I’m participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, where I post every day in the month of April (except Sundays) and each day is a letter.

My theme for the month is a series of posts about the things that shaped me.

Kate Morton

I am a sucker for historical fiction, and Kate Morton has written some absolutely terrific ones. I’ve read all of her books (currently working on her newest at the moment), but my favorite is still The Distant Hours, the first of hers I ever read.

It was a random pick at the library one afternoon, and I skimmed the first few pages and was instantly hooked. The story jumps back and forth between two time periods, telling the story of the elderly Blythe sisters, their long-buried secrets, and their falling-down castle. But what got me was the prologue, this creepy little tale of the “Mud Man.” It gave me shivers, and I wanted to know more.

From reviews I’ve read, it seems people don’t tend to like this one as much as other Kate Morton’s. So maybe I like it best just because it was my first introduction to her, or maybe it’s just that I really enjoy the whole gothic atmosphere and general creepiness of crazy old spinsters.

Either way, I’ve been a huge fan ever since. And if you haven’t read any of her novels, start with The Distant Hours. You might really like it — and if you don’t, you may like everything else she wrote even better.

Stephen King

Now, I don’t like Stephen King for the same reasons most people like Stephen King. To be honest, I’ve never read a single novel by him — just a few short stories (the book Different Seasons, entirely because three out of four have been made into movies), but never his horror.

But King wrote one of the very best books for aspiring writers, and for that, he is here.

On Writing is so conversational, it’s like King is just sitting next to you, having a chat with a friend. I could finally see why he’s so popular; his voice just flowed. You can’t read it without catching the writer bug. He talks through his life story, his career, how he writes. (He’s a pantser not a planner, which is very not me at all, but it made me want to be…)

I’ll never read his horror. Just not my thing. But I’ll read anything else he writes.

Katharine Hepburn

I’ve expressed my love for Audrey Hepburn already; but Katharine deserves her due as well.

She had a bit of a hard time of it at the start; one of my other favorite ladies, Dorothy Parker, had this to say about her and while I don’t agree with her, it’s such a beautiful insult I can’t help but love it:

She runs the gamut of emotions all the way from A to B.

No one is sure if Parker really said it or when she said it or what role she was referring to, but in the mid-1930s, Katharine was having a bit of rough time of it. But a few box office failures and bad reviews were forgotten by the time The Philadelphia Story was released, and if you haven’t seen it, you really should. It’s an absolute delight of a romantic comedy, back when her frequent co-star was Cary Grant, before the days of Spencer Tracy.

(I also highly recommend 1937’s Stage Door — Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller are all struggling actresses in a women’s boardinghouse and it is FABULOUS.)

But those Spencer Tracy days were even better — Woman of the Year, Adam’s Rib, Pat and Mike, Desk Set… and their final, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Screen pairings really don’t get any greater than that.

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