Romancing the Blog | Romance Authors and Readers Who Blog

by Karen Gillespie

Everyone loves the familiar and readers are no exception. Most people go into bookstores seeking out their favorite brand-name authors like Mary Higgins Clark, Nicholas Sparks, and Nora Roberts.

I, on the other hand, am always looking for new voices. Nothing excites me more than seeing an unfamiliar name on a best-selling list or the front tables of a bookstore. I’m extremely open to trying debut novelists, knowing that I’m usually going to get an enjoyable read.

Why do I seek out the work of debut novelists? It doesn’t seem particularly logical. Debut novelists, after all, are beginners. Doesn’t it make more sense to wait to read novelists after they’ve written several works and honed their craft?

Certainly that’s true in some cases. We’ve all watched novelists grow and mature. Now and again a first novel will pale in comparison to subsequent efforts. However there is often something almost magical about a first novel.

For one, a debut novel is usually exceptionally well-written. When I teach writer’s’ workshops, I always pass out blind samples of prose from debut novelists and name-brand novelists, asking my students to critique both.

The students will usually tear apart the prose of a best-selling author, citing them with such writerly crimes as telling instead of showing, excessive narration or stilted dialogue. When they read the debut novelist’s prose, they often remark on the fresh language, or the original idea. They’ll say, “It grabbed me right away.’

And that’s one of the main differences between a best-selling novelist and debut novelist. Best-selling novelists can afford to have a slow start or produce less than stellar prose. Their readers trust they’ll eventually get around to the riveting plot or meaningful characterization that made them best-selling novelists in the first place.

Not so with the debut novelist. An unknown author has to seize the reader by the throat and never let go, less the reader tosses the book aside and says, “Who is this gal and why does she think she can write?”

Debut novelists tend to have a fresh perspective. They often possess what Zen Buddhists call “beginner’s mind.” Unlike many career novelists they’re ignorant of publishing trends and the bottom line. Instead of writing to get another contract, they write because they have something they want to say to the world. There’s an uninhibited quality to their prose that can be impossible to replicate. Hence the reason for so many sophomore slumps.

Brand-new novelists also have all the time in the world to polish their work. There aren’t hurried along by editors or agents wanting chapters. No one is telling them they must write a novel a year or their fans will forget them. They have long, luxurious stretches of weeks, months or years to ponder over and perfect their novels. Such circumstances often produce very memorable and moving works of literature.

Here’s a small sample of some of my favorite debut novels. Some are more well–known than others but all are wonderful.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

The Garden Angel by Mindy Friddle

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos

Good Grief by Lolly Winston

Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

No related posts.