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Fantasy and Romance, and the grey space in between

Having just returned from the RT Booklovers Convention, I have spent the last few weeks musing over the differences and similarities between romance and fantasy and science fiction.

You see, here is my confession. When I was a teenager, probably about sixteen, I purchased my first romance novel to read. Now, I was a huge speculative fiction addict, and I grew up reading my Dad’s Norton, McCaffrey, and Cherryh. Still, I wanted to try something different, and the allure was there. So I purchased my first foray into romance with the secretiveness most people reserve for their first adult literature.

I remember the cover, but not the title. It was blazoned red, with a swooning woman in a half-naked man’s arms. Her bodice was half-off so it certainly lived up to the ideal of a bodice ripper. As a teenager it was heady stuff. The lure of the adult world.

I even ventured into Barbara Cartland territory, since I loved to read about history.

For about six months I read all the romance I could get my hands on…and then I was done. I discovered all were the same, or so dreadfully similar that I got bored. Just as quickly as I had taken up romance, I gave up on it.

Did I mention this was nearly thirty years ago? Ouch…

Through all that time I held onto the belief that romance was all the same. I admit that even as a female, I kept away from it because of that impression I had formed as a teenager. For some reason in my head, romance was stationary even as other genres moved, changed, developed.

I suspect I had this inherent bias towards the genre that kept me from going back to test the waters again. Until it was that I began to make friends with other authors, others outside my genre.

Then Dawn’s Early Light won the RT Reviewers Choice Award, and I was invited to go to Dallas to accept the award. My bias loomed up again. A romance award? How did we win that? Our books aren’t romance.

I was about to get a massive lesson, and romance was about to beat me about the head with my own ignorance.

What I found out when I got to the convention was a group of authors and readers who were incredibly welcoming. You see, inÂ both speculative fiction and literary fiction crowd previous to this, I have run up against biases, even from people who were relative strangers to me. Hard science fiction readers who roll their eyes at ‘woman’s science fiction’. People who think steampunk is a load of old tosh. People who can’t handle fantasy that deals with ‘issues’, or is just ‘escapist trash’. Yep, there is a lot of judgement to go around.

Also it was also a very female crowd. Women were at least 95% of the attendees. Again, different from the sci fi and fantasy conventions.

But the thing that really struck me was how welcoming they were. The readers I met were interested in what I wrote, even though it would never be marketed as romance. I have always had romantic elements in my booksâ€”I think relationships and romance are part of most people’s livesâ€”but these readers didn’t run my books past any sort of test, they didn’t turn up their noses at me.

And then I sat next to Patricia Briggs at an RT panel. Suddenly it was like a light switch went off. If they could accept Â her books, which would be called urban fantasy generally, then…hey…maybe there was a place for me at that table.

Because romance is a big table with plenty of room around it. Erotica. Armish. Paranormal. Science fiction. Contemporary. Historical. There is a place for every kind of book.

Ever since the Author’s Guild back in New Zealand turned up their noses at me writing genre, I guess part of me has been anticipating rejection where ever I went. So this broad acceptance is actually heady stuff.

I am aware that there is drama in romance too; authors and/or readers doing foolish things spans every genre. However there is a general air of acceptance I can only admire.

So I am ready to read romance again. After thirty years I am sure things have changed. My question to you as presumably genre readers, are you ready to try along with me?

Once The Ghost Rebellion is out, I am going to get back in and reach outside the genre I’ve kept myself in for so long. I’ll probably make a hashtag and blog about it.

Shall weÂ explore that grey space in between together?

Full time hybrid writer, and full time juggler

This year is coming up on half done, and already I feel like one of those jugglers with the flaming sticks leaping from hand to hand. One comes down threatening to burn my right, and I have to get another one flying from my left.

However, guess what…I love that feeling. It’s so much better than the opposite, sitting around waiting for things to happen. This year is the year of making them happen.

However being a hybrid author means I not only have writing demands, but also publishing ones.

Here’s a little look at what I amÂ dealing with right at this very moment, just as an idea of what the day to day life of a hybrid writer is like.

Right now, Tee and I are in full flight production of The Ghost Rebellion. It might not look like we are doing much from the other side of this computer screen, but behind the scenes things are moving fast. A print proof copy is on the way to us after we completed layout. We are recording and editing for the audiobook. (Who put so many chapters in this damn thing?) We are also marketing to book bloggers in an effort to get people interested in the fifth book of a series.

Verity Fitzroy and the Ministry Seven book, is coming in September, and Immortal Progeny in December. I’ve pretty much worked out at this stage that four months is a comfortable production schedule for me to get everything done. Becoming a publisher while being a writer at the same time is a steep learning curveâ€”but I feel like I am getting a grip on it finally. Luckily I have some talented friends like Michael Ward, Starla Huchton, Jennifer Melzer and Katie Bryski who I can hire to help out. As an aside it feels good paying your friends for their work!

At the same timeÂ we are talking to convention organizers about upcoming events, what we can do, what we can offer. Next up is the Steampunk World’s Fair which should be a blast! At the same time there are anthologies and speaking events to manage and schedule.

Almost forgot to mention, I am also writing and updating two projects at the same time. The Hollywood Sentinels is about 2/3rds written, while the Iron Lily is next up. The words must flow after all! Without words there is no production.

Then there is the constant updating of social media. Facebook. Tumblr. Pinterest. Can’t let those fall down.

Oh and podcasting…

This is all in addition to the regular life stuff like cats, child, house, being a semi-functioning adult…

So yeah, flaming, spinning objects passing from hand to hand.

However, life is movement and change. If a writerâ€”especially a full time oneâ€”isn’t busy then there is a serious problem. I feel happier about this situation then doing nothing, though I am sure I’d be able to catch up on my Daredevil watching….but that doesn’t pay the bills.

Luckily in all these endeavors, I have my weapons; iCal, Habitica, and a whole wall of whiteboard. I feel likeâ€”after six years of full-time writingâ€”I am finally getting into a proper rhythm or organisation. Thank goodness for shared calendars!

Yes, this is a business, yes, it has to make money, but along the way we writers can still have fun. Personally my goal is to have all those books out there, and begin getting feedback from all the readers and listeners. That’s when all this juggling and struggle really pays off.

For now, I’m just going to keep passing those pointy objectsÂ from one hand to another, and enjoy the whole, madcap experience. Being a hybrid writer might not be for everyone, but at least it is never boring!

Romance and Vegas

It has been quite a month!

First the intense writing experience of Smoky Writing Retreat, and then only two weeks later off to Vegas.

RT Book LoversÂ Convention is one of the biggest gatherings of romance writers in the country, and a full on experience in itself.

It’s also one of those traveling conventions. Last year I attended it when it was in Dallas, where I picked up the Best Steampunk award of 2014 for Dawn’s Early Light, on behalf of myself and Tee Morris.

It was somewhat low key compared to this year. This year was Vegas.

Luckily we had Piper J Drake, Matthew Drake and Starla Huchton as our companions. RT is definately one of those conventions where having friends there makes all the difference. It also meant weÂ got to stay at Piper’s timeshare at the Elara resort. Up on the 53rd floor we felt like rock stars!

We warmed up by teaching in the Pre-con Bootcamp. Being surrounded by thirty eager and fired up students was the perfect way to get ready for the con itself. Linnea Sinclair and Damon Suede lead the charge and Tee and I followed.

After two days, the convention proper started. Authors, readers, agents, and publishers all gathered in one place makes for a heady mix. The convention space attached to the Rio was huge, so our Fitbits were certainly happy with our step count.

Another highlight was catching up with Nalini Singh, from New Zealand. Piper and I shared breakfast with her one morning, and we all had a good laugh at the size of my flapjack. Seriously, it was delicious, but it was also as big as a hubcap. A family of four could have eaten off it.

Tee and I were steampunk captains for the event, so we ran that track. It was certainly cheering to see the panels so well attended.

We also took part in the Social Media Fair. It was the first time this event has been held at RT, and it involved handouts and talking to people. I was manning the table for podcasting, and Tee the one for Video. I got a lot of good responses when I asked ‘are you pod-curious?’ Apparently people were. It was fun chatting with them all, though I realized I have been doing podcasting a long time. The surprised looks on their faces when I said I started in 2006! I guess in pod-years I am a veteran…

Just in case you think the whole event was work, work, work, there are also plenty of late night events going on. Tee and I punked up for the Cirque de Punk. It was a celebration of all things punk. Piper went cyber, we went steam. The party was packed, and the entertainment fantastic. I was particularly interested in Hope, who did a silks demonstration, but on chains. Yes, that is far more difficult. She also did an act where sheÂ balanced a lithe young man on her hands. It was all very impressive.

Even better was I got to talk to Hope afterward. She would make a fantastic Iron Lily in the book I am working on. Luckily I got her card just in case it takes off an I need a cover model.

Then our final hurrah for the convention was the Book Fair. Apart from New York Comic Con, or Book Expo America, this event is the largest I have attended. Even at those events, you are usually only on for an hour or so; at this event it is four hours of go, go, go.

We steampunked up for the signing too, and we moved a lot of books. Unfortunately we didn’t have nearly enough of the first book in the Ministry series, Phoenix Rising, and sold out of them in the first hour or so. Still we had a great time, and met up with some fans which was lovely.

This is the kind of event where you come away feeling refreshed and exhausted at the same time. After a chat with one publisher have a new angle for a story and I’m rearing to go.

So thanks Vegas…it was quite the trip…

Find that community…write that thing…

After coming back from the Smoky Writers Retreat, I am suffering from the usual post-retreat blues. Cooking dinner, and getting back into my usual routine seems like such a drag. Even writing again is hard.

Luckily, I have been expecting this. A whole week of companionship, good food, and lots of words, coming home can be a little bit of a drop. From what I am hearing from the rest of my Smoky Writers, we’re all feeling it just as badly.

When I look back at the retreat, we got a heck of a lot done. Without exception we all got epic amounts of writing completed. Something about the environment in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains, seems to bring out the best in writers. Maybe it was the mountain, maybe it was the quiet, maybe it was the company. Either way, I miss it.

However, not everyone is lucky enough to have the time or funds to go on a retreat, or maybe they don’t know people that they would dare spend a week in a cabin with. It came sometimes be lonely being a writer, and maybe a cabin isn’t in your future…

…But there are other places to find community. When I was first starting out, it was within the world of podcasting writers. Others have found their people in forums, on Facebook, or Tumblr.

I’ve tried several in-person writing groups, and while they were fun for awhile, ultimately it wasn’t where I felt comfortable. For others, maybe you, they are lucky enough to find their place in similar groups.

And it doesn’t have to end. Every year I find more people, creative, wonderful people in these sort of ways. Maybe they don’t understand how they support me as a writer, but they do.

I know this writing retreat has allowed me to not only finish a project, and start a new one, it has also refreshed me for the battle ahead.

So find your people where you can. Enjoy their company, but keep writing the words. Don’t let anything stop you from making the words…

Retreating to the Mountains

This weekend, Tee and I are lucky enough to be heading to Tenesse for the 3rd Smoky Mountains Writing Retreat.

Honestly, it is something I look forward every year, with the craving of a parched man in the desert has for a glass of water.

Alex White organised the first one in 2014, and it was a small group, about eight authors. We all enjoyed it so much that Alex kept organising them, and we keep coming back.

The Smoky Mountains is an odd and appropriate place to have a retreat. The mountains are stunning, long lines of blue mountains. The cabins deeply luxuirous but with the sense of isolation that can certainly help a writer concentrate.

However, there is also Pigeon Forge. If you’ve ever been the Myrtle Beach, it’s like that but in the mountains. There are a wild variety of attractions. The Hatfields and Maccoys Dinner theatre. The Titanic Musuem (in the mountains!?!). The Biblical Dinner Theater. All the moonshine and water parks you can shake a stick at. It’s a popular place in the summer, but when we writers descend on it, there are far less people. Just the way we like it.

In fact last year, we were close to being snowed in.

This year we are going to be there a little later, so hopefully we can get to see one of those attractions at least.

However, this year is all about the writing.

While there I plan on finishing up The Silver Pharoah story, ready for publication in September. I have about 10,000 words left in that. Also I am working with Tee on a three chapter synopsis for our science fiction project, and then naturallyâ€”for meâ€”I have another idea. It’s a fierce story set in the Gilded Age of New York City, and the main character has been demanding my attention for some time.

If I manage to knock all those off, I may circle back and finish off the last half of Deadly Hollywood.

That may sound like a lot, but the structure of Smokey Writers really does mean when I am there I can blow my word count out of the water. Not having to worry about anything at all but writing is quite a luxury. At the retreat that is what we get, since our wonderful chefs Renee and Chris provide three meals a day.

Apart from eating, and a day out at the attractions of Pigeon Forge, all the rest is silence and writing.

The Face of Your Story

Facebook certainly has developed a way to remind you rather forcefully of the passing of time. Yes, logging onto Facebook this morning, the memories popped up and reminded me it was six years ago that I was shown my cover art for Geist.

Six years ago.

However, I do remember it very well. It was my first NYC publishing cover, and at that stage I had zero input into what it looked like. Yep, it was a total dice roll. Luckily I must have rolled a natural 20, because what Jason Chan produced was absolutely gorgeous. It showed my character (MY CHARACTER, my mind screamed when I saw it), Sorcha Faris. She was dressed exactly as I had written her, but he had captured an expression on her face that reflected the character beneath.

And it wasn’t just me with my bias that thought so. That cover went on to win the Chesley for Paperback Book Cover Illustration. Jason wasn’t at the event, but I got to accept the award on his behalf. I nearly cried.

So yes, authors can get very, very attached to their covers.

After ten books with big publishing, the cover process changed. I was asked if I had ideas, to supply images to give the artist ideas, and even my opinion on the cover before it was released. I got a change made to a dragon!

I was extremely lucky, over and over again. Artists like Jason Chan, and Karla Ortiz brought my vision to light, and in turn inspired me to write the sequels. It was a delicious loop.

I have tried doing my own covers. Once. Early on.

Yeah, I quit doing that…however, I do know what I like.

I like characters to have heads. I know in the romance genre the reasoning goes that it allows the reader to identify with the main character, or to imagine themselves in that place…but for fantasy I need a face.

I need the front cover image to convey a feeling, and a mood that goes with the book.

I love to see real art and care.

Recently I’ve been lucky enough to work even closer with artist for my own independent books. Alex White for Weather Child and Ministry Protocol. Most recently Michael Ward of Go ForWard Photography and Starla Huchton of Designed by Starla for The Ghost Rebellion.

And I learned some things. If you are working with good people, let them be good. Even though now I am paying for these shoots and covers, I am a writer. They are the visual artists. Some of these shoots I have known exactly what I wanted (‘hey Alex, I want to see a women hovering in mid-air in the middle of the thunder-storm’) and others we’ve given them free rein.

Sure, as the person paying we have the final say, and we are consulted with about what is happening, but often the magic of the cover is uncovered in the process of creation. Watching Michael Ward, move the models around, work the lighting and the composition…yeah, I just sat back and let him work his magic.

Hopefully my good luck with cover art continues, but I will never forget the fear and trepidation on getting that email with the subject ‘here’s your cover art’. It was swiftly followed by the delight of an author that finds an artist has truly brought her ideas to life.

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