So, who makes your "must buy" list? Who makes your "will probably buy list"? Why? What book(s) put them there? What genre or genres do they write? Is this something your normally read?
My list of "must buys" is somewhat limited in that as a longtime reviewer, I get (or have gotten) all manner of stuff kind of automagically. So some of these are technically classed as must-acquires, by whatever means. However:
Diane Duane: utterly reliable whether working in someone else's universe (Star Trek, etc.) or one of her own (So You Want to Be a Wizard, Stealing the Elf-King's Roses).
Elizabeth Peters: mostly lightweight but very well plotted mystery, nicely balanced between a strong sense of fun and sharply intelligent characters.
Elizabeth Moon: there's no more intelligent writer of military SF in the genre, and her prose and pacing run rings around Weber (whom I like well enough when he's not engaging in 20-page infodumps). But that's not all she can do; Remnant Population and The Speed of Dark prove she can handle classic SF themes equally well.
Sherwood Smith: Smart high fantasy, for younger readers (the Wren series, Crown Duel, a couple of authorized Oz sequels), adults (Inda and its sequels) -- all playing both into and against convention. Also see under space opera (the Exordium cycle, written with Dave Trowbridge).
Patricia Wrede: More smart fantasy for various ages, with and without Caroline Stevermer as co-conspirator.
L. J. Smith: This is more accurately a "will buy", as (mostly teen) readers have been waiting for the last book in Smith's "Night World" series for years now owing to a combination of life crises and seeming publishing delays. All of Smith's work is classed as for younger readers, but it's the flavor of book that crosses over. There are two straight fantasies (Night of the Solstice and Heart of Valor), plus a number of trilogies and series marketed as "teen horror" -- but that's deceptive, because a couple of those trilogies (the "Forbidden Game" and "Dark Visions" in particular) are pure descendants of classic Andre Norton fare, and the "Vampire Diaries" and "Night World" series are really what we'd now call paranormal-romance crossovers (and are better written and plotted than a lot of what you see in that genre these days).
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Diane Duane: utterly reliable whether working in someone else's universe (Star Trek, etc.) or one of her own (So You Want to Be a Wizard, Stealing the Elf-King's Roses).
Elizabeth Peters: mostly lightweight but very well plotted mystery, nicely balanced between a strong sense of fun and sharply intelligent characters.
Elizabeth Moon: there's no more intelligent writer of military SF in the genre, and her prose and pacing run rings around Weber (whom I like well enough when he's not engaging in 20-page infodumps). But that's not all she can do; Remnant Population and The Speed of Dark prove she can handle classic SF themes equally well.
Sherwood Smith: Smart high fantasy, for younger readers (the Wren series, Crown Duel, a couple of authorized Oz sequels), adults (Inda and its sequels) -- all playing both into and against convention. Also see under space opera (the Exordium cycle, written with Dave Trowbridge).
Patricia Wrede: More smart fantasy for various ages, with and without Caroline Stevermer as co-conspirator.
L. J. Smith: This is more accurately a "will buy", as (mostly teen) readers have been waiting for the last book in Smith's "Night World" series for years now owing to a combination of life crises and seeming publishing delays. All of Smith's work is classed as for younger readers, but it's the flavor of book that crosses over. There are two straight fantasies (Night of the Solstice and Heart of Valor), plus a number of trilogies and series marketed as "teen horror" -- but that's deceptive, because a couple of those trilogies (the "Forbidden Game" and "Dark Visions" in particular) are pure descendants of classic Andre Norton fare, and the "Vampire Diaries" and "Night World" series are really what we'd now call paranormal-romance crossovers (and are better written and plotted than a lot of what you see in that genre these days).