More whine and cheese

Why is it that I keep wanting to write Never-Been-Done-Before romance novels? Why can't I write nice, safe stuff that is popular and which will hop off the shelves now into readers' hands by the millions, instead of writing romance novels that appeal to a few people now, and then five years later, everyone's discovering it all of a sudden in the used book stores and then of course they can't get them unless they want to pay exhorbitant prices for them on eBay because they've run out of them in the used bookstores? And then they complain to me.

I keep getting e-mails about that. "I just found your (5 year old) book in the used book store, and wow, now I want to find and read all of your books!" Well dang it! Where was this reader when the books were new? And then I see my old books discussed on different lists as "classics" the copies of which are now as scarce as hen's teeth, and people complain because they can't find copies.

Argh. This is what I get for writing paranormal fantasy romances five years before they're popular. And the crazy thing is, I KNOW they won't be popular for five years. But does my Muse listen to me about that? Nooooo! Of course not. She never listens to me about any of my predictions, she just wants me to write these different stories. And then, when I do write something that's popular now, does she give me more of that? Of course not. She turns her nose up at it and gives me something that won't be popular now, when I could use the doggone money. She wants me to write something that will be popular five years later.

Sometimes I want to strangle the Muse. I wouldn't want to do that if she weren't so cruel to me, tantalizing me with nifty story ideas that I know won't sell right now, or at least editors won't want now, but will want in five years. The Muse presents me with these doggone ideas, and when I protest, she says, "why do you want to write those old things? Everyone's writing them and they are SO last year! What I'm giving you is new! This is fresh! Nobody's done this before!" Right. That makes it so very easy to market. NOT.

And five years. It's always five years. She couldn't give me something that will be popular in one or two years, oh no. It's five. I do not know why she has this thing for five years.

(Sigh) Well. Enough of my whining.

I am GLAD I have a Muse. Grateful, in fact. Better than having no Muse at all. Yes, indeedy.

--Karen H (going back to the grindstone)