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Click
here to nominate a Hall of Fame Reader
August
2009 Winner
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Becke Davis
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Becke
Davis
Home:
Grew up in the northwest suburbs
of Chicago, also lived in New Jersey
and London, England. Have lived in Cincinnati
for 16 years.
Favorite Spot for Reading:
Anywhere! In bed, at the table,
curled up in a cozy chair – I’m not
particular.
How did you discover Patricia
McLinn's books?
I think I read the first one
when I subscribed to several Harlequin,
Silhouette and SuperRomance lines. Then
I was hooked. I kept an eye out for
Patricia’s new releases long after I
stopped subscribing, and finally sent
her a pestering email when I hadn’t
seen a new one for awhile!
Which is your favorite Patricia
McLinn book and why?
Wedding Party. I’m not sure
why that one hooked me – I read this
series out of order; this may have been
the first of Patricia’s books I ever
read. I loved the Chicago references
(Marshall Field’s, Frango mints, etc.)
and I loved the whole Michael-Tris-Grady
relationship (or non-relationship, in
the case of Tris/Grady). I thought the
scene with Michael’s holey sweatshirt
was a sizzler, and I’ve reread this
book several times, partly because I
love that scene so much. I loved this
whole series, but my second favorite
is Runaway Bride. (I love ALL of Patricia’s
series, but I have a soft spot for this
one.) My second favorite series – hard
call, but I’d say the one that takes
place in Wisconsin. [Wedding of the
Century, The Unexpected Wedding Guest,
Least Likely Wedding, Baby Blues and
Wedding Bells.]
What's your favorite early memory
of reading or having books or stories
told?
My parents used to read A.A.
Milne’s stories to me when I was very
young, as well as Golden Book stories.
Milne didn’t just write about Winnie-the-Pooh;
in fact, as I recall my earliest favorite
was King John’s Christmas,
a poem about
a king who wanted an India rubber ball.
Another favorite was
The Tall Book of
Make Believe (someone blogged about
it here). It was a wonderful book that I read
to my children, too. I’ve tried to buy
extra copies of it, but it’s out of
print and used copies cost the earth.
Have any books made
a difference in your life?
Yes, in so many ways. It would
be hard to select individual books,
because I think my life has been enriched
by every book I’ve read, if in different
ways. Books that have meant a lot to
me over the years were mostly books
I discovered when I was young: Madeline
l’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, Antoine
de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, Aldous Huxley’s
A Brave New World – those are just the
first to come to mind. I’ve loved the
mystery genre since I read my first
Nancy Drew at age 9, and I’ve loved
romance and romantic suspense since
I was a teenager. I’m just a bookaholic
– always have been.
What do you love about
being a reader?
Well, you’ve nailed it – reading
is a love affair, plain and simple.
Every time I open a book, there is a
sense of anticipation, almost like an
electrical buzz. When a book meets (or
exceeds) my expectations, it’s a thrilling
experience – no matter what the genre.
Reading is always an adventure, and
I tend to approach books with a sense
of wonder.
The people and places in books
become very real to me.
Anything
else you want to say?:
This may sound odd to people
who make a study of literature, but
I have always read for the sheer joy
of it, and never analyzed the why’s
or wherefore’s of that enjoyment. It’s
only as I’ve gotten older that I’ve
stood back and studied books with a
writer’s eye. I think I purposely avoided
analyzing books because I was afraid
I’d lose the magic if I knew too much
about the author’s process. Instead,
the more I consider books with a writer’s
eye, the more I’m awed that so many
marvelous books were written by (relatively!)
normal people.
I’d always placed authors on
a different plane of existence; as if
authors had been endowed with mystical
powers of bringing imaginary worlds
to life. This sounds naive, but in some
ways I still believe this is true. As
far as anyone knows, we are the only
species to create stories about people
and events that exist in a world of
the mind. If that’s not magical, what
is?
February
2007 Winners
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Dee, left, and
Erin, on Erin's wedding day.
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Sisters
Erin Tanner and Deane (Dee) Hay
Home:
Erin: Barcaldine in Central West Queensland,
Australia
Deane (Dee): Taroom in South West Queensland,
Australia
Favorite spot
for reading?
Erin: My lounge, with my feet up on
the coffee table
Dee: wherever I can get some peace and
quiet – I have three small children
What is
the most recent book of Patricia’s that
you’ve read?
Erin: The Right Brother
Dee: Least Likely Wedding
How did
you discover Patricia McLinn's books?
By spending time with our Grandmother
Petersen in Bundaberg, she and our
mother are avid romance novel readers,
Grandma keeps a large box of
books under her spare bed that we all
swap and go through whenever we
visit her.
What is
your favorite Patricia McLinn book and
why?
A favorite for both of us is "Hoops."
We have a long running battle
(about 10 years) over "Hoops" and who
owns the copy. We take turns
stealing it from each other’s house
whenever we visit each other. Dee
gave the book to me as a wedding present
in 2005 and has been
unsuccessful in stealing it back ever
since, much to her frustration! Ha Ha
What's your
favorite early memory of reading or
having books or stories
told?
Erin: Having "When Willie Went to the
Wedding " read to me every night
for about 3 years (Loved that book).
Mum got so sick of reading it that
she used to pay Dee 20 cents a night
to read it to me.
Dee: Pinching mum's romance novels and
quickly skimming to find the rude
bits, before she caught us!
The both of us being bored one rainy
day and deciding to write our own
romance novel, We named the leading
lady "Cochaneal Carnation" and the
leading man was "Spam Lamb", but afterwards
was changed to "Lunge
Randolf" – a lot of laughs were had
during the writing of that story....
Do you share
your reading experiences with others?
Part of any reading
groups (formal
or informal, online or in person)?
Just each other.
Have any
books made a difference in your life?
Erin: "Inheriting Jack" - shows you
how important best friends are
Dee: "Edward the Emu" - because it makes
you realize that it is ok to be
who you are.
What do
you love about being a reader?
Meeting the wonderful characters that
are living these fabulous lives.
By the end of the book you feel like
they are apart of your life.
Anything
else you want to say?
Dee is my best friend, she always supports
me, helps me and is there for
me, I look forward to many more book
battles over the years to come.
June
2005 Winner
Joelle
Deveza
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Home:
I live in France, near Orléans
and about 130 kilometres from
Paris
Favorite
spot for reading?
In my bed, with the cat close
to me
How did you discover Patricia
McLinn's books?
I read a book translated in
French “Lost and Found Groom”
(“A Force d’Amour” in French)
I won in a contest sponsored
by Harlequin.
Which is your favorite Patricia
McLinn book and why?
“At The Heart’s
Command” is amongst my favorites.
The characters seem so real,
so human. The dialogue are so
vivid. Ordinary people with
ordinary life but the power
of love is so big that they
become unique and unforgettable.
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What's your
favorite early memory of reading or
having books or stories told?
 As far as I remember,
I was
fascinated by “The Wild Swans” and “The
Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen,
then later by “Planet of the Apes” by
Pierre Boulle. I discover romance books
later; only in 1997, I was very ill
and bought a book with a lovely cover
at the supermarket (Lady of the Upper-Kingdom
by Merline Lovelace)… I thought it was
something easy to read and forget… And
I fell in love! I bought 4 more in the
same week and devoured them and never
stopped since then.
Have any
books made a difference in your life?
Many of them made
me more attentive to people around me.
And all of them have a place in my heart.
What
books have stayed in your memory over
the years?
Books
like “Song of the Wolf” by Roseanne
Bittner ; “For My Daughters” by Barbara
Delinsky ; "The Book Club" by Mary Alice
Monroe ; "Cypress Point" by Diane Chamberlain
or “Cloud Nine” by Luanne Rice still
live in my heart and in a way change
my point of view about life.
What
do you love about being a reader?
To “fly away “ from
this rude world for a while. To live
an exciting life with many characters
I probably never met. To listen to my
heart and emotions.
Anything
else you want to say?
I dream I could come to USA someday
to rob book shops; to come to an RT
convention and meet all the writers
I love and say to all of them how important
they are for me and to thank them for
all the pleasure given with their wonderful
stories.
I can say this to you, dear
Patricia : THANKS for all the great
moments I spent with your books and
also for your kindness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don’t miss Joelle’s wonderful website:
http://romanceh.free.fr
Click on the moon to enter, then on
the button called "Livres en Vo", choose
"June" in the contemporaries section
and... surprise ! (http://romanceh.free.fr/VOcjuin.html)
January
2005 Winner
Madalyn
Reese
Home:
Smack in the middle of Minnesota
Favorite spot for reading?
Contrary to popular belief,
it's not the drivers seat of
my car, or the ditch. It's my
office.
How did
you discover Patricia McLinn's
books?
I was lucky enough to
meet Pat on the eHarlequin message
boards, and loved her sense
of humor, plus how down to earth
she was. So I had to go pick
up her latest--which was
ALMOST A BRIDE at
the time--and was very glad
I did. Her books are just as
funny and genuine as Pat herself.
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What
is your favorite Patricia McLinn book,
and why?
Boy, this
is a hard one for me to answer, so I'll
take the easy way out and name two:
ALMOST A BRIDE and
MY HEART REMEMBERS.
ALMOST A BRIDE is where
we get into Pat's sense of humor--she
almost killed me. Literally. I got impatient
after leaving the store with it, so
decided to read a bit of the first chapter
while driving home from the store. Then
I got to the bottom of page 13 (yes,
can you say hooked?) and was laughing
so hard I almost drove into the ditch.
No, I won't read and drive again. I
swear.
MY HEART REMEMBERS
sticks with me because of Shane *dreamy
sigh* And the shiny things in it, of
course.
What's your favorite
memory of reading or having books or
stories told?
I remember passing many cold winter
hours curled up under about a hundred
blankets, reading whatever I could get
my hands on. And I remember thinking
I was pretty hot stuff for choosing
books with no pictures.
Have
any books made a difference in your
life?
Wow, what a
question. I think just about every book
I've ever read has made a difference
in my life somehow, whether it opened
me up to a new perspective or just made
me more mindful of how I treat others
or myself because of whatever lesson
the hero/heroine learned.
What do you love
about being a reader?
I'd have to say what I love best about
being a reader is getting completely
lost in a story, and letting a whole
other world open up in front of me.
And what I love about being one of
Pat's readers is that her characters
don't get off easy. Everyone--from the
main characters to the last secondary--gets
exactly what they deserve, good or bad.
Love that.
Anything
else I want to say?
Yes, I want to say thank you, Pat, for
giving me hours of good reading, and
a great example to follow. Not only
in the writing of stories, but in how
an author can remain a genuine person
in this often crazy business we're lucky
enough to be part of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition to being a fabulous
reader, Madalyn is also a talented writer.
Visit her website at
http://www.MadalynReese.com
November
2003 Winner
Diana
Tidlund
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