June's FEATURED AUTHOR: Dianne's Reading Picks...

It's a Wednesday (again? already?!), and so we have for you another spotlight on our Featured Author Dianne Greenlay - and what she's been reading.

I have quite eclectic tastes in books and like to read in several different genres. As I am older and pickier, and have more demands on my time, I am drawn towards books that have short chapters and are fast paced. James Patterson writes in this style and two of my favorites of his are The Quickie and The Murder of King Tut. The average chapter length of these books is about 4 pages and that suits my erratic reading times perfectly - I can fit a chapter or two in several times per day. My soft cover copy of King Tut also has a surprisingly large font which makes reading so vastly more pleasurable.

I also love unexpected twists and turns in a story and Sidney Sheldon had that technique perfected. I have quite a few of his books but The Other Side of Midnight and Master of the Game are two of his best.

I really enjoy authors' novels that combine truth and fiction so effortlessly. Most of Michael Crichton's books do this (my personal favorites are Timeline - a gripping adventure combining quantum physics and European history - and of course Jurassic Park). Also in this category, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and any of the novels by James Rollins (The Last Oracle, The Judas Strain) have kept me reading long past a reasonable bedtime. (Hey, I believe James Rollins was your April guest last year!) drey: Why yes, he was!

Because my novel, Quintspinner,and the forth-coming books in its trilogy are aimed at an upper YA as well as a cross-over adult audience, I read a lot of popular YA to get a feel for the current market demand. In the past year this has included The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, several books by Kelley Armstrong (Bitten; Stolen), the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr, Amanda Hocking's trilogy, My Blood Approves, and Blood Lust by Zoe Winters (this one is not YA) and I. Am. All. Vampired/werewolfed/demoned. Out. For now at least. Maybe even for this decade ...

I'm presently working my way through Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, and have Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck on my WTBR list of more YA. If you are looking for a great MG/YA/adult cross-over selection, read Kenneth Oppel's Silverwing series - it's totally engrossing and addictive! You won't be able to put the books down. More recently I finished Catherine Ryan Hyde's Becoming Chloe, a story of two desperate and dysfunctional teens trying to survive what life has thrown at them, and I loved every page.

Although I prefer fiction, I occasionally read non-fiction (plenty of that, actually, in my work requirements) and I have the following titles to suggest: Spiritwalker by Hank Wesselman (a recount of one man's incredible spiritual journey), The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav (for those wanting to find out the meaning of everything, this a mind-expanding, intellectually challenging, and very heavy read), and Survive! by Les Stroud, host of Survivorman, just because ya' never know when yer gonna' need it ... drey: *shudder* I hope I NEVER need it!

And of course there are all of the books from which I learned about life in the 1700's, sailing on a tall ship, 18th century weapons medicines, behaviors, speech mannerisms, and ... PIRATES. More about those next time!

Thanks for stopping in today, Dianne! And holy moly, I think you must read more than I do!! *grin* I loved The Hunger Games trilogy (well, except that Mockingjay did not make me very happy... ), and have Anna and the French Kiss on my want-to-read pile. I have to finish the Wicked Lovely series, love it, but am having time issues. *sigh* But there are a bunch of books here I haven't read yet, and you're making me add to my wish list!

I love that Dianne's an eclectic reader. What do you think of her list?