Writing Romance, Despite the Doubters

Hey, romance addicts. I am happy to have fellow romance author Fiona McGrier on the blog. She will share why she writes in the genre.

Guest Post

By Fiona McGier

My name is Fiona McGier, and I’m an author of erotic romance novels. Sometimes I feel like I need a support group. Why? Read on.

I’ve always had romance stories swirling around in my brain–in fact, a few of my books came from dreams.  Characters “show” me scenes from their lives–I listen in on the dialogue, I enjoy their sex scenes with them. I’ve been a published author for the past 11 years. I have 17 books to show for it, but there have been 3 publishers who closed on me, giving me the rights back to my books. I had to figure out how to self-publish since no publishing house wants to take on a book that the big A still lists as available–as a “customer service,” so readers can re-sell their used paperbacks. I’ve also always worked two -jobs.

The support group part comes in because of the comments I’ve gotten. In social settings, I always carry business cards with my author name and social media info on them. When I mention I’m a published author, I immediately get interest. Then I’m asked what I write. When I say “romance” the silence is deafening.  Or the person gets a look on their face like they just stepped in dog doo–“Oh, really? I don’t know anyone who reads THAT kind of stuff.” Really? Then why is romance the best-selling genre in the ebook market?

Why do I write “those kinds of books?” Because I love to study human nature. And we all fall in love. I love the heady, exciting feeling of being newly in love, and the joy of discovering that the feeling is reciprocated. But I’ve been married for many years to my HEA, so while our love is strong, it’s not new.

So to allow me to continually experience the joy of new passion, I invent characters and write about their romances. This allows me to enjoy new “book boyfriends.” When he read some of my books, my husband asked why I frequently have Hispanic heroes. I pointed out to him that the only time my heroes will be white is if the heroine isn’t. My hope for the world is that we finally eradicate racism of any kind, realizing that under the skin, we’re all the same race–human. So I usually write interracial romance.

My most recent release, which came from a dream,  is The Right Choice. This book is kind of a departure for me because the heroine is not an alpha-female. She’s conflicted. She never felt valued by her busy Black lawyer father or her white social-climbing mother. So she’d often run away from home, to make them pay attention to her. During her senior year of high school, she met a white boy who adored her from the start– and she returned his affection. But her parents never liked him because of his blue-collar background. When she went away to college, her parents were relieved that their relationship would end. Instead, she would sneak back home without telling them, just to spend time with him.

When she finally graduated with her veterinarian degree, he gave her an ultimatum–go public with their relationship, or cut him loose.  She still needed her parents’ backing to open her vet practice, so she ran away from him too. Now she’s marrying a white lawyer her mother adores. But he answers his phone while she’s walking down the aisle in the church. Since he’s always putting her second after his job, she runs out of the church–to disappear for a while–to do some serious thinking about what she wants out of life.  Guess whose family owned a small cabin in Michigan, right on the lake, that her parents don’t know about? But does he still own it? Is he still single? Will he be happy to see her? And can she finally make The Right Choice for her life?

Thank you, Fiona. Okay, romance addicts, check out Fiona’s newest book, The Right Choice—sold exclusively at Extasy Books.

He’s loved her for years, but she keeps running away from her blue-collar man, to please her family.  She runs away from the church when her attorney fiancé answers his cell phone during the ceremony. Will she ever stop running away and make the right choice?

As a child, veterinarian Pamela Wilson always used to run away from home to get attention from her status-conscious, preoccupied parents. Years ago she met a man who loved her unreservedly, but her parents didn’t approve of his blue-collar job, so she ran away from him too. When the ambitious lawyer she’s marrying answers a phone call while she’s walking down the aisle, it’s the last straw! She runs away again—this time to a cabin her parents don’t know about, owned by the mechanic. Does he still own it and is he still single? Will she finally stop running away and make the right choice?

This book was previously published under the title The Reluctant Bride.

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