Please welcome Emi Gayle, author of the great young adult paranormal romance, After Dark. Take it away, Emi!
Third person vs. 1st person ... that is the question.
Does it really have to be one or the other?
Sure, in the real world, a single book is written in a single person - either 1st, 2nd or 3rd, though 2nd is not used nearly as much as 1st or 3rd.
And by reader-base, there seems to be a mix. I’ve seen crime novels in 1st, YA books in 3rd and romance in both. Some have said romance should always be 3rd, but who are they to say?
In reality, a writer writes what they are comfortable with ... what they engage with themselves. I love 3rd person books. I read them, so I write them. But I also love 1st person books ... I read them so I write them too.
From a marketing perspective, though, I’m told that readers don’t like it when a writer they come to love shifts person ... so someone who typically writers 3rd, writing 1st is ‘just plain weird’. Vice versa applies, too.
How then can someone who loves both fulfill both needs and preferences?
Well, like me! I write 1st person for the YA crowd and my atler-ego writes 3rd person for the adult crowd. Yep, the best of both worlds. This is why After Dark is writting in 1st person - because it’s for the YA crowd.
Though the switch back and forth is not easy. The nuances of writing each are very different -- almost taxing a part of the brain some of us would rather not do.
Like in 3rd person, I can switch to another person’s perspective to show off part of the story. In 1st person, I have to stick to the one person who’s telling the story. In 3rd, there’s omniscient opportunities (though I personally don’t like these) where as in 1st, the reader can only know what the speaking character knows. See? Nuances.
That, though, makes the challenge of writing a good book even more fun. If you’re competitive like me, this is the perfect way to stretch those mental muscles and learn to write in multiple ways.
Try it sometime. You might find that you like writing in both and that depending on the story, the ‘person’ really fits.
Book details:
What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn’t know will probably kill her.
In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life.
She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours.
Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists — which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class figures out there’s more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge.
In this first of the 19th Year Trilogy, Winn might know more about Mac than even she does, and that knowledge could end their lives, unless Mac ensures the powers-that-be have no choice but to keep him around.
Praise:
“
Winn and Mac were perfect for each other in every way possible. It was like two magnets finally finding each other and connecting.” — Good Choice Reading
“
Awesome beyond awesome! For lovers of YA Paranormal, this is a MUST READ!!!” — Romancing the Book
“
Talk about can't put down...I accidentally opened this one instead of the book I was scheduled to read. Made the mistake of reading the first paragraph -- and I have not been able to put my iPad down since!” — Parajunkee
Links:
http://www.emigayle.com/
http://twitter.com/emijgayle
http://www.facebook.com/EmiGayle
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5421861.Emi_Gayle
Buy links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Author details:
Emi Gayle just wants to be young again. She lives vicariously through her youthful characters, while simultaneously acting as chief-Mom to her teenaged son and searching for a way to keep her two daughters from ever reaching the dreaded teen years.
Ironically, those years were some of Emi's favorite times. She met the man of her dreams at 14, was engaged to him at 19, married him at 20 and she's still in love with him to this day. She'll never forget what it was like to fall in love at such a young age — emotions she wants everyone to feel.
.
, a fantastic crime thiller which I highly recommend. JC will be interviewing me about life, the universe and everything. Okay, so maybe no quite as deep as that, but pop on over for a visit, and we will talk about scary things like what might be my catch phrase... (You'll know what I mean when you read it)
Tell us about your exciting new book release, Blue Moon. What’s the story about?
This post was written for the Insecure Writers' Support Group hosted by Alex J Cavanaugh. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.
Back of the Book, Shadowborn:.jpg)
