All authors write because they are inspired by something they have read before. I wrote my first novel at 12 because of Brian Jacques’ thrilling and active Redwall series. I wrote my first trilogy because of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. I wrote my sci-fi novel The Memory (projected publication: 2015) because of C. S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy and Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark Series, and probably a few more books. Every book is an opportunity. You see possibilities in writing style, content, plot, and characters that you never saw before. The more you read, the more material you’ll have from which to write.