Tag: Romance

Self-sabotage.

Sara Mazariegos

Reading this blog post made me realize that many writers feel like I do. Reading other books in my genre* is inspiring and the best way for me to learn how to write better, but it’s a double-edged sword at times because I become envious of other authors’ storytelling techniques.

For instance, as I read Georgie, All Along, I’m so jealous of Kate Clayborn’s ability to create such a sweet, warm story full of interesting, realistic characters. It seems effortless, but I also know it takes a lot of effort to seem effortless!

It’s important to remember that my story is mine, so of course it won’t sound like another writer’s story. Finding my voice has been a fun journey. Being inspired by others who write similar books is a good thing, but I shouldn’t let it intimidate me or make me think I need to overhaul my plot.

So give yourselves permission to love what you write, because if you fall in love with it, we can feel that. And odds are much better we’ll fall in love with it too.

  Kristen Lamb

At least no one in my life has told me that I shouldn’t be a writer. Who needs that kind of negativity?


*I’m not struggling with which genre I’m writing. At least not really. It’s definitely romance. I’ve waffled a bit between calling it “new adult” or “coming-of-age” though. I’m probably just going to call it both. But at least I’m not confused about the romance aspect!

Romance Shelf.

Sara Mazariegos

I have so many romance novels now — thank you, comps! — that I need a new bookshelf to hold them all. I told my husband that he could get me a romance shelf for our anniversary this year, so we don’t have a bookvalanche in our dining room.

As much as I love libraries, I’m a slow reader. I read several books quickly recently because the due dates made me, but I prefer being able to sit down and slowly digest what I’m reading. We went to Target with our friend recently, and I discovered to my delight that the shelves there are basically Goodreads in person.


Seriously, this looks like my feed. It’s apparently “BookTok.” I need to get past the anxiety that app gives me and check out some of their TikToks…

Buying books in the genre I’m writing has given me such joy. Research can be fun.

Just have to make sure not to overfill my new shelf!

Authors Supporting Authors.

Sara Mazariegos

As I’m hoping to publish a novel, I’ve been reading all kinds of novels in the same genre/niche area. “Romance” is such a broad category, and I think it’s often judged based on the old-fashioned, Fabio covers of the past. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with, as my mom calls them, bodice-rippers, but romance novels come in many assorted styles and themes. That’s why it’s still such a popular genre.

My particular niche in the genre is commonly labeled as New Adult Contemporary, meaning the characters are recent college graduates and it takes place in current-ish times. Aside from writing my novel, reading these comparable books has been my favorite part of the getting-published process so far. It’s been a joy to read other works from contemporary romance authors such as Sophie Cousens, Abbi Waxman, and Allison Ashley. What a fantastic way to find inspiration, reassurance, and a sort of camaraderie, even if only through the written pages of others.

This is something I’ve been contemplating a lot recently: although my novel is a romantic story about two young adults finding love, it’s also a love letter to the Internet communities that grow and support each other both online and off. If it weren’t for the Internet, many of my generation and younger wouldn’t have met the people who matter the most in our lives.

There’s an upcoming book that I’m looking forward to reading called Planes, Trains, and All the Feels by Livy Hart. The title makes me so happy. To share my excitement at preordering a copy, I tweeted at her. I’ve never been great at containing my enthusiasm for things I enjoy.

She replied that my tweet made her day. And, in tweeting that to me, she made mine.