Post by secretromancejunkie on Jul 19, 2019 9:35:29 GMT -7
OK, not literally, obviously, since it's hard to read blindfolded. I have a few authors that I'm sure I could identify if I was give just the pages of a book with no covers. They have a very distinct style/voice. It doesn't seem to matter what changes about their settings, characters, etc., that distinctive style remains the same.
I'm not talking about obvious identifiers, such as collars on shifters, or people with fur and tails, or angels or vampires, or anything else that's obvious. This is something deeper than that. I'll give some examples.
I'd love to hear about authors that you think you could identify by just their writing style.
Post by secretromancejunkie on Jul 19, 2019 9:37:36 GMT -7
Grace Burrowes - I think it is in the way the characters talk to each other. There is a .... gentleness ..... about the dialogue. It's a distinct way of phrasing the characters' speech. It's something that I love about her characters, especially her heroes. It feels like a warm blanket, comforting me and keeping me warm while I read.
Post by secretromancejunkie on Jul 19, 2019 9:40:54 GMT -7
Stephanie Laurens - This one is not so positive. Although I adore some of her books (Devil's Bride, Mastered by Love) she has a way or writing that I often find irksome. I characterize it as an over use of her thesaurus. She never uses one adjective or adverb where three can be crammed fit into the sentence instead. It doesn't irk me enough to stop me from enjoying many of her books. But sometimes it gets on my nerves. She has written some series that I just cannot read.
Nora Roberts/J D Robb When I first read Naked in Death, they weren't putting Nora's name on the books; foolish publisher thought it wouldn't fly because folks wanted Nora's standard materials. But I was reading it thinking this feels like NR! I managed to track down a listing in a cataloging tool that listed JDR as NR. Folks keep stating on newer titles that they think it didn't read like NR or JDR; she must be using a ghost writer. & I wonder if they read the same book I did; she has a pattern/rhythm that is very individual in style, at least to me. I may catch character errors, details from earlier books that has me thinking "Nora, you should develop a character spreadsheet for a series!" but overall, they feel like Nora.
I know what you mean about Laurens; she's always used a lot of $3 words (Gibbs would make her pay him $3 for each of them!) Her more recent series seem to just repeat the earlier series so I'm having trouble reading them; usually prefer the earlier version.
Two favorite authors immediately came to mind, both make me crazy with the repetitions at times but the stories are usually so good, I just roll with the flow.
Elizabeth Lowell - short choppy sentences - repetitous.
Mary Balogh - looking at the same scene and hearing the same dialogue from the heroine and hero point-of-view.
oh dear, I had to look up 'soughing'. I can't quite remember who recently I've read 'she sighed his name'. Once maybe OK but over and over, they 'sighed' names and their love...yada yada.
JAK has the h whispering when she's talking so much of the time, doesn't matter if it's a Krentz, a Castle, or a Quick! I always wonder how close the H is standing that he can hear her whisper! I think I'd recognize any of her titles because of this little quirk. Good thing I love her so much!
Grace Burrowes also using the word "cuddle." Her characters seem to do a lot of that. I haven't read much of Laurens work lately, but she uses short, choppy, incomplete sentences a lot, mostly in love scenes. She also uses "that said" which other authors use, too. That said, "that said" drives me crazy.
Elizabeth Lowell - short choppy sentences - repetitous.
Hmm, I never think of Lowell as short, choppy sentences; what I've always loved in her books are the descriptions. Reading her books I've seen a dragon in rocks & ocean waves at sunset, deep forests, lava flows being replaced by plant life, and when she goes into a mine, I get nervous! Not to mention the motion of a loom; got me started weaving by reading her descriptions. Now if I were only as talented a weaver! My tapestries have a very long ways to go. Another one of those things I plan on playing with in retirement...at some point! Of course, this gives me an excuse to dip into her books again...which one, which one....