I’ve been working on an intersting project for the past few months. It started out innocently enough. I went back to my older titles to add an AI disclaimer, stating that my team and I do not use AI. Each and every Marina Martindale contemporary romance novel is written and edited by real human beings. Call me a purist if you wish, but I believe that writing a novel requires a talent which only comes from human imagination. I also have my own unique writing voice. So what is a writing voice? Simply put, a writing voice is the way you organize your thoughts and put them into words. No two of us do this exactly the same way.
As I added my AI disclaimers I figured I may as well go over the manuscripts while I was there. You know, it’s funny. It doesn’t matter how much you, and your team, go over your work. We will all miss something. Some authors dread reviewing old manuscripts, but I, for one, find it interesting. To me, revisiting those old characters is like meeting up with old friends. It was also well worth my time as each novel got a little refresh. I added a few tags here and there to clarify which characters were speaking. I also found many small errors. Most were missing words, such as, and, the, an, a, is, was, and so forth. Those little words we all use in everyday conversation. No doubt we’re so used to using them that our brains automatically fill them in for us if they’re not there.
I started with my newer titles, working my way back to my debut novel, The Reunion. Of all of my romance novels, The Reunion is nearest and dearest to my own heart. It’s a what if story based on my own life, with Ian Palmer, one of the lead characters, being based I someone I once knew many years ago. Keep in mind my characters are all unique individuals with their own distinct personalities. However, as I was reviewing The Reunion, I had a dream one night about Ian’s real-life counterpart. He was furious with me and he kept telling me to leave him alone, but I wasn’t having any of it. I reminded him that I’d had no contact with him in decades, and that I was writing about my life, not his. Good comeback, Marina. It’s a shame I wasn’t this direct with him years ago. If I had been, then perhaps things may have turned out differently.
I have no idea if the real-life Ian knows I became a writer or not. It’s something I will never know. What I can tell you is he was an avid reader, although he preferred other genres, such as science fiction. There are traces of him in some of my other characters as well, but he’s not the only real-life person who’s appeared in my novels. My mother, along with some of my other friends and acquaintances, and even my ex-husband, have all been inspiration for various characters. It’s like a coffee mug my editor gave me years ago. The words, “Do not annoy the author. She may write you into a book and kill you,” are printed on the side. Not that I would ever do anything so sinister to my ex-husband in any of my novels. No, not me. Nod, nod, wink, wink.
Marina Martindale
The Reunion is available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, and with other online booksellers.
Marina Martindale writes and edits all of her blog posts herself. She does not use AI software or images of any kind. No part of this blog may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any form, or used in any matter by AI, without the express written consent Good Oak Press, LLC. Requests for permission must be addressed to Good Oak Press, LLC, P.O. Box 51244, Denton, TX 76206-1244