A writer’s voice should be as distinctive as a fingerprint. Throughout a thirty-five year career and nearly a hundred books, my friends always say these things to me: “Reading your books is just like sitting on your front porch, talking to you.” “Even if I didn’t know who wrote the book, I’d know it was you on the first page.” That’s voice.
It started with my first book, Taming Maggie, which debuted at number one on romancer bestseller lists, and has continued through the years to every book I’ve written in every genre. All other elements in the books can change. But if a writer develops a distinctive voice in book one and continues to write true, voice will not change.
This month I’m kicking off a monthly book sale. Watch this blog to see which books are on sale each month.
This month I’m offering two books I love at reduced prices. The first is Stars to Lead Me Home, reduced from $4.99 to $2.99 just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s women’s fiction, laced with humor, poignancy, hope and romance. Most of all it celebrates the courage and resilience of women, a favorite theme of mine which threads through most of my novels, including my latest suspense, Snow Brides. Readers were blown away by Katie in Snow Brides and left glowing reviews, including “Katie rocks!”
Readers also loved the three friends who rally around each other in Stars to Lead Me Home. One is dealing with a crumbling marriage. Here’s an excerpt that shows Maggie’s defiance and her hope.
I wallow in pity for a while, a woman dragging a ball and chain she can’t get rid of, and then I see a white clapborad house that snaps me out of it. This house has a porch, and I picture ferns and a bird feeder, pots of geraniums and a dog. Dick hated dogs. When I’m free I’m going to get one so shaggy and big that when he stands on his hind legs to lick my face, he’ll knock me off my feet.
The second sale book is From A Distance, also reduced from $4.99 to $2.99. It’s a sprawling, gritty saga that follows the Corday family for many years as they work with mountain gorillas in Africa. I wrote From A Distance early in my career when big books were all the rage. This novel could easily be a television mini-series. It’s filled with betrayal, deceit, heartbreak and hope. You’ll find my usual courageous female characters here.
You’ll also find an amazing female gorilla in From A Distance. She’s based on Koko, who learned American Sign Language from Penny Patterson of Standford University and worked with her for thirty years in a long-running inter-species communication project that is unmatched.
My writing style has changed through the years, but my voice is the same…and the themes I use. Hope. There is always hope.
Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Reading. I’ll see you next month with more great deals.
Blessings!
Peggy