With Kris, I’m sorry for the late reply! I just happened to see it today while perusing the site after our new look went up.

For me, there was never a time I didn’t have a romance novel in my hand. From the time I was a teenager, I read them, many of which were given to me by my mother and my grandmother. They loved them, they passed them on…and to me, that spoke volumes. I never felt that I had to hide something I knew they would have been proud of me for. My confidence, my ability to put myself out there comes from them.

When it came to calling myself a writer a while back, I had to own that…and THAT in itself, no matter what you write, isn’t easy. It goes along with the whole response I hear repeatedly, “Oh, I’ve always thought I would write a book.”… Usually said casually, off-handed, and in such a way that makes it seem simple. It’s anything but. Writing is as tough a JOB as any…and much of the mindset is respecting what you’re doing. You can never change how someone will feel about something, there very well might be people in your world who would look down upon what you do. But that’s about them, not about you.

My son (who is only four by the way and really only cares what letters are on the keyboard and when he can push them) knows that when I’m writing –whether that be sitting at my desk OR working out plot and structure in a notebook–that it’s WORK. It’s something I take very seriously, so as he grows up, he will take it seriously, too.

And YES, Kris is right — there is a yahoo group for MamaWriters. (I’ll make sure to post that link on the sidebar later) but for now, you can join us here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mamawriters/

It’s a place you can share…and of course, here on the site in our new community feature, join and share with us here. Keep your anonymity as much as you need to, just know there are others here to share with. Hope to see you around here again soon.

And that all being said, yes, I do care and sometimes worry that others in my life know I write HOT romance. And . . . I decided I don’t *want* to care enough for it to stop me. Not just stop me from writing, but stop me from owning it too.

And I definitely thought about what I might be implicitly teaching my child if I didn’t ‘claim’ my writing. That’d be like saying I didn’t think he could handle his mom doing what she loved, and being successful at it.

And I sure don’t want him believing there is anything shameful in what I do, b/c I don’t believe that. But if act like it might be shameful, b/c *others* might say so, I might teach him exactly that.

But mostly, I want him to know I’m doing what MY heart says is right, and that I’m not willing to be limited by the confines of what OTHERS say is right. I want him to have that much confidence in himself, so I try to model it in *myself* (even when I’m worried and scared, which I am sometimes)

As far as my child, I tell him I’m doing 2 things when I write: I’m working, and I’m making a dream come true. He thinks that’s pretty cool, to the extent he thinks about it at all. Mostly, I’m just doing what I do, and that’s okay with him. I’ll bet your kids would be very proud of you and what you’re doing, as long as you are. You’re over the biggest hurtle, I think: your hubby supports you!

There’s a Yahoo email group for MamaWriters, isn’t there, Mamas? (I’m not on that loop, but I’m pretty sure).

So glad you came by, GG, and sorry we didn’t see your post. Please, keep stopping by and say HI again!

I am currently finishing up my first manuscript (paranormal romance). I’m loving the experience, but am having…well, issues.

I have, up until this point, tried to keep my writing a secret from my kids (because of the content). A) because it’s difficult to explain that mommy is writing a story they cannot read and B) because I have such fear about others in our lives finding out.

We live in a mostly conservative part of the country, my children attend a Christian school, and I have alot of concern about how my writing will affect my children.

I look at the pictures of the Mama Writers (and every mom who is brave enough to slap her picture on the dustjacket) and wish so much that I could live out loud like you do! Your pictures are up, your biographies are up, and you display who you are and what you do so proudly (as you should!) Where does that courage come from? And where can I get some of it?!

I don’t fear other people’s censure of me because of how it will affect me. I fear it because of how it would affect my children. My original plan was to keep it all a secret (from everyone but my incredibly supportive husband), but as you can imagine, that is proving near impossible. And as my children grow up, they will become more and more aware of what mom is doing in her little room in the basement. My oldest one already wonders what’s up and I just wish I could be honest.

Sorry for the long-winded preface to what is essentially a straightfoward question: Can any of you relate to what I’m struggling with? If so, how did you overcome it? What do you tell your children? Your parents? Do you worry/care if others in your life know you write HOT romance?

Thanks in advance for any advice/encouragement you can provide. I need it all right now!

love you! vickie

thanks for dropping in!

~Ashley

Maya