Readers asked: Why did you switch genres from romantic comedy to crime? What inspired the switch?
Regarding the genres… My first book The Love Fool was inspired by romantic comedies. With my next novel A Mistake Incomplete, I switched to the darker genre of noir crime. And I continued with noir crime with my new release The Taste of Datura.
Why the switch? I think the answer is that it was a matter of what space I was in internally when writing the books.
Noir, mystery, crime stories are the type I personally like to read. They have a sense of darkness that draws me. I want my stories to have those noir traits of delusion, disappointment, fear, and entrapment to name a few. I feel a lot of us can relate to those feelings. However, I do incorporate some elements of other genres as well.
I don’t think the switch to noir crime was unnatural. I feel that all three of my books evoke a dark and lonely tone – even The Love Fool with all its comedy and romance. I just snipped away some elements from previous books to push noir to the forefront. For example, when I wrote The Love Fool I had just left my job in the entertainment industry, and took some time to reflect on life. So, that story has a very reflective tone throughout. The main character goes through his delusions of what he thought his life was and gets a slap of reality that was much needed. So, although the story has romantic and comedic tones, it’s actually a pathetic and annoying one.
With A Mistake Incomplete, the main character also reflects, but the overall story is less comedic. And with The Taste of Datura, I pulled back on the reflection, romance, and comedy altogether, and put more focus on mystery and suspense.
To conclude, I prefer the dark world of noir crime and mystery, but I think I would always want to include elements from other genres within. Deep down, I’m a romantic, with a touch of goth.