Changing Genres - For Better or Worse?

I'm coming up to my first anniversary as a published author.  A published romance author, that is.  My first novel, The Apple Tree, was released last December and since then I've had three further romances published.  Now does that make me a romance writer, I wonder?

I never saw myself as such, but it seems that my readers do.  Not that I mind that, but I worry a bit about changing hats.  Last month I published a short science fiction story (Surveillance) with my lovely son and it was such a great experience that we'd love to write more in that particular sub-genre of sci-fi - providing, of course, people want to read our work.  But what I have found is that reaching a whole new set of readers is not easy and the last thing I want to do is upset readers who only want romance but are faced with something else.

Next month I plan to publish another speculative fiction (Killing Jenna Crane) and quite frankly, I'm feeling rather nervous!  Although it centres around romance, it's by no means a traditional romance, more what I would classify as a psychological drama and I wonder what readers will make of it.  I intend to try to make it clear that it's not a romance, so that no one will feel cheated.  At the same time I hope that readers will be open to trying slightly new and difference genres and that I find lots of new readers without driving away my old ones.

Releasing a new book is always exciting (and rather nerve-racking) and moving away from a tried and tested formula also takes courage.   I just hope it will prove worth it.

Here is an extract from  the short story, Surveillance, in which six year old Harrison's parents discuss their fears about losing their second child.

Long after Russell had retired for the night after a further generous helping of single malt, Brandon and Claire sat in the study talking.  Brandon preferred the study, not just because it was completely safe and soundproof, but because it commanded surveillance of the entire house.  If Harrison awoke or Russell decided to go for a wander, he could be ready to act immediately.

"I wish we could just...disappear," Claire said, panic sounding plainly in her voice.

"You know that's impossible, Claire.  There is nowhere we could hide." He above anyone knew what a surveillance society meant in terms of hiding from the authorities.  "Dammit, I just hadn't banked on Russ coming back so soon.  It gives us so little time to think of something."

"Can't we put him off?  Maybe say we have something else planned?"

"The last thing we want to do is arouse his suspicions by doing something out of character," Brandon pointed out. "He's only trying to do his job, after all."

"Then what are we supposed to do?  Sit back and let them take him away from us?  Just because he's too clever?"

Brandon gnawed at his lower lip as he glanced absently at his bank of screens.  "We can't change the law.  We've known the risks all along.  We chose not to deny his thirst for knowledge, knowing it could be his biggest threat...correction, our biggest threat."

"Didn't some old writer say the law was an ass?" Claire's voice sounded bitter as she rubbed at her temple to smooth away the pain that was threatening to engulf her.  "There's no way we can let him be used as some experimental laboratory guinea pig, just because he's so clever!" Tears began to slide down her face, causing her husband to groan in love and concern for her misery, which no one understood better than he.

"Don't worry, darling.  We're not giving up yet.  There has to be a way to fight this and I'm determined to find it.  If there is a way to protect him, I'll find it.  I promise you that, Claire, if I have to die in the process."

Surveillance is available from Amazon, Smashwords and other e-book outlets, for  just  99 cents (£0.77).

I've Got The "LOOK"! - ziggy zig zag tag...

I don't know who exactly started this fun idea, but I was tagged with "You've got the LOOK" by the wonderful Paula Martin and I know following her will not be easy.  The idea of it is to take my latest work in progress and search for the word "look" then post some of the surrounding text or paragraphs.  Well it didn't take me long at all as the word appears first in the third paragraph, so I thought I'd share part of the opening chapter with you.

Cover art by Su Halfwerk

The story is called Killing Jenna Crane - and I warn you now, you won't like my main character!  His name is Ellis Crawford and he's a very successful fiction writer and creator of the popular Jenna Crane mystery series, which has led to several Hollywood blockbusters.  He's also a bit of a love-rat, I'm sorry to say.  But he receives a taste of his own medicine when he meets the lovely Emily and becomes besotted with her…so much so that when she suggests he kills off Jenna Crane and focuses on more worthwhile writing ventures, he decides to do just that - but with dire consequences.

Here is the blurb as it stands at the moment:

This is not a story about a murder, but a dark journey inside a writer's mind.  Ellis Crawford, creator of the famous and highly successful Jenna Crane mystery series, finds his comfortable life swept away when he meets Emily, his perfect woman. 

Despite his deepening love for Emily, Ellis finds himself haunted by painful memories of a previous love whose heart he broke, and begins to regret his past behaviour.  On top of that, Emily wants him to kill off his beloved heroine Jenna Crane - against fierce public opinion.

But life is too short for regrets and when his own rapidly spirals out of control, taking his reputation as an author with it, where will Ellis turn for help?

Excerpt:

"Jenna Crane, we meet at last - literally!" Anderssen said, his gun pointing straight at her head. "Your last, that is. Too bad you don't have time to know me better."

Jenna crouched against the wall, well and truly trapped, and waited for her past to start flashing before her eyes.  Fear was not the emotion she felt, however.  What she felt, if anything, was anger at her stupidity which had allowed him the upper hand, not to mention the crass incompetence of A.N. Other.  I need a plan, she thought, and a bit of bullet-time wouldn't go amiss either.  Neither seemed very likely to come her way.

The explosion ripped at her eardrums.  She'd forgotten how loud gunshot sounded at such close range.  She felt no pain - absolutely none at all…which was odd.  Anderssen didn't look too comfortable, however.  His eyes slid skywards, disappearing into his skull until only the whites showed as he slowly crumpled in on himself and toppled to the floor.  That was bullet-time; real slow motion stuff.  She was reminded of a collapsing tower block, skilfully detonated to drop straight in on itself, limiting the damage to the surrounding area.  Very graceful.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jenna demanded.

"Saving your life, again." Ellis murmured.

"Get off my case, you big weirdo!  It's not your job to do that, it's mine.  Yours is not to fight my battles for me - or have some half-wit do it.  I do my own rescuing, remember?  Who fired the gun anyway?"

"I haven't decided yet, but I thought maybe Patterson from EMPA.  He's been on your case since chapter three.  He could be your new love interest in the next series."

Jenna groaned.  "Patterson's a complete dick.  You'd have to rewrite him completely.  And he'd make a lousy love-interest for me.  Stop trying to over-feminise me, will you.  I'm Jenna Crane, not Emily Madison.  We don't work the same way.  Chloe understood me, why can't she?  Now rewrite that stupid scene or I'm going on strike."  She stood looking mutinous and lovely, refusing to say another word.

Not that she'd said a single word in the first place, of course.  Ellis shook his head at himself before zapping the seven pages of rubbish he'd written that morning by hitting Control + A then delete.  His mind wasn't on the latest Jenna Crane saga today; it had taken wing and flown out of the window and across the street to worry about an entirely different problem.

Last but not least, I'm supposed to tag 5 more ziggy zig zag writers and let them know they've been tagged so that they too can share their current work in progress with the rest of the blogging community!  I've chosen quite an eclectic group of writers and I hope this comes as a big, but not unpleasant surprise to them.  I believe they're all working on something rather special, which I'm certain will have "The LOOK"!

Eri Nelson: http://www.dearharts.com/

Terry Tyler: http://terrytyler59.blogspot.co.uk/

Su Halfwerk: http://suhalfwerk.blogspot.co.uk/

Gilli Allan: http://gilliallan.blogspot.co.uk/
Gay N Lewis: http://gaynlewis.blogspot.com/