Can You Hear An Author's Voice When Reading?

Definition: Voice has two meanings as it concerns creative writers:

• Voice is the author's style, the quality that makes his or her writing unique, and which conveys the author's attitude, personality, and character; or
• Voice is the characteristic speech and thought patterns of a first-person narrator; a persona. Because voice has so much to do with the reader's experience of a work of literature, it is one of the most important elements of a piece of writing.

Also Known As: persona
©About.com: Fiction Writing

I guess because I've never associated the ability to hear or discern an author's voice as tangible, it's not something I've ever been able to define. (That's why I looked up the definition. lol) I've just always been able to hear it. My earliest memory of 'hearing' an author's voice was in Canadian icon, W.O. Mitchell's story "Who Has Seen the Wind". The novel tells the story of a prairie boy's initiation into the mysteries of life, death, God, and the spirit that moves through everything: the wind. While reading the novel as told by Brian O'Connal, the story's protagonist, I could hear his young voice, literally feel the prairie wind on my face and see the wheat moving in the breeze. Now I know some of this has to do with Mitchell's beautiful prose, but it was also his voice narrating that novel.

An author's voice can provoke memories too, and sometimes I can't read a writer's book because an unpleasant memory comes rushing back that is so strong I can not only see what happened, there can be an unpleasant taste or odour, feeling. It has nothing to do with whether or not it is a good book. In fact, it is likely a very good book but it is the sound of the author's voice that provokes an autonomic response. Or, an author's voice can inspire a happy memory. Am I weird or does this happen to you as well?

In novels written collaboratively by two authors, such as the Sydney Croft ACRO series, I can usually tell which author has penned a particular scene. Now mind you, in this case I've read both the authors independent work so I know their voices. IMHO they blend well together because one author writes dark gritty paranormal romance and the other writes action packed military suspense and the Croft series crosses both these genres. Both these ladies have strong voices suited to the superhuman characters written for this series of novels.

There are certain authors voices that work for me and others don't. I like reading emotional, dark, suspenseful, sensual romances with strong characters, and if the voice isn't appropriate narrating this type of story it doesn't make for a good read. It also depends on the genre of the novel of course. Paranormal romance with warrior vampires need a strong dark gritty voice narrating or a reader is going to be rolling their eyes. Conversely a light contemporary romance requires a voice that suits that genre, and the tone of the novel.

Finally, there is point of view. I don't care if the story is told in the first person, second person (rarely used), or third person (limited or omniscient), it doesn't work for me unless the author's voice is distinct and genre appropriate.

Are you able to discern or 'hear' a writer's voice when reading a novel? Just curious..

Tori and I are back for our third and final day on the Island tomorrow and I'm going to be talking about cougars and cubs.. lol