1. Mary Johnston. The vast majority of her work is now out of print, so she’s hard to find. But I love the three books I have read (The Long Roll, Cease Firing, and To Have and to Hold). The sheer grittiness of her stories always pulls me in.

2. Kristen Heitzman. Her stories aren’t necessarily my favorites, but her writing and her ability to bring scenes and characters to life continually amazes me.

3. Joseph Conrad. He’s not someone I can read over and over again, but I am in awe of the grand scope of his stories—even when it’s buried beneath the occasional weight of his prose.

Top 3 male characters:

1. Edwin Ruthven in The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter.

2. Sherlock Holmes in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

3. George Knightley in Emma by Jane Austen.

Top 3 female characters:

1. Alessi Moore in Halos by Kristen Heitzmann.

2. Edith Dombey in Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens.

3. Firebird Angelo in Firebird by Kathy Tyers.

Top 30 fiction books in no particular order:

1. The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter.

2. The Long Roll by Mary Johnston.

3. Thr3e by Ted Dekker.

4. Emma by Jane Austen.

5. Halos by Kristen Heitzmann.

6. The Rose Legacy by Kristen Heitzmann.

7. Stonewall by John J. Dwyer.

8. The Protector by Dee Henderson.

9. The Truth Seeker by Dee Henderson.

10. The Long Patrol by Brian Jacques.

11. Fire Fusion by Kathy Tyers

12. When a Man's a Man by Harold Bell Wright.

13. Sun Dust Devil Horse by Eva Zumwalt.

14. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

15. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott.

16. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

17. Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

18. The Other Side of the Sun by Madeleine L'Engle.

19. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.

20. Horses I've Known by Will James.

21. To Have and to Hold by Mary Johnston.

22. The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather.

23. Shirley by Charlotte Brontë.

24. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery.

25. In Freedom's Cause by G.A. Henty.

26. Tales of East and West by Joseph Conrad.

27. Firebird by Kathy Tyers.

28. Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover.

29. Traveller by Richard Adams.

30. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens.

Top 3 books most recently read:

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (9-17-08)

2. Leaper: The Misadventures of a Not-Necessarily-Super Hero by Geoffrey Wood (11-12-08)

3. The Mauritius Command by Patrick O’Brian (11-16-08)

Worst 3 books ever read:

1. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

2. The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum

3. The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper

Top 5 scenes from any book:

1. Tommy Bangs's reaction after his misconduct at "Daisy's Ball" in Little Men. What a riot!

2. Edwin’s last scene in The Scottish Chiefs. Kills me inside every time I think about it.

3. The scene in Cease Firing where Richard Cleave risks court-martial to return and lead his faltering troops. Rebel yell, anyone?

4. The closing scene in When a Man's a Man. So sad and yet so inspiring.

5. Brennan’s capture in Fire Fusion. “Wrenching” is about the only word to describe it.

The book(s) that made me cry the most:

The Scottish Chiefs, The Long Roll

The book(s) that made me laugh the most:

The O'Malley Chronicles, Anne of Avonlea, The Long Patrol.

The book(s) that made me feel the best at the end:

The Scottish Chiefs, Sun Dust Devil Horse

Contemporary or Historical?

Both. But historical fiction has a special place in my heart. I've always been fascinated with the past.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror?

I’ve never read horror (unless Ted Dekker counts), and I'm not an avid reader of either fantasy or science fiction. For the most part my only science fiction creds are Star Wars novels, but I do dabble with the occasional fantasy novel.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?

Hardback. I rarely buy a book unless I’ve read it and loved it. So when I do cough up the money for a copy, I want it to be one that looks lovely and will last as long as possible.

Barnes & Noble or Amazon?

Because of my confirmed habit of buying only books I’ve already read, I rarely go to a bookstore. Therefore, I shop for books almost exclusively at Amazon.

Bookmark or Dog-ear?

Bookmark, bookmark, bookmark. I would never deface a book by dog-earing it. The fact is, I’m very proud of my bookmarks. I prefer the ones with long, glossy tassels in some brilliant color. My all-time favorite was one that shouted to the world “Ssh! I’m reading!”

Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title, or organize not at all?

I organize by the author’s last name. When I have more than one book by an author, I organize by title or series title. Needless to say, books within a series always go in numerical order.

Star Wars or Star Trek?

I’m a Stars Wars nut—I admit it! Despite the fact that the vast majority of the Extended Galaxy novels are absolutely worthless, I keep reading. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll stumble across something as good as Timothy Zahn’s original Thrawn trilogy or the brilliant Revenge of the Sith movie tie-in by Matthew Stover.

Keep, Throw Away, or Sell?

I keep the ones I love, throw the ones that should never have seen the light of day in the first place, and BookMooch the ones that I don’t plan on re-reading.

Keep dust-jacket or toss it?

Keep it.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?

I never read a book with the dust jacket on—unless the library has taped it irrevocably into place. It’s too much of a pain: always falling off, getting ripped and bent. It’s much better off lying safely on the bookcase shelf.

Little Women or Anne of Green Gables?

It's a hard call, but I have to say that I identify with the tomboyish Josephine just a wee bit more than I do with the dreamy Anne.

Short story or novel?

Novels. Although I have certainly read short stories that I’ve loved, for the most part I am unsatisfied with anything less than a full-blown story arc.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

Chapter breaks, always chapter breaks. Thus, it irritates me to no end when writers (or editors) create monster chapters that take me all of an hour to read.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?

Both. In fact, a combination of the two is most preferable!

Tear jerker or Belly laugh?

I love to laugh, don’t get me wrong—but the most memorable books are always the ones that make me cry. If I care enough about a character to cry over him, then I’ll care enough to keep him on my shelf forever.

Charlotte, Emily, or Anne Brontë?

I’m not, in general, much of a Brontë fan. Wuthering Heights was brilliant, but not particularly enjoyable. I hated Jane Eyre. So Anne scoots ahead of her sisters to gain a marginal victory.

Buy or Borrow?

I’m the library’s biggest fan. I am constantly reading borrowed books. But, when I find a story that I absolutely can’t live the rest of my life without reading one more time—I buy it.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation, or Browse?

On the rare occasion when I’m buying a book I haven’t read, it’s probably the result of browsing in a catalogue.

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?

Doesn’t really matter, since I’m not a short-story fan to begin with.

Crane or Conrad?

Conrad, most definitely. Neither is an “easy read,” but the grand scope of Joseph Conrad’s stories and his brilliance when it comes to the human character are wonderful. His novels are often very difficult to wade through, but always worth it (with the exception, perhaps, of The Secret Agent). His short stories, restricted as they are by a manageable word count, are even better.

Standalone or Series?

I dislike series for the most part. I like a book to stand on its own. Too often, series water down the overall effect of the story, stretching it out to unbelievable lengths.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?

When I do read series, I would have to answer yes to both. For my peace of mind and general sanity, I like the tidy endings. But for my reading delight, I love the cliffhangers—so long as they are properly fulfilled in the next story. There is absolutely nothing worse than a letdown after waiting for six months or more to find out what happened.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?

Nighttime. I make sure I have about two hours free every night. My family has learned that I’m to be left strictly alone during those two hours!

Favorite genre series?

The O’Malley Chronicles by Dee Henderson. The plots leave a lot to be desired sometimes, but the characters are amazing. If I could adopt them all, I would!

New or used?

Either utterly new, or extremely old. I love old books. Any time I can get my hands on one, I’m that much the poorer!

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

Hmm… this would probably be most of my favorite books. I love The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter, The Long Roll by Mary Johnston, and When a Man’s a Man by Harold Bell Wright.

Top 5 favorite books of all time?

See above… plus Kristen Heitzmann’s Halos (despite its problems) and Kathy Tyers's brilliant science-fiction trilogy, Firebird.