Crossing Genres: Why I’ve Decided to Expand My Writing Horizons
If you’ve been a reader or a writer for a while, you know that the one constant in the publishing industry is that things change. Then they keep on changing. As an aspiring writer, I shelved two really good manuscripts because the market had changed by the time I had them out looking for a home with an agent or editor. (I’M LOOKING AT YOU, CHICK LIT.)
I was fortunate enough to earn a contract with Harlequin a year ago, writing for their Love Inspired line. I’ve been a reader of Love Inspired, Harlequin’s inspirational imprint, since the line debuted when I was in college. I love stories of love, laughter, and happily ever after…and I truly believe that God’s love is the greatest happily ever after of all time. I enjoy writing inspirational romance–and the biggest joy in my job is getting a note from a reader that a line or a theme in my book spoke to them. I received one of these just this week, and was so touched that God used a line that I wrote four years earlier to touch a reader’s life today.
But what about all those other stories I had in drawers and my head? Seriously, friends…the imaginary people…they won’t stop talking to me! (I’m so glad to be among writers and readers who GET what I mean when I say that.)
I had a dilemma, though. A lot of these stories were not inspirational and they were of lengths that didn’t fit the Love Inspired line. I started looking into self-publishing, and by the end of last year, I made a plan. New Year’s Eve, my first sweet contemporary novella, released in January. The Cupid Caper will release just before Valentine’s Day, and Lucky in Love will be out in time for St. Patrick’s Day. All of these stories in my new Holiday Hearts novella series (and there are three more scheduled for later in the year!) are heartwarming stories of finding love at some of the most special times of the year.
I’m also excited about these stories because I know that my readers who fell in love with Saving Gracie will still love these titles. Sweet contemporary, for those of you who don’t know, is a subset of contemporary romance that has a low heat level (all the “business” gets taken care of on the other side of a closed door, if it appears at all) and keeps out content that some readers may not be comfortable with, such as bad language.
There are many similarities between an inspirational romance and a sweet contemporary romance. In fact, the main difference is the faith element. In an inspirational romance, not only do you have to have a story arc for your characters that chronicles their growing love, but there needs to be an arc for either the hero or heroine (or both) that shows their faith journey as well. In Saving Gracie, both Jake and Gracie discovered true love, but they also discovered new dimensions to their faith. Gracie’s faith was tested when everything she worked to build began to crumble, and Jake found a family legacy of faith he never knew existed.
I’m excited about expanding my horizons and I think it’s good for readers as a whole. There are so many high-heat stories available, but outside of Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances, not too many readers can name authors who write sweet stories. I believe that my readers will enjoy a wider variety of stories–from inspirational romance, to contemporary romance stories everyone can read, and quirky tales that will hopefully make them laugh–yes, I’m even self-publishing that Chick Lit around Memorial Day! I’d love it if you joined my blog community and my Facebook page to keep up with my release schedule!
What about you? Do you ever read books that close the door on hotter scenes? Do you think there’s a market for sweet romances? New Year’s Eve went to #1 on the Kindle Holiday Fiction charts, so I think there is…what about you?
