Interview with Becca Puglisi, co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus

I have another interview for you all today with Becca Puglisi!

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.

Onto the interview! Becca, what book are you reading now?

Oh, you caught me between books, which hardly ever happens. But I just finished reading ABOVE, by Leah Bobet, and it. was. awesome! It had the most intricate, ornate voice, and the story was absolutely unique. Loved it.

That book sounds so good! I've been meaning to read it. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Seriously, Nicole? Just ONE author? Can’t do it. Let’s see...definitely Stephen King, for his fearlessness and his ability to tap into reader emotion. And Rowling is right up there, too. Her vision is so amazing--anyone who can even loosely map out a 7-part series from the get-go and remain true to it all the way through definitely has mad skillz.

LOL I couldn't list just one either. Who doesn't like King and Rowling? If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

One of the first books I ever re-read was THE BLUE SWORD, by Robin McKinley. In ninth grade, I checked it out from the library, read it twice in a row, then bought it so I could read it literally to pieces. And now, twenty-something years later, I’m still re-reading and devouring her books. Her world building is so...tactile. When I finish one of her books, I’m nostalgic for the setting as much as I am for the characters. And the stories themselves are always complex. She’s a master storyteller who has stood the test of time. I’d love to learn whatever I could from her.

I love Robin McKinley! Time for some fun questions. What did you want to be when you were 10 years old?

A veterinarian. I thought it would be all puppies and kittens, and maybe horses and cows, but didn’t realize it would start off with mostly chemistry and biology and quite probably end with an aneurism. It took me less than one college semester to realize veterinary medicine was not my calling.

I wanted to be a vet for all of two days. My allergies wouldn't let me even if I had wanted to. What paranormal creature would you be and why?

I think it would be fun to be an imp. In real life, I like the idea of playing practical jokes, but since the retribution is usually bigger and far worse than anything I could dole out, I’m usually too much of a wuss to commit. As an imp, though, I’d be invisible and no one could see me. And no one would try and outdo an imp, so I could pretty much get away with anything.

Now that's a great choice! And readers, you want to get a copy of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression if you don’t already have one. I do and I love it. It's such a wonderful resource. Because Becca and Angela are awesome, they're giving away a PDF version of The Emotion Thesaurus! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment saying what emotion you would look up first in your copy. Good luck!

Thanks so much for stopping by, Becca!