FINDING MY VOICE: Monique McDonell

Posted on April 11, 2014 by ausromtoday in Finding My Voice // 0 Comments

Monique McDonell

Finding My Voice
Monique McDonell

When I first began to write I started writing rather dark, depressing stories of a far more literary nature. My characters were miserable and troubled. The problem with that was I could never finish the stories, half way through I’d become somewhat depressed and deflated myself.

At around the same time my husband began travelling a lot for work and I was home alone reading late into the night. I noticed I read cosy mysteries and happily-ever after stories, often with layers of humour or whimsy and I distracted me from all the bumps in the night.

I made a decision if I was going to write regularly and actually finish anything those were the sorts of books I should write which is how I came to write the way I do. My books are a mixture of chicklit and romantic comedy. Some have more romance than others and some deal more with issues of friendship and family but there is always a lightness and humour to them.

The problem I had once I started writing was that the style of book I enjoyed writing and reading was suddenly out of favour with publishers who advise you to not even utter the phrase chicklit these days. I’ve been lifted off the slush pile, placed in the competition and made it to the final stage of the process umpteen times and in the end every time I was told “we love your writing, but we can’t sell it in the current market.”

That was a problem. I had found my voice. All the advice says “write the story you want to write” but then no one was publishing those stories. I’ll confess that I had a year I didn’t write after one very drawn out rejection process.

Then lucky for me the whole indie publishing world was opening up and I had another avenue to stroll down, books under my arm, ready to sell.

A Fair Exchange is the fifth book I have released in just under two years. I’ve loved creating my own cohesive set of covers that reflects my books and their content. I think that the indie process suits me and over time my voice has strengthened as a result .

I’m still writing stories about women finding their way through life with optimism, some good friends and a sense of humour.

Monique’s latest novel, A Fair Exchange is out now: