ROAR for Powerful Words

SQUEE! My BBBF (Best Blog-Bud Friend) T.L., whose writing ability I both admire and aspire to, honored me with this writing award. I'm tickled as pink as the lion ;)

As part of the award, recipients are asked to cite three elements of powerful writing. Here are three things that make a book a keeper in my world:

Characters
They have to be fully-developed (flaws, quirks, and all) and relate-able on some level. No cookie-cutter two-dimensional creatures for me please. TSTL heroines and OTT villains need not apply.

Story and/or story-telling
One of these two things must happen for me -- either the story must be so good I don't pay attention to the writing (Brown's The DaVinci Code) or the prose must be so excellent that I could care less if there's little movement in story(Frasier's Cold Mountain). Rarely, an author pulls off both (The Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald, Middlesex by Jeffrey Euginides), so I'm good with either.

The Power to Illuminate
I stole this right from TL because I couldn't say it any better - "I like fiction which illuminates, with honesty and authenticity, an aspect or aspects of human life, emotion, or endeavor -- whether serious, humorous, or provocative, whether in a realistic or a fantastic fashion."

Passing this award on is going to be hard, only because I know SO MANY amazing authors - all of whom make me think, smile, and shake my head (usually in awe). Narrowing it down to just a few is cruel!! I'm going to think outside the box a bit on this one...

Bonnie Staring - who makes me laugh every day. I urge you to visit her blog. You'll find her quirky brand of humour infectious!

Candy Minx - a blogger, a writer, an artist, a film-maker -- a true Renaissance woman. I'll be honest... I mostly don't comment on her blog because she intimidates the hell out of me. People - she's really really smart. Savvy. In-the-know. Go there. You might learn something.

Red Garnier - Red writes the sexiest, funniest erotic romance on the planet. What an amazing talent to make you giggle out loud while getting hot and bothered! If you want proof, start with Bona Fide Liar and Divine Assistant. She also writes dark and paranormal if that's more your style, but honestly, she's brilliant at funny. AND lucky us, she has a new book Amatista, coming out on Feb 6th. :)

Nicholas Temple-Smith - if you're not a regular visitor to Nicholas' Thursday Thirteen, then you should be. His book lists are thought provoking and informative, but he's another one that makes me laugh out loud when he ventures to the quirky side. (and 85+ visitors a week can't be wrong!) He also has a very enjoyable book out on Lulu entitled The Story of Elijah. A very enjoyable read!

Thanks again TL!!