Genre-Jumping

I've been writing toward publication for about twelve years, but had only considered writing romance for the past five. Although I'd read a few romances here and there, the genre really didn't turn me on.

As a teenager, I was preoccupied with science fiction and read that genre voraciously.

Yeah, I was geek!

Although I'd dabbled in writing for years, it wasn't until my youngest son started first grade that I stared writing toward publication focusing on stories for children and young adults. But I found it hard to break into that market. Meanwhile, I'd been reading about the enormous market for romance novels.

Hmm, I thought, maybe I should investigate that.

I started searching out and reading romances that looked interesting. There were historicals, time travels, paranormals and even futuristic romances. I was like a kid in a candy store. So many genres to chose from.

I joined Romance Writers of America four years ago, and haven't looked back. Right now, I've got one time-travel romance submitted to a publisher, one historical in the first draft stage, and a series of futuristic romances under development.

I even re-vamped my website to reflect my genre-jumping urges.

I don't want to be limited in what I write. While I love the Civil War era and plan to write more stories set in that period, I also want to travel to distant planets and meet aliens.

While writing is a lot of work, it should also be a lot of fun. I'm making every effort to keep it that way.