What Are You Thankful For?

So Beth Revis is having a HUGENORMOUS giveaway on her blog like you would not believe. The prize is something like 19 signed YA books (including an ARC of A MILLION SUNS), plus a box of Turkish Delight, plus signed goodies and swag.

And it all goes to one very thankful person.

Besides the allure of such a huge prize, I really like her giveaway because it focuses on something we often overlook—gratitude. You see, to enter, you need to write a post about the book that you’re most thankful for.

Let me tell you, this is a lot harder than it looks. It’s like asking what your favorite book or band or anything is—so many options, how do you choose one?

Well, after much thought, I managed. Sort of.

I didn’t pick one book, per say, I picked one author. Many of you can probably guess who.

I’m thankful for Ted Dekker.

I read my first Dekker book (Showdown) shortly before I started writing. I wouldn’t say necessarily that he inspired me to write, but with over twenty novels on the shelves and growing, I always had a Dekker book to turn to throughout my writing career, and I have no doubt in my mind that his style influenced mine. I’ve learned a lot about writing from reading his novels—like how one-line paragraphs are acceptable and not every sentence has to be a grammatically correct sentence every single time.

So although he didn’t start out as my inspiration for writing, he certainly became a role model for me as I developed my craft. Not only that, but his belief system aligned with mine and I learned a lot about the power of love—real, indiscriminating love—from his novels and non-fiction works like Tea with Hezbollah. 

Then I had the amazing opportunity of meeting him in person and he completely blew me away—his passion and charisma were contagious. I walked away with a grin on my face because the author I imagined behind my favorite novels was even better in person than I expected.

So why am I thankful for Ted Dekker?

He impacted my writing, forced me to really redefine the way I look at love, and has filled my bookshelf with consistent awesomeness.  

Plenty to be thankful for, I think.

Your turn! What books or authors are you thankful for?