Today we welcome Susan Page Davis to our blog. Susan writes several different genres and is blogging about this for us today.
From the time I started writing fiction,
I’ve written in several different genres. I love variety, and writing different
kinds of stories keeps me from getting bored and, I like to think, keeps my
writing from getting stale.
The first full-length book I ever finished
was romantic suspense, but my first book ever published was a historical
romance. I’ve continued to write in both genres, but I have also published two
children’s chapter books, a couple dozen cozy mysteries, and a few plain ol’
romance novels.
What am I working on now? A historical
romance novella, a cozy mystery, and a romantic suspense novel in my Maine
Justice series.
Working on several books at once doesn’t
bother me, unless they are somewhat alike. For instance, if I’m working on a
novel set in 1860 and a novella set in 1880, I might have moments where I get
confused as to what technology and services were available at that time. Did
this area have railroads yet? Telegraph? A county courthouse?
As to the projects I’m working on now, the
historical novella is set in Texas in 1886. The other two are contemporary, so
no problems there.
But the characters for my suspense
novel—cops and their families, suspects, friends, and crime victims—do speak,
act, and think differently from the modern, middle-aged women who own the
tearoom in the cozy mystery series. The tearoom ladies are much more genteel
than the cops, much more upbeat, and always trying to make their friends and
customers feel loved, or at least valued.
My cops, on the other hand, see a lot of
rough happenings, and sometimes they get depressed. Sometimes they argue and
throw things. Sometimes they break the rules and give their bosses cause to
discipline them.
So, for each genre I have to have a
distinct “voice,” which amounts to attitude. My Texas Ranger is a little
folksy, a little funny, but determined to get his man. My tearoom owners are
gentle and compassionate, but good at exposing lies and crimes. My Maine
Justice cops are tough, but each has a tender side that is only seen by those
who know them well.
Do you see a particular attitude or mood
running through books of your favorite genre, even when they are written by
different authors?
Short bio:
Susan Page Davis is
the author of more than seventy published novels. A Maine native, she now lives
in the state of Kentucky in the USA. Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com , where you can see all her books, sign up for her
occasional newsletter, and read a short story on her romance page. Her newest
books are Found Art (romantic suspense) and My Heart Belongs
in the Superstition Mountains (western historical romance).
