First things first, our winner is…
Zandra!
Big congrats.
Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. That was so much fun to do! I’ll do it again once we release the audiobook later this year.
So stay tuned!
I’ve waded deep into the waters of the romance world these past few months, my friends, and I gotta say… It’s pretty dark.
Of course, I’m generalizing. Romance is an enormous genre with countless sub-genres. I am speaking from the perspective of an author dabbling in “BookTok” on TikTok and familiarizing myself with the novels these folks are obsessed with. These books are everywhere.
Here are a few that are endlessly talked about:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses
- Fourth Wing
- Haunting Adeline
- My Dark Romeo
- Icebreaker
I won’t get into the weeds here, but from what I’ve read (and I’ve read three of the above), what’s hot right now is:
- fairly predictable fantasy with tall, ripped guys and weak women who gain powers
- dark academia with graphic sex scenes
- sports romance with douche-y but lovable (?) guys
- stalker-y “love”
Some of the writing was excellent. Some of it… not my thing. But here is where I’m heading with all of this…
Where is the healthy love? Is it too boring? Do we always need to escape into things that are toxic and red-flag-y?
Listen, I love a good love scene. I love themes like redemption and love at first sight. But what I love writing and reading the most these days is imperfect people bettering themselves within a love that is safe, supportive, honest & true against the backdrop of something menacing but overcomeable. This will still be messy, but it’s a healthy kind of mess—a mess that is genuine, that steps back when things aren’t right with a determination to make it right again.
It’s all fiction. It’s all worthy. I simply want to bring something else to the mix. Releasing Sweetwood has spurred me to really consider what I want to write. And what I want to write moving forward is suspenseful, thought-provoking stories where love is found, but it’s not THE thing. It’s just there—a goal, a soft landing place, an attraction with so much more potential underneath.
Moody, not dangerous. Emotional, not exploitative.
So, I hope you’ll come along with me. I’m outlining my next full-length novel now and it’s gonna be so fun to write.
Happy August, y’all!
Love D
