If I was to choose a favorite book I've written, it probably wouldn't be Lies and Love. Then again, I'm never completely satisfied with any of my works. I can definitely name the ones I like the least, but to me, the rest are "okay; not bad".
The only reason I'm getting good reviews for this one is because it's the only book I've ever heavily promoted. The vast majority of my books have zero sales; thus, zero reviews.
Lies and Love falls into that "okay; not bad" category. It has the same components as the majority of my novellas, with the only difference being that the love interest is an asshole. Hadn't done that twist before.
I'm beginning to hate the formulaic aspect of my work. I never consciously set out to do it, but I'm apparently no better (no offense) than a romance novelist. Column A + Column B + some kind of twist = just what the reader expects. (I'm really not dissing romance novels; just pointing out the genre's requirements.) With women's fiction, there's not a lot to be examined, really. Women's fiction is the main character's journey. The majority of novels I've browsed that are labeled women's fiction seem to be consumed by "girl power" or "fighting the man", and that's simply not me. I detest those themes ~ authors who scribble out their political grievances. I prefer to examine a character's inner life; the decisions she makes that may well lead to ruin. Important things she learns about herself.
It's not that I'm afraid of losing my following by branching out. I don't have a following. My second novel that I'm not turning into a novella, is completely different ~ because, well, it was the second novel I wrote. I hadn't yet tumbled down the well of tropes. The main character has no love interest. She did in the original novel, but I've now eliminated him, because the story is about her and the dangerous circumstances she finds herself in. And she's a bad-ass, but with heart. She didn't start out to be a bad-ass, like all those feminist authors out there choose to tout. She becomes one because she's forced to.
I noticed as I was condensing it that I used a fire scene in a subsequent book. Oh well. Fires provide drama. And no one ever read that subsequent book anyway.
For all the grief this project has caused me, it may be a valuable exercise. I don't have to stick with a formula. And I have the luxury of doing something different, if only to prove to myself I can do it.
Failed authors have to look on the bright side. Changing things up is apparently my bright side.
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