We all know the trends in romance fiction wax and wane, seemingly without logic
or pattern. One day it's all about the sexy vampires and military men, the next
it's motorcycle clubs, mixed martial artists, and bear shifters. It's a tough
genre to keep up with, given that it's rich in tropes and archetypes, many of
which fall in and out of favor at the apparent blink of an eye. For those of us
who write romance, it can be a tough decision to make—what to write next? Will
my fans support a switch of sub-genres? A new series? Do they want more of the
same, since they're invested in my existing characters and plots already?
I tend to stick with subgenres, settings, and plot turns that I enjoy reading. I
have been advised time and again NOT to do this. I should “follow the market”
and write whatever it is people are paying money to read “these days.” The way I
see it though, the “these days” trends change so fast, given how easy it is for
anyone to write and toss a book up onto a retailer's platform, then spend as
much money as they have at their disposal to promote it, trying to chase down
what sells “now” is an exercise in creation-crushing frustration.
I also think that when an author tries to break into a completely new subgenre,
it might feel a little clunky. Unless that author is so engrained the reader's
canon that anything they publish is an auto-buy (and these authors exist, as we
all know), he or she should perhaps think carefully before jumping from
mainstream contemporary into sci-fi erotica; from cowboy vampires on motorcycles
into sweet beach reads.
Mind you, I'm not saying it can't be done. It can be. I'm only suggesting that
when an author does nothing but chase the trends, their stories and characters
might be sacrificed in the name of chasing the almighty dollar.
NOT that almighty dollar chasing is bad. Sometimes I wish I did more of it. But
I don't. And please note, for the record, I admire the hell out the authors
who've managed to create a consistent, living wage doing it.
I tend to write what I like to read. I also write about places, people, and
environments I am either 100% familiar with, or am willing to do deep-dive
research to find out what I need to know to fairly represent it. In my latest
release, CONDITIONED
from Totally Bound Publishing, I'm back in two of my happiest places—beer
brewing/bar running and real estate.
CONDITIONED is book
three of The Brewing Passion series, which, by the way, can be read and enjoyed
in most any order. The series follows a set of friends through the trials and
travails of small business ownership, management and success. I love to read
about people working hard every day to make their dreams come true, and so that
is typically the kind of characters I create.
In CONDITIONED, readers
will find another familiar romance trope—BDSM, complete with a complex hero who
has turned to the life of a Dom in private to regain control over the world
around him. Trent's a truly nice guy who began his career by purchasing a wine
and beer store in his hometown and went on to build a real estate mini-empire of
his own. He's divorced and raising his teenaged daughter, Taylor, while managing
his busy life. His past is pretty messed up, as readers discover, but by the
time the story opens his escape via the bondage, domination, sado-masochistic
play he prefers isn't cutting it anymore.
Enter Melody Rodriquez, a second generation Mexican-American whose own backstory
contains plenty of struggle and strife. She's running the FitzPub, the
restaurant attached to Fitzgerald Brewing Company, introduced in book 1
(TAPPED), and is perfectly content to work lots of hours, keeping her head down
and her focus on her goal of complete financial independence.
Of course, these two meet and their connection is, as we say in this biz,
“smoking hot.” It isn't, however, as predictable as you might expect. Because
that's one thing I always guarantee in a Liz Crowe-style romance: a level of
real-life strife that can be, and ALWAYS will be, overcome by love. And I even
let them keep their sexy BDSM playtime as part of the fun, since I enjoy reading
about realistic situations in which a lighter touch of something like bondage,
or paddling, or candle wax spilling is used in conjunction with a hero whose
personality is such that he craves control of all things.
Mind you, Melody is in for a seriously fun time once Trent agrees that she's
ready to experience his particular brand of kinky. But the fact that he holds
back, and tries to keep it light at first, is the indication—both to him and the
reader— that Melody might just be The One. The juxtaposition of Trent as
realistic, seemingly helpless father of an aggravating teen, and his strong,
dominant alpha-self everywhere else in his life is also something that I think
brings complexity to his character. And that is one thing readers will always
find in my books—characters of multiple dimensions, foibles, even faults who
truly deserve (and earn) their Happily Ever After. In short, the sort of
characters will go out of my way to locate, buy, and read, no matter who writes
them.
Brewing Passion
#3
A chance meeting. An improbable connection. An exquisite attraction.
Trent Hettinger's turbulent formative years transformed him into a cynic—and
into a man who realized he required something outside himself to control his
temper. Something he found as a Dom—at least for a while. But he allowed himself
to trust a woman once and was slapped back into reality with a vengeance and now
devotes all his energy into building his real estate empire, raising his
teenaged daughter…and avoiding anything resembling authentic attachments.
Melody Rodriguez kept her head down for years—working hard, making her own
money, trying to get ahead with every deck stacked against her. She's determined
to move beyond the ugliness that haunts her without anyone's help. When a mutual
friend sets her up with Trent, she's determined to have some fun with him and
move on.
A man with nothing left to lose. A woman hiding behind her past. When two lives
spent in emotional denial collide, it's a perfect match—at least on the surface.
But neither Trent nor Melody is prepared for the full force of their true
feelings, once fate intervenes and blows a cold breeze into their white-hot
relationship.
Erotica | Romance Erotica
Sensual [Totally Bound Publishing, On Sale:
July 11, 2017, e-Book, ISBN: 9781786862167 / eISBN: 9781786862167]
Amazon best-selling author, mom of three, brewery founder, and soccer fan,
Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville
currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund
raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.
With plots set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in
successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul,
Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist
has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete
casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination
long after the book is finished. She is represented by Erin Niumata, Folio
Literary Management.
Keep up with her on Facebook, twitter, and Instagram. Learn more at her website.
“Brewing Passion” is a unique new romance series from Totally Bound Publishing
set in the trending world of the craft brewery. Meet the owners, employees and
friends of Fitzgerald Brewing as they live, love, lust and laugh their way
through the ups, downs and sideways shifts of small business ownership.
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