I was here

 As romance writers we hear so much about the importance of voice; of having a distinctive voice, or a new voice, or a sparkling voice... it can all sound so agonisingly elusive, yet in reality we all have a unique voice. Just as our voices come naturally from our bodies, our author's voice is the unique way we lay words down on paper. But are our two voices exactly the same? I don't think they are.

In real life I'm pretty quiet around people I don't know so well. A lot goes on in my head, but as a life-long shy girl it tends to stay there.
My author's voice is probably closer to the real me, if anything. It's easy not to be shy when it's just me, a cup of coffee, and a keyboard! The words come out easy. I'm free of the fear of saying something stupid, or wrong, or worst of all, the fear of not knowing what to say at all.

This rambling train of thought started yesterday whilst I was listening to  'I was here' by Lady Antebellum. It reminded me of how our books will be around even when we are not,  how our voice would still be here in the world if something happened to us tomorrow. A maudlin yet somehow comforting thought!

You know, I look at photo's of my grandparents sometimes, and if I try really hard I can almost recall their voices. We have a scratchy cassette tape from a family Christmas party over thirty years ago, and on it you can hear my nan speak - I cannot listen to that without feeling emotional.

Voices move us. They are vivid, a distinctive stamp, the trace of a person. I like to think that as writers, that's what we do. We leave our trace for future generations to know we were here.