So recently I finished Nalini Singh’s new book, Lord of the Abyss. It’s Book 4 in the Royal House of Shadows trilogy for Harlequin Nocturne. Oh. My. Lamb. Is it breaking a commandment to have book envy? Thou shall not covet thou fellow author’s mad skill…
Let me tell you, Lord of the Abyss was an experience. In a nutshell—and we’re talking pistachio-size, here—the series revolves around the four siblings from the royal house of Elden, a mystical kingdom. The Blood Sorcerer conquered the kingdom, but the king and queen saved their children by scattering them to different places. Now the four heirs must return to the kingdom and restore it to a place of peace and prosperity before time runs out—literally. Nalini Singh’s novel tells the story of Micah, the youngest heir, and Liliana, the Blood Sorcerer’s daughter. How many elements did Nalini Singh touch on in this book? True beauty being on the inside. Adversity can breed strength.Nature vs. nurture. Love will always conquers evil. Spiders are STILL big-ass scary freaks of nature.
She is a natural, master storyteller. And that’s what drew me in. From the words, “When I…” she wove a tale that dragged me from the very depths of horror and pity and rocketed me to the heights of joy and triumph! I was taken for a ride. And in a good way! Which brings us back to my book envy. One of my father’s favorite author is Khalil Gibran—I’m going somewhere with this, I swear. Just bear with me. Daddy claims it’s because every word that Gibran uses is perfect and needed. It’s the same with Nalini Singh. Every word, every description, is perfect. Nothing is wasted and each is needed. She awes me!
Every writer should have another author that inspires them. An author. As individuals we all have people we admire and who motivate us. But as writers we should have someone who made us want to write in the first place. Who, after reading their books, make us say, that is the brilliance I’m aiming to obtain. I am not the same writer as Nalini Singh—we don’t write the same genre and our voices are different. But it is her ability to weave a magical spell of words that pulls emotion and dreams from her readers that I allows me to declare without shame, “Nalini, I’m not worthy!” But doggone it, one day, I will be!
What author stirred that creative seed in your soul? Who inspires you today?
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