Tag: romance writer

Posted on

Why I Write Romance (Even in My Darkest Books)

Hi, guys!

If you’ve been around books for long, you know that certain genres carry reputations. Hell, if you haven’t been around books for long, you probably still know that.

And I think I can safely say that romance probably gets more trash talk than any other genre.

There are a lot of people that like to say that romance is silly, or that those who write it are immature or just sad and lonely. I even heard a crime writer say that “romance is written by and for idiots.” (Of course, this was right before he launched into a tirade about crime fiction being the best that literature has to offer, which is clearly a matter of opinion.)

But when it comes to all the stigmas surrounding romance in literature, I call bullshit.

Yeah, sure, some romance books fit the stereotypes (throbbing members and heaving bosoms and all). But not all.

And romance is an important aspect of any fictional world.

There are a few reasons that I put romance into almost all of my books, even the darkest ones.

Yeah, there’s the obvious need to balance the darker aspects of a book with something more positive.

And yes, I genuinely enjoy writing that tension, that aching slow burn. It’s one of my favorite parts of writing and reading.

But I also write it because… romance is part of life.

Humans, by nature, are not solitary animals. The vast majority of humans crave companionship, even the most introverted among us.

Even in war zones, people want someone there. Even when their life is falling apart around them, people want someone to turn to, someone to help them through.

Perhaps even more so than when things are going well.

Love is a part of life. It’s part of our world.

Excluding it from books out of some bullshit elitist attitude doesn’t make your book better.

Honestly, including some aspect of it, even as a subplot for a side character, makes the world more realistic.

With very few exceptions, people do not desire a life alone.

We crave love. We crave acceptance. We crave companionship.

So almost every book I’ve written to date includes romance. And I expect the same to be true of the books I have yet to write.

Which brings us around to my books.

As you know, A Heart of Salt & Silver is available for pre-order. I FINALLY got the technical issues sorted with the hardback, so all three formats are waiting for you.

So, if you’re looking for a book with demons and magic, werewolves and witches, vampires and gods, love and gore, you can preorder your copy at: mybook.to/AHeartOfSaltAndSilver

It releases on November 3rd of this year, and I can’t freaking wait.

As for The Regonia Chronicles, I’m breaking the shit out of my characters in this one. Well, one character in particular, at the moment. Some are actually getting a break. But this one is having a very rough time.

Let’s just say book one leaves off on one hell of a cliffhanger. And the cleanup at the beginning of book two takes some time. This character arc fucking plummets.

I think me-writing-a-series is a dangerous thing for my characters. It’s that much longer for their lives to fall apart.

But anyway, I’m gonna keep on trucking.

And you should, too.

Keep reading. Keep writing.

Later.

Posted on

My thoughts on Insta-love vs Slow Burn

Hi, guys!

So, it’s no secret that I’m not a fan of insta-love in books, whether I’m writing or reading.

I much prefer the sweet, drawn out tension of a slow burn. That will they/won’t they, that back and forth, is just way more appealing to me.

But I’m not sure I’ve ever explained why except to a few individuals.

Now, bear in mind, this is just my opinion. You’re free to write or read whatever you want. In fact, I actively encourage it. The literary world needs to serve all readers and writers.

But that’s a rant I’ve done before.

On to the topic at hand.

To me, insta-love just isn’t immersive or realistic.

I know that sounds rich coming from a sci-fi/fantasy writer. Magic and dragons and werewolves aren’t real.

But that’s the element of the fantastical that I prefer.

I want the characters, their personalities, and their interactions to be believable and immersive.

Instantly falling in love just isn’t believable for me.

Instant attraction, yeah. That makes way more sense. That happens to people all over the globe, day in and day out.

But if two characters just fall in love within a day or a week, I start trying to figure out if they have some sort of attachment problems, psychologically speaking.

And that isn’t usually what insta-love writers want their readers focusing on.

Plus, I always find myself picking out red flags, little things the characters should notice about each other (but don’t), and find it all a little worrisome.

Because there are usually a few.

Or a lot.

So I just tend to stay away from insta-love books, in general.

There are exceptions, of course.

If it’s written into the fabric of the world and based in a magical element…that makes more sense to me. Or in books where the aim is to show the dangers of losing yourself in a relationship, insta-love makes sense then, too.

But it just doesn’t work for me, outside of those few exceptions.

I’ll take the slow progress, the building chemistry, the back and forth and will they/won’t they of a slow burn over insta-love any day.

Again, this is all personal opinion. I strongly advise you to read or write whatever you want.

Where do you stand on the matter?

Come back next week to find out why I write romance into even my darkest books.

Now, as far as my progress on my books is concerned.

I finished the first round of edits on Second to None last week, battled countless technological demons, wrote about 6,000 words in The Regonia Chronicles, decided to move the divider between book one and two within the series, and got A Heart of Salt & Silver up for preorder in paperback and ebook. The hardback will be available soon.

Check it out here: mybook.to/AHeartOfSaltAndSilver

I need to jump into another round of edits on either Allmother Rising or Where Darkness Leads, soon.

I’d say that I’ll have eventually have fewer projects going at once, but that would be a lie. And I’m okay with that.

Keep reading. Keep writing.

Later.

Posted on

World for the Broken: Behind the Scenes

Hi, guys!

Holy shit, it’s almost release day! It’s freaking tomorrow!!!!

*gasp*

I can hardly believe that, as of tomorrow, I’ll have FOUR books published. I’m ecstatic.

And in honor of release day, I wanted to share the origin of this gut-wrenching book.

It all started…with the trailer for an erotic film. Which is ironic since an actual sex scene is one of the only triggers not included in the book, even though a brothel features pretty heavily in the plot.

It was a high end, story driven one (obviously, since it had a damn trailer). Anyway, the trailer consisted of a girl wearing heavy furs and old-timey clothes tromping through the snow on a mountain side until she passed out. Then, some guy, also wearing furs and medieval clothes, found her and carried her to safety.

And for some reason, the idea of someone finding someone near-dead in the snow just stuck with me.

I’d been in a post-apocalyptic headspace for a while, so I shifted it to that rather than a fantasy setting.

Of course, I didn’t want the baggage of “Is he going to kill me or worse?” hanging over the love interest, what with the potential hostage situation, so I flipped the genders. I don’t particularly enjoy writing women who fall in love with men after thinking they might kill or rape them.

So, Chloe found Christian bleeding in the snow. Then, I just needed a reason for him to be there, which is where Karen (Christian’s sister-in-law), Jesse (Christian’s late brother), and Tate (Christian’s nephew) came in. I built the world around them, unintentionally throwing nearly ever potential trigger into the book.

I never even ended up watching the erotic film that inspired the story. Hell, it didn’t even get made. It just stayed a trailer.

This book sits so close to home, literally and figuratively. It’s set in Southern Illinois, aka the place I’ve lived my entire life. I took some liberties with town names and distances between them, but ya know…creative license and all that.

It’s also deeply emotional. So many of my own experiences have gone into this one. Of course, the experiences were changed to fit the story, some exaggerated, some downplayed with the burden split across multiple characters. And some things were just experiences I dealt with secondhand during my internship days getting my bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Regardless, a lot went into this novel.

There were a lot of teary-eyed typing sessions. Some all-out blubbering. Sometimes over sad things and sometimes over sweet, touching scenes.

Some of the dialogue is pulled from real life to give the characters that extra bit of realism.

I’d even been getting into survival stuff a little heavier just before I wrote it. Over the course of about six months leading up to it, I took up archery, learned to clean fish, bought a pistol (.45 baby desert eagle…Chloe happens to prefer a .45 in the story), and brushed up on shooting. I put together bug-out bags and jumped into (very, very mild) prepping.

And then, I got the idea for this post-apocalyptic novel, and I realized most of my research was done.

As I said, sooooooo much went into this one.

If you want to learn more about the characters, check out the #WorldForTheBrokenWednesday on Instagram for all my character profiles and several excerpts from the story.

Preorders are still available everywhere until midnight, at which point you can just straight up buy this motherfucker.

Check it out on amazon at: mybook.to/WorldForTheBroken

I’ve got one hell of a blog tour lineup coming, with some chances to win free books (signed hardbacks!) and custom book swag.

Follow me on social media or subscribe right here for all the updates on the giveaways and tour information. (Links down below)

Keep reading. Keep writing. (And keep your eyes peeled. You never know where inspiration will come from.)

Later.