*nodnod* My one char who is 'half OC' (ie, me having to make up a lot for her, since she has about one paragraph of canon) is pretty much 'culturally neutral'. Laini is kitsune, and while there are roots in Japanese culture there, obviously, for her as a character it isn't much of an influence.

Dapheline, who's in Brazil- he and I will talk about books, and most of them are by American authors, that he's either read in english or waited until they were translated for sale down there. Aside from manga and british novels, I can't think of many books that were written in another country or another language, that I've read. (Or that have even been that popular in mainstream american culture.)