Sheila Madonia-Maberry

I’d like the next…

I’m always looking to discover bold, distinctive voices with the potential to shape the literary conversation.

• Ayn Rand — A writer with fearless intellectual vision and bold ideas—someone unafraid to wrestle with big philosophical questions and explore the tension between individual ambition, morality, and society.

• Jason Rekulak —A writer whose psychological suspense is immersive, clever, and brilliantly twisty, and who has completely made me a fangirl (despite my age), waiting for his next novel.

• Jojo Moyes — a writer whose emotionally resonant storytelling connects deeply with readers and can leave me sobbing like a toddler when I close the book.

• Delia Owens —a storyteller who can create an unforgettable sense of place. I want to smell the ocean air in Boston, feel the thick Louisiana humidity, and squint beneath the blazing Arizona sun. The setting should be so vivid it feels alive—so real it becomes a character in its own right.

• Stephen King — A writer whose detail is spot-on and whose suspense pulls readers completely into the story, and who, quite impressively, has managed to make multiple generations absolutely terrified of clowns.

• Lois Lowry — a writer who can craft thoughtful, emotionally resonant stories that stay with readers across generations. I’m especially drawn to authors who can balance heart, moral complexity, and quiet courage in the way Lowry did in works like Number the Stars and The Giver—stories that trust young readers with big ideas and lasting questions.

• Suzanne Collins — a storyteller who can create gripping dystopian worlds, unforgettable characters, and stakes that keep readers turning pages late into the night. I’m especially interested in stories that combine tension, heart, and thoughtful social themes.

My favorites include…

My reading tastes are eclectic—something my bookshelves make abundantly clear. My all-time favorite novel is the obscure gem The River Witch by Missouri writer Marjorie McIntyre, which I’ve reread faithfully every year since 1978. At this point, it’s less a reading habit and more a literary ritual, and the story has become something of a quiet companion over the years.

I’m equally happy revisiting classics and modern favorites—everything from Louisa May Alcott’s more feminist works to the worlds of Tolkien (long before Tolkien was fashionable again) and C.S. Lewis.

I’m a devoted fan of writers such as Jason Rekulak (Hidden Pictures, The Last One at the Wedding (I’m a bit of a fangirl)), Stephen King and his Bachman books (The Stand, Gerald’s Game, The Long Walk), Jodi Picoult (The Last Circle), Jojo Moyes (Me Before You), Lois Lowry, J.K. Rowling, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and A.A. Milne (one of my favorite children’s authors, though I believe his stories speak just as deeply to adults).

My shelves also hold beloved titles like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, A Room of One’s Own and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Barbara Wright’s Plain Language, Terry Brooks’s Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold! series, and Pompeii by Robert Harris, which I enthusiastically recommend to everyone.

I also have a particular fondness for Freida McFadden and Margaret Atwood, and I’ll happily read anything written by Laura Anthony, or under her pen name, Brooke Harris (The Promise of Forever and Women of Platform Two are particular favorites).

When I’m not reading, you might find me watching UK and Scottish mysteries like The Fall or Prime Suspect, rewatching The Goonies or The Breakfast Club, or trying (still unsuccessfully) to understand the appeal of Seinfeld.