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Point of View: Do I Have to Choose One Path?

between-the-lines 10.11.27 PMIn the last month, I had an amazing series of events take place. Dreamspinner released my first stand-alone work, an eBook novella called “Between the Lines” – a decidedly romantic magical realism piece set in my current hometown of Sacramento.

Then RainbowCon happened, and Mark and I spent four glorious days in Tampa meeting so many folks from QSF, and a number of others as well.

HomecomingTwo weeks later, my second novella, “The Homecoming”, came out from Less Than Three Press. This is a decidedly different kind of story. Although it includes two gay protagonists, it’s not a romance, coming down much more firmly on the sci fi/fantasy side.

And then, to cap it all off, my short story “Translation” released in the Mischief Corner Books quarterly. This one’s the most straightforward romance I have written, the only one to date with no magical elements.

While the jury is still out on which of the two novellas will end up selling better, they got me thinking about what I write, and what I want to write. I’ve been a reader of sci fi and fantasy since shortly after I learned to walk, and those are deeply embedded in my heart and psyche. In fact, I only started writing romance last year, in response to an anthology call from Dreamspinner. But I’ve found I do enjoy it, especially when I can give it that magical realism twist.

Now I know, or have been told, that the writers who sell the best tend to pick one thing and then stick to it, producing work after work that follows the same mold. I get that. It’s comforting for readers. You find something you like, and you know you can go back to that character/world.type of story again and again with the same author.

j-scott-coatsworthBut as a writer, I think I would find such a writing life to be irredeemably dull and colorless. I have so many ideas spinning around in my hear. And when I came back to writing, I swore I would write for me. Not for the market.

So now I’m on two paths – one on the MM romance side, and one on the … for lack of a better word (sorry Angel), mainstream side, with LGBT characters. Is it the best idea?

Time will tell. But for now, it works for me.

Point of View is my weekly column, where I muse about writing, my career, and whatever the heck else is going on in my life at the moment. I hope you enjoy it!

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