
I'd love to know what readers have been thinking about the prose. I was delighted the other day to read in horror author Byran Hall's 5-star Amazon review: "The style is very similar to old literary horror writers like Poe himself or HP Lovecraft, and I'll admit that it may not be for everyone just for that fact - today's modern style of writing is a bit different and some may go into this expecting something else."
Writing in such a way was an interesting undertaking for me, and shifting into just the right gear took time (and maybe a little ritualistic undertaking of his muse). Technically speaking, I compare shifting style very closely to singing the harmony to a song. Once you find one or two of the right notes, finding and singing a harmony line (which can be vastly different than the melody) can be fun and easy. In writing that uses an altogether different voice, the key is looking at today's language as a melody and an author's shift in voice as one of many harmonies. Finding it might be hard, but once a writer does find it, sticking with it is as easy as singing the harmony for the chorus to your favorite song.
I can't say enough how great it feels when someone catches important details such as that one. Just as great is when someone catches the novel's big hook, one I have found only about half of its readers really to have done (and this surprises me). However, it's very exciting when readers get the full depth of a book, because I do work hard to make my writing say something beyond the face value of its words. I love being able to connect with other people on that level.