By A.C. Williams by @acw_author

Gratitude is in short supply in 21st Century America, so whenever we have the opportunity share what we’re thankful for, I say we jump on it.

So first off, before we do anything else, I want to thank any veterans who may be reading this post. Thank you for your service. Our nation wouldn’t be here without you.

Then secondly, I want to talk about books. Aren’t books great? I wouldn’t have become an author if not for all the books I read as a child. And today I was simply overwhelmed with gratitude for the extraordinary storytellers who have made a difference in my life.

There are too many to acknowledge, but I wanted to list a few. You should too!

E.B. White

Charlotte’s Web was the first book I ever read. I was young—very young, but I still remember understanding the story: Friendship. Charlotte became a hero of mine, not just for her sacrifice, but for her sense of humor and creativity. There’s a reason it’s a classic.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Who hasn’t read the Little House books? Seriously, these books should be required reading for any child in elementary school, not just the ones who live in Kansas! Family. Struggle. Hope. Perseverance in the face of sorrow and fear. And delightful moments of joy, as though you’d been invited to sit at the Ingalls’ table for a hearty meal.

Julie Campbell/Kathryn Kenny

Julie Campbell created my favorite detective of all time, a curly blonde girl with a “sturdy build” named Trixie Belden. You can keep your Nancy Drew. She was fine. Trixie Belden was exceptional. Her story was so beloved that after the initial few books were released, the publisher brought on several other authors to write continuations under the pseudonym Kathryn Kenny (from 1961 to 1986). What I loved most about Trixie Belden was her relationships with her friends and her family and her community. Her life played a huge role in every story, in every adventure. Trixie learned and grew and changed from book to book. She struggled, and she overcame. Trixie Belden remains one of the biggest influences on my writing to this day.

Brian Jacques

I have often been teased (mercilessly) for including food in everything I write. And it’s true. I do. I just LOVE food and meals and sitting around a dinner table with a beloved community, and for every story I write that includes those details I blame Brian Jacques. Because every book of his Redwall series made me wish I were a woodland creature so that I could participate in a feast!

J.K. Rowling

No matter where you fall on the spectrum of being for or against Harry Potter, you can’t deny how this seven-book fantasy series has affected culture itself. Harry Potter references show up in every fandom-related community across the world. J.K. Rowling taught me to never give up, to let my imagination run wild, because somewhere out there is a child that needs the story that’s still in my heart. She also demonstrated true generosity when she lost her status on Forbes billionaires list in 2012 because she had donated so much to charity (an estimate $160 million). My hope is that any of us who claim Christ as Lord would be willing to show generosity like that.

Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan opened the door to gigantic book series and a return to generation-spanning storytelling. With his fantasy series based on different mythologies, Riordan didn’t just provide an educational tool for middle grade and older students, he paved the way for large-scale multi-author projects in a shared universe. Maybe it was done before Riordan, but his Percy Jackson series is the first time I really saw it as a commercial success.

Timothy Zahn

Now, I say this as someone who legitimately enjoyed the sequel trilogy of Star Wars, but… Why couldn’t Timothy Zahn have written the screenplay for the sequels? Zahn is responsible for one of the greatest sequel trilogies ever written, The Thrawn Trilogy. After the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm and the subsequent banishment of all Expanded Universe novels into the realm of non-cannon material, these extraordinary three books fell by the wayside. What’s amazing, though, is that many of the characters Zahn created in that series live on, beginning with Thrawn himself. But what Zahn showed me is that it IS possible to write a satisfying sequel trilogy to the most beloved science fiction franchise in history.

There are so many others to list. Maybe I should do another post someday just writing down all my favorites. I didn’t even list folks like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Juliet Marillier and Rosemary Sutcliff, or brilliant visual storytellers like Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, or Steven Moffat.

Above all of these, however, there is one storyteller who ranks higher than any of them. That’s Jesus Himself. Of course, it’s Jesus. He’s the ultimate storyteller. He’s the one who makes it possible for us to tell stories at all, and our stories are most effective when we learn from Him.

This is my list. What about you? Who are the storytellers you’re thankful for and how did they affect your life and career as an author?

Award-winning author A.C. Williams is a coffee-drinking, sushi-eating, story-telling nerd who loves cats, country living, and all things Japanese. She’d rather be barefoot, and if she isn’t, her socks won’t match. She has authored eight novels, three novellas, three devotional books, and more flash fiction than you can shake a stick at. A senior partner at Uncommon Universes Press, she is passionate about stories and the authors who write them. Learn more about her book coaching and follow her adventures online at www.amycwilliams.com.