Do You Hear That? It's Your Muse Talking.

This week in the Cold, we're talking about learning to listen to our muses, and subsequently, developing our true voices as writers. Will you write explicit sex into a love scene, or leave most of that to the reader's imagination? How far will you go with violence? When developing a magic system, will you make it subtle or spells-and-broomsticks obvious? Making these decisions is crucial to developing our styles and attracting readers who will keep coming back for more. As promised, here is a short excerpt for what I'm working on, as I hone my voice for a Cold War detective noir series. Bombay, India, 1959 A single bead of sweat trickled down Rodki Semyonov’s face, pooling at first in the saw-toothed scar on his cheek, then spilling over, carving a silvery path through the grime and soot that clung to his skin. The chill of the stone slab beneath him was welcome, even if it did little to cool him down. The Bombay heat was relentless, even this deep underground. He blinked up at the dripping ceiling, the sound echoing like a funeral dirge through the dimly lit chamber he found himself in. A place so abandoned that even the smells of mold and rust seemed faraway. But maybe that was more to do with Zoya. “Rodki,” she said. Hers was a cold soprano of a voice, made for a woman who was born to wear black velvet, but never did. And it had haunted his dreams for two long years. Zoya leaned over him, blotting his face with a damp towel, letting her fiery hair brush his temples. “You’re a long way from Mother Russia.” NO IDEA WHERE TO TAKE THIS YET. Likely, it’ll end in passion or death. Maybe both Victoria's website: Welcome to Victoria Dougherty Books Victoria's Amazon Page: Amazon.com: Victoria Dougherty: books, biography, latest update --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/victoria-dougherty/support