When The Sun Goes Down, It All Goes Down...

Rob Thurman is my favorite author, because she breaks my heart.

That sounds pretty melodramatic, but it's also true. I've been reading ever since I could well, read, and I've had a lot of favorite books and stories (Lord of the Rings and Greek mythology anyone?), and like any avid reader, I've re-read some works from time to time. But nobody ever hooked me with their writing quite like Rob Thurman still does.

If you asked me when I started reading her work, I unfortunately can't remember. My brain has a bad habit of being a sieve sometimes. But I do remember the exact moment in her first Cal Leandros novel, Nightlife, when I knew that I was hooked. I was so completely drawn in and involved, needing to know what happened next, that I missed my bus stop and had to walk a few blocks back to wherever I had been going.

And it was worth it.

Thurman's best known for her NYT bestsellers, aka the Cal Leandros series,which revolves an angry, snarky half-human named Cal and his samurai warrior half-brother, Niko, as they fight monsters and try to keep Cal from descending into... well, I wouldn't say madness so much as I would say dangerously homicidal tendencies. But she's also written a the terrific Trickster series about angels, demons, and gods in Sin City, the fantastic Chimera series, a sci-fi series revolving around an ex-mafia man and his genetically altered brother, and the thriller All Seeing Eye, about a cynical psychic blackmailed into a government conspiracy.

What makes Thurman's work so special? Well... where do I begin? Her characters are exceptionally well written and rounded, the dialogue is dark and witty, the action is intense, monsters and mythology and lore are introduced in unique and compelling ways, the stories are interesting, nothing happens without a reason, there's a wonderful feel of closure at the end, and when Rob Thurman writes a twist, she writes a twist. I've been a fan of her work for years and even now I never know what to expect. Only that I won't be disappointed.

All that aside, what makes Rob Thurman's work so special to me is that I somehow connected with it. Everything I love about a story is in her work. I always find inspiration in her novels, and I make it a point to re-read all of her books and short stories at least once a year. Even though I know what happens, my heart will still ache at some points, and that isn't a bad thing. Because when I feel that ache, I know that I'm involved. I know she's done an amazing job in capturing my mind and taking me on adventure I wouldn't have expected to go on.

If I had an ultimate goal for my own writing, it would be to do for someone else what her work has done for me. To really capture and enthrall someone with a story so completely that they do what I do when a new Rob Thurman book comes out: Buy it the day of in paperback, sit down with a drink and a snack, and do nothing but read until you finish the book, look at the clock, and see that it's 2:30AM and you should have been in bed four hours ago.

I'm not out to become her. No author is like the others and while I would consider it an honor to have the comparison, it isn't what I'm after. I'm out to carve my own path and mark my own little urban fantasy territory. But if you look back and wonder where some of my inspiration comes from, well, now you know.

So if you haven't read any of Rob Thurman's work... What are you waiting for?? Get on it!

What I got in the mail when I won a contest on RobThurman.net! A signed copy of my favorite book in the series and bookmarks to go with it!

How I spent my night the last time a Cal Leandros book came out. It was awesome.