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Julia Child

Authors' keepers include books by Jennifer Crusie, Julia Child, Anne McCaffrey

Special for USA TODAY
The Winner Takes It All by Jennifer Dawson.

More featured authors: Jennifer Dawson, author of The Winner Takes It All; Dana Bate, author of A Second Bite at the Apple; and Jeffe Kennedy, author of The Twelve Kingdoms: The Tears of the Rose. They're sharing books on their keeper shelves.

Jennifer Dawson, author of The Winner Takes It All

Narrowing down my list to just three books is quite a challenge. So much depends on mood, but here goes …

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Honestly, it was a tossup between this and Pride and Prejudice, but I'm going through a bit of a dark, Gothic phase so settled on Jane Eyre. Hands down one of my favorite books. How can you not love a brooding Mr. Rochester? I still remember the first time I read it in school. I was reluctant, but it sucked me right in as soon as I started reading and I stayed up half the night because I couldn't put it down.

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. I know this is an older book, but it is by far one of my absolute favorites. After all these years, Phin Tucker is still my No. 1 fictional boyfriend. And Sophie Dempsey is one of the best heroines ever written. Every time I read it, I become obsessed with Dove Bars and Dusty Springfield.

Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler. This is a quieter book, filled with interesting characters in small-town Wisconsin. As a writer, I find it harder and harder not to get distracted by "the writing," and this book made me forgot I was reading. I'd been going through a reading dry spell and this story weaved its magic on me. I forgot about time, responsibilities, my to-do list and everything else as I devoured it in one sitting.

About The Winner Takes It All:

For two stubborn people…

Corporate mogul Shane Donovan sees the ultra-cool, collected Cecilia Riley as an ice queen—even if he can't deny that, on the surface, she's a work of perfection his body can't ignore. Forced to spend two weeks in the same house for his sister's upcoming wedding, Shane senses that deep down Cecilia mirrors his need. And he's determined to draw her into a sexy game that will melt away her reserve...

Losing is not an option…

Career-driven Cecilia Riley has just enough free time in her schedule to head out of town for her brother's wedding. But her agenda is thrown for a loop by the presence of Shane. Though his over-confident attitude leaves a lot to be desired, his insanely hot body has kept Cecilia up nights. Unsure what game Shane is playing, Cecilia takes the bait, bent on resisting him at all costs.

Find out more at jennifer-dawson.com.

The Tears of the Rose by Jeffe Kennedy.

Jeffe Kennedy, author of The Twelve Kingdoms: The Tears of the Rose

My Keeper Shelf is a special place, refined over the years with successive moves and smaller spaces to store them. Books that once were Keepers failed to stand the test of time and were replaced with newer books. Fortunately, the cloud is huge and I can "keep" many more books that way. But a few paper books have lasted through all the purges.

• One series I'll never let go of is Mary Stewart's Arthurian trilogy told from Merlin's point of view. The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment lit up my adolescence and remain firmly fixed in my heart. I particularly love how the stories follow Merlin's journey of learning to use magic and his devotion to being a kingmaker.

• I have all of Anne McCaffrey's books, organized by series and in order of release. From her I learned to love fantasy and romance intertwined. If I could keep only one, it would be Restoree. In fact, I named the hero in The Talon of the Hawk after hers in that book. Traumatized Earth heroine saves alien planet and finds true love? Win!

• Finally, I'd pick Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series as a forever Keeper — particularly Kushiel's Avatar, because it completes and fulfills the trilogy so beautifully. Phèdre is an amazing heroine who triumphs through cleverness and fortitude.

About The Twelve Kingdoms: The Tears of the Rose:

Three sisters. Motherless daughters of the high king. The eldest is the warrior-woman heir; the middle child is shy and full of witchy intuition; and the youngest, Princess Amelia, she is as beautiful as the sun and just as generous.

Ami met her Prince Charming and went away to his castle on the stormy sea-cliffs—and that should have been her happily ever after. Instead, her husband lies dead and a war rages. Her middle sister has been taken into a demon land, turned into a stranger. The priests and her father are revealing secrets and telling lies. And a power is rising in Ami, too, a power she hardly recognizes, to wield her beauty as a weapon, and her charm as a tool to deceive…

Amelia has never had to be anything but good and sweet and kind and lovely. But the chess game for the Twelve Kingdoms has swept her up in it, and she must make a gambit of her own. Can the prettiest princess become a pawn—or a queen?

Find out more at www.jeffekennedy.com.

A Second Bite at the Apple by Dana Bate.

Dana Bate, author of A Second Bite at the Apple

My Life in France by Julia Child. I adored this book! The story describes Julia Child's years in France, leading up to the publication of her tome, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The book was actually co-written with her nephew, Alex Prud'homme, but the voice is unmistakably Julia's. Her passion and enthusiasm leap from the page. And her food descriptions … let's just say I found myself craving trout meuniere and French baguettes on more than one occasion.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I haven't read this book since I was in high school, but the story left a lasting impression, for two reasons. As a reader, I fell in love with the storytelling. And as a writer, I remember reading it and thinking, "Wait. You can do that?" I won't give everything away, but as one example, Irving writes Owen Meany's dialogue in all caps. At the time, that seemed so rebellious.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. This is an unexpected addition, especially since I only recently finished it, and it isn't the type of book I normally read. But I cannot stop thinking about it, and I sense it will stay with me for a long, long time.

About A Second Bite at the Apple:

From the acclaimed author of The Girls' Guide to Love and Supper Clubs comes a witty, honest novel, perfectly seasoned with both humor and heart, about daring to bite into the life you really want…

Sydney Strauss is obsessed with food. Not with eating it—though she does that too—but with writing about the wonders of the gastronomic world, from obscure fruit hybrids to organic farming techniques. Since food journalism jobs are more coveted than Cronuts, Sydney pays her bills working for one of TV's biggest egomaniacs—until she's left scrambling for shifts at a local farmers' market.

Stacking muffins for the Wild Yeast Bakery isn't going to win her any James Beard awards. But soon Sydney is writing the market's weekly newsletter, and her quirky stories gain attention from a prominent food columnist. After years of putting her love life into deep freeze, she's even dating again. And then Sydney gets a shot at the story, one that could either make her career or burn it to a crisp—along with her relationship and her reputation…

Find out more at danabate.com.

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