R. Tran Books

Like most people I started reading when I was a kid. I loved it. My favorite stories then were by R.L. Stine. I couldn’t get enough. Why I loved being too frightened to go to bed at night I don’t know, but I think that was only part of it. R.L. Stine always created a story that drew the reader in. I could picture myself in his story. The words weren’t static letters on a page they became images in my head. Most of his books also had a good

mystery to them too. I always found myself turning the pages and never wanting to put the book down.

In my early teens I stopped reading. I don’t remember why. Perhaps it was simply because my teachers and parents wanted me to read, so I didn’t want to. I can’t remember. Then some one handed me Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice at the beginning of my junior year of high school. The obsession with reading was back. Once again letters were no longer inanimate objects. They danced off the page forming movies in my head.  I read through Queen of the Damned before Christmas break and the books are so much better than the movies.

Then I was introduced to the Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind. At first I was intimidated, it’s 800 pages long. Once I got started I couldn’t stop. I fell in love with fantasy novels and I had a little bit of a crush on Richard Rahl. After that I was hooked. I read any fantasy book or novel I could find that sounded interesting. I tend to like magic over swords and heroines over heroes. Magical races are always intriguing to me so if they are included it is an automatic bonus.

My favorite book of a all though is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. If you haven’t read it you really should. It’s one of those classic books people put on their book shelves to look smart like Shakespeare, I love his tragedies by the way, but its worth the read. Its another long read even the abridged version is well over 800 pages. I loved every bit. The story has everything, revenge, love, a hero, a villain, a princess. It is epic fiction and the movies have yet to get it right. They keep trying to improve perfection, it can’t be done.

My Goodreads profile has a listing of most of the books that I can remember the names and authors for the books I read. I assure you there are many more that I am missing. I read a lot of books from the library and can’t remember their names. The list is eclectic ranging from classics to romance novels. I love any book that has the ability to draw me in and make me feel a part of it. Most of them have their own unique world. New ideas and spins on old ones are always a must for me.

As I said earlier when I read a good book I see it in my head like I’m watching a movie. When I write it is exactly the same way. I see entire scenes of my books played out before me repeatedly  until I get it just right and written down on the page.  I get inspiration from other authors and their books.  I draw on what I’ve read to help me figure out how to piece my scenes together, or how to fix a problem in my own work. Now, most of the time I am either reading or writing. even my lunch break is spent eating over a notebook writing or a book reading. I wouldn’t have it any other way.