A matter of style

Every author has a unique style. What we like about our favorite author is their ability to tell a story that engages us, in a voice that becomes familiar.

I've been told that my writing style is an acquired taste. I usually write in first person present tense. Granted, that is odd. Often my sentence structure and word choices are dictated by my dyslexia. I have a meandering style. I'm a complex thinker (aren't we all?) and can't rush to the point of my stories.

Another maddening thing I do is to begin every novel in the middle of a conversation. Why? Because we enter people's lives midway into who they are. Arrogantly, sometimes we forget they had a life before we knew them, and even now have a life we know nothing about.

Besides I don't much care for a book that begins with the telling of the character's entire name or a full description of their physical appearance. In the UK it is common to start fiction of any genre with a prologue. But in America, that practice is rare in contemporary fiction. In my stories, the reader jumps in with both feet and begins there.

You might note then, that the excerpts on my website are not always from the first page of the book. The same is true for excerpts on this blog. The excerpts here are new to the Internet. They were not posted on the writing forum where I was once a moderator. These excerpts are not on my website. And now that google has removed my books from their scanned books element, these excerpts are nowhere, but here and in my books.

I select scenes that do not give away huge story elements, but are delightful little snippets from my books. Enjoy!

Note that my web designer, http://www.designbyjoyce.com/, added my books and a link on the left side of my blog.