Writers Reading - Joan De La Haye

Welcome back to our 2010 feature Writers Reading where we look around people's bookshelves and indulge our curiosity.
Joan is a rare thing a South African horror writer, her first book Shadows is available as a download or a paperback from amazon.
She is also the force behind Rebel e Publishing and introduced me to Cat Connor's books. I had the very great pleasure of meeting Joan at World Horror and am delighted that she has agreed to be part of writers reading. - HR

Writers Reading

My bookcase is pretty eclectic. I've got books ranging from the Russian classics, by authors such as Dostoyevsky and Lermontov, to books by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Alexandre Dumas. And then on the more contemporary side, I've got Stephen King (no surprise there), Anne Rice, JK Rowling, Dan Brown, Wilbur Smith, Barbara Kingsolver, Jeffrey Deaver and Clive Cussler. I like to read across a wide variety of genres. Although, I will admit I'm not big on romance. I prefer horror (no surprise there either), thrillers, and science-fiction or fantasy.

The shelves are arranged alphabetically and each block is dedicated to a couple of letters. Whenever I move, I make sure that the books stay in their order in the boxes, that way it's easier to unpack them on the other end. What can I say? I'm organised.

Next to my bed at the moment, I've got Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical by Robert Shearman. I'm rather sad to say that I'm almost finished reading it. It's got some sweet but twisted stories that appeal to my sense of humour. Next on the 'to be read' pile I've got Players by Karen Swan. My editor, Jayne Southern, suggested that I read it. Jayne's trying to get me to write something a little more on the romantic side. She's not having much success, but who knows, it may prove to be an interesting challenge. Then I've got Leaves from the Fig Tree by Diana Duff. It's a memoir about moving from Ireland to Kenya in the fifties and then to South Africa in the sixties at the hight of apartheid. I don't normally read memoirs, I prefer fiction, but I've heard wonderful things about this one, so am putting my bias aside and broadening my horizons. Then, last but not least, I've got an incredibly stunning book called Spook City, edited by Angus McKenzie. It's a collection of short stories written by some of the great names in horror like Clive Barker and Ramsey Campbell. I can't wait to read it. I think I may have to put it on the top of the pile.

If I were to look through my bookcase and only select a handful that were in some way important to me or were my favourites, it would be a tough choice. But, here they are:

The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley, was the first book I received as a gift. My Grandmother gave it to me as Christmas present in 1984. I was seven. She read it to me while she visited us in Germany. I can still see her sitting at the edge of my bed, reading to me.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is my favourite Austen tale. I love Mr Darcy. It's one of those books that would be on my list of books to take with me on a desert island. It's also an antique.

Psycocandy by Laurence Cramer, well, Laurence is a very good friend of mine. We met on a writing course in 2002. He was the first of my friends to get published and the first person to autograph a book for me. His getting published gave me hope that I would also one day have my own books in print. He's been incredibly supportive of my writing and very honest.

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is my favourite play. It's made me laugh and cry and even had me doing them both at the same time. I'm also a sucker for that time period in history.

The Captive by Victoria Holt is so not what I would read now, but this was a Christmas present from my mother when I was about 9. She asked me what I wanted for Christmas and was surprised when I said, very seriously, that I wanted a book. She asked what kind of book I wanted and I said I wanted one with lots of adventure. Even though The Captive is a romance novel (the only one on my shelf) it does have lots of sword fighting and pirates, which was the redeeming quality, even for my nine-year-old self.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is my favourite book of all time. I first read it while I was in high school when I should have been studying for my History final. I'm still surprised that I passed the exam, especially since there was nothing in the exam about Louis the Fourteenth, Richelieu, or the Musketeers.

And Finally, Misery by Stephen King. Misery is the book responsible for getting me interested in horror. It's all this books fault. So far it's also my favourite Stephen King novel, although I haven't read the Shining or The Stand which, I have on good authority, will change my mind on that score.

I hope you've enjoyed snooping around my bookcase and have found something that interests you.