Happy Friday and happy May everyone! I’ve finally gotten some of my writing mojo back and revisions are coming along smoothly. With some luck and a lot of persistence, I just might hit my next deadline. The more that I work on this story and the more time I spend polishing and fine-tuning it, the more I fall in love with it. And that is important for a writer. As a writer, you need to write the story you love. You need to write the book that you want to read, which is this month’s blog topic.

Some of you might wonder why anyone in their right mind would write a story they hated. That’s because some writers are told they should write to market, but the problem with that is the market is constantly changing. By the time you crank out that first draft, rewrite it, go through multiple rounds of edits and revisions, the market is moving on to something new. Now you’re stuck with a book you hate, which you end up shelving, because publishing has moved onto the next best thing. It’s why I’m a big advocate for writing what you love.

Back when vampires were trending, I wrote a book about them, or I tried. I had the characters, the world and the story planned out, but I wasn’t feeling it. I wasn’t enthusiastic about it, and it’s not because I hated vampires. I liked them. I enjoyed reading about them, I enjoyed watching TV shows and movies about them, but I couldn’t write about them. I didn’t love their story, because I was writing what was popular and not what I wanted to write. I was bored, restless, and frustrated. I felt as if I failed as a writer. Then Nick barged into my head and into my life, and the creative spark inside me reignited. My energy and enthusiasm were renewed, and I couldn’t wait to learn about the mysterious stranger who occupied my headspace. Nick did not disappoint.

Over the years, TWOLC Book One has evolved. The story has evolved and changed right along with the characters and their world. I’ve put a lot of TLC into this book. Throughout multiple rounds of rewrites, edits, and revisions, my vision for the Luna Cove world became clearer. I allowed myself the freedom to write the stories that I loved and wanted to read. That love for these characters and their stories brings me to the keyboard each day. That excitement of discovering these people and their world fuels my passion for writing and storytelling. And most of all, it inspires new stories, new characters, and new worlds.

Writing What I Love

It’s no secret that I love the romance genre, particularly paranormal and fantasy romance. The romance between the two protagonists takes center stage (main plot), while all the action and mystery (subplots) surrounding them play a secondary role. Usually, the stories feature dual POVs or more, so readers get to experience the story from multiple perspectives and get to see what’s going on in the characters’ heads.

What I love about paranormal and fantasy romance are the supernatural elements and beings. I love all the magic and mystery that comes along with the genre. I love blending the modern world with a magical one, which is what you’ll see in my books. I also love building brand new magical worlds filled with powerful magical beings. But what I love the most is that I know the story will end with a HEA (Happily Ever After) or HFN (Happy For Now).

Supernatural Beings. Gods, demigods, witches, daemons, demons, werewolves, and vampires, oh my. I love writing supernatural beings. The possibilities are endless when it comes to their abilities, but it doesn’t mean they should be limitless. There’s a reason why vampires tend to burn in the sun or werewolves painfully turn every full moon. You’ve got to have some limits and downfalls to all these enhanced abilities.

It drives me bat-shit crazy when a character is indestructible and can’t be hurt or killed. What’s the point in reading or writing the story when I know they’ll come out just fine? My supernatural beings might be powerful, but they aren’t impervious to harm or pain.

Mythology and Lore. I’ve had a fascination with mythology for as long as I can remember. Greek and Slavic are my two favorites. And the latter shouldn’t be surprising, given my Polish heritage. I love including gods, myths, lore, and even some monsters into my stories. I love putting my own little spin on mythology and lore as it takes place in the modern world, while still staying true to the original tales.

Magic. I love creating magic systems, and I love writing magic into my stories. It just adds to the characters, the world, and the conflict. Magic has many benefits and if you’ve read my character blogs, then you know it comes in handy. But just because magic is convenient, doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences to its use. Magic is not a cure-all for every problem or ailment. You won’t see much of the negative side effects of its use in my character blogs because of spoilers, but you will see the consequences play out in my books.

Intimate Moments. In a world filled with supernatural beings, danger, and darkness, it’s the intimate moments I love the most. I’m not talking about sex, although I do enjoy writing some steamy sex scenes. I’m talking about the tender moments and sweet gestures between a couple. I’m talking about forehead kisses and tucking a strand of hair behind the ear. I’m talking about intertwined fingers and the gentle, reassuring squeeze of a hand. I’m talking about cuddling and falling asleep together, and much more. Those simple but tender actions speak volumes, and I always include them in my stories.

Adult Fiction. I write Adult Fiction because I relate to it more than Young Adult. I write it because it allows me the freedom to write steamier, darker, and edgier stories which I love. I don’t feel the need to censor myself or my characters as much. I can include some graphic content without worrying that it might not be age appropriate for my characters or my intended audience. Most of my supernatural characters are ancient, but in human years they would be in their upper twenties to lower thirties, and they definitely look it.

Favorite Tropes. I’ve written a blog about some of my favorite tropes in the past, so I’m just going to list the ones you’ll find in my stories. The tropes I love writing are: power couples, soulmates, enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, forbidden love, frenemies-to-enemies, the grumpy one, protective alpha males with good hearts, found family, stranded in a storm, hurt/comfort, and more.

If you’re curious to learn more about the tropes I’ve listed above, just hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to you.

Update

Since I have a major deadline coming up, I’ll be pausing my writing life blog for the months of June and July. The next writing life blog will be on Friday, August 13th. The character blogs will continue on as planned. Ash’s blog will be posted on Friday, May 28th, Raichel’s blog will be posted on Friday, July 2nd, and Marissa’s blog will be posted on Friday, July 30th.

Holly’s interview snippet is up, and Courtni’s interview snippet will be posted by the end of the month. Revisions have been keeping me busy, so I’ve been running behind on making new playlists and aesthetics, but they will be posted over the summer, so keep your eyes on the Extras tab for those.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Summer Solstice and I’ll see you back here in August. As always, stay safe and stay healthy.

Cheers,

Amelia