By Alison.Stone On Apr 24 2012, 6:00 am

I am so excited my debut novel, Random Acts, is available today! If I knew how to add firecracker animation, I’d be all over it. Instead, I'll settle for a box of donuts because I'm hoping you're in the mood for a little something sweet. 

It has been a long road since the day I first thought, Hey, maybe I should be a writer.

When the writing bug first bit, I honed my craft while writing short stories for the children’s market.  After realizing I was probably one of a million aspiring writers submitting my stories to Highlights for Children, I shifted to freelancing. I enjoyed writing articles on topics from parenting to health care for local publications. Most even paid me. There was nothing as sweet as the first paycheck I received for my writing. However, soon the shiny wore off. I remember the exact moment. I had to interview a prominent physician over the phone while my young children hollered in the background. Maybe it was time to return to fiction. My kids could run amok and I wouldn’t break into a flop sweat worrying their decibal level was discrediting my professionalism. Ha!

It took a little while for me to gain confidence to write a novel. I come from an engineering background, so this writing stuff seemed a little too subjective. Too fuzzy.  After reading tons and doing my research, I settled on romantic suspense. I like working the puzzle of it.  Since I tend toward the conservative when it came to smexy times,  I decided to go “sweet.” It all came together in Random Acts.

The key to writing sweet romance is to remember that yes, it is still a romance. You have to show the growing attraction through emotions and innocent touches. Anything more is behind closed doors. I like to equate it to the time when you’re first falling in love. Remember the warm and fuzzy feeling?  The first blush of new romance?  The deepening emotional connection? 

I especially love Samhain's tagline because whether it's steamy, sweet, or somewhere in between, It's all about the story…

So, I hope you're in the mood for thrilling suspense and a little something sweet!  

(Rest assured, no donuts were wasted in the creation of this post. )

6 Comments