Wednesday, March 3, 2010

What do writers wear?


A classmate found out that my first novel was being published, looked it up online and was taken aback.

Him : It looks so… racy. You just don’t seem like the kind of person who writes this kind of book.
Me : I don’t?
Him : No. You wear collared shirts.

I also wear cardigans and pressed slacks. For a moment there I wanted to whip off my glasses and let down my hair like the librarians in those old-style romances. That always made them instantly sexy. Unfortunately I have short hair and wear contact lenses, so that wasn’t an option.

Then I considered doing a Superman and pulling open my (collared) shirt to reveal my true colors, hopefully a black lace nothing which would show that I was indeed qualified to write racy novels. But all I had at the time was an old pink cotton set that, while not exactly grannyish, wasn’t too far from maiden aunt either.

Still, once my classmate had recovered from the surprise, he pointed out that other potential readers might be intrigued by the contrast of a nice, proper-looking girl writing a steamy romance. Hey, it’s always the quiet ones.

7 comments:

Sarah Ahiers said...

boo, my work computer blocks the link. I'll have to judge the raciness on my laptop at a later date.
I have long enough hair to whip around, but alas, no glasses to take off...

Maria Zannini said...

LOL! Always the quiet ones.

We're wily that way. :o)

Congratulations on your debut, darlin'. Enjoy the ride.

Anonymous said...

I happen to agree with your classmate. I think that steriotypes are an unfortunate reality and should be pushed and challenged at every opportunity.

-Matt

Kim said...

I get the same thing - or worse, when friends of mine say they couldn't read my book because they were squicked out by the fact they know the person who wrote the love scenes. :D

Marian Perera said...

Falen - hope you managed to see the raciness for yourself, though to be honest, Samhain has covers that are a lot more startling.

Maria - Still waters run deep. :) Thanks so much for all your help along the way!

Matt - That makes me wonder what the stereotype of a fantasy writer is.

KimM - Wow, I hope my friends don't feel that way! I'd lose out on a few sales.

Some of them teased me a bit about the love scene, so I mentioned that it was in chapter 7, if they wanted to cut to the chase. :)

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

LOL - love this post :)

Anonymous said...

Hilarious post :) and looking forward to the book!