[Back ][Forward]

For example, say I want to write a love story that happens between a simple mechanic who's had learning disabilities or something of that nature and a waitress at the diner who'd given up on love but found it with this simple but kind man. That kind of story draws me and always has. However, when it comes to the current romance market, such a story wouldn't really sell no matter how well written. The mechanic would need to be an alpha male, a man with some kind of personal power that would draw a woman to him and make her want him above all other men. Nowadays, he might even have to be a werewolf, or a king from another world disguised as the simple mechanic to hide form the evil warlock who's after him. The woman, though a waitress, would also need to have some kind of exceptional qualities. In order to write an erotic romance that sells, I need to find a way to put this story over the top in order to distinguish it from all the others.

Is this a bad thing? No. This is just the way it is. I love my readers. I am eternally grateful for their support and love to hear from them when they've enjoyed a book I've written. It is readers who keep me going in the face of a bad review or a creative slump. If I had a million dollars in the bank, I might try my hand at the kind of scenario above and not worry about how well the book sells. However, I do make a living from my erotic romances and must create characters who fit what readers enjoy. That said, I definitely derive satisfaction in finding ways to make characters exceptional even though they're still really human. I did make one of my acupuncturist Chinese doctors a werewolf but he was also just a man with all the insecurities and troubles a man has. He's gorgeous and loveable and definitely alpha for all his quiet outward mannerisms and simmering Bruce Lee looks. One of my other characters, a mild mannered computer scientist is also movie star handsome, very loving and a master in Tai Chi, making him very centered and deep.

I am finding a balance, I admit. In the last couple of years I've also discovered a passion for writing m/m (or guy on guy) erotic romances. A whole world of stories has opened up to me including my White Tigers series which is the only set of stories I'm wishing to work on at this particular moment. In e-book circles, m/m has gained incredible popularity. There is something absolutely delicious about two hot alpha males falling in love with each other. However, m/m is not as popular by far as m/f/m. My menage a trois stories have been my best sellers, especially when there's even a third man in the mix. At this time, though, I'm not drawn to writing menages even though I could definitely come up with storylines and develop them.

What I'm trying to say is, even if one genre sells better than another, I can't just write in the popular genre in order to make money. I MUST write from my heart, the characters and stories that draw me out. To do otherwise is to force myself to create and hence, to produce an inferior story. This is bad for me, and therefore insulting to me readers. I owe them the best that I have and intend to give just that.

When I learned that vampires were so popular I wanted to try my hand at writing vampires so that I could sell more books. But I only did so by inventing my own breed of vampires within boundaries that felt right for me. Hence, my Coeurs Eternels, vampires with heart and blood who feed for mercy. They are living among regular vampires, but even those are as complex and varied, lovable and hate-able as real people. This is how I find my balance.

Thank you very much!