I didn’t know how else to title the post. But basically I want to give everyone a heads-up on what’s coming so no one is shocked.

Ever since I jumped off the “writing to market” bandwagon, I have found that the stories I’m writing are becoming more and more different from the stuff I wrote during the period I was writing to market (2016-mid-2018).

Now, these two books that I have coming out later this year are both funny and light.

(A quick reminder: Nelly’s Mail Order Husband is the romance for Tom and Jessica Larson’s oldest girl. Forever Yours is Dave and Mary’s third book.)

I will still write funny and light romances. I already know Book 2 in the Husbands for the Larson Sisters series will be funny and light. But I’m not ready to write it yet. I don’t even have a title for it. I’ve learned to wait for the right idea to come along instead of forcing it. When the book is ready, it’ll get written.

In the meantime, I am writing in some areas that some of  you might not enjoy, and I’ll get into that below:

Marriage by Fairytale Series (Regency gothic romance)

This series is a look into the darker side of the human soul. I noticed a couple of people don’t care for this series, so I thought I better offer a warning now before Book 5 comes out. The further into this series I get, the darker (or more gothic) these books get. This wasn’t intentional. I didn’t set out to go in this direction. This just evolved as time went on.

The Duke’s Secluded Bride (Book 5) is going to be darker than the previous books in this series. This particular story is loosely based off of the Rapunzel fairy tale. I had to explain why my heroine is hiding from the world. I wasn’t sure what the reason was when I started this book, but I’ve now come to realize that she is voluntarily hiding in the west wing of the manor because believes that man-eating creatures are lurking outside and will get her if she goes outside. Now, we all know these creatures don’t really exist. But the point is, she believes they do.

You see, the villain in this story likes to play psychological mind games on the people around him. I show this early on in the book. So don’t worry. I didn’t just spoil the book. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been researching the topic of gaslighting and narcissism. (This is the Psychology major in me coming out.) Anyway, this research is impacting the direction of this story. Some narcissists like to gaslight the people around them. That’s the case with this villain. In order to stay in control, he makes the people around him think  they’re going crazy by gaslighting them. The process of him doing this while our hero and heroine are falling in love is what I’m most interested in exploring, and that’s the focus of the story. I imagine that toward the end of this book, he’s going to actively hunt down the hero and heroine, and since there is no redeeming him, he will have to die. The death might be deemed violent. I don’t see the villain going down without a fight.

Marriage by Design Series (Regency romance)

Other books to be added to this series

This series is funny and light, BUT they feature feisty heroines who aren’t afraid to speak their minds. For the most part, I have avoided these types of heroines because they are not popular with most readers. Most readers prefer the heroine who is soft and easy to win over. That is not this kind of heroine, and judging by the lady who’s going to be the heroine in Book 2 of this series, she’s not like that, either. Both of these ladies are strong-willed. In Book 1, the lady has her sights set on the hero and traps him into a marriage. The hero, while in love with this lady, is not happy. He’s actively trying to dismiss his feelings because she’s rejected him in the past, and he doesn’t want to be vulnerable again. Her goal is to figure out a way to get him “back”.

To do this, I’m going to get two notable cads: Lord Edon and Mr. Christopher Robinson. I’m going back in time in this book. At this point, in the timeline, these two gentlemen are still bachelors. The events in A Most Unsuitable Earl and His Reluctant Lady have not taken place yet. Mr. Christopher Robinson (if you’ll recall) helped the heroine in this book (Lilly Lowell) sneak into Lord Hedwrett’s townhouse so she could see what kind of scoundrel Lord Hedwrett was. After that, Lilly ended her betrothal to Lord Hedwrett and set her mind on winning Mr. Morris (the hero in Breaking the Rules) back. Anyway, long story short, Edon and Robinson will help her with this task.

Now, if you read A Most Unsuitable Earl and His Reluctant Lady, you know what Edon and Robinson are like, and you know they’re not the most “mature” characters around. Personally, I love them and bring them back as often as I can because I have so much fun writing them. I’ve learned that my kind of humor doesn’t make everyone laugh because a lot of people find the humor to be immature.

Suffice it to say, if feisty heroines and my kind of Regency humor isn’t your thing, then you’ll want to avoid this series.

Wyoming Series (historical western romance)

  Either one or two books will be added to this series.

This series is a “Wild West” kind of series. These are primarily romance, but there are some gritty moments that take place, and some of those are graphic and violent. For anyone who’s read my Native American Romance Series (especially Restoring Hope and Brave Beginnings), you’ll know what I mean. I used violence in that series because the plots called for it. The plots in these books are the same way. The Outlaw’s Bride has one scene that gets pretty violent, but it takes place toward the end of the book. I just started The Rancher’s Bride this week, and the opening scene has the heroine stabbing and slitting the throat of a man who’s trying to kill her. I didn’t just tell what happened. I showed the event happen. So it’s that kind of violence. I expect the rest of the series to be this way due to the overall arc to the series, which is the need to get back a ranch from a man who’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. So if violent scenes bothers you, you’ll want to skip this series.

A note about the three series:

These are all romances. The hero and heroine fall in love, and the romance is central to the stories. Without the romance, none of the stories exist. There is also a happy ending. Those are the core traits that define a romance, and all of these books will have them.

But, as you can tell from the way I described the three series I’m working on, each one has a different type of “feel” to them. I don’t know if you like the elements I described above or not.

Since I’m not sure what kind of romances will appeal to some of  you, I thought I’d send out a warning now so  you can mark down what books you don’t want to read. That way when the books comes out, you won’t be caught off guard. I’ve received some feedback from people who were shocked because they didn’t expect certain content in my books. I figured if I gave people a warning in advance, I’ll limit how many people will get upset.

There’s no sense in wasting  your time in reading something that doesn’t appeal to you. I have some authors where I only read certain books they write because not every book they write interests me. I’m okay if you don’t read everything I write. My tastes vary. I write a wide range of romances. Sometimes I’m in the mood to write light and funny. Sometimes I want to write something dark and serious. Sometimes I want to write something tender and sweet.

Ever since I went back to writing for passion, I’ve let my creative side go wherever it wants to. I’m not sure if people will like it or not, but I’ve found that doing this helps my mind to stay fresh with new story ideas. Plus, I don’t get burned out writing this way. I got burned out trying to stick with the same kind of romances all the time. Some authors can write the same type of stories and be fine. I’m not one of them.  I always put two characters together to fall in love, and they do have a happy ending. Those are the only two consistent thing in these books. Other than that, anything goes.