I had so
much fun with this project and I still have a long way to go. There is a lot of
freedom when writing a romance novel, but I didn’t choose story, characters,
motives, and scenes randomly. I wanted to ensure SomebodyToLove.com had the best shot at being sold to a major
publisher. Romance Writers of America reports “Contemporary Romance” outsells
“Historical Romance” and the “Friends to Lovers” trope sells best, indicating
high demand for a realistic love story. Find what publishers and audiences
want, then find the publishing gaps. A male romance author is rare enough, but
there are other fun elements to make this book new.
For
better or worse, I’ve been on a ludicrous number of Online Dates. Online dating
is barely covered in romance novels. It’s not romantic. It is romantic if my heroine, Emily Fountains, operates an online
dating sight and she hires hero Joshua Mile to bartend at her social mixers. I
won’t ruin the end for you.
I crack
myself up sometimes when writing this. For fifteen hours per week, I’m alone in
a room, mostly sure where the scene must go. What takes the most time is
writing delicious lines I hope will slay readers. Indulge me and check out the
beginning of an unpleasant sex scene: “She crammed her tongue
in and out of my ear canal while I fished through my dresser for another
condom. Normally, I adore a tongue in my ear-- but instead of slow strokes and
heavy breathing, her tongue was a rapid toilet plunger in the hands of an
enraged plumber. I heard jellyfish swarming and thrashing.” If I like it,
millions will.
One of the best things I
learned in the OSCAR program is how to speak confidently about my project. I’m intimidated
by OSCAR scientists and researchers with hard evidence and I need to show why
I’m here. I discovered my project is about selling fun. It’s about selling my
voice. Don’t be afraid to be you and try something wildly different. At first I
was surprised people liked my product. I’m not surprised anymore.
