Z - Authors from A to Z Challenge

Authors from A to Z is a posting challenge hosted by 

Heather at Proud Book Nerd. The challenge is simple: each day for the month of June (except Sundays) share your favorite authors whose last name corresponds to the letter for that day.  For more info, click the photo.

How I'm participating in the challenge:

I am trying to highlight at least three authors (YA or otherwise) per letter, some current favorites, others future favorites. If I cannot come up with three, I will substitute favorite books that start with the letter of that day. If that doesn't work, then just for fun I am going to list songs that start with the letter of that day. And if that doesn't work, well, it will be a surprise!

Today's Letter: Z

Zeitgeist

Since I don't have any authors for this, the final letter and day of the Authors from A to Z challenge, I chose some 'Z' words.  I saw this word in a blog post recently that had to do with the strange phenomna of a certain topic or theme showing up in a lot of manuscripts being submitted to agents. I didn't understand this word, so I looked it up.  You should too.  I'll wait.  You back? Okay.  I thought it was kind of funny.  Not just the word, but how in YA, a zeitgeist is usually really evident.  The vampire craze, the angel/demon phase, werewolves and fairies and zombies, oh my!  I think mermaids are next.  There are certainly some out there already, and did you see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides?  It made me want to write a mermaid-centric story, that's for sure (hot preacher boy included.  ^_^)  Personally, I hope that *when* my WIP gets published (because we quirks must be optimistic), that I will start another magical zeitgeist in YA.  Not that magic ever really goes out of style, does it?

Zoo

I don't think I've ever read a story where the main setting was a zoo.  Wild cat refuge?  Yes.  Actual zoo?  No.  Any suggestions?  And please don't tell me to watch the upcoming Zookeeper.  I'm sure I will get it from Redbox.

Zenith

There are a lot of words out there that have a sort of atmosphere about them (yes, I stole that bit o' terminology from Stephenie Meyer).  When it comes to titles in YA, the one-word-punch is oft used and to be honest, I usually like it.  My WIP title (and the three novels following it) are all one-word titles.  I like this word and think it has that same kind of atmosphere about it.  Unfortunately, it also reminds me forcibly of a television.  So, this one is really fifty-fifty for me.  Some of my favorites (though none start with "'Z'):  Wither, Sweetblood, Dreamland, Nightshade, Airhead, Insatiable, Persuasion, etc.  What are some your favorite one-word titles (even if you didn't like the actual story)?

We've reached the end, my quirky friends!  It has been a lot of fun sharing some of my favorites with you.  Big thanks to Heather at Proud Book Nerd for hosting this challenge!

And, whether you are new or have been around a while, you may have noticed that little "Fellow Quirks" box over there to the right has tipped over the three digit mark!  You know what that means?  *grin*  Look for a giveaway soon!  ^_^