![]() I name drop so many of my favorite spots. And that should be very apparent when you read this book. That gets back to that idea of telling a story that I, specifically, am qualified to tell. Setting this book in the city where I was born and raised was really important to me. This story takes place in Los Angeles, my hometown. Nine months later, I finished my first draft. The prologue came to me one night and those first 800 words poured onto the page. It hits different than an email or a social media post, even if the content is identical.Īs to what my writing process is…Lock myself in a room and pace around until words end up on a page seems to be the way for me. There’s something special about receiving a piece of physical mail. My brother is currently serving overseas and I love to write him letters. She was very big on hand-written thank you notes, so I do probably write more letters than most people. To your question about my background with writing, well, my mother was a prolific letter writer. She also showed me how I could thoughtfully revise my work to add greater clarity and specificity to scenes. Lauren impressed upon me the importance of scheduling. She was wonderful to work with and taught me a great deal. I co-wrote another rom-com, How To Get Lucky, with New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely in early 2021. Once I had a deadline and I was accountable to another human being, I locked in enough to get it finished.ĭid you have a writing practice before starting this book-journaling, letter-writing, etc.? Eventually, I hired an editor, the wonderful Rebecca Hodgkins, and got on her schedule. Once the first few chapters came, then it was a matter of staying disciplined enough to keep grinding out pages. But I knew that it wouldn’t get finished if I didn’t at least get started. This might seem like a rather impertinent question, but how did you know you could do it-write a novel, that is? So, as a man with a secret identity, I found myself telling the story of what happens to someone’s own sense of self when he deliberately dons a mask.Ī secret identity romance written, quite suitably, by a man with a secret identity. I wouldn’t say that I had a story in mind before I started writing, but I did return over and over again to one question that acted as guiding principle for my writing process: “Why am I telling this story?” Basically, tons of wonderful writers are out there telling amazing stories, so if I was going to attempt to infiltrate that space, I knew I had to do it authentically. ![]() I feel like I have a pretty firm understanding of the structure of a romance novel. Having narrated over 500 romance novels in a relatively short period of time, I felt uniquely qualified to put my own spin on the form. What made you decide to try your hand at writing? Did you have a story in mind you wanted to tell? And what fun it has been to imagine his whole journey! And the beauty of storytelling is that you can do whatever you’re brave enough to let these characters do! So, what was only wishful thinking in my own life has become very real for this fictional character. If I’m being honest, Will’s transformation into the Irish Liam O’Connell is something I’ve fantasized about during my own trials as an aspiring actor. Much to his surprise, this scheme takes off, his career along with it! But when he meets Raven Locke, he gets caught in a web of feelings and deceptions that become more than young “Liam” can handle. After lamenting that all the “good roles” are going to overseas actors, he decides to pretend he’s one of those impressive foreign talents at his next audition. The story follows a young actor, Will O’Connell, who can’t seem to catch a break in Hollywood. The Chameleon Effect is a male-POV rom-com about love, lies and Los Angeles. We caught up with Joe just before his big audiobook release to talk inspiration, writing as a narrator, and what it means to write romance from a male perspective.Īppropriately, Joe even offered to narrate his answers for us so you can listen along! Enjoy!įirst, can you tell us a little about the book? What ’ s it about? Arden’s first solo project as an author debuted on Audible September 13th to rave listener reviews, proving that in this industry, there’s no need to limit yourself to one forte. He’s won every major industry award for his smoky baritone voice and this week, he adds romance writer to his impressive list of achievements with The Chameleon Effect. Meet Joe Arden-one of the industry’s most prolific narrators of romance & erotica. The roles here aren’t restrictive, nobody has to “stay in their lane,” and once you get the storytelling bug, there’s no limit to the ways you can go about telling yours. ![]() ![]() It’s one of the best things about the indie creator community-how it empowers artists to try new mediums, following what inspires them. Narrator Joe Arden’s solo authorial debut, The Chameleon EffectĬreativity is contagious. ![]()
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