Sometime I feel like a voice in the wilderness...

Each day people like me write our hearts out. In the writing clubs I'm a member of, there are at least 4-500 people that di justlikeI do. They work on their novels each day, they write blogs and websites, and they put out part of themself for everyone to see.

I'm unique, just like the rest of them.

It's funny, I read my own work, and I love it. I laugh at the humor and I get misty at the sad parts, but all in all, I like to think I have a unique voice. My writing is me, but it's also something I'll never be. It's something from inside me that is more than I am and more than I understand.

Okay I'm a writer, I should be able to describe this better... Lets see... When I work on a book, it becomes a thing unto itself. The characters become as real to me as the people I meet at my other job. They refuse to let me do things they simply wouldn't do. They go into the story kicking and screaming to be treated with respect.

The story itself won't let me know too much either. I can start with an idea, or I can start with an outline. Either way, the story will develop the way it wants to. What's the old saying, "Man makes plans, God laughs." My writing is like that. I'll start out with a full outline, and while I'm writing something will shift the entire focus of the book. Sometimes it's the world I've built, other times it's a character that's just plain not going to allow me to do something.

That's right, my books bully me. But in the end, the new storyline is always better than the old idea. Is it my own creative voice arguing with me, or is it just that I hate to follow the rules? Look at my books, you'll see what I mean. Everyone wants the basic alpha hero, I write and Alpha Prime Hero and the Alpha heroine.

Alpha Prime heroes are powerful, but secure in their strength. They let people do what they think they want, and don't play the 'overpower and control' games. They just do things behind the scenes and fix what needs to be fixed without the "in your face" garbage. In a way they are a more devious character, but they never force a woman to do something she doesn't want to.

My heroines are more the alpha characters. They follow the basic 'tough girl' mentality. Yeah, it's romance, so they had something bad happen to them, but you will NEVER see a heroine in my book get raped and suddenly fall in love with her rapist. That kind of cr*p is just that.

But, back to my voice. (clears throat) I've read a lot of romance books. I would say that I probably have over a thousand of my own, and I've read all but ten of them. I average 2 books a day over the last 3 years (which includes days of just reading where I have gone through as many as 6 books, and other days where I haven't finished one full book) Do the math 2 x 3 x 365 = 2190 books. I read to learn. I can tell you who the bad guy is before I get to the ad in the center of each book. I can usually tell you what compromise the hero and heroine are going to have to make to be happy. I can also tell you if I'll ever buy another of that author's books again.

Some authors always have a twist that gets me though. Lori Foster always has something highly emotional in her books that makes you need to see her characters get together. Candy Halliday always has something highly visual in her books that makes you just want to fall out of your seat laughing. Carly Phillips always has a feel good about yourself angle in her books. These are the author's voice coming out.

That's voice. It's just as important as a "brand" A brand is something like Vicky Lewis Thompson's use of "Nerds" in all her books.

Publishers love brands. I just love good books. I've read enough to know how many truly talented people there are out there.

When I look around at all the great authors, I have to realize how hard it is to be heard... Out here in the wilderness of unpublished writers.

Is anyone out there?