Writing YA Fantasy Romance: Did I choose the genre or did it choose me? ~ by Diana Rose

When I was a little girl, I was drawn to fairytales. I would watch Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and countless other Disney movies many times. My mother would get tired of watching them with me. I loved the happy endings. But to be honest with you, I had not started writing until I was thirteen years old. Yes, that's when I started writing Book 1: Forbidden Love, my first book in The Power of Love Series which is now available for ordering on Amazon. 

 


A lot of people ask me how I began writing in the genre I now write in - YA Fantasy Romance. To some extent, the genre chose me. It was what I knew at the time. "Write what you know," is a famous saying that every author hears at one point or another. So, I took what I knew and turned it into a fairytale of some sort. I soon found that writing these words in a "fairytale world" so to speak was what came easy to me. It felt natural to me. So, I thought maybe I don't know what sells, but I know that this makes me happy. And, as proof, I found that I could not put my pen down(because at the time I did write by hand, I wrote my first book almost completely by hand) and go do something else. 

Now, writing was and still is my favorite thing to do with my time. At the time of writing Book 1: Forbidden Love, I had not thought of making it a Series but somehow, the Series just made itself happen. What I mean is, when I finished Book 1: Forbidden Love, I was so sad that the book was done that I began to write Book 2: Sacrificed Love immediately after. I wanted to stay in that world longer. Honestly, I did not imagine ever writing a Series, but here I am. As far as the genre, it slowly became who I am. I do believe that while I write this genre or anything close to it, I still remain a child at heart. Sometimes, people say being a child when you are an adult is bad, but in this way, I get to put all my dreams, my fantasies on the page. 

I think in my books (starting with Book 1: Forbidden Love) I write more of myself than anything. Writing books helps me clear my mind of stress and put it on the page rather than keep it in my head. Sometimes, I think that what I wrote in my books won't come true because it's fiction but then, every now and then I think that if I could create a character like Darien from my grandfather with his personality, then there could probably be another person like that in real life. This is why I keep writing and trying to see my fantasies come to life. After all, that is the most important thing. 

Yes, I know, maybe I am foolish, but ever since I was a child, I believed in true love, the kind of love that can withstand any obstacle in its way. Maybe, this strong belief came from my grandparents, yes, I am absolutely sure it did. This is why I write about true love. Being an Author is a great privilege, and I am glad that I have a talent for writing because I believe that books should carry a message to the reader and I believe that the message that true love exists in today's society is a very important message for today's children to know.

I believe that even the more I associate with my friends and talk about this idea, the more "miracles of true love" as I call them, begin to happen. Let me give you an example, Jessica Lauryn, Bestselling Author of The Pinnacles of Power and The Rabourn Theater Series who I met seven years ago was single for a long time and over the time of our friendship, she found her true love and is now married. If you don't consider that magical, then you are wrong. She and I both write in the Romance genre, and I believe that this alone has somehow helped her find her happiness. I do believe that the more Romance books I read and write, maybe it will bring me closer to my own happy ending like it had Jessica Lauryn. After all, we are what we consume, be it food, literature (books), movies, or nature, our internal experiences create the world we live in, and that is why I write the genre of young adult Fantasy Romance. I want to resemble, live my life the way I write about it in my books.

Listen to Diana Rose's podcast here.