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Over the last five years, I’ve dedicated my life to the written word-penning romance novels, to be exact. The process of crafting a novel and getting it through the publishing machine can be a grueling one, filled with so much take-out and so few showers, but at the end of the day. it’s always all worth it.
Here are five reasons why you could never pry me away from my laptop and the stories I love to create.
5. The lesbians.
Have you seen ladies? Have you seen ladies together? Cute ladies, chubby ladies, short ladies, tall ladies, medium ladies? Black, Brown, White, Asian and everything in between ladies? Ladies with freckles and slight lisps or gaps in their teeth? Now imagine those ladies just the way you like them, in the combo that suits your fancy just right, then imagine them meeting over a case of mistaken identity, or on a dating site, or at a job interview gone wrong, or at a horrible wedding that just will not end.
Imagine the sparks flying over a heated argument or a kind gesture, and then imagine those ladies deciding they should spend more time together and totally do it. Yeahhhhhh, imagine that for a while. Then imagine it over and over again to make up for every book, movie, TV show, play, puppet show, PBS period miniseries, and interpretive dance you’ve experienced in your life that was sorely lacking in the ladies in love department.
4. I get to make things up.
I’m not a liar, exactly, but I do have a wild imagination. Instead of horrifying friends and family with said imagination, I get to write these lengthy yarns down on paper and through the magic of publishing people who actually want to read about a mistress and her submissive, or a trainer who crosses unspeakable lines with a client, get share in the crazy world that’s in my head. It’s awesome.
3. The research.
Learning is a passion of mine. Got some quality knowledge to share about the most random and not so random of things? I am all ears. In order to create well-rounded characters, a little research is often necessary. Here is a short list (a list within a list if you will) of things I’ve learned in my time writing lesbian romance: How much it costs to charter a private jet, just how many trainers do sleep with their clients, how much a bunny tail butt plug costs, a bit on the history of plastic surgery in India, how to spell Oaxaca, what courses you have to take to double major in biology and psychology at The University of Maryland, what sexual positions require you to dislocate a limb, what the inside of a sorority house at USC looks like, and how to scroll around on Google maps. (Actually, I lied about the last bit. If anyone can show me how to scroll south without zooming in on a single rooftop, I’ll be your best friend forever.)
2. It’s an outlet for my irrational celebrity crushes.
If you all will excuse me for a moment.
Nicki, if you’re reading this I hope what I’m about to say doesn’t weird you out: I wrote a book about you. I couldn’t help myself. The whole of the The Pink Print makes it easier for me to get out of bed in the morning. How you handled that wardrobe malfunction during your “Bang Bang” performance, that video for “Anaconda”-you’re just so beautiful and funny and talented and beautiful and smart and beautiful I couldn’t NOT write you into a book as a stripper with a heart of gold chasing her BS in computer science. I had to give you a love interest, otherwise it wouldn’t be a romance. She’s nothing like me, but she’s sweet and, in my magical fantasy world, you two are perfect for each other. There are other things I want to tell you, but people are reading this even though I’ve asked them to look away.
Anyway, sorry about that.
1. The happily ever after.
A happy ending is what makes a romance novel a romance novel and I am a sucker for a fluffy, sweet, so cheesy you could call it brie and serve it your friends before dinner, happy ending. With all the miserable things happening in the world, racial strife at home and abroad, whatever the hell Donald Trump is doing, it’s great to be able to escape to a world where my two (or three) ladies of choice are making their way to a fulfilling committed relationship, that’s just busting with great sex. I’m half in love with my characters before I start writing and by the time I get to THE END I’m just so darned happy for them, their fictional love is usually enough to hold me over until it’s time to jump on the love carousel for another go-round. It’s where I happened to be headed right now.
Rebekah Weatherspoon writes lesbian and bisexual romance for Bold Strokes Books. You can find her books including her latest, “Treasure,” and the award-winning “At Her Feet” at www.rebekahweatherspoon.com
