Voices of Fiction - Getting Readers Involved - Part Four

Welcome to Voices of Fiction.

We continue with our discussion of how to get the reader involved in the story.

Please welcome our guests.

Karenna Colcroft is the alter ego of a shy, sedate wife and mother. She has been writing since age five, and dove into erotic romance in 2006. Her first book was published in 2009, and since then she has had over thirty stories published. She lives in the northeastern US with her two children and her real-life romance hero husband. - Website, Facebook, Twitter

Carole Ann Moleti is a nurse-midwife in New York City, thus explaining her fascination with paranormal and urban fantasy. Her newest fiction is featured in Beltane: Ten Tales of Magic. Excerpts of Carole's memoir, Someday I'm Going to Write a Book: Diary of an Urban Missionary has been published most recently in the new, irreverent Not Your Mother's Book Series. - Website, Blog, Twitter

Pembroke Sinclair has had several short stories, novellas, novels, and nonfiction published in various places. She writes an eclectic mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, some romance, and previously Westerns. - Blog, eTreasures, Amazon

Ellen Spain is a retired Federal Investigator, now turned author, editor, and educator. She is active with EPIC, PennWriters, RWA, SCBWI, and the Pittsburgh East Writers. - Website


 
Welcome Authors! It's wonderful to have you back.

This week's question: How do you get your readers involved in the story?

Karenna Colcroft: I try to make my characters engaging and real, as if you could walk down the street in their hometown and actually meet them. I also try to have plots or subplots in addition to "two (or more) people meet and fall in love."

Carole Ann Moleti: I think the best way to get a reader involved is to build a world that mystifies and enthralls them and populate it with interesting characters. I like to make the stakes high, but the predicaments believable; the situations poignant but laced with humor.
 
Pembroke Sinclair: I try to create characters that are life-like so the reader can relate to them. Even though my characters might be in surreal situations (battling zombies or on distant planets), I try to make their actions and reactions as realistic as possible.

Ellen Spain: Many of my stories are character driven. They eat, live, think, talk, and act to move the plot. They appear in the story with realistic problems and life situations, things the readers can relate to in their own lives. I create beautiful settings from real places like Bar Harbor, Nova Scotia, Southern California that the reader can easily be viewed in a quick Internet search. In the "Secrets in the Fog" series, set over a ten year period, Morgan Walker, Peter Dugua, and Danny Fennchar visit spectacular places. Readers can relate to vacation-type settings, while enjoying a good mystery. I maintain a travel photo album on my web site at EllenSpain.com to increase the readers' interest and involvement in the stories.

Thank you all for joining us today.

Readers feel free to ask questions concerning this topic in the comments. Also feel free to send questions to chergreen@chergreen.com Subject: Voices of Fiction Question, and have them answered by the participating authors in later editions.

There’s also room for more authors to participate. Drop me an email, Subject: Voices of Fiction.

(Disclaimer - Bios and photos submitted by authors.)