I’ve never thought of myself as a thriller writer. It’s not really a genre I like to read…… Having said that, there seems to be a distinction between Crime and Thriller according to The Guardian. So why don’t the bookshop’s follow that rule? If you go into Waterstone’s all crime and thriller titles are in the same section, on their website, it’s even worse, there’s only a crime section…..pout 😦

I tend to write about people’s lives, how a persons life can change in the blink of an eyelid. I never really thought about what genre my writing would fit into, and nowadays it seems that you have to fit into a category. Soooo, ok, there is an element of suspense/mystery in what I like to write, but crime? Really? I don’t think so lol. I always thought that crime was about case solving, a detective (or at least Police) chasing a baddy…..Serial killers and murderers.

Linda Gillard brought my attention to this Guardian Article which is quite scary, and means that from my point of view, if I ever hope to get published I have to make sure that I somehow fit neatly inside a publishers box if I have any hope of getting published….. How sad is that? 😦 Do i write Popular Fiction? Literary Fiction? Contemporary Fiction?….*brain throbs*

As to style? What is my style? I like Fay Weldon, but I don’t write like her. I love Anita Shreve, but my writing is no way anything like hers either lol. The last 2 books I have read (inc my current read) have been by gay male authors (lots of sex scenes) and I definitely don’t find myself being influenced by that lol. So what am I influenced by? Strong female characters overcoming adversity? (is that chick lit? Lol) Character driven plots? The good and the bad in all of us?

Perhaps I need to decide whether I’m writing for myself (where style & genre is irrelevant) or a wider audience (where genre is everything) before I make a decision as to what direction I want to go in…..or I could always just throw in the towel and start writing Sci Fi 😉