Declaring yourself as a romance writer can be tough thanks to the preconceptions of what a romance novel is, what an author of romance should be and even what readers of the genre are like. It's a tough stigma to shake. I grew up straight laced and buttoned up with a lot of expectations heaped upon me so reading romance go me a lot of flak. What's a straight A student doing wasting her brain on that drivel? The comments stuck with me and for a long time I hid what I read.
Sins in the Sand
Then I started writing erotic romance.
There was a lot of hang wringing and visualizations of the conversations that could come my way and how I would handle it. However, it turns out things couldn't have been more different than the scenarios in my head.
Here are three reactions I've gotten when people found out what I write.
My Mother-in-law - This one went in a way you probably wouldn't expect. As I struggled with finding my genre my mother-in-law approached me very gently and said, "You need to learn to write dirty". Definitely not the first time I'd heard that, but hearing it from my MIL kind of drove it home that writing erotic romance is hardly taboo. In fact, it's in huge demand and writing it is quite liberating. So I did and when I told her about my contract for my first erotic romance I got a huge grin and a wink.
My Partner - He's always been supportive of my writing. If there was anything I needed be it a new laptop, software, a host for my website or reference book he could be counted on to provide. He, however, doesn't read my work. So when I read some glowing reviews out loud to him for my latest work and they mentioned how 'naughty' they were, that quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of books do you write again?" he asked. And so I told him. I received a slow, thoughtful nod in reply before he asked, "Have you written about that time we…?" Needless to say he's into it. No judgement from him whatsoever.
My Friend - A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine decided to look me up on Amazon as she was going on vacation and needed some books to take with her. Imagine her surprise to see my books listed under erotic romance instead of YA as she expected (I do write YA but under a different name). Apparently, she and her husband had to double check it was actually me before she showed up at my door wide eyed and laughing. After a quick 'OMG how did I not know this' conversation, she left hugging an autographed book, excited to read more of my work and promising to review.
Looking back at this I feel a little silly for worrying what people will think when they find out what I write. I know it's not always going to be all sunshine and roses, criticism is unavoidable after all, but I've realized that if they have a problem with what I write it's on them because I'm loving what I do.
Blurb
Who knew lies and billionaires were an explosive combination?
Kendra has scrimped and saved to care for her ailing father and to keep bailing out a sister who can't seem to get her life in order. When Kendra is moved to Dubai and into a job at the illustrious Totally Five Star Hotel, she can't afford to let anything ruin it.
So when a celebrity whom Kendra closely resembles doesn't show up for a big charity event and Kendra is recruited to take her place, she can't say no. After all, everything has been set up so that her deception won't be exposed…
Only, no one could have predicted that rival billionaires Nikos and Dmitri would be at the event, willing to bid astronomical sums to win the dinner prize-time with Kendra. Or that the chemistry between her and the men would be so explosive…
Overwhelmed and completely out of her depth, Kendra finds herself drawn to both powerful, enigmatic men, and they seem just as taken with her.
But what will Nikos and Dmitri do when they find out the truth?
Purchase link: https://www.totallybound.com/book/sins-in-the-sand
Author Bio
An inveterate traveller, Kait has set foot on three continents and has the other four on her bucket list (yes, even Antarctica). Until she can see them all, she writes romances that take readers to far flung locales, often to places she's been or hopes to one day go. For now, she's settled in England where she spends most of her time plotting, scribbling ideas on every available scrap of paper and trying out dialogue on her cat.