Why me?

When I first starting writing, well getting published, a lot of people just loved saying…

“You’re a guy. How can you write Romance novels?”

“With a computer mostly,” I’d answer.

A glib answer but truthful. Honestly, as a man writing romance it does come up from time to time.

So why do I write romance? Because I enjoy reading it. Simple as that. My aunt and grandmother really got me started. They were avid readers, especially romance. I owe a lot of my creativity to both of these marvelous ladies. They instilled a sense of romance in me at an early age. My grandmother brought me up watching old romantic movies. Something about those great films just made me fall in love with the ideals they portrayed.

When I started writing a few years ago, my first book was a fantasy. It contained many of the elements of a romance but was more deeply steeped in the magical tradition of Tolkien and other grandmasters of the genre. I’d probably still be writing fantasy or horror, two of my first loves, if it hadn’t been for Night Play by Sherrilynn Kenyon. I just immersed myself in this wonderful world she’d created. I came up for breath after the sixth Dark Hunter book and said to myself, this is what I should be writing.

Of course my first book had nothing at all to do with vampires, weres or anything remotely paranormal. One of the things I believe about romance is it’s not the setting that matters. It’s the emotions you can invoke. I’m big on emotions. If I as a writer can’t make you the reader feel for my characters, I’m not a good writer.

After 30 some odd years of reading and watching romantic movies, I’ve come to one conclusion. The only thing that separates a fantastic romance from a why did I waste my money on that romance is the emotional content. I’ve read a lot of books that are so called format books, where you have a hero and heroine thrown into an impossible situation and know from page one they’re going to fall in love. But—and this is the big but—it’s the journey that makes the reading interesting and keeps me coming back. Now, if you have nothing to lead you to wanting to see that first kiss or the anguish of does he or does she, then why read or watch if it’s a movie.

I’m not saying I know what’s good. I just know what I like. And when I write, I use the same principle. If I wouldn’t read it, I won’t even try to write it. Now the only exception is Historicals. I love them! But I don’t think I could focus on the research side to actually sit down and write one. I could but quite frankly I’m too lazy. I’d rather leave that chore to the authors who do it best.

So why do I write romance? Because I love doing it. I love falling in love. Yep, hopeless romantic. It took me a lifetime to find the love of my life. Hi Jenna! When you pick up one of my books, you get my true life love story told from different points of view but they all say the same thing. If it wasn’t for love, I wouldn’t be the man I am today.

Jmo