Exploring who I am as a writer...

...and a Christian. For the next few posts, this will be my focus.

As a new author, I've been struggling with establishing my branding. I write Christian romance, both Regency and contemporary. Being Christian comes with expectations. Being a Christian romance writer comes with even more expectations. I've been posting this blog for over a year, attempting to create the brand that will be uniquely me. It's so much more difficult than I anticipated.

Of course, I checked out the websites of other Christian writers. Very, very sweet. My faith in God and Jesus hasn't created a sweet life but a savory one. Savory is not considered favorable in the Christian book industry. The standard in Christian romances requires chastity, a good thing, and yet it waters down the struggle to control desires God blessed us with so we would marry and have children.

The industry standard Christian heroes and heroines are not allowed to smoke or drink. I don't do either, but I know good Christians who do both. I could never write very much of it into my own stories because I have little experience with it, but I don't see cutting it out as realistic. My first Regency will reflect these standards, and in a way it disappoints me. It wasn't safe to drink the water. Coffee and tea were expensive. They had to be imported. The common beverage was ale or cider and served at every meal. Alcoholic beverages were sanitary enough to drink. I worked my way around it by mostly avoiding the topic all together. Having my characters wealthy made it a little easier. I could use tea and coffee and chocolate, and even lemonade. You had to have orangeries (greenhouses) to have citrus, and the wealthy did.