Top Ten Tuesday: Author Duos

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s category is Top Ten Author Duos You’d Love to See Write a Book Together.

This is a topic I have never in my life thought about. I think about musicians who would be great together, and actors or actresses I would love to see work together, but I have never considered what authors I would like to see work together. I guess I just generally accept that writing is a solitary activity, even though author collaborations can be wonderful – take Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens. I love that book.

1. Stephen King and Gillian Flynn

King is a master of horror and Flynn is terrific with modern gothic mystery and suspense. I would love to see what could come out of their collaboration. I imagine it would be some sort of damaged female protagonist in a truly creepy horror setting. I am sure this would be one brilliant and fascinating novel.

2. Neil Gaiman and Jim Butcher

These are two of my favorite contemporary authors and I would love to see them collaborate just because. If you pair the wit and humor of the Dresden Files with Gaiman’s imagination, I’m sure it would be a truly fun read. Maybe not up to par with Good Omens – as it would be a completely different style of humor – but I’m sure it would come close. I’m now imagining something along the lines of American Gods, but with a protagonist more like Harry Dresden.

3. Ransom Riggs and Dawn Kurtagich

Put Riggs’ creepy vintage photographs together with Kurtagich’s creepy writing style and plots, and this could possibly be one of the most terrifying books you could read.

4. Diana Gabaldon and Seth Grahame-Smith

This may seem like a truly unlikely pairing, but just think about it for a minute. Gabaldan is known for her historical fiction; I love the Outlander novels and the detail that goes into them. I can only imagine the research she must do to prepare. Grahame-Smith has written some amusing parodies that take place throughout history. I’m sure if you put those two skills together you could come up with something truly clever.

5. J.K. Rowling and George R.R. Martin

Can you imagine the world they would create together? Of course, every single character you ever cared about would surely end up dead, but it would be a magical world!

6. Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo

I didn’t love Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy as much as I had hoped, but her writing style shows promise. Adding Maas into the mix would help Bardugo to smooth out some of her rough edges and learn how to keep a plot moving forward without dragging too much.

7. Jim Butcher and John Scalzi 

I honestly have no real reason for this one, I just have a feeling they would create great work together. Both have a great sense of humor.

8. J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan

Again I think this would be a truly interesting blend of imagination and humor, albeit in a completely different way (with a much more family-oriented style of humor). Rowling and Riordan are both very gifted at creating hidden worlds within in our own; I can only imagine what kind of world they could create if they teamed up and built something together. I love the idea of the silliness and humor that’s often found in Riordan’s books being paired with the bright and colorful worlds that Rowling creates.

That’s not quite 10, but it’s more than I thought I’d be able to come up with. What authors would you like to see team up and write together?