Danielle Steele, that is. For years my mom and I devoured Steele’s books. Then, in the last three years, spending time among writers and voracious readers, I heard it said about her books that they are flimsy, not well-written, she doesn’t write them herself, she writes so many she has a formula etc. During this time I also expanded my reading by belonging to a book club and listening to what others are reading. I read some very sophisticated “hard reads”, some very romantic quick reads, and all of the popular “everyone’s talking about it” or “there’s a movie” reads. I gave up Danielle Steele in favor of bumping up my reading choices to a higher quality. Or so I thought.
Today Danielle Steele was on The View promoting her newest “Friends Forever” and I just happened to catch it. She said some things that made me stop and rethink all the comments I’d heard about her work. First of all, she couldn’t believe they asked her if she writes her own books because today a lot of “authors” pitch a story idea and other people actually write the book. Of course she writes her own books – she still uses a typewriter that she bought umpteen years ago for $20. This is a woman that writes her own books. Next, she has nine children. Do you think she’d ever run out of material for story ideas? Then her best answer. The one that shows she is not a formula writer. They asked her about her writing process. She said, “It’s very simple. You put your butt in the chair and keep it there for a very long time.” EVERY writer knows this IS the writing process and it’s also the absolute very hardest thing to do. Next she told how her books are formed. She spends one year writing the idea, one year on the first draft, and one year editing. Well, if it takes her three years to write a book, this can’t be formula writing. But she has so many. How is this possible? She has five books going at one time. Five different story lines. No computer. A typewriter. And when she’s done, I buy her books, and I’ve never been disappointed. To me, each story is different and I see a writer that cared very much about all her characters. Her story lines speak to me. Yes, they are rapid reads, but they hit nerves.
Today my opinion about Danielle Steele books was changed – but this time by the author herself, not by the opinions of others. I should’ve known better than to drop her just because others have deemed her work inferior. I like Danielle Steele. I love her books. Time I made up my own mind. Only one problem – she probably put out ten books in the time I swore off her and now I have a lot of catching up to do.
And so, as another day goes by, Friends Forever will be my next download, I feel like I’m reacquainting with an old friend, and…I have written.
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