RCaruso@AxelJohnson.com
I think Frank McCourt. I am now reading Teacher Man and I think he turned out quite well despite his obstacles. When reading his books, I cried, realizing just how fortunate I was/am, and laughed. He tugged on all my strings. His words and experiences spilled from his heart. They were so real. How fortunate one is to have a teacher who has opened one's mind, or an author who resonates at least somewhere along the prose. When you think of his childhood and the choices he made along the way, he stayed above water and "the drink" fortunately to delight us.

lket@johnroberts.com
I'd love to had Lorna Landvik over for a holiday dinner. She is extremely funny and very entertaining!

blarue@bostonherald.com
Muhammad Ali

Eileen.Cross@genesishcc.com
Lisa Scottoline

FifiOToole@aol.com
I would LOVE for Stephen King (and his wife, Tabitha) to come for dinner on a holiday or ANY day. They'd probably hate it, though, because I would NEVER run out of questions!

servilan42@myway.com
James Lee Burke

Frank from Omaha, NE
I'm sure my wife would most like to invite Katherine Valentine for a holiday dinner. I would like to invite Bill Bryson. Maybe they could come as a couple.

ForestAnn@aol.com
Without question, I'd have over my favorite author of all time, John Updike.

Britadon@aol.com
Gregory McGuire --- I hear that he is just as fascinating at dinner talk as he is in his books!

Sharon in NC
I would love to have Stephen King over for a holiday dinner. Maybe with him at dinner my relatives would seem more normal. 

spartanjohn@comcast.net
I would most like to have James Lee Burke over for a holiday dinner and be regaled with his stories of life in New Orleans and Montana, not to mention Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel.

monysmom@comcast.net
J. K. Rowling!!

baxtergr@msn.com
I would like to break bread with Mary Doria Russell. I have had the privilege of seeing/hearing her in person, and she is so dynamic that I can only imagine how delightful it would be to have some extended one-on-one time with her.

Sheila5199@aol.com
Robert Parker --- maybe then I would finally find out Spenser's first name.

Nytrane@aol.com
I would love to have dinner with Sue Monk Kidd --- her thought processes are magically Goddess-like with enough Amazon, Aphrodite, Hera and Gaea combined! She's absolutely divine. For dessert, we shall have Ambrosia!

Roscoe@drizzle.com
If it's a writer I don't know, I think I'd like to invite Christopher Moore (and his significant other, if that person exists), Jasper Fforde and his wife, or Terry Pratchett and his wife. I think dinner would be such a HUGE lot of fun. I've often imagined what dinner conversation at those homes must be like and think we'd all get along just great. It would be fun ending a holiday dinner laughing so much it hurt.

As for writers I do know, since I'm so fortunate to know several, I'm gonna cheat and say Cornelia Read. It's cheating because her book, A Field of Darkness from Mysterious Press, won't be out until next May. But it's a brilliant book and she's my great and true friend.

Cindy from CA
I have read nearly all of Jodi Picoult's books and would love to meet her. Even my girlfriends and adult daughters have enjoyed her books.

nunu@cogeco.ca
I would love to have Mary Kay Andrews over for a holiday dinner. I believe she would have a great sense of humor as all her characters in her books. We all need to laugh more and not sweat the small stuff.

DOLORA647@aol.com
Anne Perry

smleonetti@yahoo.com
M. F. K. Fisher...so she could cook!

bklvr528@msn.com
The author I would like to break bread with is Maeve Binchy. Every time I read one of her books I am completely engrossed in her story. When her character has a cup of tea, which is often, I have to have a cup of tea. I feel so comfortable in her stories that I'm usually very sad when they end. I have also read some of her articles in the Irish papers that she works for. I'm sure I would not be nervous sitting with her and asking her questions about being an author and living in Ireland.

Cat03l@aol.com
John Saul!

Jring2333@aol.com
Dan Brown: we'd have some fascinating discussions.

Babs48rn@cs.com
I would like to invite Anita Shreve for a holiday dinner. I love her books and her creativity.

littleminx@cox.net
At this time I'd have to say I'd most like to have Nicholas Sparks over for dinner.

Sadiebelle238@aol.com
I would most like to break bread with Adriana Trigiani because she knows her way around the kitchen and would be able to teach me a thing or two.

wmf38@rconnect.com
I'd most like to have Debbie Macomber over for dinner.

ras-c@cox.net
I'd LOVE to invite Adriana Trigiani to dinner --- ANY dinner, holiday or otherwise, because she's a lover of food, conversation, and good will.

Hopefully, my Italian dinner would meet with her approval since she's a wonderful cook. Being the type of person she is, however, she'd never criticize, but might gently suggest a different twist on a recipe. She'd eat heartily and not refuse anything offered to her. That's the Italian way, you know. Also, (if I was lucky) she might not even notice the turkey bracciole stuffed with cornbread instead of beef stuffed with bread and Italian seasonings under marinara sauce because she'd be engrossed in conversation, laughter and good-naturedness.

Truly, Adriana would be a delightful ideal guest!

Sandn2shoes@aol.com
It would be a toss-up between Dan Brown and John Grisham...Dan Brown to listen to how he has come to write what he has written about, and John Grisham because he is such a hunk! You know, the entree and the dessert!

aopurgavie@shaw.ca
I would like to meet Nelson DeMille. He has such a devious mind, and must have a good sense of humor, too.

deeptak@sbcglobal.net
Maya Angelou, of course!!

Susan in St. Paul
I am really torn between Michael Connelly and Jeffrey Deaver. While I can think of many questions I would love to ask, I actually would be so tongue-tied I wouldn't even be able to read off my questions. I sure would love to give it a try, though.

Bill from Cedartown, GA
W. E. B. Griffin is my choice to invite over for a Holiday Dinner. I want to meet and personally thank Mr. Griffin for all of the enjoyment I have received in reading and re-reading his books.

DeerViewAcres@aol.com
Oh, without a doubt, Bill Clinton is who I would like to have over for dinner. I would have it catered with his favorite foods, to put him in a good mood.

ATESSL@aol.com
I would love to have any dinner with John Irving!

BEVBOOKS@aol.com
I would love to have Janet Elaine Smith come to my house for a holiday dinner. She's a great lady, in addition to being a wonderful writer.

Connie.Kallenberg@fortworthlibrary.org
Deborah Santana, author of Space Between the Stars. She is a marvelous, sensitive person who is currently working on a novel. She is also a student of Natalie Goldberg, who teaches in Taos.

JPearson@Rhetech.com
Elizabeth Peters (and all her aka's). No question.

PMHashagen@aol.com
Margaret George and Margaret Brown!

whoward6@tampabay.rr.com
J. R. R. Tolkien: I would love to have him over and watch the recent movies with him and ask him many questions.

catfish@millardmanor.com
What author would I most like to have over for a holiday dinner? Stephen King!

bookmark60@sc.rr.com
Chris Bohjalian

Mtr950@aol.com
It would be difficult for me to decide but I think for now it would be Nora Roberts. However, I am taking American literature courses and so I am rereading.

Tonisandlin@aol.com
David Baldacci

DISTEFANO@aol.com
Adriana Trigiani

Carford@aol.com
Frank McCourt

ROdierno@aol.com
Alive? (I seem to be forever asking this....) J. K. Rowling.

Not alive? Ernest Hemingway, Ayn Rand or Tolstoy.

I'd love to have J. K. Rowling over for a holiday dinner. She'd probably be more amenable to giving her dinner companions some details of the final installment of Harry's adventures if she's trapped at my place (you're always somewhat responsible to your hostess to make dinner conversation).

Hemingway? Too cool for words! What an amazing man. Rand? Talk politics and Russia. Tolstoy. Talk characters and Prince Andre.

jupe77_2000@yahoo.com
Michael Moore

Kathy from D.C.
Ben Bova: I enjoy his ability to meld science with imagination to confront interesting scenarios that feature both idealist and visionary men with original and venturesome women who travel to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. His science fiction is thoughtful in confronting problems that we face today, such as global warming. He is a writer who engages with the serious political and scientific issues. He is an explorer of new frontiers. He also addresses important contemporary issues in his nonfiction books, such as Immortality in 1998. He has an interest in "cutting-edge" issues like nano-technology. With his creativity and ebullience he would be a great addition to any holiday dinner.

SeattleSnoops@aol.com
Plain and simple, Roxanne St. Claire, author of Kill Me Twice, Killer Curves, Hit Reply, and many, many more.

Barbyb333@aol.com
Max Lucado

Anonymous
Edgar Allan Poe would be my choice.

ejpoole@mchsi.com
Though he's perhaps better known for his music, I'd invite Jimmy Buffett to dinner. He's a master storyteller, as evidenced not only by his books --- Where is Joe Merchant and Tales From Margaritaville to name just two --- but also by his songs, often poetic, and always enthralling. Having him sit at the dinner table and regale the guests with tales --- true and tall --- would make a truly memorable evening.

Cloish049@aol.com
Bob Dylan

pageant4u@hotmail.com
The author I would absolutely be thrilled to death to have over for a holiday meal or even a snack would be Ann Rule! She is the author of several true crime series books and the only author who has written a book at the request of a murder victim.

I am amazed at her ability to keep her facts straight, and yet at the same time keep the readers well-informed. Her books are exciting and certainly leave you with more questions about serial killers.

I would just love to ask her how she keeps her emotions out of her writings.

Anonymous
My preferred guest would be Haruki Murakami.

Pekepooh@aol.com
Jodi Picoult

BUNNYKNSMR@aol.com
Authors still alive today who I would like to have over for a holiday meal are Clive Cussler and John Grisham.

Authors no longer with us who I would have liked to have shared a meal with are Jack Finney and Evan Hunter, aka Ed McBain.

Anonymous
I would like to have Mary Higgins Clark over for a holiday dinner. She is the one who really got me hooked on reading. I think her own life story is very inspirational. There are so many questions I would like to ask her.

blondcaliguy@adelphia.net
I would like to have Patricia Cornwell over for dinner. Her books have always kept me intrigued and hurriedly awaiting the final chapter.

soniasez@aol.com
The authors I would love to have over for holiday dinner are Anna Quindlen and Kurt Vonnegut.

GandmaRI@aol.com
I'd love to have dinner with Tim Russert and his father (subject of Big Russ and Me).

julie5@bellsouth.net
I would like to have J. K. Rowling over for dinner. I admire her perseverance in getting started, and her continuing humble attitude as her popularity grows.

AMAF113@aol.com
Janet Evanovich

Adele P.
The author I'd like to have over for dinner is a tough choice. Currently, it's between Diana Gabaldon, J. K.  Rowling and Catherine Coulter. I have a large table and always cook too much, so think I'll invite them all.

mseff@svsu.org
I would like to invite Pat Conway to dinner. One of my favorite books of all time was The Great Santini. I would love to ask him what happened over the years to make him really forgive his father and accept him in the end. He wrote his last book as if The Great Santini didn't exist. I love Conway, but I was extremely disappointed.

kelloggd@kellogg.edu
Chris Bohjalian. I've read everything he's written!

donnaing2@yahoo.com
I would like to break bread with Nora Roberts. I have been reading all of her books again and really enjoying them even more the second time around. As an educator, I would be interested in knowing if there was a teacher in her past who urged her to become a writer or who assisted her in the development of her craft. Also, what were her favorite children's books to read?

cbrand@ifsi.com
I would love to have Nora Roberts over for a holiday dinner.

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