New Beginnings

I find myself in an awkward place right now. It seems that 2013 is the year of new beginnings for me.

I finished the first book of the new piece (at about 50k words – the first story arc just fell that way) last week, I’m still unemployed, so any new job I start will be a new beginning there as well, and I’m looking at dipping my toes into the dangerous waters of paranormal romance. Stop laughing. I can too write romantic. The question at hand is whether I can write it in a way that readers of paranormal romance will accept. Normally when I write romantic it’s a subplot not the main line, and of course there’s the question of dark, darker and “how the heck am I supposed to see in this? It’s pitch black”.

Yes, my sense of humor is also an issue, since I tend to start at ‘dry’ and move to ‘bleak’ via ‘sarcastic’. Sometimes in the same sentence. I don’t know if that will take in the paranormal romance market either.

Under all of this is the simple fact that I don’t like being in limbo. Or being adrift. I can handle some chaos – I kind of have to be able to, what with the walking chaos magnet effect – but I prefer to deal with that while there’s a solid foundation to work from.

So I’m flailing around figuring out how to start book 2 of the new piece (dammit, I always get stuck with series), figuring out what to do with a paranormal romance – or if – and looking for work. Interesting times indeed. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: I could use a bit less of the interesting, thank you very much.

10 thoughts on “New Beginnings”

  1. If you call it urban fantasy, you can get away with less sex and more world building. But the angsty chick in tight leather pants and a bustier that can turn vampire fangs is still a requirement.

      1. Take a look at Kelley Armstrong or Kim Harrison–I’d call what they write UF, and they must be rolling in mega-dough. For the romance-minded, all you need is a love interest, and some degree of progression in the relationship. It can end tragically as well, although it will help to have some brooding alternate hanging around the edges of the narrative.

        1. They, alas, also got mega-promo, which I won’t have. Still, what I produce is likely to be at best borderline between UF and paranormal because I can’t help myself. Things twist when I get hold of them.

          1. So you’re going to write something like…

            Samantha ran a finger up the seam of her tight black leather pants, and leaned forward a little on the bar stool. Her chrome steel bustier jiggled as the weight shifted, pulling it down a little on the leather shoulder straps. She grinned at the man whose eyes dropped to follow the glittering chrome.

            “I can’t help myself. Things twist when I get a hold of them.”

            His head jerked up and his eyes widened. His hands shifted, apparently unconsciously, to cover his lap.

            Sounds intriguing!

  2. Please, since you’ve decided to do this, document as you go.

    I for one am fascinated. Not with the genre, but with the ability of people to write in it, since I have nothing beyond the classical Greek stories in that category in my mind.

    Wish you the very best – and mega$$$$$.

    It will be fun – and your writing, being new to the genre, will be fresh, which helps lots of things.

    1. Thank you – I shall do this. I’m sure it will be interesting, if in the Chinese curse sense.

      On the plus side, book 2 of the fantasy piece is now up and running and likely to lead me interesting places. Now to go looking through my collection of starts and see if anything calls to me as a potential PR piece…

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