Becca from The Bookshelf Muse Talks Top 5

In my ongoing support for all things Bookshelf Muse I'd like to bring on one member of the two member team, Becca, to talk a little bit about the top five books she wished she'd written herself.  Because what writer doesn't have those thoughts?  HARRY POTTER anyone?  If you're a writer or know someone that is, be sure to snag a copy of The Bookshelf Muse's Emotion Thesaurus that's now available for download and bound purchase.  It's an excellent resource to help any writer rid them of the woes of eye rolling, shoulder shrugging and the mundane like.


Thanks for stopping by, Becca!

Top 5 Books I Wish I’d Written Myself

The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Ok, so that’s 3 books (6, actually, if you’re a big enough nerd to know that each volume consists of 2 books), but whatever. No other story has had the biggest impact upon me as a writer. It’s the quintessential hero’s journey, good vs. evil, both an epic and the ultimate buddy story with themes of loyalty, redemption, perseverance, and hope. Oh my gosh, I could go on forever. When it comes to books that have greatly influenced literature, I put LotR right up there with The Odyssey and The Bible. Naturally, I wish I’d written it.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. When I first read this, my mind was blown by the sheer force of imagination. Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, the mirror of Erised, the Great Hall, quidditch, the sorting hat. It was one amazing new invention after another. As a budding author, I was inspired by the unadulterated creativity. My favorite book in the series is #6, but this is the one that turns me green with writer envy.

Doomsday Book. Of all the books on my list, this is the kind of book I wish I could write. It’s sci-fi, historical fiction, and time-travel all rolled into one. There are two viewpoint characters--one an Oxford professor from the future, the other a college student stuck in the 1300s. Connie Willis seamlessly fluctuates between the two in a way that makes you just ache for them. When it comes to high stakes and high emotion, this book is one of the best.

Chime. A lot of elements are needed to write a good story. The hardest, in my opinion, is creating a strong, consistent, and individual character voice. Franny Billingsley nails this in Chime. I’m a sucker for a unique turn of phrase and this book is just riddled with them. And the opening lines! I’ve confessed to everything and I’d like to be hanged. Now, if you please. Man. If I could write like that, it would be my books popping up on these lists.

Goodnight Moon. Everybody who read this book loves it. Every. Single. Person. If I could come up with a storyline so simple and write it in a way that resonated with every person on the planet...well, isn’t that pretty much the goal?

So those are my top choices. What about you? What book do you wish you’d written?

Becca Puglisi is one half of The Bookshelf Muse blogging duo, and co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. Listing the body language, visceral reactions and thoughts associated with 75 different emotions, this brainstorming guide is a valuable tool for showing, not telling, emotion. The Emotion Thesaurus is available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords, and the PDF can be purchased directly from her blog.

Random Acts of Kindness BLITZ!

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community. 

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

Kindness ROCKS!

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!

Nicole at WORD for Teens is my blitz recipient.  I've known her pretty much since I started blogging and she's been an absolute gem the entire time.  Constantly supportive, super kind and insanely intelligent, Nicole is passionate about books and is more than willing to give authors a helping hand to promote their novels.  She's dedicated to her blog, the YA genre and stirring thought in others.  She deserves it!  So to her I'm giving a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card so she can keep reading and spreading the love.  Thank you for being you, Nicole!

Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge? Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. :)

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?  Let me know in the comments!

Pimp Smack Time

My buddies over at The Bookshelf Muse need your help.

First, they're a blog designed to help writers improve by coaxing them to break out of cliches. They have what they call a Thesaurus. Yes, same kind at your standard thesaurus but theirs is much broader. They have the Emotion Thesaurus and for each post it has an emotion and then lists physical attributes related to that emotion. And these are mighty extensive lists! They also have the Setting thesaurus (listing peculiarities for all five senses plus example description, similes and metaphors) and just recently they added the Colors, Textures and Shapes Thesaurus where they give varying examples of each of the highlighted color, texture or shape and then provide real world uses for them.

Really, they're a one stop shop for variety and improvement in writing. And here's why they need your help - they want to compile all of their insane amount of information (a lot of which they don't have on the site yet) into book format. In order to do that, they need to prove to a publisher that they have the interest for it.

Here's where you come in. Go to their blog and check it out. If you think what they offer is helpful, the follow them, comment there, email them, pimp their site yourself. Do whatever you can to get the word out that this is what they have to offer so they can get this book made. So if you're a writer (or not) and find value in what The Bookshelf Muse is offering, help me scream it to everyone with ears.