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All the World's a Page__Annie Seaton

9/27/2013

11 Comments

 
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Hi Susanne

Thanks for having me visit. It is lovely to chat with you again! You asked me to tell you and your readers about writing across genres, something that has just happened to me when I began writing a couple of years ago.

Although I do write across genres—to date, steampunk, paranormal, suspense, contemporary romance-both sweet and sexy and historical—there is a common element to each of my books. First and foremost:

 I am a romance writer.

 My stories are about heroes and heroines finding their happy ever after.

To me it doesn't matter if it is in a fantasy steampunk world or if the hero and heroine are a witch and a warlock, or if it is set in  contemporary Australia, in the outback or on a tropical island, it is all about the conflict that stands in the way of two people who are destined to be together and how they overcome those conflicts. But do love playing with different worlds, time travel, and fantastic contraptions!

Not all of my readers may like all of my books, but I believe if you write good stories and they like your voice, they may venture out and try a different genre.

I had a letter the other day from a reader (a reader of contemporary romance)who said she loved my books and wanted to read more, but wasn't game to read my paranormal novella because it might scare her. I assured her it wouldn't and I was delighted when she put a review of Blind Lust up on Amazon.

I do not read paranormal... too scared!!! But boy oh boy, this cute book by Annie Seaton changed my mind.. and if it is anything to go by I would certainly be buying more. Great characters. The settings and spells had me enthralled and caught up in a different world for the entire book... Gosh the plot twist at the end surprised me but in a wonderful way!!! Please...Please Annie could you write some more. Please??

The discussion about writing across genres is an interesting one. My very first editor told me to establish myself firmly in one genre and then maybe branch out. Most of the craft articles say you won’t succeed if you write across genres.

I guess for me it all comes down to what defines success.

Do you want to be a NYT bestselling author? Do you want to be able to be a full time writer?

If that is so... I guess you have to follow the rules.

I’m happy because I fulfilled my lifelong dream and I wrote a book. Being published was the icing on the cake.  Writing the next book was special. Writing the tenth book, and having a publisher want to buy it was unbelievable. I still pinch myself daily and wonder when I am going to wake up from this dream.

I get bored very easily and have always needed challenges in my life, so I guess writing across genres is a challenge. One of the biggest challenges I have had in my writing was pushing the boundaries when I wrote Dangerous Desire. My editor wrote a comment about what she thought a sex scene needed and I actually spat my coffee over my screen when I read her request.

But it was a challenge, and I did it. So I guess you could say it pushed me into a more ‘steamy’ genre. You’ll have to read the book to check out that scene.

For me it comes down to loving what I am writing about and knowing what I write about by doing deep research. My years as a librarian certainly helped hone my research skills 
My two latest releases are a contemporary romance –the third book in the Affair series, Outback Affair which will be released on October 14 and a romantic suspense, Dangerous Desire which was released last Monday. I am delighted to say my first foray into suspense is getting fabulous reviews!

A taster for you from Dangerous Desire...

Then all was still—no birdsong, no wind in the trees. Even the sound of the waves was muffled by the hill. Until the sound of Mick crashing through the undergrowth on the side of the hill reached her. After a few moments, his voice came from below her.

“I’m going to find you, and when I do it won’t be pleasant for you. But I’ll enjoy it.” He laughed and her blood chilled.

He was close by and Gracie fought the whimper rising in her chest. Her chin shook uncontrollably as fear skittered through her. She clenched her jaw and bit her bottom lip hard. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, but that was better than letting any sound escape.

She lay there completely still with her eyes squeezed shut—not drawing a breath until the sound of him sliding down the hill receded. Gracie cleared her mind and focused on her breathing. Something crawled across her face but she kept her eyes shut and didn’t make a sound.


What do you think? If an author has written across genres, is that a plus or a negative? 


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11 Comments
Susanne Bellamy
9/26/2013 10:35:00 pm

Welcome back, Annie. So glad you called by on your current blog tour. I love hearing about your latest writing and this change of genre has 'intrigued' me, well and truly! Your versatility and fabulous settings, hunky heroes and determined heroines are wonderful across all genres you've written in.

I absolutely cannot wait for Alex's story when the final "Affair" releases next month. But in the meantime, thanks for sharing "Dangerous Desire" with us. It's a corker of a story!

Reply
Shirley Wine link
9/28/2013 08:45:51 am

A fascinating post Annie and I love the excerpt ... sent the chills ups my spine.
I always admire people who can successfully write across genres...sometimes I have the urge to try and 'stretch my wings' as it were, and try something different. I have had both a historical and a paranormal buzzing around my brain for the last little while, but I need to finish two projects I have going on at the moment first.

If I find an author I like, I find myself searching out all their books and reading them. If their book is in a genre I'm not familiar with I will read an excerpt first to see if that genre is to my taste...if I'm hooked by that excerpt then yes, I will buy the book and read it. If I'm ambivalent after I've read the excerpt then I probably won't click that buy button.
And this is another great reason to hook readers in the first few pages... In this respect Amazon and other e-tailers do readers a great service with their sample service.

Reply
Sarah Brabazon link
9/28/2013 09:49:10 am

Hi Susan, hi Annie. It's lovely to see you spreading your writing wings and soaring into new and exciting genres. I would always follow a writer whose writing I loved--for the first book, at least (I'm thinking about JK Rowling's later books here, after reading The Casual Vacancy, I didn't like the subject, but read it in one hit because of the storytelling. Now I'm leery of reading the Cuckoo book, because I never read mysterys)
I'm interested to hear about your research techniques, since I don't have a formal method for research--I just read lots and rely on my memory. Perhaps a future blog post?

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Margaret Midwood link
9/28/2013 10:58:54 am

An interesting post. I've always heard stick to one genre and it's great to discover that doesn't have to be the case.

Love the excerpt and can't wait to get my copy.

Cheers,
Margaret

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Iris Blobel link
9/28/2013 08:36:55 pm

Good afternoon, Ladies!
First of all, I loooove the covers. They're beautiful.
I liked it that after having published so many books you're still so humble, not taking it for granted and still write for the love of it and not "the fame".
Loved your excerpt as well :-)

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S E Gilchrist link
9/29/2013 08:20:27 pm

Firstly, congratulations Annie on your 10th book! That is wonderful news. I hope your new releases sell squillions. Second - Great post Annie & Susanne. I'm interested in writing different genres & I think that's because I love reading such a wide variety of stories. So far I'm writing : sci fi, post apocalyptic, ancient historical with a touch of magic and now contemporary rural! And I admit I do worry about where this will take me writing career wise! As a reader, I go with the writer -- if I like how that person writes I will read just about anything they write! Thanks ladies for broaching this subject - very interesting topic.

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Elizabeth Ellen Carter link
9/29/2013 08:29:55 pm

I'd like to echo SE - your 10th book - congratulations!

I think if you believe in the integrity of your stories and the strength of your characters, cross-genre writing shouldn't be verboten.

And when you have wonderful readers who are willing to take a chance on a genre because they trust you as an author... well, you know you have something special.

Well done Annie!

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Kate Belle link
9/30/2013 09:36:40 am

Hi you two, I agree. If you have a passion as an author for other genres why not try them? Publishers will soon tell you if you've succeeded or not. My dream is to write kids chapters books, a far cry from what I write now, but I hope to one day give it a shot.
Thank Annie and glad to see ATWAP back Susanne!

Reply
Susanne Bellamy
9/30/2013 03:01:25 pm

Thanks Kate and everyone who has dropped by. ATWAP needed a rest and a recharge. I'm delighted you could all visit.

Many thanks to Annie for sharing her insights into writing across multiple genres. She's absolutely right--it doesn't matter what the genre if romance is its heart. A good story and a HEA will always win readers. Go, Annie! I hope her story inspires others of you to try other genres too.

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Annie Seaton link
9/30/2013 03:23:38 pm

Hi all
I have just come back to civilization after three days in the bush...camping without a computer! It was lovely to log in and see all of the comments. Thanks for dropping by and a big thanks to Susanne for hosting me

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lily malone link
10/5/2013 10:23:57 am

So lovely to have my Sunday morning read back in circulation Susanne.
Congratulations on the 10 books, Annie, and thanks for the post.
I think I'm contemporary through and through, but I've enjoyed exploring novellas & novels as enough difference for the moment.

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