The above image was borrowed from Lois Duncan's homepage. It was the first Lois Duncan book I ever read. Actually, I lied, I read A Gift of Magic first, but The Third Eye was the first I bought.
Okay, I have to say that Lois Duncan was one of the biggest impacts on the way I write today. The thing I like about her work is the way she can go into detail and paint a picture of one room for pages and pages, but in a more simplified fashion than Anne Rice so that her younger readers can follow her with ease.
One of the best examples of this skill is my favorite Lois Duncan novel, Locked in Time. The visuals in this book are so strong that reading it was like watching a mental movie playing through my mind.
Like Chris Pike, Duncan is very good at creating characters that are real and realistic to her readers. She gives us characters we can relate to, from the softer perspective of the female writer. But don't expect Duncan's work to be overly emotional or flowery. She can deliver suspense just as well as her male counterpart, Pike.
One of my favorite things about Lois Duncan's books is that many of them do revolve around psychics and the metaphysical. I am curious to know why she chooses to display elements of ESP so frequently in her works. I know why my books always revolve around psychics and dreams, so I'm wondering at the origins of Duncan's passion for it.
Because I've always been classified as "sensitive", I think I can relate more to Duncan's style of writing than Pike's. One of my favorite parts of growing up was having had the chance to lose myself completely in this woman's world.
I don't think there really are words to fully describe the feelings this woman evoked in me growing up. All I know about her books and Pike's is that I still get the craving to dust them off and pull them off my shelf even now that I am twenty one.
For a more personal look at the woman herself, and a small list of her books, follow the middle link below to her personal website.
On to Anne Rice
Go to Lois Duncan's own homepage here.
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