I started writing romance when I was 15. I fell in love with the genre after reading a series of historicals by Patricia Matthews and Kathleen Woodiwiss. I think I loved historicals initially because it was about women doing things they wanted or had to, in an environment that didn’t support them. I wanted to be that brave. I wanted to be that free.
Fast forward a few years, when the desire to be a writer was strong but the reality, as my dad was quick to point out, was that making a living as a writer was not practical. Thus came the degree in chemistry. But the desire never went away. I wrote. In secret, of course, because writing was not practical. And writing romance was enough to send my mother’s eyes into the back of her head. I certainly didn’t tell people I was a writer.
I came out of the closet as a romance writer, and proudly tell people I’m a romance writer. I still love the genre. I still love the fairy tale endings. Lately, though, writing romance is not like it used to be. I think that’s because dating is not like it used to be and since I’ve pretty much given up on romance and dating, I think I’m going to have to change genres.
My interest of late has been the zombie apocalypse, but any end-of-the-world scenario will do. Not sure what that says about me. Guess we’ll find out.