on the card recognized her as a mystery writer. Well, I looked no further. If I remember correctly, The Mirror Cracked from Side to Side and A Caribbean Mystery were two of the first. I grew hungry for more mystery/suspenseful books. Phyllis Whitney quickly hooked me. I read every one of her books the library had on the shelf.

Then came high school and my reading desires dwindled. I was too busy with the yearbook club, school plays, and athletic department to focus on extra-curricular reading.

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 It wasn’t until I’d graduated from high school, I discovered Frank E. Peretti’s This Present Darkness trilogy. Then came Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins sixteen book Left Behind series. Wow!

Suspense was my favorite. Of course, I read my Bible, and books like Out of Control and Loving it by Lisa Bevere, Smith Wigglesworth’s On the Holy Spirit, The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn, Yes Sisters by Angelia L White and a pile of other spiritual living books.

Once the desire to write my own novels stirred in my heart, I began reading instructional writing books. Stein on Writingby Sol Stein, Story Trumps Structure by Stephen James, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. They didn’t make a bit of sense to me, but I was told I should read them. Yep, I’m laughing too. I had a lot to learn if I wanted to write well and have a publishing future.

Here are a few of the inspirational romantic suspense novels I’ve read recently: Counter Attack by Patricia Bradley, A Cry in the Dark by Jessica R. Patch, Crime Scene Witness by Dana R. Lynn, Mistaken Mountain Abduction by Shannon Redmon, Detecting Secrets by Sami A. Abrams, Mountain Abduction Rescue by Darlene L. Turner, and Kidnapped in Texas by Virginia Vaughan. I’m presently reading the advanced author copy of Facing the Enemy by DiAnn Mills.

So, what’s in my TBR pile? 26 Below by Kimberly Woodhouse, Hunted at the Hideaway by Jennifer Brown, Impending Strike by Lynette Eason & Sami Abrams, and Countdown by Lynette Eason.

I read at night before turning the lights out. Most of the time, it helps me relax unless it’s a thriller I can’t put down.

What about you? When is your favorite genre and ideal time to read?

 

 

Award-winning author Loretta Eidson lives by the motto ‘never a dull moment,’ especially with her husband, four children, and thirteen grandchildren. Her love of reading began back in middle school during library time, where she devoured Phyllis Whitney’s mystery novels. She has multiple short stories in anthologies, but her heart is writing romantic suspense. Her first novel, Pursued in the Wilderness, released on September 27, 2022. Blue Ridge Mountain Escape releases on June 27, 2023, and a third in December 2023.

Loretta is a Certified Coach with AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) and prefers to use her training to encourage aspiring writers. She believes in the power of prayer and loves putting her hero and heroine in realistic predicaments where they must trust God to pull them through.

Loretta’s literary agent is Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.