Which successful authors are you most compared to?

I was asked this question recently and it really got me thinking about the authors I've been compared to and the authors who have inspired me in the past.

This was my answer:

Since each book I’ve written is different, it’s very interesting to see the variety of writers I am considered most like, but I have to agree with people who have made these comparisons.

For Whale Song, I have been compared mostly to Jodi Picoult, Luanne Rice, Sue Monk Kidd, and Madeleine L’Engle.

The River fans compare me mostly to Michael Crichton, Dean Koontz and Dan Brown.

Divine Intervention fans compare me to J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts), Kay Hooper, Iris Johansen, Tanya Huff and Michael Connelly.

If you asked me which authors have inspired me, I would say that two authors inspired me from the time I was a teen--Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I was always fascinated not just by their stories but by how they told them, the characters and their back stories, the vivid descriptions, foreshadowing, fast pace, red herrings and mounting suspense. I used to ask myself why they wrote something a certain way. I'd reread lines that I found particularly captivating. I saw every paragraph as part of a design, something magical, scary and all too real at times.

Over the years, other authors have inspired me. Nora Roberts (writing as J.D. Robb), Sandra Brown, Michael Crichton, Luanne Rice. They all write about situations that I've found fascinating. Some ask the 'what if this happened?' scenario, while others stick to real world happenings. Yet each of them showed me that all is possible in the world of fiction. So I suppose it is no wonder that my work is sometimes compared to these wonderful writers. And I am truly honored.

I do find it interesting that with Whale Song, a much softer, more emotional story, I am compared to women authors. With my grittier, crime-related, paranormal suspense Divine Intervention, I am compared mostly to women. But with The River, a fast-paced techno-thriller, I am compared mainly to men. I love it! And I look forward to the day I write something that makes readers think of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Hmmm, maybe I should write something cold and creepy under the pen name of Stephanie Koontz or Deana King. ;-)

Please leave a comment and tell me which author I remind you of, for which of my books, and maybe why. I'd really appreciate this and it'll help keep me on track as to the kinds of stories I want to be writing. The comment button is below. Also, let me know which authors you are compared to most.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,

author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention