Try reading your character dialogue aloud—or at least try subvocalising it to yourself, if you don't want to disturb those around you. It's an excellent way to spot things which don't sound quite *right*, or are awkward, or not exactly as normal speech would sound. (Granted, written dialogue is never going to be exactly like real speech—real speech contains far more "ums" and "ers" and "ahs" and "you know".) Reading it aloud will also help you recognise if in your writing all the characters are talking in the same way: the same contractions, the same turns of phrase, the same uses of slang, the same witty quips. If that's the case, then you may want to reconsider some of their speech patterns. They don't have to all be wildly different, but equally, if you were to remove all "he said/she said" identifiers, it should be reasonably possible to tell which characters are saying what.

Amanda Williams

When not immersed in her PhD research on biofilm bacteria and rare diseases, Amanda Williams writes speculative and romance fiction, often with a queer twist.

Joe Carlasare

As a partner at Amundsen Davis LLC, one of Chicago’s top 20 law firms, Joe Carlasare co-chairs the Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and FinTech Service Group and leads a litigation team of ten attorneys. Since 2012, he has represented clients in high-stakes litigation, including numerous digital asset cases involving disputes worth tens of millions of dollars. Licensed to practice in Texas, Illinois, and Indiana, he has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes, and Law360, spoke at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference, and appeared on mainstream news programs. With nearly 50,000 followers on Twitter/X, he is a regular guest on leading cryptocurrency podcasts like Coin Stories and The Investor’s Podcast.

Sean David Robinson

Sean David Robinson is a writer living in Asheville, NC. When he's not dreaming up a new story, he loves to travel, play music, and obsess over baking competition shows with his wife and their fur babies.  

DAMNED by Genevieve Cogman

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DEATH AT A HIGHLAND WEDDING byKelley Armstron

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DISTURBING THE DEAD by Kelley Armstrong (paperback)

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Victorian Scotland is becoming less strange to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson. Though inhabiting someone else’s body will always be unsettling, even if her employers know that she’s not actually housemaid Catriona Mitchell, ever since the night both of them were attacked in the same dark alley 150 years apart. Mallory likes her job as assistant to undertaker/medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray, and is developing true friends—and feelings—in this century.

ARCHANGEL'S ASCENSION by Nalini Singh

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