9 Books and Counting!
It's a new year! Time to look at how things are going and whether changes are called for. How do I feel about my choices and journey as an author?
I'm happy and satisfied with the genre I write—Romance. My focus is on Contemporary Romances. I enjoy adding a touch of suspense and have published five Romantic Suspense books: Resolute Love, Challenged Love, Victorious Love, Playground Antics, and Bourbon Neat. I enjoy incorporating humor into my writing. Only one book is a Romantic Comedy: Accidental Attraction. It's also my only novella, less than 50,000 words.
My goal for my stories is to exceed 50,000 words. So far, my stories range from a low of 33,842 to a high of 99,456. My recent work in progress has 66,581 words. The bottom line is the story is finished when it's finished. I don't add filler to reach a specific number.
I have no desire to delve into different genres. I enjoy writing romances. It's fun creating the characters and the passion and desire in them. The Meet Cute beat is fun to devise. It's like I'm throwing these two people together and sitting back to see what happens. This attitude might be because I like it when my characters take off on their own and run away with the story. I follow along and record their activities. Sometimes they come up with great ideas.
My stories are written dialogue-heavy. I enjoy giving my characters strong voices and listening to them interact and reveal aspects of themselves by what they say, how they say it, and why. In a way, this is strange because I'm not a big talker. In social settings, I tend to listen and watch.
Book #10 is finished and will soon be off to my publisher. I also have a short story I may send off for another of their anthologies.
So far, my author journey has been fun, and I'll continue it as long as I can.
Here's to a productive new year!