Voice: crime writing

As a crime writer (which still feels an odd thing to say!), I think a lot about finding my voice. It is an elusive thing and I think it takes a lot of confidence to believe that you have such a thing. All crime writers read a lot and so they should! It is easy when you read something excellent to try to analyse, even emulate the author's voice. But, I'm not sure you can ever do this effectively. Writing is a craft and you can definitely learn a lot. I also do other writing: articles for newspapers and short stories for women's magazines (womags). I have had a lot of help from my writing buddy, Pam and from other womag writes. So, while you can learn a lot, it is not a good idea to try to change that elusive voice that is yours alone.