Wendy S. Marcus’s The Doctor She Always Dreamed Of and Satisfying the Reader

Friends, every writer has his or her own story and their own unique path to success.  As a guy who has been writing seriously for a couple decades and who has immersed himself in the writing world for as long, it’s been a pleasure to learn my craft from writers and work in every genre.  I may certainly be incorrect, but I have seen a widening schism between “literary” writers and those who work in genre and other non-“literary” arenas.  (What does “literary” mean?  Who knows?)  We miss out a great deal if we don’t at least dip our toes in the other parts of the storytelling ecosystem.  If nothing else, we are missing out because these genres often outsell “literary” work and genre fans are often wonderfully passionate.

I tend not to discriminate; my goal is to be able to enjoy as many stories as I can.  That certainly includes the romance genre.  I had the pleasure of seeing Wendy S. Marcus give a talk at Oswego State in which she talked about her work and her journey.  Ms. Marcus came to writing later in life than I did, but has published far more books than I have and knows a great deal that they don’t (but should) teach in MFA programs.  In brief, Ms. Marcus wasn’t a big reader until she picked up a Harlequin romance on a whim and became hooked.  After a while, she made that same move every writer has made: she figured she could do better than some of the books she read.  So she started putting words down on the page.  Once she had built up a support system of critique partners and started sending out her work, she began publishing for Harlequin, Loveswept (Random House) and eventually on her own. Continue Reading

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2016, Chasing Amy, Kevin Smith, Oswego State, Romance, Wendy S. Marcus