A Character’s Voice with Kat Martin of The Ultimate Betrayal

A Character’s Voice

Hearing a character’s voice in your head is one of the strangest parts of writing.  Each voice is distinct, unique to that person in some way.  How does it happen?

That is a question I have yet to satisfactorily answer.  

A novel is constructed by using different tools, description, narrative, setting, and dialog among them.  Letting a character tell the story through his own point of view is my favorite way of crafting a novel.

Not all authors use this technique as much as I do, but for me it’s what makes the story move swiftly.  As I’m writing, I hear the characters’ voices in my head, not clearly at first, but as the novel progresses, I et my writing instincts take over and listen to what the characters say, let them lead me in the direction that will tell my tale. 

Once they start talking, I let them talk.  Later I can use the editorial side of my brain to polish their words, make them sharper, more precise. 

To practice, one day I sat in front of the post office with my car windows rolled up and tried to hear the voice of every person walking along the sidewalk.  It was amazing--no two voices sounded the same!

In THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, Jessie Kegan is the daughter of a colonel, a young woman raised in a military family.  Now an investigative journalist, she’s strong and determined, which I hope her voice reflects.  Brandon Garrett was once a special forces soldier, which gives him vast confidence tinged with a hint of arrogance.  The voice in my head reflected those qualities.  

In the novel, when Jessie’s father, Colonel Kegan, is accused of treason, she’s determined to clear his name.  Realizing her life is in grave danger, Jessie turns to Brandon for help.  But time is running out and the game being played is deadly.  Working together, Bran and Jessie risk everything to solve the riddle and confront the threat--before it’s too late.

I hope you’ll watch for THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL and that you enjoy it.  Until next time, all best wishes and happy reading, Kat

About the Book

The Ultimate Betrayal
(Maximum Security #3)
by Kat Martin
ebook, 384 pages
Expected publication: July 28th 2020 by HQN Books
ISBN1488056048

To prove her father’s innocence, she’ll have to turn a terrorist’s sights on herself

When journalist Jessie Kegan’s father is accused of espionage and treason, Jessie has no doubt the man she looked up to her entire life is innocent. Worse yet, before Colonel Kegan can stand trial, he’s found dead of a heart attack…but Jessie knows it was murder. Forcing down her grief, she’s determined to use her investigative skills and resources to clear her father’s name. But going after the truth means Jessie soon finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who wants that truth to stay buried with her father.

Protecting Jessie Kegan is a job bodyguard Brandon Garrett can’t refuse. Jessie isn’t just a client at Maximum Security—she’s the sister of his best friend, Danny, killed in Afghanistan. With dangerous forces gunning for Jessie from every angle, keeping her safe will mean keeping her close and Bran finds their mutual attraction growing, though being Danny’s sister puts Jessie out of bounds.

With their backs against the wall, Jessie and Bran will have to risk everything to expose her father’s killer—before his legacy dies with his daughter.

AMAZON | B&N

Maximum Security Series

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense. https://www.katmartin.com/