Emotions are a vital part of my life. I sense, perceive, and express emotions in the vast majority of my daily life, whether it’s work, play, or personal interactions.
Once, at a meeting with one of my writers’ groups, I was commenting on another author’s child character who I thought was surprisingly out-of-touch with their emotions and I compared the character to my own son, who is quite sensitive and emotion-savvy. My writing buddies laughed and said, “But he’s your son! Of course he’s in touch with his emotions!”
I had to grin at that one.
I need frequent reminders that not everyone sees the world in the emotional way that I (and apparently, my son!) do. It’s a lens I enjoy, even though it’s a lens that exhausts me. This tendency makes me gravitate toward stories of emotional resilience, vulnerability, drama, and overall gutsiness.
Emotions helped inspire the theme that I used for recommending these five favorite books on Shepherd.com. I wanted to share these recommendations, in case you were interested in getting my thoughts on the best fantasy books with compelling, likeable, and gutsy characters.
And if you’ve already read any of the books on my list, I’d love to hear what you thought of them!
Happy reading!
-Elise
