There’s a funny meme on social media that says: “I took the road less
traveled, and now I don’t know where the hell I am.”
That pretty much sums up my current state, writing-wise. For the past
two years, I’ve taken a fairly sharp turn away from romance. More like a 180
turn, actually—back toward the stories I fell in love with as a kid. I was a
fangirl of Ray Bradbury, J.R.R. Tolkien, H.P. Lovecraft, and a few years later,
Margaret Atwood, T.C. Boyle, Michael Chabon and a million others across the
story spectrum. I never read only one genre.
When I write, I love to mash subgenres, but it’s been difficult to write in only one genre. Editors have prodded me from the beginning to add more sex scenes, and when I do, they still want more. More body parts, they say. And sometimes it reads a bit strained, to me. I prefer the emotional side of relationships.
When I write, I love to mash subgenres, but it’s been difficult to write in only one genre. Editors have prodded me from the beginning to add more sex scenes, and when I do, they still want more. More body parts, they say. And sometimes it reads a bit strained, to me. I prefer the emotional side of relationships.
And while I still believe all good stories have a love story at their
hearts, I need to stretch into other genres. The two novels I’ve written over
the last two years are definite stretches, one a futuristic novel and the other
a magical realism.
And I have so many more ideas for more stories like those. Another
futuristic. Another magical realism. A women’s ficion. A screenplay, though I’ve
been avoiding that story because it runs to the dark side. Once I figure out a
way to shine some light into it, I will go back to it because it’s a very
powerful story.
I’m grateful for every reader and friend I’ve made along this journey. The
generosity of the writing community has always been a warm and comforting
safety net in this sometimes difficult business.
It’s definitely not goodbye, because I love all the stories I’ve
written these past six years more than I can say. They are a part of my heart,
and I hope new readers continue to find them and hopefully love them.
For now, future stories are splitting onto different paths. I hope you
will all love those stories just as much as those I’ve already written.
I hope to still see you all along the way. I’m using my original pen
name of C.A. Masterson for some stories, and I’m posting book news at my
Painted Fire site: http://paintingfirewithwords.blogspot.com/
It’s not so much a blog as a place to share information.
And I’m on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/catemasters (and less often at https://www.facebook.com/CA-Masterson-23541577106/
because author pages tend to be hidden in the news feed).
And with a few events coming up, including a signing at Cupboard MakerBooks and York Book Expo, I’ll still be here as Cate Masters.
It’s an exciting and somewhat scary time. I don’t know where it will
lead, but I feel good things are coming.
