Okay, saved the hardest question for last…A few days ago, I had an open door-people can ask whatever, and I try to answer.
Mary G asked:
One thing I admire about authors – the balance between keeping the style that people love & still surprising them each time (as you do for me). How difficult is that or is just like breathing for you?
I’m thinking that… beats the hell out of me…isn’t going to be the best answer, huh? Okay.
Well, it’s not natural as breathing, that’s for sure. I think it’s probably very easy to fall into a rut-I’ve dropped series from authors that I’ve enjoyed because it seemed the hero was almost a carbon-copy of previous heroes in the series, and the same for the heroine. I’ve dropped authors entirely because the characters just seem like more carbon copies.
Keeping stories fresh, whether they are from a series or not, is crucial.
I don’t know if I do it all that well, although I do try. The stories, in my head, do stand out from each other, and hopefully that comes through as I write it down.
One thing that may play into it is variety. I tend to write all over the map as far as romance goes. Most of my stuff is the hotter stuff, going from steamy to erotic. But I don’t just stick to one subgenre. I go from paranormal to contemporary to romantic suspense to fantasy to paranormal to suspense…etc, etc, etc.
The reasoning for that is simple: 1) I’ve got a lot of different stories in my head, and I’m kind of wanting to tel them all. 2) I get bored easy-so changing it up helps.
If I’m working on two books at once (or more) and I usually do have at least two projects going, then I tend to have two different sub-genres, like a romantic suspense and a paranormal.
As far as series stuff goes, I also don’t usually write two books in the same series in a row. The away-time helps my brain charge. It does mean there’s a longer wait between series books, but I’d rather take that break because I think it’s helps me write better.
So I guess the way I manage it is in part by mixing things up.