“So, you wrote a book, huh? Congrats! Er, hmph… romance? Ahh… not my cup of tea…”

Let’s get one thing straight. As I clarify in my Hart & Cole Author Q&A, I am not a romance writer.

Or, at least, I never saw myself as a romance writer.

But it’s easy to see how genres blur into each other and become something else.

After all, the now-infamous erotica trilogy started out as “Twilight” fan fiction, and readers (who perhaps never even knew it was ever fan fiction!) may spend months arguing over whether it’s a love story or just erotica.

…But why does it have to be one or the other?

Why does everything have to fit into a box?

My book, my rules…

If you read the excerpt of Hart & Cole Book 1 (Chapters 1 & 2), you’ll realise it’s not the typical “romance” genre…

However, when you go to actually publish something, you’re forced to choose genres, and then “romance” ends up being my default fall-back option.

But I don’t write romance.

A typical romance has two single characters that squabble for no damn good reason for a few hundred pages, and wind up lip-locked or in bed by the end (depending on how “Christian” the author is — no pun intended 🙂 ).

Now, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my fair share of this stereotype, with their page-turning, swashbuckling heroes and heroines… but I just can’t write that. I don’t want to write that.

My Hart & Cole characters are married, with kids. Their day-to-day lives and dialogue make up 75% of the story. This isn’t the typical romance — but about what happens AFTER the “I do”. There’s no “for-sure” happy ending.

That’s because I don’t write romance. I write relationships. I write people.

And, once you decide that you write people, anything can happen.

My series can become anything I want it to.

I’m the writer. I get to decide how far into the light or how deep into the darkness I want to go.

You, the reader, only get to decide if to follow me there.

Don’t read my book if…

…But, if you like reading fantasy, or sci-fi, or action, or horror… for God’s sakes, don’t read my book. You won’t find any of that there!

My “idea” of my typical reader (I could be wrong) is a young to middle-aged woman who likes watching TV dramas, appreciates an easy-to-read novel with a simple plot and loads of dialogue, can tolerate a little cursing (okay, okay — a lot, by some characters!), enjoys a love-making scene that isn’t totally pornographic/erotica, and — most importantly… likes characters that are real people, and inherently flawed.

So, if you’re my audience, WOOHOO!

But… if you’re not, that’s okay too. If you know you like reading those other genres, and that’s all you like, then don’t read my book just because you want to say you’ve read it!

I appreciate the support, but give it willingly with an open mind! 🙂

And, remember… there are other ways to support your “writer friend” without enduring reading a book you know you won’t like!

We live in a shareable world driven by social media influencers, and amidst the cacophony of noise, any little nudge will help.

You can share my posts, my promotional images, my Author website, my purchase links (Kindle or paperback), my Facebook page @SFortuneAuthor, my Instagram feed @sfortuneauthor, or my Twitter feed @authorsfortune.

Or, if you’re not on social media, no prob… you can do the old-school version of this. Drop it into a convo: “Hey, so my friend published a novel…” Yeah, it’s that simple.

So, if my book isn’t your cup of tea, but you do know someone who fits the bill, just spread the word!