OK, really I should have said, what writers who want to get paid decide what to write.

The truth is if you pick up pen and put it to paper or type on your keyboard and create a story or an article, you are in fact a writer. But here’s the thing: if you want to get paid for that writing, you have to write what you can sell.

Case in point – as much as I love my dark fae stories, they are going to have to wait. Why? Because I’ve been asked to send in more vampire story proposals. It’s more likely those stories will sell, since that is what is being requested. Is it a guarantee? Absolutlely not.  But as much as you love writing “the book inside you” or “the book of your heart” a working writer writes with the guideline of writing to sell. If there’s an opportunity in a market, then you see what you can do about it.

I’m not saying that writers should blindly follow trends. You have to write what you are able to write (for example don’t ditch the historical and write an erotic romance if you really feel that it is totally unlike you). At the same time you have to be willing to stretch yourself. For a long time (from about the mid 90s until two years ago) historical writers were faced with a downturn in the market for historical romances. Many of them started writing contemporary romances or paranormals or even romantic suspense. Some of them have recently begun writing historicals again.

Being flexible doesn’t mean that you’re selling out. It means that no matter where your readers might be, you’re going to work to reach them.

So how to you decide what to write? Start with what moves you as a reader. What stories capture your imagination most? What do you like to read most? Do you have an idea that you can see fitting into the current market – in other words, if you went into a bookstore would you be able to figure out where it would be stocked on the shelf?

Start there. Then do your homework. Pick up those books you love and find out who the publisher is. Find out who agents that author (the Internet is amazing for this, but you can usually find clues in the dedication or thank you section in the beginning of a book too.)

Then sit down and write the book, the whole book, not just a few chapters. If you don’t have a critique group, then consider joining a writer’s group. There’s one out there for just about everything, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Thriller Writers, Pacific Northwest Writers Association. Google and you’ll find something close to you. Go to a meeting and start asking questions. You might be amazed what you learn.

And last, even if the book isn’t selling right now, don’t be afraid to put it aside. It might sell another time. For if there is one thing that is consistent about publishing, it is that everything changes.

Go forth and write!

For a writer nothing compares to actually seeing your book be released out into the wild. OK, perhaps that’s a little dramatic, it’s not like I’m raising tiger cubs here.

But I am excited! Twice now I’ve come so close (those of you who still ask me when The Spellbound Bride is coming out, I’m working on it and waiting on publishers). But the third time is the charm! 

I hope you’ll hop over to the Harlequin site and take a look. If you’d like to read an excerpt, check out the books section on my site and you’ll find it.

In the meantime, I’ll be hopping around several blogs this month talking vampires, paranormal romances and what not. Google, you’ll find them. Leave a comment on any of them (or here!) and I’ll include you in a contest where you can win either a pair of customizable chrome fangs (perfect for those of you thinking of going to the Romantic Times Convention’s annual vampire ball) or a gift certificate to Wicked  Wines Online where you can find Vampyre Vodka (that’s red!), Dracula Syrah, Chateau Du Vampire Bordeaux and Dark Vampire Chocolate, among other goodies. Winner to be announced April 1, 2009 (and no, I’m not joking).

And now, I’m off to celebrate!  Hey my first book just came out!

Ok, this year, I swear, I’ll be a better blogger. I’ve contemplated why I don’t blog very often. Mostly it’s because I spend all day at the keyboard as it is. Writing.

The other thing is I often wonder why people even bother to blog. Unless you’ve got a group (like we do at www.titlewave.blogspot.com) you don’t get a lot of action on a single author blog.

But no matter, I shall be a better blogger.

I’ll be making some changes to this site because, let’s face it, every few years you need a little refreshing. And as much as I love this site, it’s a little too pink and perky for what I’ve been writing lately. Take my latest book out March 1 – Salvation of the Damned. Pretty much the hero needs to kill the heroine to save all his kind (aka vampires). See what I mean?

Here’s the whole gist of the book:
Every thousand years, a plague ravages the vampire population, bringing them to near extinction. In forty-eight hours, a virus will turn all vampires into their true chronological age and kill them all, unless the right woman is sacrificed. It is a ritual that vampire Raphael has made before. Every millennium, he finds the perfect woman and seduces her so thoroughly that she willing gives her own life and soul to save his kind. But only once in six thousand years has he fallen in love with his victim…

Then he sees Evaline St. Croix at a Mardi Gras costume party and feels the same raw need he felt for Isabeau. Eva feels an instant connection to Raphael, too, as if they’ve known each other forever. His voice and touch bring strange memories to her mind…and an explosive desire to her body.

Could Eva be the reincarnation of Raphael’s lost love? And if she is, has he found her again only to lose her once more?

So this year, better blogging, a new book (yea!) and a new site (cool!). Hopefully 2009 is good for you too!

What I want to know is this: what do you look for in a blog that keeps you interested?