Amy asked Colleen Houck:

Who is your biggest literary inspiration and what are some of your go to novels?

Colleen Houck That's a great question. I was inspired to start writing after reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer but I'm inspired by everything I read. When my brother was visiting last summer he was complaining about an author he loved as he'd been busy reading their latest novel. I told him that I stopped that practice long ago, choosing instead to find something I liked in every book I picked up. I discovered as I looked for things I enjoyed that there was indeed something to be learned from authors at every level of development. Some are great at plot, others at writing brilliant prose or characters while another could describe a sunset with perfection. Doing that changed how I looked at writing and made me appreciate reading and the writer in a totally new way. It helped me to build up others and myself in the process. I think it's something we don't do enough of in these modern days of social media. It's far too easy to find fault with and criticize than it is to find beauty. But the beauty is always there too if you look for it. For that reason, I don't pick favorites any longer. I love the one I'm with. ;)

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