Artistic Integrity

Over at PaperbackReader, Wendy Duran had this to say: “Category writers take a lot of knocks for what is published in series romance. Some of those knocks are well deserved... however the lion's share of the responsibility belongs to the publisher. Harlequin treats their releases as throwaways..." and Kassia Krozser said: “...books produced to be treated as disposable entities are necessarily going to be short on the qualities that make for great stories.”

Now some of you reading the above, be you category writers or readers or both, are probably offended or insulted by those opinions. Me? I’m nodding my head in agreement because the truth is I hate being identified as a category romance author.

Yes, I realize I’ve only written four and a half books and maybe people didn’t think they were all that [some 2005 RITA judges, ahem]. No, I’m not biting that hand that feeds me. I’m snapping my teeth at the attitude that what I write is substandard- or worse ordinary- because the books are distributed as monthly magazines in disguise.

Few comments make me happier than hearing ‘not your typical Blaze’ about my work. I don’t spit out disposable stories- I aim for the Keeper Shelf each and every time. (I'm strictly talking about intent and purpose here- I know my skills need to be honed by time and experience and that there is a lot of craft still to learn)

But I've tried with my stories to take those tried and true sexy hooks and add an element of realism and truth. My first book RED SHOES & A DIARY touched on loss, guilt and drug addiction. YOURS IN BLACK LACE showcased a heroine who was a recovering alcoholic and abused wife. In 9 1/2 DAYS, the 'plus-sized' heroine confronted weight and body images issues while the hero came to grips with his experiences on 9/11. My next book AFTERNOON DELIGHT features a breast cancer survivor facing a recurrence of the disease.

If readers are looking for a fun, sexy read that will give them two-three hours of reading pleasure, they'll find that in my books. But I hope like hell they'll also find the qualities that make for not a great category romance but a great story period.