I have been writing for a long time. Erotic romance was never the genre I planned to end up in, but it happened about five years ago that I gave it a try and it worked. What author in her right mind would shun a genre that they not only could write, but publishers were actually finally wanting to buy from her, after receiving paper mountains of rejections? I didn't shun the genre, but I also had trouble embracing what I wrote in a public light. The reality is that I live in a very conservative community and that I hold a day job with a fairly conservative engineering firm. As thrilled as I was to be writing books that people would eventually get to read, I didn't feel I could share it with most.

Then I became pregnant with my daughter. I left my day job shortly after she was born to work full time as a writer and take care of my daughter. When several large local papers asked to interview me, I figured it good publicity and it didn't seem to matter so much anymore what my old coworkers and the bulk of the community would think. That was mostly true, until a year later when my old job called me up to ask if I would come back part time to do some training and the like. I wanted my daughter to get interaction with other kids, so I found a learning daycare/preschool she loved and agreed to take the job on. While before they didn't know what I did, they did upon my return. Some were very impressed. Some were very not. Most made jokes and still to this day do. Recently I got a notice that the office was starting up a new book exchange library, with a special notation to me that adult fiction was not appreciated.

Honestly, I would never have left my books on those shelves anyway, but that they felt the need to warn me was a pretty good point to the fact that even if some were impressed, none wanted to admit they not only read my work but *gasp* enjoyed it. And, sadly, most just couldn't figure out why such a nice girl would want to write something like THAT? That as in that dirty porn stuff they all assume I must write.

The reality is I don't write porn. I write romances with vivid sex scenes. Yes, they are hot and erotic, but they also have the standards of goals, conflicts and motivations. I work darned hard to get each of those items to work with the story and to see that the story is about so much more than just a physical relationship. Most importantly, I work hard to see that my books portray women in a strong light. If not in the opening, then by the middle to end.

The bulk of my coworkers will never get why I write THAT, but fortunately I see proof that readers do get why I write that...wonderful stuff known as erotic romance. Because it's empowering in so many ways and it shows women as not being afraid to take control in any facet of life, or to relent that control when their trust and instinct wishes it to be that way.

As for the conservative community I call home, I molded the setting and much of the storyline in Handyman, my next release out of Aphrodisia, around it. It should be interesting to see how many actually do pick up the book and recognize the local. :)

~ jodi