"So...what do you write?"
How many of us get that question, and how many of us have more than one identifying genre. I say if you do, good for you! We're supposed to write out of our comfort zone on occasion and "go where no writer has gone before," right? We're supposed to be able to pen a few contemporaries, then try out our historical ink, then perhaps cozy up with a cozy mystery or two...or three. I give kudos upon kudos to writers who do just that. It's great and it shows nothing but talent, talent, talent!
My genre, if you will, is historical romance set in the West. The only comfort zone I've stepped out of so far is aspiring "to pen" an even more unique heroine in women's fiction. That's the gold ring I go for on the writing merry-go-round...to chronicle the journey of adventuresome, brave women who helped settle the West. And, speaking of the West...what, exactly, do I mean by "You are what you Write?" Perhaps a better statement would be "I am what I Write."
You know how some folks start to resemble their animals? We've seen the pairings, and not just on Leno or Letterman. It's weird and freaky, but true. Now I have huskies, so...I don't mind going there--my dogs' hair usually looks much, much better than mine! When I glance around my home, animals included, I
could be in nineteenth-century Colorado. Running water and electricity aside, my home resembles my stories, easy. I just didn't get the resemblance before.
I enjoy writing historical romances with a Victorian touch or two, and I enjoy living in a home with a Victorian touch or two. If it's an antique, I'm on it! If it's an old book, I want it! If I can get a scroll-top instead of a lap-top, done. If I can buy a functional set of mason jars, I much prefer them to stemware. If I can find a worn quilt with just the right colors, or a settee with just the right cushions, the furniture is moving...again. If I have to don my sorrell boots every time I venture out into the wilds with my dogs, so be it. If I have to stack more wood in our kitchen Franklin stove for "the perfect cozy fire," I happily shun gas heating. If my oilcloth greatcoat isn't in fashion, so what. If I can get black licorice over red ropes, it's in my cookie jar. I think you get my point here...which is...
...I suppose "I am what I Write." It's not so much of a stretch of my imagination to write about nineteenth-century Colorado since that's pretty much where I'm living anyway.
Shalom,
Jo(anne)
www.joannesundell.com
