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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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