I just read an article by Lev Grossman on the passing of writer Anne McCaffrey November 21. In it, he talks about how much of an impact McCaffrey's novels have had on him, and the same holds true for me. While I can't remember whole passages word-for-word as Grossman claims, I can credit McCaffrey -- and my preacher, Steve Stone -- for my ongoing love affair with science fiction and fantasy novels.
The Stone family moved to Clinton when I was in 5th grade, to lead the congregation at First Methodist. Steve and Mary had four children: Jenna, who was my age; Stevie Jr., the same age as my sister; James, a few years younger; and Audrey, who was maybe 4 at the time. Jenna and I quickly became friends, and soon I found myself at their house on a regular basis.
The parsonage was fairly large, and it featured both a den and a formal dining/living room. In the den, one portion of the wall was devoted to a large built-in bookshelf; most of the shelves were filled with Steve's scifi/fantasy novels.
Prior to this, I had dabbled with science fiction and fantasy; I'd read all of L'Engle's Time Quartet, Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, McKinley's The Hero and the Crown, Lewis's Narnia series. But those were all standard children's/middle grades fantasies that had become almost mainstream in how they were viewed by the general public. One day, Steve and I were talking about books and he pulled Dragonflight from his shelves. "Read this." I did -- in just a day or two -- and then came back for the rest of the series.
From that point on, I became a constant visitor to the science fiction / fantasy section of the Waldenbooks at our local mall. I moved on from McCaffrey to Piers Anthony's Xanth novels, and then on to works by Jennifer Roberson, Tad Williams, Weis and Hickman, Terry Brooks, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Robert Jordan, and more. My relationship with the Stone family -- all of them -- shaped who I am today in so many different ways, including my reading habits, and I am forever thankful.
