Nancy Richardson Fischer

Nancy Richardson Fischer is a graduate of Cornell University, a published author with children’s, teen and adult titles to her credit, including Star Wars titles for Lucas Film and numerous autobiographies for athletes such as Julie Krone, Bela Karolyi and Monica Seles. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Fischer's new novel is The Speed of Falling Objects.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

This is my pub month so I thought I’d treat myself to a book outside my normal genre. I’m reading Stephen King’s The Institute. I’m a huge SK fan - his imagination blows my mind, and the way he builds characters is a lesson in how to make the reader care. The Institute centers around extracting children with extra normal gifts from their families/homes, depositing them in an “Institute" and then torturing them with “tests” and using their skills for evil. I’m not done yet… I’m savoring it, but I may love this story even more than The Stand or Salem’s Lot, which is saying something!

I’m also reading Akilah Hughes’ debut coming-of-age memoir, Obviously. This collection of essays takes readers from her small Kentucky town to her arrival in NYC. Along the way Akilah shares stories about family, spelling bees, racism, the challenges of adolescence, and each one is complicated, funny, bittersweet, sad, and filled with hope.

Once I’m finished with Obviously, I plan to reread All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. JN is one of the authors who inspired me to write young adult novels (Robin Roe is another) and rereading the story of Theodore Finch and Violet Markey reminds me how powerful characters can be when fully realized and gives me a star to shoot for in my next novel.

Visit Nancy Richardson Fischer's website.

--Marshal Zeringue