Reader Question: why such different genres?

 

When people stop at my table at events this is my most asked question. Well, right after the ‘wait, did you write all these?’ Which is definitely related—yes romance and thriller are about as far apart as you can get (yes, there are also a couple children’s books on my table too).

 

Horror was my first reading love, but the off-kilter horror that today might be classed more in supernatural thriller or even psychological thriller. Ray Bradbury was an early favorite, especially his October Country collection. 

 

So that's what I wrote, mostly. Slightly odd stories rooted in characters who were just a little... off in some way or another. Sometimes with blatant horror elements, sometimes not. I did also love a twist, and even some of my high school short stories had them, though despite thinking myself clever they were about as cliche as you can get, but hey, I was young.

 

Excite was my first published novel and I had According to Plan in drafting before romance even slipped onto my radar. I didn’t read it really until I started beta-swapping critiques with other writers. But I still didn't really seek it out. 

 

 

 

 

As a HorseGirl though, I was always looking for a good horse book. Too often I found them unrealistic in the horse scenes and was complaining to my critique partners. They rolled their eyes and told me if I wanted something realistic, why didn’t I just write one myself?

 

It was a joke... until it wasn’t. Cowboy romance felt like the way in, it was (and still is) wildly popular so I dove in. It was a mess at first—the horse stuff worked but the romance not so much. But with time I found my stride and after also diving in to reading more romance, my Isla Ryder pen name was born. 

 

 

 

 

These days I jump between the two genres almost seamlessly. It’s a lovely way to always have something to work on no matter my mood. If it's dark and rainy, maybe I’ll work on a thriller. When the sun's out and the flowers are blooming, it’s romance time. 

 

It also works nicely as I feel like I have something for most readers. The romance does well online (particularly in kindle unlimited) and the thrillers sell well at in person events. It all makes my writing whims feel like a concerted marketing plan, maybe my strategy is like my writing - just pantsing my way through until things make sense. I don’t like to stick inside boxes very much, so writing widely helps me stay motivated.