For many authors, the love of reading starts in childhood, shaping their imaginations and fueling a lifelong passion for storytelling. As the host of the Inspirational Indie Authors podcast for the Alliance of Independent Authors, I’ve had the pleasure of asking writers from diverse backgrounds about their early lives and whether reading and writing were always part of their journey. What’s remarkable is how, no matter where they grew up or what path they initially followed, they all shared a deep connection to books from a young age.
In this post, I’ve gathered responses from Victoria Goldman, Tiffany Obeng, Aurora Winter, Jill Dobson, Anna Sayburn Lane, C. Ruth Taylor, Sarah Ziegel, Karen Heenan, Mary Ladd, and Carolyn Armstrong. For example, Victoria Goldman was torn between science and her love for writing but always had a passion for books, while C. Ruth Taylor found solace in reading as an introvert growing up in Jamaica. For many, it was a dream deferred, as their paths led elsewhere early in their adult lives, but as they transitioned to author later, they retained that early childhood fascination with books.
Karen Heenan, Historical Fiction Author
Karen Heenan
“I grew up in Philadelphia as an only child, which has a lot to do with how I’ve turned out. My mom was a big reader, always with her nose in a book. When I’d interrupt her, she’d raise her hand and say, ‘Just let me finish the chapter unless there’s blood involved.’ That made me want to learn to read young—I wanted to know what was in those books that was so much more fascinating than me.
“My dad, on the other hand, was the youngest of 12 kids and left school in sixth grade to help support his family. He could read but didn’t do it for fun. Still, he knew what he’d missed out on by not having an education. He’d always buy my mom books, and once I could read, instead of reading to me, he’d hand me his National Geographics and ask me to read to him. He called it practice for me, but I think it was also getting him off the hook. Between that and weekly trips to the local library, where I’d carry out as many books as I could—and take a few more on my mom’s card—the book thing got its hooks in me young, and I’ve never recovered.”
Victoria Goldman, Crime Fiction Author
Victoria Goldman
“I grew up in the area where I live now and haven't moved very far. I’ve always loved reading and writing from a very young age, especially crime fiction. I wanted to be a writer when I grew up, but in school, I was torn between following my heart—art, music, and writing—or following my head, as I went to a very academic school, and going into the sciences. So, I decided to follow my head and pursued a biomedical science degree at university in London.”
Tiffany Obeng, Children's Book Author
Tiffany Obeng
“I grew up in a part of Houston, Texas, and I have always loved reading. I remember when other kids were outside playing, I would go outside too, but I also enjoyed taking breaks to sit and read. During school, they had ‘drop everything and read,' and I thought that was fantastic—so much fun for me. Reading has always been a joy of mine. People always said I was great at reading, and the same with writing. I always received compliments on my ability to write, so that made me believe I was good at it, and it became something I focused on.”
Aurora Winter, Fiction and Nonfiction Author
Aurora Winter
“I’ve loved writing ever since I was nine. I remember being in the school library, reaching up on tiptoe to get the last book in the Narnia series because I loved The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The last book is called The Last Battle, and I still remember the moment my fingers touched the spine—I felt both excitement and anticipatory grief because it was the final book in the series. In that moment, I realized authors are like wizards. With just black ink on white paper, we can transport readers to another place and time. At nine, I decided I wanted to be a great writer like C. S. Lewis, and I’m still working on it.”
Jill Dobson, Author
Jill Dobson
“My family moved from Britain when I was very young, and I grew up in a small country town of about 40,000 people on the border of Victoria and New South Wales. I was one of those weird, bookish, nerdy kids, and I started writing my first novel when I was about six or seven, illustrating it as well—though I stopped illustrating a long time ago. I always wrote diaries, little magazines, and did all the usual things that odd bookish kids do. When I was about sixteen, I finished a novel, and a family friend’s writer’s group newsletter had an ad saying the University of Queensland Press was starting a young adult list and soliciting submissions. Without thinking about agents, I packed up my typewritten manuscript and posted it off, and, yes, it was accepted.”
Anna Sayburn Lane, Crime Fiction Author
Anna Sayburn Lane
“I grew up in South London and have lived in London for most of my life. I’ve always been a typical bookworm, and I remember writing from a very young age—little novels, poems, and stories in notebooks. I think I started my first novel at around seven, The Life and Times of Captain O'Neill, about a boy who runs away to sea, sails around the world, and makes his fortune. It was quite fun. I was always one of those kids who loved reading and writing, but as I got older, I never really saw it as a possible career. I didn’t know anyone who was a writer for a living, and it seemed completely out of reach.”
C. Ruth Taylor, Jamaican Authorpreneur
C. Ruth Taylor
“I grew up in Jamaica, moving between three different parishes. I was born in St. Mary, lived with my dad in St. Catherine when I was about three, went back to St. Mary to live with my grandmother at five, and then, at 10, I moved to Kingston to live with my mom, where I’ve been ever since. I’ve always been a voracious reader, and as an introvert, books were my best friends. I grew up reading Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and later, novels like Mills and Boon. I started writing poetry early, turning my poems into postcards, which I sold—that’s how I got started.”
Sarah Ziegel, Nonfiction Author
Sarah Ziegel
“I grew up in London and was one of those children who read from a very early age. I used to read in bed at night because I wasn’t a good sleeper and didn’t go to bed early. I wasn’t quite reading under the covers with a torch, but I had a bedside lamp. My parents would come up to bed at half past ten, and I was a diligent child, so if they told me to turn the light out, I would. But I worked out that if I turned the light out when I heard them coming up the stairs and they didn’t say anything, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Once they were in their room, I’d turn my light back on and could read all night if I wanted.”
Mary Ladd, Health Author
Mary Ladd
“I was born in San Francisco and raised in the Bay Area, and libraries and reading were always a big part of my family. My mom was an elementary school teacher, and she and my dad always made sure my younger brother and I had access to books and libraries. We’d do the book orders in school—you know, filling out those little paper forms—and it was always something we looked forward to. I also contributed to our elementary school newspaper. I wrote a science fiction piece, but they cut the ending, so that was my first experience with writing and editing.”
Carolyn Armstrong, Middle-Grade Fiction Author
Carolyn Armstrong
“I grew up not far from where I live now, in another suburb north of Chicago. I was actually in the remedial reading class in junior high. In eighth grade, the options were to take Latin or join what I jokingly call the ‘loser reading group,' and since my parents didn’t think Latin was for me, I ended up in the reading group. I only found out later it was the remedial reading group.
I wasn’t a great reader or writer, but I loved teaching. I became a fourth and fifth-grade teacher, and that’s where I discovered books. Back then, the variety and selection for middle-graders weren’t nearly as interesting as they are today, but teaching kids how to read and write is what really got me into it.”
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