Romance is My Chocolate

Frozen Hot Chocolate from Green Pastures in Austin, Tx
(Yes… I take pictures of my desserts!)

Anyone else out there a dessert-a-holic like me? Seriously… it’s a problem. I don’t have favorite dishes at restaurants, I have favorite desserts. In particular, I’m a chocolate junkie. But there are times when I could go for a good fruit dessert or maybe flan. While I’m generally loyal to chocolate, it’s possible to tempt me away.

As a reader/writer, I have similar cravings for different genres. Most of the time I stick to my favorite chocolate – romance. But I’m frequently tempted to try something different, though still in the chocolate line (chocolate covered strawberries maybe?). In book world, these are paranormal romance for me. And then there are the times I’m tempted to try something completely different – dystopian, young adult, general women’s literature, fantasy, even a good biography or historical.

As a reader (and an eater), this really isn’t a problem. I can hop around all I want. But as a writer, the limitations of time as well as my personal strengths and interests, mean that I need to be a little more selective. I can’t eat every dessert on the tray!

My self-published books thus far show the progression of what I’ve been trying out and developing as a writer. I started with paranormal romance. However, the Svatura series is really more on the paranormal arc than it is the romantic arc. With Andromeda’s Fall I went more true romance in a paranormal world where the relationship is the key focus of the story. All of my favorite paranormal elements are in there, just not as the main focus.I’m now working on my first contemporary romance. Let me caveat that statement a tad – I had started a ton of these before I wrote Blue Violet but never finished one. Now that I feel like I’ve developed a bit as a writer, and figured out my methods for completing a book I’m proud of, it’s time for me to try contemporary out again.Am I tempted to try other genres out? Absolutely. I have ideas in my head for a great general women’s literature, a fun chick lit, an awesome fantasy, and more.

Frankly, I feel the romance side is the area where I have the most potential. It’s also what I prefer most as a reader. It’s my chocolate. Consequently, in the interest of my waist line (and sanity), I’ve decided focus primarily on the paranormal and contemporary romance genres as a writer. I’ll just have to sample the other desserts (um… genres) as a reader only.

I’ll let you know how the contemporary romance turns out. I probably won’t self-publish that one as I attempt to break into traditional publishing. And, of course, I’m also working on the next Shadowcat Nation (writing) and Black Orchid (editing).

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