Courage

I can just see the Cowardly Lion right now asking, "What do they got that I ain't got?" Well, you know the answer: Courage. I was thinking last night about how much courage it takes just to be yourself in this world. Especially in a place like I live, in the Deep South, in the middle of nowhere.

I admire people who have the guts to stand up and say, "This is who I am." No matter what it costs them. For example, when people say that a woman should get married, have a husband, a house with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids and a dog. It takes courage to say, "No, I'd rather have a woman and if we want to adopt we will." Or for a man to say, "I'd rather have another man and we're getting a cat!"

Any deviation from the norm is, for the most part, met with extreme prejudice. I knew this, but I truly didn't understand it until I started writing romance. And holy shit, I signed my name to it! Well, of course I did, I'm proud of what I do. I have been blessed with a creative talent and a means to use it. That's fantastic! So, I told a few people because I was so excited. Big mistake.

I think the main reason I'm having trouble finding a side job right now (which many are having to do) is because people have heard I write "porn" on the side. Give me a break. To me as long as the sex in the story matters and isn't just there for the sake of sex, then it isn't porn. I believe this no matter how explicitly it might be described.

Well, besides looking for a side job, I'm also seriously considering writing erotica. All of the books I've got coming out in the near future are racier than the first two I had published. Actually, everything after the first two is pretty erotic. This was done without conscious effort. I simply told the story and that's the way it turned out. But, I've been thinking about deliberately writing something racier, something with a more seductive storyline right from the start. Why? Well, because I like it and I want to. The next few books I've got coming out, Original Sin, and especially Bitten and Eden could all be considered erotica. (Especially Bitten)

I don't want to alienate my readers by writing under a different name. But I'm not sure how my small southern community is going to take the news. Because whether I tell them or not, they will know. You can have a cold, tell no one and two weeks later people you don't even know are asking you if you're feeling better. No joke.

The thing is, it's what I want to do and I don't feel I should have to hide that. The stories will still be paranormal in nature. Some will just be racier than others. So what? And it's all romance. Besides, I've already got traceyhkitts.com going fairly good. I don't want to have to start marketing a whole new name just because of what people might say about me writing some more erotic works.

If I have the guts to do this then I've got the answer to that question. "What do they got that I ain't got?" Nothing.