The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts, talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs with the group. It’s a safe space to do so.

As always we have kind co-hosts donating their time to keep us all on track. This hot summer month they are  Rebecca Douglass, Natalie Aguirre, Cathrina Constantine, and Louise Barbour!

And the optional July 2nd question is:  Is there a genre you haven’t tried writing in yet that you really want to try? If so, do you plan on trying it?

I’ve semi-answered this question before, and OF COURSE my answer devolved into a giflist of fun and silliness. How could we expect otherwise? That was a slightly different question, and I took it in a new direction anyway, so let’s explore my answer anew.

No, there isn’t another genre I’ve really wanted to try. And no, I do not plan to write in any other genre than romance.

This is partially because I write with painful slowness (EXCRUCIATING) and I don’t exactly have Thriller plots just chilling in the back of my goldfish brain ready to go for new books. Convoluted paths with twists and turns and murdery mayhem and the inability to trust anyone are not how my brain works, not what I’m interested in reading, and would definitely not be my forte for writing. Ditto for the luridly purple prose and family dysfunction of Literary Fiction. Extra ditto for something like a Memoir. How would I write any life advice for that one? 200 pages of ‘get outside more, touch grass, and have more orgasms, if at all legally possible while you’re outside touching that grass’ is not going to be of much interest to readers.

But this is mainly because I genuinely, really love romance as a genre and see no need to look outside of it for everything I might need. I’m a character driven reader (and writer). Romance means taking good, strong, developed characters with a solid plot and then throwing them into a maelstrom of emotions and obstacles where they have to work hard to reach their happy ending together. The ways to accomplish this are literally infinite, and can incorporate my favorite things from other genres easily.

You want SciFi? Cool, there is such a thing as SciFi romance with developed worlds, species, cultures, and tech. You want a thriller? Lucky you, romantic suspense is an established sub-genre with serial killers galore. Westerns? Got em. Got em times 100. There are many incredible options. Time travel? Yes, including a very famous one that has been made into a successful TV show. Mafia, heists, or crime fiction? Goes without saying. Historical fiction? OH MY GOSH are there so many historical romances. So. Many. If you can dream it, romance can do it.

Also, romance has A+ banter, sarcasm, and witty repartee, alongside all the fluffy escapist fun. Have you looked online or doomscrolled lately? Yeah, I am all about that escape from reality right now in my reading and writing choices.