Like a Thank You to a Friend

By Suzanne Woods Fisher  @suzannewfisher

Just a few days ago, I received an email from a reader who wanted me to know that she was throwing my book in the trash. I’d offended her, somehow, and she wanted me to know it. I thanked her for her feedback, like I would thank a friend.

When I first started getting published, that kind of reader email would have thrown me for a loop. I would have felt hurt or misunderstood or defensive. Probably…all three. And my already shaky confidence about my writing ability would go off-kilter, not unlike a wobbly spinning top.

Marketing Your Book

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine   

We all wish that marketing our books was warm and fuzzy. The reality is marketing is not warm and fuzzy.

However, it doesn’t have to be as difficult as we make it sometimes.

You are not at a disadvantage when it comes to marketing your book. Why? Because you know your book better than anybody. This automatically sets you apart.

While it is important you get a message out about your book realize you do that with everything you say and do when talking about your book.

Hopefully you know what niche your book fits into. If so, you can move forward. In your book, what elements have your brought together? What types of people would have an interest in the story of your book? Once you determine who and where, you then move to how you can engage them in being interested in your book.

One is to focus on the uncommon things your book has to offer in that niche.

Showcasing what you know is important to grow your reputation and promote your book and yourself with informed opinions. A great way to do this is to take a survey among your fans/readers. Gain knowledge by their answers on what they feel is relevant to reading your book. How did it make them feel? What questions did it conjure up?

You want to get your name in front of people. You want the title of your book in front of people. The more you position yourself as an expert––contributing articles and blog posts whenever you can, the more people you reach. In time you will find you are building yourself as an expert. Make sure it is valuable to your readers.

The more information you gather, the better marketing tools you will have.

Balancing Act

By Darlene L. Turner

Most full-time day jobs are demanding and stressful. Sound familiar? So how does a writer balance a writing career with that dreaded day job? Is it possible?

Yes.

Many do it today. In fact, most writers also have a daily vocation that includes a challenging routine with possible overtime. How does that leave time for writing when they come home exhausted and brain dead after working an eight-hour day? Add in the responsibilities of family, church, and other relationships. It never ends. How is it done?

By being creative. Here are some hints and suggestions.

1.      Develop a schedule – when is the best time to write? Early morning? Late evening after the kids have gone to bed? Writers need to find the hours that work best for them. Everyone is different. What one writer finds successful may be the exact opposite for another. Pick a time and stick to it. Let’s tell our family and friends our writing schedule. They need to know we’re not available.

2.      Eliminate distractions – in today’s society there is so much to distract us. Television shows, movies, video games, social media, etc. These all add up and become time gobblers. We shouldn’t get rid of them completely, but reduce the hours spent. Perhaps record those shows and watch them when we need a break (see #3) or inspiration. Reduce our social media interactions to 30 minutes a day. Balancing our distractions gives us more time to write.

3.      Recharge your muse – sometimes our minds get cluttered with such things as work, social media, family outings, etc. We need to unwind. Take a break. Go for a walk, go for lunch with a friend, watch your favorite TV show. It may spark a new idea. Just don’t overdo it.

4.      Write in short sprints – every minute of writing adds up. Only have an hour in an evening? Write. 30 minutes? Write. Get a community of writers together and do a writing sprint via video conference. This can be a lot of fun and can feed your muse. Brainstorming with others is invaluable and gives a fresh perspective.

5.      Take care of our health – hunching over a laptop can take its toll on our bodies. Plus, if you spend your day time job doing the same, it will result in sore muscles, headaches, anxiety. We need to be sure to get ample rest, exercise, and eat healthy. Instead of reaching for that chocolate, grab an apple. When we follow a positive routine, it ensures our balance is intact. It keeps us fresh and ready to tackle our jobs and writing sprints.

These are only a few suggestions to help balance work and writing life. Every writer’s schedule is different and we need to find what works best. The only caveat? Stick with it to reach maximum results.

What are your suggestions on how to balance work and writing?

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Darlene L. Turner writes romantic suspense and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray with the Steve Laube Agency. Her love of mystery began as a young girl when she picked up her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her own writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and changed by the Christ-centered message. She’s had numerous articles published and is a Craftsman Alumni of the Jerry B. Jenkins’ Christian Writers Guild. Darlene is a finalist in the 2019 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence contest and won in 2016. She’s also a finalist in the 2019 ACFW Genesis contest and won in 2017. She lives with her husband in the Forest City of London, Ontario. She blogs weekly at www.darlenelturner.com where she believes there’s suspense beyond borders. Social Media links: Website: https://darlenelturner.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darlene.turner.902

Twitter: https://twitter.com/darlenelturner

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Not Me, God. Not Me

By Kim M. Clark, Author of Amazon Best-Selling & Multiple Award-Winning book Deep Waters: Lift Your Gaze

Some people are born with the gift of writing. Their words seem to leap onto their laptops like gazelles bounding up steep ravines. I’m not one of those people. Writing has always been an arduous process; I even have my husband proofread my emails.

As I wrestled with God over writing my book, I informed the Creator, “Not me, God, not me. You’ve called the wrong person, Lord. You know I can’t write.”

I added, “Lord, you created me in my mother’s womb. You formed me to swim like a duck to speak and teach, not to climb trees like a squirrel or write a book. You’ve called the wrong person.”

God was silent.

My lament continued. “God, you’re asking me to do the impossible, like having a duck climb a tree.”

Dejected and full of self-pity, I prayed. I saw a vision in my mind of a flourishing coconut tree with large, deep-green, palm leaves. The tree had grown parallel to the ground and a quacking duck happily waddled up the trunk.

The Lord spoke to my heart, “See, I can even make trees grow crooked to accomplish my will.”

Apparently, you can’t argue with an all-powerful God.

So, in my late forties, I forced myself to write.

If you also feel that not-so-gentle tug on your heart to write—just do it. Stop second-guessing yourself. Trust God. He never leaves us or forsakes us.

Here are three tips to help you:

Obey: Write every day, even when you don’t feel like it. For the heart is deceitful, who can trust it? (Jerimiah 17:9 ESV) Don’t listen to the voice of the enemy. Submit and obey God. If it is God who is leading you to write, he will provide all things for you including the material, editors, publishers, platforms, etc.

Absorb: Become a sponge and put aside your pride. Glean from other writers, authors, editors, agents, and publishers. Friend them on social media and do what you said you were going to do. If you committed to send your manuscript to a publisher—send it. Also, attend writer’s conferences and join a solid critique group. Lastly, seek out better writers than yourself, because you become the top five people you surround yourself with.

Pray, pray, and pray again: Remember, you are the scribe, God is the writer. Allow him to use you to bring glory to his name through your writing. Ask him to bless it and speak through you. Invite others to pray for you and your writing. Pray for direction, divine connections, and provision as you take each step-in faith, not knowing what the future will hold, but knowing who holds your future.

If God can mold me to write a multiple award-winning book—then be encouraged! He can help you, too. It seems God uses those who have gone through the flames of affliction to go back and pour water on those still in the fire. Be blessed and write for God.

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Kim M. Clark wrote the Amazon best-selling, award-winning non-fiction book, Deep Waters:  Lift Your Gaze, to provide hope to others during difficult times.  This book provides a unique approach to suffering as it combines solid biblical teaching, prophetic words, and intercessory prayers. Also included are soul-seeking application questions and a prayer journal which tops the redemptive healing flowing from this book. She is currently polishing her supporting 30-day devotional which is scheduled to publish in the Fall of 2019. Kim and her family live in the sunshine state, Florida, and enjoy outdoor sports, such as swimming with their overly active yellow lab. Kim recently started a non-profit, Lift Your Gaze, to share her message of hope with those in the prison system. Kim and her husband Ron have owned several businesses and have earned numerous awards in multiple industries. She enjoys public speaking, teaching, writing, marketing, and helping others succeed. She has worked with Fortune 1000 companies like Neiman Marcus, Merck Pharmaceuticals, and Digital Equipment Corp. as well as expanding startups and mission-based organizations. She has run two marathons despite the angry protests from her knees. Kim also teaches Bible Studies, trains church leaders and has served on a mission board which provides funding for over 60 global organizations and missionaries.  Additionally, Kim was an Adjunct Marketing Instructor at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, DE. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications from Towson State University and a Master of Science Degree in Business in Marketing from The Johns Hopkins University. Kim enjoys putting her expertise to good use as she trains thousands sharing God’s message of hope and redemption to intimate groups as well as large conference venues.

E-mail info@kimmclark.com to schedule speaking engagements or to request information about Lift Your Gaze.

Writer’s Retreat

By Chris Pepple, Writer-At-Large, Southern Writers Magazine

There are times when we need a change of pace in order to tackle our next writing challenge. Maybe we are starting a new book or a new chapter of one we are working on. Maybe we need to edit the book we just wrote or work on some new marketing approaches. The conference we went to was helpful and gave us some great ideas to go forward, but we just don’t seem to be able to focus and come up with some fresh thoughts.

If this seems familiar to you, maybe what you need is a retreat instead of a conference. What’s the difference? A conference is designed to teach and share writing tips, to help you collaborate with others, to allow you to network, and to bring you together with the writing community. A retreat is a time to allow you to take all that you know and use it.

A retreat can last as long as you need it (or can afford for it to). You can take a weekend away from your normal writing place and get away to start the next phase of your work. When you return, hopefully, you can keep the new work going. If you can stay away longer, take a week or two retreat and try to finish or get a good start on the next phase of your project. Get several chapters written or edited…finish building or updating your website…sketch out a full outline for your next book…come up with a marketing list and an email list for the news of your book launch. Brainstorm on the retreat.

Tips for a successful writer’s retreat:

¨      Keep it within your budget. You can’t work well if you are worried about finances. If finances are tight, ask a friend if you can use their cabin. Find an inexpensive state park room overlooking a lake.

¨      Don’t bring anyone along. You need this time to think and set your own pace. If you are taking your retreat in area with friends nearby, you can make a last-minute plan with them if you need a break, but don’t promise anything.

¨      Don’t set a schedule. Work at night if you need to or wake up with the sunrise and nap when you need a break. This time is for you to brainstorm, research, or write. Work when you feel most prepared.

¨      Visit a place where you can have alone time outside if you need inspiration. Take hikes or walk by a lake. Sit on a quiet beach. Part of this retreat is for you to be refreshed so the ideas flow again.

¨      Check to see where Wi-Fi is available. You may not need it often, but it’s frustrating to not have it at all if you are planning to research something. However, be sure you keep you phone and other devices off as much as possible. Distractions won’t help you get work done.

I hope you can find time for a retreat to help you keep moving forward with your writing.

Getting to Know Your Characters

By T.I. Lowe

Occasionally, the first introduction to a new acquaintance can produce an instant connection and easy camaraderie, but most times it does not. The journey to friendship takes effort and may not always happen effortlessly, but it will cultivate a deeper root system that can withstand the test of time. These roots are nourished through investing in quality time together where you can discover likes, dislikes, family history, talents, quirks, hobbies, flaws, etc.

I approach relationships with my characters much the same way, spending quality time with them long before I sit down at the computer to start typing. This is accomplished through journaling and research on the characters’ particular issues that we will address in the book, their flaws, the region where they live, and anything else they feel the need to tell me. Fun part is, sometimes they tell secrets only to me that are never meant to be shared in the book but help me understand them on a deeper level.

The connections with my characters at times has left me in tears or made me mad at them, but we’ve also shared many laughs along the way. I don’t want to just write their stories, but to also experience them. My goal is to pass this along to my readers so that they can experience the story and form deep connections with the characters.

At the moment, I have three journals for three different stories and have been getting to know those characters for a few years now. They keep explaining to me that they are not ready to share their stories with the world but invite me to spend more time with them. And so that’s what I’m doing. It may seem daunting to invest so much time in character development, but it can be the difference between having a person readers will root for and miss once they are gone and having a flat non- dimensional character no one will bother to remember.

I rushed this process just last year, making me that fickle friend who doesn’t keep in touch or hold to their promises of getting together. And boy, did the story suffer because of my neglect. One character is passive and shy, but I never gave her the chance to explain why. Thankfully, during rewrites, I took the time to reconnect with her and was amazed at the secrets she hadn’t had the opportunity to share with me.

Whether you are a plot-driven or character-driven writer, well-developed characters are pivotal to any story. So slow down and take the time to have a chat with your characters. I bet you’ll be surprised what they want to share with you.

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T. I. Lowe is a native of coastal South Carolina. She attended Coastal Carolina University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in psychology but excelled in creative writing. Go figure. Writing was always a dream, and she finally took a leap of faith in 2014 and independently published her first novel, Lulu’s Café, which quickly became a bestseller. Now the author of ten published novels with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, she knows she’s just getting started and has many more stories to tell. A wife and mother who’s active in her church community, she resides near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with her family. Social Media Links: T.I. Lowe’s website  Goodreads

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Who’ll Get a Voice?

By Mary Albers Felkins

No, that’s not the author version of The Voice. Or maybe it is.

I’m at a pivotal point in the first draft of a jilted bride novella and have wrestled with a weighty - and familiar - writer decision: Through whose point of view should this particular scene be written? Who will take center stage? Who gets to speak?

In the past, I’d simply ping back and forth pretty equally between the heroine and hero in my romance stories.

You know, she speaks, then he speaks. Back to her. Or maybe I’d let the hero have a voice in the next scene before crawling back into heroine’s skin to give her a voice.

But now, fingers hovering over the keyboard, I’ve learned to ask an important question which guides my decision:

Through whose perspective will I be able to squeeze out the greatest emotion for the reader?

Because emotion drives story. No matter the genre.

If it’s a hero’s proposal, maybe the heroine should allow the reader to experience this in her POV so they can celebrate with her more deeply. Particularly if she’s believed the lie that no one would ever pursue her.

But what if the ring came at great cost to the hero, one he’d sold something of value to acquire and hoped she’d accept? Maybe the reader would enjoy what that felt like, lowering with nervous energy to one knee, offering his beloved a ring.

Sometimes both characters insist on being heard. You hear it? Listen to me! Listen to me! Since I’m not writing in omniscient POV, I’ll have to choose.

Hmmm.

To help untangle the knot of confusion, I’ll write the scene from both perspectives. Then sit back and ponder them awhile until I determine which stirs my soul a bit more.

If I’m not moved or the scene feels a little meh or awkward, my reader might find better things to do with their time than press on through to the end.

As much as I have my favorites, the character whose point of view ignites a greater fire of emotion will earn the privilege of speaking so those pages keep on turning. All the way to a breathlessly satisfying end.

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Mary Albers Felkins is a contributor to writer’s blogs and on-line magazines. Her debut, contemporary romance, Call To Love, (www.pelicanbookgroup) will be released November 15^th, 2019. The completed cover anxiously awaits being partnered with the story behind it. She is represented by . Raised in Houston, Texas – and forever a Lone Star girl - she and her husband Bruce moved to the foothills of North Carolina in 1997. They have four (adolescent to young adult-sized) arrows in her quiver. She can be lured from her writing cave if presented with a large, unopened bag of Peanut M&Ms or to watch Fixer Upper. If, upon introduction, she likes your first or last name, expect to see it show up in one of her novels. To follow Mary’s story-style devos each week and receive book news via email, join other #Felkinsfans at www.maryfelkins.com  https://www.facebook.com/MaryAFelkins   https://www.instagram.com/maryafelkins/   https://twitter.com/MaryAFelkins  https://www.pinterest.com/MaryAFelkins/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-albers-felkins-9426a140/

Historical Reference for Competition of Readers

By Anthony Mays

Not in the so distant past, an author could only compete for readers by using established publishing houses. Those houses were very selective in the manuscripts they chose to print. Unless you were a well-recognized name, or just plain lucky, most authors submitting their work rarely stood a chance. Enter vanity publishing where authors pay to have their work printed, usually only in large numbers. If you are good at hustling, maybe you manage to eke out a living from writing. Print-on-demand, which is only about seven years old, is now the predominant method for printing books. But who reads hard copy, right?

Amazon opened a whole new world to wannabe authors — eBooks — lots of eBooks. eBooks spun from the classics, well-known authors, and authors by the tens of thousands. It may be surprising for you to believe, but eBooks originated in the 1930s. It wasn’t until 1998 however, that eBook readers began to be mass-produced. At about the same time, libraries began providing eBooks to the public through their web sites. Amazon didn’t come out with the Kindle reader for almost another ten years. However, others noticed the potential from Amazon’s foray into eBooks and jumped onboard.

Further separating independent authors from potential readers (listeners) is the audiobook. Audio readings can be traced back to vinyl records. In September 1935, President Roosevelt signed an executive order funding the Talking Books project and placed the American Foundation for the Blind in charge of it. In the 1960s, the baton was passed at the invention of the cassette tape. Then came the Internet, new compressed audio formats, and portable players. The attraction to audiobooks increased considerably during the late 1990s and 2000s. Books on tapes dominated during this period but became nearly obsolete by the introduction of book CDs in 2002. But even CDs reached their peak in 2008; losing ground in favor of digital downloads (MP3). The resurgence of audio storytelling is widely attributed to advances in mobile technologies and multimedia entertainment systems. Overall, audiobook sales in digital format have increased year-over-year since 2014. Nonetheless, recording an average-size novel into an audio book is a very expensive proposition that preclude most authors from using this format.

Lately, a new competitor has taken form — flash fiction. Now, writing a story, often with 1,000 words or fewer, has drawn even more writers to the table. A lot less daunting than producing a longer piece of work, flash writing is filling a niche demanded by many of today’s readers.

Consensus is, the amount of time we have for reading has dwindled and continues to force these changes. We no longer have the time to dedicate to reading as we did twenty, ten, or even five years ago. And, much of that time is now being shared with social media platforms. We want it fast, and we want it now.

Are novelists too late to the party as authors? Has reading becoming a lost art? Only time will tell.

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DO YOU KNOW THIS AUTHOR?Probably not, BUT YOU SHOULD. Anthony Mays was honored to be added to the Illinois Authors Wiki, a project of the Illinois Center for the Book. The project is a comprehensive resource for information on authors, photographers, and illustrators who have published books and have lived in Illinois or written about Illinois. Anthony's first novel, Halfway to a Southern Heart, was inspired by John Grisham's A Painted House. Grisham's book was made into a television movie in 2003 and the house used in the movie set still stands in the rural community south of downtown Lepanto, Arkansas. Anthony's third novel, Halfway to the Truth, is hailed as eco-fiction at its best and has received the LiFE (Literature for Environment) Award for his use of electronic waste as the story plot. This fictional thriller moves the reader from the shipyards of Savannah, Georgia to a hazardous electronic waste site in the horn of Africa and explores its environmental and health impact. Anthony Mays, the author of several ‘halfway to’ themed books, chose to use the expression based on his road travels around the country. Seemingly, he was halfway to his destination when a character, plot, or location came to his imagination taken from the things he saw along his way. Throughout the remainder of the trip, a strong, mental outline followed on how he planned to use those elements in a story. Now he is excited to continue to take pieces of his life experiences and mold them into fictional works of art for your enjoyment. For more information please visit at www.anthony-mays.com

THE HAPPY REVIEWER – The Nine Elements: Part One

By L.J. Roberts

It took many years and steps before I considered myself a professional reviewer, and that was only after a period of being a paid reviewer for a major mystery magazine.  Over time, I have developed a list of elements I use, albeit not literally, as a guideline when reading books for review.  These elements are so engrained in my Virgo brain, that I’m very aware of them as I read, make notes and write my reviews.    

1.  Hook – The sink or swim moment.  The opening needs to grab and compel one to keep reading. 

2.  Setting/Descriptions/Sense of Time and Place – Does the author create a true sense of where and when the story takes place, and make the reader feel as though they are with the characters; part of the story.

3.  Characters/Character Development – Whether hero or anti-hero, principal or secondary, the characters should seem real. Even a villain can engender some sense of empathy.  Characters need to be distinct. On page 200, we should remember who they are as easily as when we first met them.

4.  Dialogue – It should flow easily and seem natural, reflecting the characters’ personality and situation, including social, economics, education, and nationality.  It's also a good way to inject humor.

5.  Plot – If the plot doesn’t work, the book doesn’t work.  Is it believable/ interesting. Is it without holes or require one to make assumptions.  Avoiding clichéd themes is good; i.e., serial killers, the disappeared/kidnapped woman, the child in jeopardy, but even those can work if the story is strong.  Most of all, the plot must make sense and make the reader care what happens.

6. Voice – Cadence, Flow, Style – An author’s voice is so important.  It needs to be genuine and natural.  Some authors truly make you feel as though they, personally, are telling you a story, and that’s great.  Even without that, having an even flow to the story is desirable.  Having humor, unforced, unexpected, often wry, is memorable and engaging.  But if that isn’t part of the author’s voice, it shouldn’t be forced as readers will know it.

7. Originality – This may be the hardest one.  It’s not necessarily a matter of finding a topic or a character never before seen, but more of presenting an idea in an original way.  Still, while this is an important element, it’s one which bears the least weight.

8.  Pitfalls – That's a separate topic to come later in Part Two on August 20, 2018.

9. Overall Quality of Writing – This is the summary of all the parts.  It’s the final impression. It is where the author, with a minimum of devices, draws the reader into the story on page one and refuses to let go until that final page.  It’s where you close the book and, if all the elements work, you may think “Wow!”.  This is the one that determines whether you’d would read more books by this author.  Even more importantly, this is the element that determines whether you’d recommend the book/author to others. 

There you are.  Every reviewer has their own style, of course, yet the most important thing to me is that I give fellow readers an honest opinion.  But in the end, “It is purely my opinion.”  Part Two will run on August 20, 2018 on a book’s Missing Element.

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LJ Roberts was born with a book in my hands.  She is a reader and reviewer of mysteries; a compulsive hooker--the crochet kind, not the street kind--and one who never leaves home without her camera. Her reviews are seen by over 13,000 people/review, including a monthly email list of 500 subscribers. In 1993, she became the coordinator of the East Bay Mystery Readers' Group. LJ started reviewing formally in 2004, spent three years evaluating manuscripts for Poisoned Pen Press, and was a paid reviewer for The Strand Magazine. In 2010, she started my review site "It is purely my opinion," and is a Top 1% Reviewer with over 1,300 followers on Goodreads athttp://www.goodreads.com/user/show/250195, as well as in the print magazine Mystery Readers Journal, and on numerous online sites.

Championing your Voice

By Kristin Billerbeck, author of The Theory of Happily Ever After

“Voice” is such an important part of “writing.”  We love authors for their individual voices and the way they tell their stories.  The wry wit of Jane Austen, the verbose word pictures of Dickens’s characters, the soothing Southern ambiance of Pat Conroy’s prose, they are all recognizable by their voice.  As writers, we must be brutally honest with ourselves about what we bring to the table as a storyteller. 

I published many books before I found my voice.  I was writing sweet, Christian romances about kindly, generous heroines. It turned out, I identified more with the heroine of “Bridget Jones’s Diary” than I did my own heroines. Even Scarlett O’Hara with her spoiled southern ways spoke to me in her clear cut fashion and survival nature.  I’m not proud of this discovery, but I had to admit, it was the truth.  

At that point, I sat at my desk and wrote one chapter in first-person present and told the awful truth as I understood it — as an aging Christian spinster in a church singles’ group.  That book became my best selling, “What a Girl Wants.” 

At the time, I didn’t hold back because I didn’t know any better.  I didn’t know it would be offensive.  I didn’t make it politically correct.  I wrote about the unfairness of being a good, godly young woman and waiting while all the eligible bachelors at church snapped up the young, hot chicks straight out of college. 

So you have to ask yourself when searching for your voice, what’s your truth?  When you look around your world, what injustice makes you feel undone? Maybe your voice and passion come in your settings.  Do the intricate veins on a leaf make you contemplate life as a whole? When you walk in a Civil War graveyard and read an epitaph, are you compelled to tell that person’s story and imagine yourself back in 1861?

If you were to sit down and write a tale about something that unsettles you and feels like a grand injustice in the world, what would it be?  What is your truth as an author? Your voice will come from that truth.  Write down something only your best friend knows about you. Is it part of your story?

Now for the negative. when you write the truth, it will polarize readers.  That’s why so many authors play it safe and write sweet, little stories that won’t stir the literary world.  

When I wrote my latest, The Theory of Happily Ever After about a research scientist bouncing back after a setback, I definitely heard from people who disagree with my take on overcoming depression as a Christian.  With What a Girl Wants I even got called a choice name or two — things that probably shouldn’t be uttered from a Christian’s mouth. (There are a few verses on judgment after all.)  But that result is inevitable if you voice your truth.  You’ll trigger someone. But look at it this way, you’ll make them feel something.  Maybe they needed their world rocked a little.

My best advice for finding your true voice is to think about what you’d write if there were no rules.  If you weren’t trying to fit into a mold and get published by XYZ Publishing, what would you have to say?  How would your character say it?  Where would your character say it from? What would their deepest truth be? What would they never do?  Now, what would drive them to do just that? 

You may show your voice in dialogue, setting or even in plot structure, but tell your truth.  It’s what sets your book apart and what makes any bestseller, special.    ________________________________________________________________

Kristin Billerbeck is the author of more than thirty novels, including What a Girl Wants and the Ashley Stockingdale and Spa Girls series. She is a fourth-generation Californian who loves her state and the writing fodder it provides. Learn more at www.KristinBillerbeck.com.