First Try at Love

I write sci-fi and fantasy. Sometimes the story has a romantic thread, but most of the time it is very, very thin, if it’s there at all.

Then, a few months ago, a friend invited me to join a collaboration of authors who were working on a contemporary romance collection of novellas. The stories could be any sub-genre, but it had to be a love story of some kind.

I almost said no.

But then, I thought, I should broaden my horizons. Romance was one of my favorite genres when I was a young adult – why not try my hand at writing one?

So, I said yes, and started writing The Worlds Between Us. And I’m really glad I did. Why? Because creativity, no matter the genre or type, begets creativity.

As I wrote, I fell in love with Jackson and Maeve, the main characters. Their path is a rocky one, but they over come the obstacles before them with strength and courage, two of my favorite things in a person. Not only that, but three of the minor characters sat me down and explained that they really needed their stories told. So, instead of one novella, I’m going to get at least three, possibly four.

And then, I discovered that the characters in Worlds link all of my other series. There are references to Gaia, and descendants of the protagonist in Worlds show up in Illusion. One of the Life-Trade naiads (Changelings) helps out, and there are a couple of subtle connections to the Outcast Angels series.

The funny thing about writing is that you never know where it’s going to take you, but the journey is always worth the ride.