So, a little bit more about the decision to switch from sexy older billionaires to sexy shifters and wanton witches.
Of course, I like to make you happy. That’s a big part of what writing’s about. Putting your words out so people will see them and enjoy them and maybe think a little bit about what you have to say. Having someone read something you wrote is both terrifying and electrifying, like the best rollercoasters in the world.
And, of course, on the mercenary side, I like to sell books. Money’s nice when you want to buy food and stuff.
But, I also write to make me happy.
A little honesty for you all: Up until about two months ago, I was very, very unhappy. I fell into a severe depression after having my daughter, postpartum turning into something deeper and darker than I’d felt in many years. I stopped writing. This may not seem like a big thing to you, but I’ve been writing in some form or another since age three. Seriously. From little books about turtles to diaries to essays about the teenage condition to college journalism to e-zines and blogs to fanfiction romance and erotica. All my life, since I was able to put words on paper, I wrote.
This may not seem like a big thing to you, but I’ve been writing in some form or another since age three. Seriously. From little books about turtles to diaries to essays about the teenage condition to college journalism to e-zines and blogs to fanfiction romance and erotica. All my life, since I was able to put words on paper, I wrote. And, after I had my little girl 4 years ago, I stopped. It was a loss of identity that I didn’t realize would be as vital as it was.
In November of last year, I had a mini-nervous breakdown. I found myself on the floor of my daughter’s room, weeping into half-folded laundry, and I couldn’t stop. My husband came home, found me miserable and trying to hold it together for my daughter’s sake, and we had a long talk. Then, I had a long talk with my mother. Mom came through for me and agreed to start watching my daughter so I could have time to write.
And write I did. Earlier in the year, a couple of my friends from college visited and told me about how they’d managed to quit their day jobs. They were writing romance novels, and told me if I ever wanted to get into the biz, they’d help me out in any way they could. So, I decided to give it a go. Not knowing where to start, I looked at what was popular and decided hey, I’ve had a naughty fantasy about a certain celebrity chef for a while… let’s put that to paper!
Not knowing where to start, I looked at what was popular and decided hey, I’ve had a naughty fantasy about a certain celebrity chef for a while… let’s put that to paper! So, billionaires it was. I finished Bake Me Off, moved on to Lighting Up Times Square, then…froze up.
Billionaires were popular, but they didn’t make me happy. I didn’t want to jump out of bed and pour my heart into them anymore.
So I dug down deep and thought about what DID make me happy. I thought about the books that I recommended most to my friends, the ones that moved me and made me want to read them again and again. I remembered the roleplaying games I spent a huge chunk of my life playing and building characters and worlds in. And I remembered what got me started writing romance to begin with. It all came back to urban fantasy. Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint. Sunshine by Robin McKinley. Harry Potter. They all spoke to a part of my soul, and I’d always convinced myself that I wasn’t good enough to write worlds like that. I could just fanfic in the worlds of others. (I never did finish that Harry Potter romance novel…)
That’s bullshit. I finally called myself on that.
So, TL:DR, I’m writing urban fantasy now because it makes me happy. I hope it makes you happy too. I’ve got a great world coming together, and characters with hopes and dreams and a yen for romance. Also, sex. And fight scenes. And deep dark evil. I’m very excited.
Zoe Allyn Romance 