Skip to content

Justice and Lies is out now! Buy the book here.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest TikTok
Laura Teagan

Laura Teagan

  • Home
  • AboutExpand
    • 2023 Reading List
    • 2022 Reading List
    • 2021 Reading List
    • 2020 Reading List
    • 2019 Reading List
    • My Reading List in 2018
  • BooksExpand
    • Cassie MorganExpand
      • The Assassin
      • Double Played
      • Justice & Lies
    • Emily Burnet SeriesExpand
      • Airtime & Alibis
      • Bullets and Bylines
      • Cameras and Confessions
    • June Williams
  • Blog
  • Contact
Buy My Books

It's here!!  Family Matters is out now.

Laura Teagan
Laura Teagan
laura teagan · the assassin · writing

The Women in Books, Part 1

It’s been three years since I published my first novel, The Assassin. Three years is a long time when you’re in your twenties and over the past few years, as a reader and writer, I’ve grown to appreciate the love for women in books. The women in books have influenced my life for a long time and in nod to the women I’m creating in my books.

When I was in first grade, we used to read Junie B. Jones books in class. We started in the middle of the series, so I remember picking up an early book from the school library and reading the whole book in a day. Now, I don’t even remember the book or the impact Junie B. had on me, but those books were some of the earliest memories I have of a girl leading the way in a book.

The next big memory I have is from fourth grade, when I picked up a Royal Diaries book about Elizabeth I. Each of those books had historical information in the back of the book and I discovered Henry VIII and his six wives. Real people, real women who lost their heads over this man. That one book opened me up to so many books I read as a child. Books that talked about some really adult subjects. These women in these books, these real women who had lives, were tough, defied odds, and even the ones I might find boring, they all made their mark on history.

As a teenager in high school, I read the Vampire Academy series, where the main character, Rose, considers killing her lover because he’s become a breed of vampire that just wants to kill. As a high schooler, I remember having to pause the reading of this series so I could study for finals, and I remember walking around with a hole in my chest because the story of Rose hit me so hard.

Related Post: You Should Read The Assassin If….

Even when I re-read the series in college, it still hit me like a ton of bricks. I bet if I read it again (Which I might do in early 2019), Rose will still have the same impact on me.

I was thirteen when I first started writing The Assassin, in a little lime green notebook. Back then, I didn’t expect anything out of writing. I didn’t know anything about creating well-rounded characters, or about putting them into tough situations. I knew nothing about how to make a character that had an impact. Looking back now, I realize how much strong, slightly messed up women (both real and fictional) have impacted my life.

Without the women in books, I would have never realized some of the values I want out of my life or out of my characters. Women in books have had a profound impact on my life, and I hope they continue to do so. I hope at some point, my characters have an impact on someone else’s life.

To read the second part of this essay, visit my pen name at Laura Teagan. 

Post navigation

Previous Previous
The Q3 Book Update
NextContinue
2018 in Review: Laura Teagan

Meet the Author

storyteller, author, red wine lover, and collector of books. Learn more about Laura here.

  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram

Current Work in Progress

Hit List
4th book in the Cassie Morgan Series
Status: drafting
Word count: 10,270/95,000

  • 2019 Reading List
  • 2020 Reading List
  • 2021 Reading List
  • 2022 Reading List
  • 2023 Reading List

© 2023 Laura Teagan - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP

Scroll to top
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Contact Us