A bit of a departure

Yesterday I put up a new bare bones story. RIGHT after I put it up I sent a couple of emails with the subject line

WARNING: what you are about to read is a giant understatement.

Then all the body of the email said was:

I put up a new bare bones story. It might be a bit of a departure for me.

The story I was referring to is titled The Island and it's basically the kind of stuff one would read in True Romance Magazine if one actually read True Romance Magazine. I don't have anything against romance as a genre. As a matter of fact some of my best friends write romance.

[you know who you are…..just give the crowd a little finger wave and let me get on with it]

And I CAN write romance, I even have a sample of a romance story I wrote for a writing exercise in my portfolio. I just don't like to. Mostly because when I print it to proofread it the saccharine gums up my printer and then leaks out all over my shoes.

But I will post my sample so you can see what I mean by romance.

Hana reined Fancy in on the top of the hill so she could admire the view and gather her thoughts. Fancy pawed the frozen ground and tossed her head. Her breath was visible in the crisp morning air.

Wood smoke from the houses below drifted lazily up and added to the pine scent of the trees.

The sun was a weak sliver behind low moving clouds; even so, the vista was breathtaking.

This was home. Her home, the land she loved. The town, the rolling hills, the preserved woodlands. There were trees here that her great great grandfather had planted with his own hands. The lumber for their house and barns came from their own mills.

Pride raised gooseflesh on Hana's arms under her thick riding jacket. She breathed deeply and caught a familiar scent. Tony must have been wearing her coat this week, it smelled of him. A boy smell, horse, gunpowder, shaving soap; even though there was no more hair on her little brother's chin than on her own.

Hana smiled. It was nice to have everyone at home for the holiday. And, she admitted to herself the best part was Ronnie. He had sent a letter saying that he would arrive today. Hana had been so antsy when she woke up that she had saddled Fancy immediately after breakfast and gone out to ride away her jitters.

She was worried that she'd throw herself into Ronnie's arms as soon as she saw him. She didn't want to reveal too much in case his feelings for her had changed. It had been six months since she'd seen him. A lot can happen when a man is away that long.

After drinking in the last of the view, she urged Fancy into a fast gallop and rushed head long into her destiny. Fancy needed little encouragement and Hana gave her her head. The wind teased the ribbon out of her long pale hair and it streamed out behind Hana in perfect mimicry of Fancy's flowing tail.

Soon they were home. There was a car just rounding the curve in the drive.

Hana handed Fancy off to Gerald the groom. She stood on the drive, holding her breath, her chest tight, waiting for the car door to open.

The door opened, Ronnie stepped out. He gazed at her. A blazing smile broke over his features. She released her breath. Her chest and throat flooded with warmth. He opened his arms and Hana walked into them. This was home too. This was where she belonged.

Ok, hopefully now you know what I mean by Romance. Something Meryl Streep could read in a breathy voice for the book on tape. Something that has horses in a beautiful setting populated by beautiful rich people with only that one pesky major issue to overcome. And by god it WILL be overcome and all tied up with a pretty ribbon and a happy ending by the end of the book.

And I can write that. I'd just rather write characters with more layers. More gray areas. More going on in their life than just getting their heart's desire, winning their father's approval or mending their relationship with a long lost love.

Not that those themes are bad. Some of the best books ever written have had those themes.

But, again, I'd rather have someone different to sink my teeth into. Someone sassier, someone with spunk, someone who bounces back from adversity. Someone who has a healthy realistic outlook toward love and sex.

I like writing a main character who is older, wiser, more sure of herself and who makes life choices based both on her head and her heart.

But what's funny is the young adult novel I'm writing could easily be read by Meryl.

So maybe it will be categorized young adult/romance if there is such a thing.

And what's funnier still is I have to keep reminding myself of the age of the target young adult audience as I'm writing it and then edit the steamier sex scenes.

You know, the ones in the woods with the pale moonlight and the horses…….