Anyone driving alongside Kimberly Killion as she commutes to work from Jerseyville, Ill., to St. Louis on weekday mornings probably thinks Killion is crazy. Behind the wheel of her 2007 Pontiac G6, she appears to be engaged in conversation with herself, talking, laughing and occasionally crying to no one in particular. But what the other drivers on Interstate 270 might not see is her palm-sized digital recorder, which is capturing dialogue between a hero and heroine who "fight, play, laugh and sometimes say something so funny I laugh out loud," Killion said.
"You have to have skin 2 inches thick and more guts than a 500-pound hog. It's a tough market. Everyone thinks she or he can write romance, but if you aren't a reader who really loves the genre, you won't write it well." Killion writes romance novels, and the drive to work is just part of her daily writing routine. According to the Romance Writers of America, romance is the largest selling genre in fiction. Killion is one of thousands of women (and a few men) across the country and hundreds in Missouri — accountants, teachers, engineers, stay-at-home-moms — who aspire to create their own happily-ever-after tales. Kimberly Killion's first published novel, "Her One Desire," is a historical romance set in 1483 England to be released by Kensington Books in July. It tells the story of a lord high executioner's daughter who discovers a conspiracy that puts her in danger. The only man willing to protect her is the Scottish spy she frees from her father's prison. Romance novels like Killion's are relatively brisk reads, as well as guilty pleasures — $4.99 impulse buys from the grocery checkout line that can offer escape from reality, companionship aboard an airplane or beside the pool or mind-numbing reward under cozy sheets after a grueling day. But writing them is another story. The novels may be breezy or formulaic, but the process of becoming a published romance author is not. Killion's nonstop artistic passion and exhaustive writing schedule offer a glimpse into the time, energy and emotional commitment needed to excel in the genre. Her typical day begins around 4 a.m. when she wakes up and writes until about 6, then gets ready for the rest of the day. Around 7 a.m. she puts her two children on the school bus, then leaves for work. Her commute offers about an hour each way to develop her characters. Returning home from teaching graphic design at a St. Louis college, she sits down at the keyboard, presses "play" on the recorder and types away, producing somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 words of romantic fiction every day. She doesn't turn off the lights until midnight. |
"I usually put in about 10 to 12 hours per day writing," she said. "I put in more time writing than I do for my ‘real' job." For readers, romance fiction offers the comfort of a reliable formula. Although the settings, characters and sexual euphemisms may vary, behind each lusty cover image is this guarantee — an imperfect but likeable couple will meet early in the novel and coquettishly overcome obstacles together until they find happiness. From Jane Austen to Nora Roberts, romance writers have played on this formula to the delight of countless readers (and publishing companies) for years. Georgette Heyer and Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, whose "The Flame and the Flower" is often cited as the most iconic romance novel, are others whose tales are imprinted in the emotional memories of their readers. Killion first began writing in 1998 because she liked to read, and as an artist, she considered herself creative enough to tackle romance.
"I always tell people
to follow your own voice. I love writing romance, but I know people who say, ‘Oh, those are formulaic – I'll just write one of those to get my feet in the door.' But then they try and find they can't sell it or it's harder than they think. You should write what you love, that's what will sell."
"You just read so much and you think, ‘Gosh, I can do this,'" she said. "I think that's how every writer starts."
She says her initial writing attempts yielded "slop," which gradually began to improve once she joined several critique groups and discovered she "didn't know anything about writing."Michele Dunaway, "The Christmas Date" "Head-hopping," for instance, is a common mistake made by beginners. That's when the narrative abruptly jumps from one character's point of view to another's, Killion said, which tends to make readers dizzy. Properly pacing a romance novel is also important. "If your character is running from the villain, they shouldn't be running for 10 pages," Killion said. Chapters should begin and end with a "hook" to suck the reader into reading just the next chapter ... and the next ... and the next. Killion seldom knows what will happen in her story and often finds herself sobbing over her keyboard once she learns the fate of her characters. In romance circles, this means she is a "pantser," plotting the story as she goes — writing "by the seat of her pants" — rather than working it out in advance. Killion says the "I love yous" surprise her just as much as they do the heroines. Her quick success and rapid turnaround in completing and publishing her first novel are atypical. Of the 65 current members of Missouri Romance Writers of America, only a dozen or so are published, most taking longer to get there than Killion did. Shannon Butcher, who lives in Independence, completed eight books and began writing several more before she was able to sell anything. Her husband, fantasy and sci-fi author Jim Butcher, coached her in the mechanics of writing. In 2003, she quit her job as an engineer and finally sold her first books, "No Regrets" and "No Control," last year.
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