Finding the Voice of Christmas

by M. L. Buchman

It's funny, I've been having some offline discussions about a writer's voice lately and I wanted to share it here. Then I saw that the month's suggested theme was holiday reads and I must say that I found a very appropriate example. :)

THE SEASON
I love Christmas stories. Which is odd as I grew up in a household where Christmas was not the most comfortable time (Dad was not a fan of the season). But my wife and kid taught me what a joy Christmas could be when it is done with heart and soul. And I've now written seven novels and twelve short stories set in the holiday season. (A total surprise to me...and yes, many more to come.)

Here's a collection of all twelve short stories:

Grab a copy here!

THE VOICE
What's funny about this collection is that the twelve tales are actually in ten different series and five distinct genres:

• military romantic suspense (The Night Stalkers, Delta Force, US Coast Guard)
• romantic suspense (Firehawks Hotshots, White House Protection Force)
• science fiction romance (Science Fiction Romance stories)
• contemporary romance (Where Dreams, Henderson's Ranch, and a standalone)
• thriller (Dead Chef)

And yet, if you were to read all the tales, from the angst-filled Relive the Day! to the thriller romp of Christmas Cookied Chef, I think there would be little question that they were all written by the same author.

That's voice!

Not character voice, but the voice of the author. Which leads me back to the discussion I was having with some friends earlier. So, what the heck is an author's voice?

Well, that's the real beauty of it. The one person who can't hear their own voice is, indeed, the author. Why? Because to the author, it sounds like themselves. Which, curiously enough will sound a little dull and flat--but only to the author. (Yep, it's a crazy profession.)

The challenge for the author is to then learn how to stay out of their own way. My theory goes something like this:

1. Do not over edit. That's the writer's intellectual brain trying to correct their natural, emotional one to what they "think" it should be. I'm not saying don't fix broken things in the edit, I'm saying try not to fix the things that aren't broken.
2. Focus on having fun. That's when we're being our truest selves. When we just plunge in and tell story. Sure, this can be wrackingly hard, or everyone would be doing it, but we love it or else authors would find something simpler to do like creating world peace. :)
3. Matching the author voice to the genre.

MY VOICE

This last point has already been a wild adventure for me. My career has spanned 25 years so far. I can't imagine what the next 25 will hold, but here's what I know so far.

Some authors LOVE a particular genre. They eat sleep and breathe: romance, science fiction, high fantasy, cozy mystery... When they go to write in that genre, they've spent decades as a reader training their inner writer's voice to love that genre and they can just climb right in and pull it over them like a warm blanket.

Me? Not so much. I was deep in a career of reading action-adventure (Melville, London, Arctic explorers--I was about 10), when my Dad set down a science fiction book he'd just finished. I picked it up and didn't leave SF (except for a little bit of fantasy) for a decade. Then I spent another decade in thrillers and more years in classics before I stumbled on romance. Except romance already worked for me because Mom had raised me on a steady diet of MGM musicals and albums of Broadway shows.

So, I wrote some SF, a couple romances, and a few thrillers. Then I sold a military romantic suspense (MRS) series to a publishing house. Thirty novels later, I popped my head up.

My career was going very nicely, but I wanted a little more surety and some variety. The next steps looked something like this:

• I plunged into contemporary romance. Fourteen books later, I was getting the same kind of stellar reviews I had in MRS...but about 1/2 the sales. Hmm... I thought. Hmmmm....
• I then looked at all my reviews (did one of those word cloud things where more common ones are bigger). Sure I got: character, romance, heartwarming...but I also got: action, tension, exciting, even thriller.
• Hmmm, I do love a good thriller. In fact, much of my romance and SF reading had been over on the thriller side of the coin. 

THE PLUNGE

So, I'm now making an experiment and plunging into thriller to see if that genre more closely matches my author's voice. Early feedback offers a fairly definitive YES.

• "Tom Clancy fans open to a strong female lead will clamor for more." - Publishers Weekly
• "Superb!" - Booklist
• “The best military thriller I have read in a very long time. Love the female characters.” – Sheldon McArthur, founder of The Mystery Bookstore, LA

As I write this, Drone released yesterday to my strongest launch in two years, despite being in a new genre for most of my dedicated readers. Have I managed to match my voice to a genre? Only time will tell. For now, you can judge for yourself.

Not as Christmasy as the collection above, but way fun!
Click here to grab a copy: e-, print, large print, or audio

M.L. "Matt" Buchman has 60+ novels, 100 short stories, and lotsa audiobooks. Booklist says: 3x “Top-10 Romance of the Year” and among “The 20 Best Romantic Suspense Novels.”  A project manager with a geophysics degree, he’s flown and jumped out of planes and also bicycled solo around the world. More at: www.mlbuchman.com. 

Cliched to Death and Sick of it?

Clichéd to Death and Sick of It?

By: Marcia King-Gamble 

Every writer struggles to keep their work fresh and avoid those much overused platitudes which have readers grimacing and rolling their eyes. You know exactly what I mean; those smarmy, trite phrases that in the real world would have you snarling, “Gag me with a spoon, please,” and running in the opposite direction. 

Yes, I know this blog is supposed to be about your favorite romantic clichés, but honestly, I have been over clichéd so have no favorites. I am taking an entirely different approach to this blog topic. 

Readers expect and deserve more than pit-pattering hearts and pulsating body parts. Romance writing is not about heaving bosoms and throbbing cores. Readers want to meet real people and be introduced to fresh new approaches to story telling.  And this my friend is why an author has a “voice." There is no excuse for lazy writing.

Top of mind are some much overused phrases that have me gnashing my teeth and swearing.

She fell into a sea of blue

She stared at him like a deer caught in headlights

He was the stuff dreams were made of

Her mouth went dry and her knees turned to jelly when he walked into the room

I think you get my point.

As a romance writer, it can be challenging to come up with fresh, unique ways of telling a story and still keep things steamy and romantic.  But it’s the writer’s job to find the right words to engage the reader and leave them panting for more. There are ways to do this without sounding soupy or over the top.  Why would anyone want to settle for the tried and true and sound like every other writer? You have your own unique voice and way of  delivering. 

  

When I sit down to write, I have my arsenal lined up of: drink, snack, research materials. I always have the print version of a dictionary and thesaurus within arm’s reach. There’s something about flipping through pages and finding just the right words or expressions that is liberating. I never get that rush surfing the web.  

If I want to be hip and current, there’s the Urban Dictionary. I’m amazed by the creative euphemisms for everyday words. With just some wordsmithing I can create jaw dropping scenes that would otherwise  be snorers. The Urban Dictionary is my “go to” place for snappy, current day dialogue. I’ve even created a character or two based on some catchy, down-home phrase.  

 Years ago, I received what is still today a cherished gift. The Flip Dictionary by Barbara Ann Kipfer Ph.D.  It is now one of my most prized possession and something every writer should have in their toolbox. If you are struggling to find the right words, you can find it all here.

Below you will find an excerpt from my latest novella, Tempting Andie (the third in The Revelers Series.)  The story is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Be sure to let me know if I’ve done a decent job without the cliches.

Excerpt from Tempting Andie:

The lobby doors slid open and Evan and Miguel dressed in brightly colored board shorts walked in. Andie’s retort got caught in her throat. The sheer maleness of Evan rendered her speechless.  She should have stayed with him last night. Today his unshaved whiskers made him look mysterious and sexier than ever.  Just once she wanted those biceps wrapped around her and those fingers strumming her chords. Evan’s broad chest in that Tee-shirt was designed for a woman to lay her head on.  Andie’s hormones were already revving out of control.

 And that ladies and gentlemen is it for this month!

Romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This former travel industry executive and current world traveler has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned 26 books and 4 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling to exotic locales, and caring for her animal family.
Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com  or “friend” her on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/MarciaKingGamble
Marcia’s latest release,  a novella, “Tempting Andie,” the third in The Revelers Series is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  http://amzn.com/B00MDZLAQI
She writes a monthly column for  http://digitalromanceinc.com