Romantically Inclined

Saturday I spoke to the Maumee Valley Romance Writer's Association. It all happened because I met Barbara Horvath (third from left in the picture) at the WEN (Women's Entrepreneurial Network) last fall. Self admittedly, she was "trolling" the crowd that day, for speakers for this group.

I took the bait!

What a fun group! They come from all walks of life; a bankruptcy attorney, an owner of a beauty salon, one who works in the newsroom of a local TV station and a stay-at-home mom were just a few that I got to talk to.

They are all in this together, most writing multiple books, some already published and others still hoping for that day. One is published both in the states and also in Great Briton. One has just received word that she is going to be published and is worried about how she now has to act when she goes to the national conference.

Some funny comments that I overhead at the lunch after the meeting.
One writer said that her husband read her book and said, "No way, I'm not doing that with you!" Her reply was that she wasn't planning on doing it with him!"

Another was from the really nice stay-at-home mom who has moved around the country so many times as a result of her husband's job. She said that she felt so bad about what she did to a heroine in one of her books. She said, "I still feel sorry for Terry because of how bad I was to her!"



(It made me wonder if she was just taking out her stress of moving on her fictional character.)

Another member was stressed over the fact that she needed to create a marketing plan for the newest book. Things like updating her website and creating a blog were all part of that plan. Her complaint was that stuff like that takes her away from writing.

Sound familiar?

It should, because all business people face the same challenges and doubts. And the romance writers are no different.