Top Ten… Authors I Would Invite to Dinner

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted at Broke and Bookish.

The Top Ten authors I would invite to dinner are:

1. Terry Pratchett – I love his wit and his satirical view of the world. He’d have everyone in stitches. He’s also rather philosophical and I’d love to discuss his views on the right to die with dignity as I know it’s a subject about which he feels very strongly.
2. Stuart MacBride – he’s actually quite local to me and is so nice he might actually come if asked! I’d love to quiz him on his research methods. He was very interesting at our book group a few years back and such an all-round nice guy it’s hard to believe he comes out with such gruesome murders in his books!
3. Brom – his artwork is so stunning, so dark and beautiful, that I couldn’t help but include him on my list. His prose is just as beautiful, so he’s multi-talented.
4. Kelley Armstrong – I adore her Women of the Otherworld books and she’d add a little balance to the entirely male list as it stands to this point. I’d love to talk about the role of strong female characters in modern literature.
5. Philippa Gregory – her historical novels are so brilliant and really bring the past to life. I’d love to talk about how women have quietly supported the men-folk in the past and how that translates into women of power today.
6. Simon Scarrow – another writer of historical fiction whose Roman series is phenomenal. The Roman Empire is something I find fascinating, so the chance to chatter about life in ancient Rome would be impossible to pass up!
7. Oscar Wilde – well, who wouldn’t want such a witty raconteur round for dinner? I suspect that with his manners and intellect, the dinner conversation would be both humourous and thoughtful.
8. William Shakespeare – his use of language is so beautiful I would have to include him on my wish-list. I’m afraid I would become something of a quivering wreck in his presence as I admire his work so much.
9. Jane Austen – she would simply sparkle in any set of polite company. Her views on polite society and a woman’s role in it would be interesting – I’d love to hear what she thinks of modern society and whether she feels much has changed since her time.
10. The Brontë Sisters – I know it’s cheating a little to include Anne, Charlotte and Emily all together, but I couldn’t invite one and not the others. Besides, they all have such distinct styles they would set a wonderful balance to the evening. Their ideas on love, passion and duty would be interesting to hear

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