Is that how you have to do it?
I’m not even sure if that title is appropriate or not, which means I might change it later.
It’s been awhile since I blogged an actual post to you guys, but I just wasn’t sure what to write. I know I call myself an author but didn’t know what to blog about… Hum, this might be a problem. It’s crazy as some will tell you to just write, put random crap on a page and give your readers a piece of you. Tell them your thoughts, ideas, etc. Well, that’s sometimes hard as everything you post on social media is judged, criticized, and watched. With that, I really shouldn’t voice my opinions on a lot of stuff. I never talk about politics as that is something I view as- well just belongs to me and this list could get long. However, I have had something that I wanted to talk about now for a few months, and finally found the time between work, scheduling social media post, writing, and spending some needed time with my family. What is it you might ask? Well, brace yourself…
Who decides what you write? Who determines what you put on a cover? Who decides how dirty and gritty you get in writing? These are all topics that I want to approach- maybe not all in this one but it’ll be spread out.
Who decides what you write shall be the winner for today!
I recently had an experience that nearly knocked me for a loop, which in the long run took me a few months to pick up myself and decide what to do. It was time for said person to read/ review my newest release that was published in an Anthology last month. Yes, it was Hearts in Florence… It was brought to my attention that I would never sell a copy of it since it wasn’t dirty… Which brought a whole different conversation about how sex is the only thing that sells books today, and without it you should give up. So insert yourself here as some random person who you had started to grow close with tells you to give up on your dream. I’m pretty strong and can handle stuff well, but when you are already dealing with so much stuff in your life, it’s just not what you want to hear. Yes, give feedback but don’t crush spirits to the point where they almost throw the keyboard in the ring.
Okay, now I have to laugh as I find this totally NUTS! I check out the top 100 daily in our romance genre, women’s fiction, etc. and you know what – I read a bunch of them. And let me say this, SEX is not everything. Sex is not what sells a book- the author should be able to do this. When I first released One Night, yes it was FULL of sex and I ventured towards a new style which means you might get lucky and have a few scenes, but maybe not. If the story needs it- okay.
Of course, this has to lead me to do the deep soul searching that I thought I needed to do with this… I had the questions of, is this person right? Is this why I’m missing some readers? All of this has rolled around in my head to where I stopped writing the two manuscripts I was in the middle of, and I missed a deadline or two. But… I can proudly say I am back on track and know where my heart is with my career.
Will I be the next EL James? No, and I am perfectly okay with this people… That is not my style anyway. After I had written the One Night series, I ventured to some romantic suspense with the Chances Series, which then lead me back to where it all started Fading Memories. Let’s take this story as an example. Fading Memories is about learning to deal with grief, opening your heart to forgive the past as memories fade away. All of this is happening as the main character learns to love not only herself but her love interest. So should we have had some bondage, 50 Shades of Grey sex scenes in this story? No… and honestly the stuff that did make the final cut was by surprise, as it was never planned to happen. Maybe I’m old school, but I do like to have a little imagination from time to time while reading. This is what I love to give my readers, and it scares me to think that literature has changed so much over the years. I want to be able to take the reader to a new place, I want them to feel as they are laying on the beach in one title or walking the streets of Italy in another.
This is why my chosen genre isn’t erotica, and when you purchase or read something that is in another category besides erotica- you shouldn’t expect it. Also, the one thing that shouldn’t happen is for a reader or reviewer to try and change the author’s voice or style. Now, if it came down to it, I can give you steamy but I don’t want to. I want to let the voice that’s within me shine, not what someone else wishes to shine. Sure I feel that any author can write about a subject if you are told to, but where’s the fun in that? We have enough writers in this world that you can pick and choose what you want to read, so why be like everyone else? [clickandtweet handle=”” hashtag=”” related=”” layout=”” position=””]If we all wrote the same thing than nothing would be new, interesting, or testing of the minds.[/clickandtweet]
Yes, it’s taken me a few months to come to this but I also realized that I’ll not make everyone happy, and in the end if I am that’s all that matters. I won’t be pushed to do something or add something to a story that doesn’t need it. Don’t be discouraged as I’ll still give you steam, but it will be when I want it.
With this said, I thank all of my loyal readers for standing by me, reading, reviewing, and loving the work I put out. You guys are truly what makes this what it is. I had to give that pep talk to myself of ‘Don’t allow one person to change your voice. Don’t allow people to dictate your writing. Don’t let your fans down.
[clickandtweet handle=”” hashtag=”” related=”” layout=”” position=””]Let’s use our minds, and be creative as we stay tuned to the next part of this very long issue that I’ve been battling.[/clickandtweet]
I broke this up into sections so you can all feel what I’ve been playing with and why I couldn’t write to you. But, on a high note, Seth’s book is over halfway done with SEX since he’s a player… Oh my, see how that works guys… And Sugary Sweets is in the mix with sex since you all know Zara and Hatcher from Frosted Sweets… It can be done when it’s the right title and time.
Happy Monday guys and I hope you are all ready for the next adventure with me and remember we love to hear from you all.
XXXOOO
A.M.
