Danielle Steel's Books Aren't Just Beach Reads

I love reading author interviews as it is a way to learn more about them and their writing style among other fun things.

I read an article today on the Washington Post website titled Danielle Steel: ‘My books are more than a beach read’ by Nora Krug. In the article, Ms. Krug writes:

Since the publication of her first novel, “Going Home” in 1972, Danielle Steel has become a staple of the beach bag, as indispensable and reliable as a bottle of Coppertone. Her tales of love, loss and family life have captivated millions of book buyers — about 800 million, in fact, a sales figure that approaches that of Dr. Seuss and Shakespeare.

Some of this, of course, has to do with how many books she has written — 142 and counting — and how quickly she produces them. Her latest book, “Country,” is one of four she plans to publish this year. Over the course of her long, bountiful career, Steel also has written poetry, children’s books and lyrics — all while mothering nine children (and marrying and divorcing five times).

In an interview by e-mail from her home in Paris, Steel talked about her rise to popularity and why people shouldn’t call her books “beach reads” — or ask her for relationship advice.

Click on the top link to read Krug's interview with Danielle Steel. I found it fascinating to discover that Ms. Steele felling to writing books by accident. Her childhood dream was to become a fashion designer and she even attended to Parsons School of Design.

Truthful admission here... I've never really gravitated towards Danielle's Steel's novels. In fact, I've always shrank away from them. I've always had the preconceived notion that the books written by Ms. Steele were filled with romantic 'fluff'... And that her novels contained stories filled with sappy characters and had predictable endings. My preconceived notion dates back to my high school days in the 1980s when I assumed mainly older women were the primary readers of Danielle Steele's novels. In all fairness, I haven't given Danielle Steel's novels a chance to speak for themselves. 

I now think it would be fun to read one or more of Danielle Steele's novels simply to see if there is more to her novels than I previously thought. Ms. Steele must be doing something right, as she's been a bestselling writer for 40+ years!

Do you enjoy reading Danielle Steele's novels?? Which ones would you recommend reading?