Inspired by.... voice

I love an author who "gets" the concept of "voice." A teacher friend calls voice "your talk written down." A writer's voice is sometimes the very thing that draws you in to a piece - you connect to it.

I recently finished a mystery by a new author (at least, new to me) - The Quick and the Thread by Amanda Lee, an embroidery mystery. I will review the book itself on my book blog, but here I want to share a few examples of the author's great voice.

At one point in the story, the main character, Marcy, asks herself what the famous TV detectives would do in her shoes. She covers Kojak, Columbo, Remington Steele, and a few others and then says, "... I'd decided to turn this case over to Psych, Monk, or the Dukes of Hazzard. The first two because I love the shows..." (you'll have to read the book to find out why she throws in Dukes!) I love that the author appeals to a contemporary mystery-loving TV audience - and such a fun and clever idea. Sure, TV shows go off the air over time, but these are classics! (and I love seeing Psych get some "love.")

There's another section where Marcy is thinking about the mystery and making jokes to herself about the mannequin in her shop. I swear, I could hear the character talking in my head, and her sarcasm came out in a voice that sounded like my own. This was a character I would spend a day with and I certainly look forward to spending more hours with her in the books yet to come in the series (like Stitch Me Deadly: An Embroidery Mystery due out February 1, 2011).