A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Publication

When I started pursuing publication, it was for a fantasy romance. Well, I called it a romance until a romance author said it wasn’t. After that confusion, I left the genre behind and started writing young adult urban fantasy, but every once in a while, I threw in a more romancey piece just to break things up.

Imagine my surprise then, when the first things I sold were a pair of romances. When I got the news, I jumped up and down, even screamed a bit. Then I did what any smart girl would do. Since I wanted the YA under my real name and the romance under a pseudonym, I built a new website, ordered new business cards, and even ordered some bookmarks once I received my cover art. Then I planned out how to tell my family about the sales.

During vacation, I made my big announcement and gave my parents and siblings bookmarks for the short story that would be debuting the day we all got home. It went fabulously. Everyone congratulated me, and my mom asked for extra bookmarks to give away. See, when I was a teenager, she ran a day care center and still goes out for dinners with the moms whose kids she used to babysit — including my second grade teacher.

In my giddiness, I said sure and handed them over. A few days later, something hit me. Decadent Publishing had put up their website, and one of the categories they listed my story, “Of Course I Try”, under was erotica. Now, I knew parts of it were steamy, but I’d never thought of it that way.

Normally, I wouldn’t worry about such a thing. I like erotica. In fact, my first thought when I saw the story categorized that way was “Cool, I write erotica.” But I’d just given out the purchasing information to everyone in my family, including my very Catholic mother.

And she, in turn, was giving it to my second grade teacher.

Now, here’s the thing, I’m proud of that story. Hell, I love that story (and from what I’ve been told, it’s selling pretty well). But I’m not entirely sure I’m going to be able to look Mrs. Cook in the eyes ever again.

I can hear the conversation now. “Well, your grammar and sentence structure are great. Your plot was interesting. But the sex. Did you really need to go into such detail with the sex?” *sigh* At least she won’t be able to get on me about my handwriting though, right?

As for my mother? I haven’t been able to look her in the eyes since I was in high school. And I’m pretty sure she likes to think my kids were conceived through immaculate conception.

So, next time you pick up a story, especially a racy one, spare a thought for the author. Like me, they may have made some “mistakes” on their way to publication, like sharing their love of sex (or violence or whatever) with people who might not appreciate it.

I’m hoping you, on the other hand, are all big fans

Seleste deLaney writes speculative romance (and erotica), and she’d love for you to visit her website: www.SelestedeLaney.com. Her paranormal romance short story, “Of Course I Try” is available for purchase at www.decadentpublishing.com