Discovering Michigan Authors

3/29/2018

I am a proud Michigander (or Michiganian, but I prefer the former), and I recently discovered even more reasons to be proud of my state and its residents. Over the past couple of weeks, I've found out that these three authors live in Michigan, which just makes me like them even more. I thought I would share my discoveries here on Smiling Shelves. Even if you don't live in Michigan, it's still fun to find out more about the lives of real-life authors.

Lynn Austin

Lynn Austin is one of my favorite Christian authors. She writes Biblical fiction and historical fiction. I love escaping into one of her books, while feeling refreshed in my spiritual life as well. Over the weekend, I had a conversation with a new friend on Litsy (@TheHeartlandBookFairy), who told me that Lynn Austin lives on the west side of Michigan by the city of Holland. I had already decided that I needed to read all of Austin's books, but now I think I have to own them all, too!

Lynn Austin's Website

Deborah Diesen

My son loves The Pout-Pout Fish. Last week, I decided to look up some information about the author, Deborah Diesen, just for fun. And surprise! She lives in Michigan, outside of Lansing. She also has an amazing blog where she highlights other authors from Michigan. What's better than spreading author love?

Deborah Diesen's Website

Annie Spence

And Deborah Diesen's website that I just mentioned is how I found the third author I'm highlighting today - Annie Spence, who just published Dear Fahrenheit 451. I haven't read that book yet, but I've been hearing lots of good things about it in the blogosphere. It was already on my TBR, but discovering that Spence lives in Michigan bumped it to the top of my list!

Annie Spence's Website

Do you know of any authors that live in your state? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

4 Comments

Christine link

4/2/2018 11:32:57 am

That's so cool to discover! I don't pay enough attention to the local authors shelf at my local bookstore -- I really should give it a better perusal some time... There are probably a lot of authors from NY state, but checking out some more regional/local ones seems like it could be interesting :)

Julie @ Smiling Shelves link

4/14/2018 03:50:08 pm

It seems like every other picture book author or illustrator I see lives in Brooklyn or somewhere else in NYC. I'm sure there are tons of authors from that area, but it would be interesting to see who lives outside of the city! :)

Erin @ Quixotic Magpie link

4/3/2018 08:11:23 pm

I prefer Michigander too!

I didn't know Deborah Diesen was from Michigan. How cool! And I have been wanting to read the Annie Spence book!

Have you read The House with a Clock in its Walls? John Bellairs is from Michigan, and that book is about a house in his hometown. (loosely) I am excited that it is going to be a movie!

Julie @ Smiling Shelves link

4/14/2018 03:51:28 pm

Isn't it fun that Deborah Diesen is from Michigan?? We've read The Pout-Pout Fish so many times!

I haven't heard about The House with a Clock in Its Walls. I'll have to check that one out!