We asked our authors from around the world to share their thoughts on why they write, why they read, and the books that have influenced them.
Here’s what they had to say.
Tell us why you read and share your favorite books! Join the discussion @HarperCollins on Twitter using #hc200.
Punch Photographic, 2013
Like many teenagers, I spent more of my summer holidays than I probably should have immersed in the world of The Lord of the Rings. It’s the best example I know of world-building: an author’s creation of a world as detailed and vivid as our own. The key, I think, is Tolkien’s unrestrained, obsessive interest in the details, and when I’m researching and planning a book, I try to do a Tolkien on it and go all in: don’t hold back, because if you don’t fully know and believe in your world, nobody else will.
