Send to Kindleby Suzanne D. Williams
I am the last person who should be writing romance novels. I suppose I’m sentimental, and that lends itself to the genre. But honestly, when I sat down to write fiction, I never gave a thought to there being any romance in it.
As a teen, I read long historical fiction books, enthralled by the details of kings and battles. As a twenty-something and on into adulthood, my movie and TV choices were crime dramas, the more explosions the better. I didn’t (and don’t) watch romance movies, with the exception of Hallmark at Christmas (and I’m not sure why that is). Until I became a romance author, I didn’t read romance books.
Needless to say, the disbelief by those that knew me was huge. “You’re writing what?” followed by either an incredulous look or hysterical laughter (okay, I may be exaggerating a tad, but I’m an introvert, so that’s where my brain took it). I spent (way) too much time trying to explain how it happened. As if I should make excuses.
I had no guide to go by except my imagination. No one taught me how to write. I didn’t go to college. I didn’t do a lot of writing in high school (though I did “some”). I was an avid reader who’d apparently somewhere in my years of books had soaked up enough knowledge to take a stab at it.
I sucked. I will tell you that up front. My early writings are awful, but gosh was I proud of them, romance and all. People’s opinions of little ol’ me and my new career didn’t stop me from trying, nor the rush of personal embarrassment when the new husband took his wife into their bedroom. I realized I had to go there and, once it had been written and published, that people would read it and know my brain had taken that turn.
Deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale. And me red-faced by what was essentially a couple going in a door. Scene end.
I’ve had to go much further than that since, and I know, I know, there are still those who read my books and pooh-pooh. I no longer care. I write what God intended for me to write. I have found my voice, and as long as He approves, what others say doesn’t matter one whit.
You have read the Song of Solomon, right? All that about kisses and breasts and how amazingly manly he is? What about all those chapters in Genesis about Jacob and Leah and Rachel? Or how David killed a man to steal his wife, who he’d gotten pregnant? Fast-forward to the New Testament and the apostle Paul gives instructions for marriage, going so far as to say a husband and wife share rights to their bodies.
God created man and woman and instituted marriage in the first place. He created romance. He also created, with it, a list of rules Christians should go by where relationships are concerned. The church (and people in the church) continue to fight over the specifics, but my conscience is only answerable to God, and since He is sitting there with me, every step of the way, I’m not worried about what others think.
I write romance. That means kissing scenes, frequently the admiration of body parts, and (insert shriek) s-e-x. It means a man and a woman sometimes making wrong choices, but here’s the difference – turning to God at the end.
That’s what makes Christian romance different from anything else. Where there’s problems, the Word of God always has a solution, and my most important job as a Christian writer is to present those clearly. This doesn’t mean the story has to preach every time. I have books where the mention of God is minor, but I assure you, God was with me, writing, even then.
I am a romance author. I accept the responsibility of that, the raised eyebrows, the cluck of people’s tongues. The low reviews because what I penned didn’t fit into someone’s church-minded mold. The sighs when someone else gets it.
Writing Christian romance is like constantly taking a dare. “I dare you to go there, Suzanne. I dare you to push things a little bit further, to depict the struggle.” And the victory. Challenge accepted.
Now Available!
Book 6, Cowboys of the Double R
https://books2read.com/u/4je8YZ
About the Author:
Best-selling author, Suzanne D. Williams, is a native Floridian, wife, mother, and photographer. She is the author of both nonfiction and fiction books. She writes devotionals and instructional articles for various blogs. She also does graphic design for self-publishing authors. She is co-founder of THE EDGE.
To learn more about what she’s doing and check out her extensive catalog of stories, visit www.feelgoodromance.com or link with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/suzannedwilliamsauthor or on Twitter at twitter.com/SDWAuthor.
