Today I'm welcoming award winning author Em Petrova to my blog.  I've been a huge fan and recently got to take a class with her where I learned a lot about editing.  Not only is Em a wonderful author, but an inspiring person. 

One of the most talked questions amongst writers is voice. What is it, where do I find it, how do I use it? When you receive the inevitable rejection letters, sometimes agents or editors will comment on its presence or lack thereof. If you’ve got it, readers flock to the shelves like children clambering to hear one of Grandma’s stories. Some of us have it naturally and others have to work for it. Out of eighty-some rejection letters, I was often told my voice was strong, but my story was not for them. 
 
Luckily, like the craft of writing, your voice can be cultivated. When it comes to singing, a voice teacher might hone your pitch or help you work on your breathing techniques. You might practice for years, wailing your heart out, and chances are your singing will improve, but you’ll never become a contestant on American Idol. Here’s the good news! You don’t have to have the best voice to engage readers! But finding the true quality for you is important. So how do you do that?

A writer’s voice is the pitch and tone, a style that feeds your words a particular feel. When people read your words, they’ll hear a subconscious whisper in the back of their minds. The most important thing to remember is that your story is an interpretation of the world seen through your eyes.

Yes, your hero or heroine’s points of view are important, but first and foremost, you’re translating this story. No one can tell it but you. If your writing partner attempted to tell the same exact story with the same plot, characters, and conflicts, she’d tell it differently. Because the words are filtering through her brain. She’s giving it her stamp in new ways because she loves the color purple and she broke her arm rescuing a kitten from a tree
and she’s a mother. To create voice, your unique traits will shift into sound, beat, rhythm. 

Here’s an exercise I often do to warm up, especially if I’m starting a new manuscript or I’ve been away from my work-in-progress too long. Block out ten minutes, get your booty in your chair and open a blank document. Then start typing. Don’t type with a direction in mind. Just let your muse wander. Talk about the curtains in your office, the damn phone that rings too
much, or the shirt tag that feels itchy on the back of your neck. Don’t you dare edit! And who cares about typos, run-ons or grammar? Just type. It will sound something like this:

The trees are black and icy with arms reaching toward the midnight sky. Tiny drops of need pulsing, racing, climaxing in the veins of a depressed elephant trainer who needs more money and more work. But there’s no work in the business for elephant trainers. She needs a home, a family, but will she get it? Probably not. She only has this big fat grey hide in front of her, and it’s a big block in her life. The biggest she can imagine. Like the gorilla in the room, she has an elephant. (this was impromptu and unedited).


See? Sounds crazy, huh? Where did the elephant trainer come from? No idea. My muse went off on a tangent. But that’s not the important part. Did you hear my voice in there? Voice helps set the mood and creates stronger characters. Often writers get nervous about voice because any scrutiny cuts us and feels like a personal attack. Don’t let that hold you back. If your voice is coming through, people will like it or not, but that’s the point. You’ve connected with a reader and given them strong emotion—she likes it or doesn’t. 
 

Another thing to remember is there are many different sides of you. Your voice isn’t going to sound flat and one-dimensional because you aren’t. You’re a wife, mother, co-worker, sister, leader of the Benevolent Order of Basket Weavers. Whatever. As writers, we already have multiple personality disorder. Let those tones shine through the writing clouds and illuminate your words. 

Also, though your POV’s and characters will change, your voice will stay pretty constant. Your evil rapist villain won’t sound the same as the cherubic child of your heroine, but we’ll still know it’s you telling the story.

Searching for voice takes some time for most people. Don’t get frustrated. Keep playing with your words until you find a rhythm. Exercises will help greatly, just as a vocalist practices scales. Write a scene of action and dialogue. The quick pace might unleash your inner tone. Write in an unconventional POV—a witness to a crime, an unseen narrator, or a minor character. Tell us about your heroine’s sexy encounter with her boss in the broom closet. And try that ten-minute sprint. 

Unleash and let your mind go. Your voice is probably hidden beneath the rubble of rhetorical devices, punctuation, and formatting. Searching for it is very important, but I know it’s in there. And your readers are dying to hear it.

Em Petrova
~where words mean so much more~
www.empetrova.com
www.empetrova.wordpress.com


  

~~What is Fezariu’s Epiphany?

The word “epiphany” has religious connotations as a Christian feast day on 6 January, which commemorates the baby Jesus as the manifestation of the son of God. “Epiphany” is also used to describe a sudden insight or revelation, something groundbreaking or life changing, such as a scientific discovery. I wanted that element where a character has many experiences in life and only at the end are they able to fully reconcile these conflicting thought and feelings into the epiphany of the title.

Fezariu’s Epiphany began life as a very different story to what it is now. Previously Fezariu was a young man, the son of a farming family, who dreamed of fame and fortune by joining the Merelax Mercenaries – a prestigious force of hired hands and among the most accomplished warriors in Elenchera. Years later, Fezariu has seen many wars, subdued many rebellions and had his hands bloodied and dirtied by his experiences. He is a shadow of his former self and in the end he realises there is nothing heroic or romantic about war and this is his epiphany that he embraced the death that comes with war over the life that comes with farming land. Only by near losing his humanity and having little of himself left does Fezariu eventually achieve this insight.

That was the original concept but it’s completely different now. In the finished novel, Fezariu suffers many tragedies in his childhood, including the abandonment of his mother and the murder of his stepfather. He comes to believe that he is accursed and to blame for all these terrible things that have happened. He chooses to save what little family he has left by running away and taking solace in the arms of the Merelax Mercenaries. This new life is the distance Fezariu needs from his past. He is anonymous and can live his life without having to look back. Though Fezariu excels as a mercenary the past simply will not let go.

In the end Fezariu realises he must go back and face his childhood and the reason his mother abandoned him before he can bury his past for good. What is Fezariu’s epiphany? That I can’t tell you as it will spoil the story! All I can say is that Fezariu endures many ups and downs in his life but only at the end of the novel does he have the epiphany of the title and it is a life changing moment for him. It tears apart all his previous perceptions and shapes a new future, but by the time this happens Fezariu’s life is in danger and whether he survives or not is not for me to say!

Epiphanies are rare occurrences, really key and significant moments in history and in the lives of individuals. I’ve had many insights and revelations in my time, but I don’t think any of these would constitute an epiphany. Through Fezariu’s story I have lived and shared his experiences and sat on his shoulder as he experienced his own epiphany. Whether I have an epiphany of my own in future doesn’t bother me. Sharing Fezariu’s epiphany has been more than enough.
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BLURB:   
12-year-old Fezariu thought his mother died when he was little, but when his beloved stepfather dies the boy discovers she is alive and well - and working at the most famous brothel in all of Elenchera. When she cruelly rejects him it's more than he can bear, and he runs away to join a band of ruthless soldiers for hire. The Merelax Mercenaries will fight for anyone who can pay them, no matter the justice of the cause.
 
Fezariu grows up among the soldiers and becomes one of them. He thinks his time with the mercenaries has hardened him. But a campaign in his old home town pushes him too far, and he discovers what really happened to his mother. Maybe there are some things money
shouldn't buy... and maybe it's time Fezariu took his revenge.

Excerpt:
As the hours passed, Redemption slowly came back to life as families braved the streets and began the painful process of putting this latest display of insurgence to one side. Only when the last of the graves had been erected would the residents of the city be able to focus fully on maintaining the prosperous empire Eligantiar had built through its many colonies in the west. The dawn of a new day brought hope in the form of the Eligantians’ continued resilience. Many rebellions they had faced since first landing in Emeraldon but they still
remained to this day, defiant masters of the continent with the native valkayans the reluctant victims of relentless imperialism.

Only when Vintaro had exhausted his supply of Mizuansi did the trio stand and make their way back into the heart of the city. Their minds and bodies yearned for rest and the warm embrace of the nearest bed to assuage their fatigue. As the trio wandered along the streets they spoke of their first assignment, the adversities that they had faced and how together they had cemented the glowing reputation of the Merelax Mercenaries in completing their task with resounding success.

The trio parted ways when they reached the central square. Fezariu returned to the inn where General Bayard was staying and where Arshea had died. He settled in a vacant bed in General Bayard’s room, convinced he would not rest.

Fezariu thought over the choices he had made in getting to this point in his life, leaving Alycea and Edward, risking everything by pursuing his dream of becoming a mercenary, and now finding that his hopes of having no one to care for or to disappoint had failed to come to fruition. The Merelax Mercenaries, for so long Fezariu’s sanctuary and escape from the haunting memories of Clarendon, had now left him feeling vulnerable. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can a summer fling last a lifetime? Stacey
Wilder escapes to the beach for a much needed vacation and meets a woman who tempts her passion. But Stacey hid her desires growing up because small town Catholic girls don’t fall in love with other women.
Mandy Kenzie is a Southern girl who also dealt with discrimination growing up over her choice of lovers. 

When she meets Stacey, sparks fly and passion ignites. But will their beach fling become a forever match or just a vacation affair?

Can Stacey and Mandy make their long distance
relationship work? Or will they let the prejudices of their upbringing ruin their chance at happiness?

Buy at:http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=329&zenid=1bd488c7b577318ffc44e5ec95174c1f

Moving On: A Prairie Romance
by Annette Bower
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:
Anna is a mysterious woman that has just moved to Regina Beach. The residents of the small town know everyone’s business and they are very interested in discovering Anna’s secrets. Nick was a Sergeant in the Canadian Army, doing active duty until a horrific accident sent him home to recover. He helps Anna feel safe and comfortable in her new environment, just as he has always done for his men in strange, dangerous places. Meanwhile, he focuses on preparing for his future
physical endurance test to prove that he is capable of returning to active duty.

Anna doesn’t talk about her past, and Nick doesn’t talk about his future therefore she is shocked to discover that his greatest wish is to return to active duty. She won’t love a man who may die on the job again. Intellectually, she knows that all life cycles end, but emotionally, she doesn’t know if she has the strength to support Nick.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
[Nick] hopped out, hurried around to her door, opened it, grasped her hand, and pulled her to her feet. He gently pushed against the small of her spine, propelling her forward. His breath fanned the tight fluff on the back of her neck as they reached the steel double doors. He reached around her and opened the door to music. Country music.

He pulled her onto the dance floor into a fast waltz. Her feet automatically followed his measured steps. He felt the tension ease out of her body. She looked around. She even leaned her head back in response to a spin, exposing a wonderful slender white neck. He quelled an urge to lean forward and kiss the column down to her seductively exposed collar bones. He felt himself react, again. Maybe he was the beast that she spoke of. Keeping track of his left lower limb became a non-issue while he focused on another part of his anatomy or he’d embarrass himself in front of his neighbors. The music ended. He kept his hand firmly around her waist as he propelled her to the makeshift bar.

"Beer?”

“Yes.” She hesitated as if she was searching the jargon of a memory. “Draft?”

He handed her the dew-covered glass which she pushed into her lips. He clung to his bottle and tipped it evenly, watching her through half-closed eyes. She was an enigma. Pain and party. Her face had shown shadows of solemnity and joy of life.

He wanted to know her, but at the same time, not know her. Her pain both called to and repelled him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Annette Bower lives and writes in Regina, SK Canada. She is an author of many short stories published in anthologies and magazines in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. She explores women in families, women in communities and women at the beginning and end of love and their quest for love. 

She pursues the writing craft in workshops, conferences, Writing with Style, Banff Centre for the Arts, Victoria School of Writing, Sage Hill Writing Experience, the Surrey International Writing Conferences and the Romance Writing
of America Conferences.  
 
When she isn’t writing she walks or bikes around the streets and parks in her neighborhood imagining complex worlds behind seemingly ordinary events. 
 
Her first contemporary romance, Moving On A Prairie Romance is published by XoXo Publishing™ a division of Ninni Group Inc. 

Website:http://www.annettebower.com/
Blog:   http://www.annettebower.com/blog 
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Annette-Bower-XOXO-Publishing-Author/378438088839629


Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the $25 GC to All Romance eBooks to one randomly drawn commenter, so be sure to follow her other blog stops for more chances to win! Tour information is found here:
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These are just a few of the photos of my life.  I hope they show you the person I am.  I'd love to hear from you and see some of your photos! :)