My Writing Evolution…
The first time I picked up a pen and put it to paper, I was convinced I was to be a famous poet. I joined the literary magazine in college, I attended (and participated) in poetry slams, I became Bohemian for a while. Then I evolved, realizing that although I loved poetry, I could not read my poems the way they were meant to be read in public. So I went back to the drawing board and became a Romance Writer. I was in love with Nora Roberts. I wanted to BE Nora Roberts. I knew that publishers would be throwing themselves at my door to publish my novels. So I wrote one; a 90,000 word behemoth, full of my joys, sorrows and angst.
Then the first letter came. “I am sorry but…blah, blah, blah.” I was crushed. Surely, they hadn’t read the WHOLE thing. If they had, they would not have rejected me. Even my mom (who is actually quite the cynic) had read it and said it was a great story. Then more letters came, and still more, and I crawled into my bedroom to lick my writing wounds. I gave up on writing. I would read voraciously; moaning when I came across a book that was published by a traditional publisher, even though the story was weak and filled with errors. I made fun of book characters. What black hero has green eyes? What country heroine didn’t like horses…or cowboys…or meat? Who would respond to a crisis in that way?
I finally came across a story that prompted me to start writing again. By the end of the book, one of the characters had a name change. What?!? A supporting character’s name had changed. I reread the entire book and sure enough, the hero’s sister’s name had been swapped. Now, we writers do this all the time. You start with a name and realize that the name wasn’t working for you. In Fairytale Fantasies, I wasn’t sure if I wanted Cinderella’s name (Shoe) to be Cindi or Ella. I eventually choose Cindi. Yes, we change names, but we check the changes and a published book should not have such a glaring mistake.
I picked up my computer and started to write. I wanted to be J.K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer. I wrote Layla in three months. I wrote Tala in one. I made half-hearted attempts at sending them to traditional publishers and then heard about Amanda Hocking and decided to self-publish. I wanted to do things my way. But there was something very un-young adult, un-paranormal romance about my books. I had never even heard of urban fantasy, until one reviewer mentioned it. I liked it. Then the other books followed. These were still in the realm of urban fantasy, but the sex scenes were much more imagined (my husband still turns red when he reads my reviews). This was my evolution into erotica.
So when someone asks what kind of books I write, I smile and say the entertaining type, then refer them to my website. I am a writer of Urban Fantasy, Erotica and Romance. With a bit of Poetry. My sorority sisters in college got it right when they nicknamed me, “Eclectic.” And I liked it.
Perhaps in time, I will be another self-published success story. You know, the “everyone-loved-her-book-so-much-she-got-a-book-deal.” Perhaps I won’t. It doesn’t matter. I will still do what I love. Write.
Vampires, Werewolves and Demons. Oh My! 