I fell in love with romance in the fourth grade. Robin Hood
and Maid Marian’s happiness captured my young heart. I still remember the green
library book with thick pages and the sweet teacher who assigned the book
report.
But my mother was the biggest influence over my love of
reading. Every morning before she left the house, she’d sit on the side of the
bed and read her Bible. She graciously gave me that Bible several years ago. I
can’t look at it without thinking of her love of Jesus and His Word.
Mom also loved to read romance. Clean books with sweet
heroines falling in love with rich men who rescued them from mundane lives and
gave them an amazing happily-ever-after life.
I’d read Nancy Drew and Scholastic books while Mom read her
romances. I loved it when I got old enough to read her books. From the time I
was about twelve, I carried a novel to school with me every day. I’d finish my
class work and then read. I loved to dive into a story about a Greek
millionaire or a nurse on holiday in Holland who’d fall in love with a rich
doctor. If the doctor held a fancy title and owned a mansion, all the better.
This love of reading still lasts. Mom brings a bag of books
to me on every visit. Now that she’s retired, reading time is readily available.
And she loves it.
Reading is a gift Mom shared with me. It makes us closer. I
hope you’re sharing your love of inspirational fiction with your children and
grandchildren. We all need a good story to help us escape sometimes – or a book
that teaches us to dream.
The thing I love about writing inspirational fiction is that
I can share my love of Jesus as I write stories
of faith and hope.
Want to share your love of reading? Share the posts from
this blog – and Facebook pages and posts from your favorite Love Inspired
authors – on your social media.
Thanks for reading our blog today. Leave a comment below. All the Love Inspired authors love to hear from our readers.
Stop by my Facebook page for a giveaway at www.facebook.com/AngelMooreBooks.
I’ll be giving away two copies of my latest Love Inspired Historical release,
The Rightful Heir, over the weekend.
God bless you,
Angel Moore
Stories of Faith and Hope
Find all my latest news, plus links to my books and social media, at www.angelmoorebooks.com.
Angel, I love hearing about your mother reading her Bible every day and instilling in you the love of reading romance. I see you have one of my favorite books, New Moon Rising, by Eugenia Price in your bag. Great post. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post, Angel. We do get our love of reading from our parents. My parents are both great readers. I especially love the bookshelves photo. Perfect!
ReplyDeleteAngel, thanks for sharing about your mom's love of reading that inspired you. My mother read to me and my brothers each night from a big chapter book. That inspired my love of a good story.
ReplyDeleteMy mother loved to read, too. I remember walks to the library in the summer with Mom and my brothers, the youngest in a stroller. She read after dinner, often falling asleep on the couch with her book in her hands -- all kinds of women's fiction. Tami Hoag's suspense books were one of her favorites. I remember getting her an autographed copy at a romance writers conference, and getting in line at another to get her one, until I remembered she'd recently passed.
ReplyDeleteAngel, what a sweet gift your mother passed on to you...the love of reading. My mom did the same. Visits to the library were a regular thing, and I'm doing the same with my boys. I loved it when she'd drop me off at the library on Saturdays while doing some shopping. I loved Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. Judy Blume. What's funny is she used to hide her Harlequin romances in her laundry basket, and I'd fish them out and read them. ;) I developed a voracious appetite for category romance. I was thrilled when Love Inspired started, since it offered uplifting stories with faith elements.
ReplyDeleteI think it's special that you can share that passion for books with your mom.
Thank you for the beautiful story Angela! My parents read to me at bedtime too, and it was one of the greatest gifts they could've given me. I'm so grateful to them for instilling in me a love of stories. Now my own daughters read nonstop. They trek to the library with their dad every Saturday morning, with these huge gigantic shopping bags full of books. I'm so thankful to the public library system and that we have good libraries! (And I'm jealous of how much time they have to read!) I can't imagine what it's like to grow up without reading.
ReplyDeleteMy mother loved to read too. I struggled to learn to read, but once I did, reading became one of my favorite past times. Thanks, Angel, for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful story to share. My mother also loves to read and now it is me who brings bags of books to her every time I visit. Such sweet fun to be able to discuss our favorite stories together
ReplyDeleteI picked up reading from my grandmother. She read romances and westerns. I grabbed a Nancy Drew from the library and from that moment on I was hooked on suspense. I wanted to be Nancy. I still do. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI read to my children when they were young and they both grew to love reading fiction. One day when I have grandkids, I plan to read to them as much as I can.
Lovely memories, Angel. Our family is made of readers. Sometimes I think my sons are trying to keep the publishing industry afloat all on their own, and my granddaughters read just as much. But I don't remember my mom reading anything. I don't think she had the patience for it. Reading was my favorite escape as a child. I even read my textbooks cover to cover--then was disappointed when the teacher skipped sections. LOL
ReplyDeleteSweet memories! My mom modeled a love of reading for me as well. She used to snitch my library books and read them herself while I was at school! Reading was like breathing in my house---we couldn't imagine life without books!
ReplyDeleteMy mother read to us at bedtime. I continued the stories in my head after the lights went out. No surprise I became a writer. My brother doesn't like to read. And although, I read diligently to both my girls one is too busy to read and the other had rather take a blow to the head than read a book.
ReplyDeleteOh well . . . we do what we can. :)
Agreeing with what everyone has said. Sounds as if we all grew up loving to read...and with wonderful mothers who read to us! Such special memories. I loved building on that tradition when my children were young. Reading together was always part of our evening ritual.
ReplyDeleteAngel, you mentioned your mother's Bible. My mother went to her room each afternoon for quiet prayer time. I didn't think much of it when I was little. That's just what my mother did. I thought all moms found a quiet time in their day to pray. When I had a young family of three, I marveled at how my mother carved out that prayer time each and every day. She was so faithful.
Thanks for a lovely post, Angel, and God bless our moms!
What wonderful memories are being shared here today! I love that so many moms instilled a love of reading in their children. And library trips - oh, how many of those I took with Mom.
ReplyDeleteWe are blessed to have so many reading choices these days. I was a Nancy Drew fan and have started sharing the stories with my granddaughter.
Jean, it's amazing how habits like buying books for those we love become a part of who were are. The love you have for your mother is so strong is goes beyond the separation of her loss. What a treasure to have a love so deep.
Happy Reading to us all!
ReplyDeleteAngel, your darling Mother gave you one of the greatest gifts of all. The love of reading. It surely made you into the wonderful writer you are. My parents gave me the gift of a house that was situated directly across from a public library. That place was my second home. To this day I love libraries...and books. I love your post, Angel. Thanks for sharing with us.
A library across the street? That's right next to heaven, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI love this. My mom also gave me the love of reading, starting with The Monster At the End of This Book. ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat title! I love moms reading to their little ones.
DeleteLoved reading your story. It was wonderful to hear about your mom.
ReplyDeleteMom is a dear friend to me. She's been a rock in my life. I'm blessed.
DeleteI loved your post. I'm so sad that the LIH line is ending next year. You are one of my favorite authors in the line.
ReplyDeleteAww...thanks, jcp. All the LIH authors are sad to see the end of the line. I promise it won't be the end of our stories, though. Say a prayer for us and our editors, please.
DeleteLOVED reading this! My mother-in-law's bedroom had bookshelves on all 4 walls, from floor to ceiling. She really inspired me to read even more.
ReplyDeleteIt's sweet to be inspired by your mother-in-law. Floor to ceiling books? Love it!
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