Recently I was asked by shepherd.com staff to create an author page for their new-ish site that guides readers. They ask an author to describe five books that fall into a theme comparable to that of a book they’ve written, that they’ve valued greatly and would recommend to others. You can see what I did at this webpage. I’d be very curious to hear about it if you end up exploring at shepherd.com and benefiting (or not!). The site does have advertising.

As for my part in this, I enjoyed searching my mind for books that were seminal in my own process. I chose some that I feel became part of my psychic make-up, my hopes and dreams and my self-identity during my teens and twenties that have stayed with me. These books have impacted my day-to-day life as much as a close friend or family member, in ways, pushing the boundaries of my imagination, whether it’s farfetched or not.

I was very happy to include another indie writer among those I recommended!

Outside of the worlds they added to the landscape of my psyche, these are stories that held me through series of up to seven or eight books. I think a long series tells us something about an author and also something about ourselves. Why did the main character(s) captivate me? What part of me do they mirror? What ignites my imagination? What expectations does that book/series build in me, once I’m captivated? Does it mean I want to live in outer space or does it just put into question the choices we’re making about our world? Maybe you can ask yourself the same or similar questions about books that stay with you!

This Shepherd site also offers similar lists and themes at the bottom of the page. I only mentioned one dragon book. Their recommendations flew with the dragon idea (so to speak!) but they might be spot on.