From reader to writer: the story of Regina Kammer

Several years ago, after reading a lot of books on my very long commute, I realized two things I craved in stories: A keen eye for history and a satisfying love affair.

So I dared myself to write a historical romance — although I didn’t quite understand what “romance” meant at that time; I was thinking more like Jane Austen-style romance. I found the perfect opportunity to undertake such a pursuit with National Novel Writing Month.

NaNoWriMo, as it is known, is an event where one writes 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. It is not a contest; it is a personal challenge. There are no restrictions on plot, character, or any other element of the novel, so you have free reign. The point is to take the time to write, to make space in your life for writing, to suppress the “inner editor” during this month and not judge anything that is written. The only goal is 50,000 words in 30 days.

My first NaNoWriMo was November 2006, and I chose Historical and Romance as my genres when I signed up.

And then something funny happened.

I’ve since heard that what happened to me happens to a lot of fiction writers: My characters took on lives of their own. For example, one guy, originally the villain, revealed to me he wasn’t such a villain, just someone who had to make some difficult choices in life. Okay. Plot change. No problem.

But then several other characters began making demands of their own: They all wanted to have sex. In unexpected pairings. Almost none of which fit the standard romance novel stipulations.

So, about mid-way through that fateful month I switched genres to Erotic Fiction. Still romantic, still historical, but now all my characters were free to do as they pleased, and with whom they pleased. I have never turned back. It has been a fun journey.

Interviews

I’ve begun reposting old interviews I’ve done throughout my career to my own blog.

Official Regina Kammer About the Author biography

Regina Kammer is a librarian, an art historian, and a multi-published writer of provocative historical romance and contemporary romance with a touch of history. Her short stories and novels make history sexier, whether the era is Roman, Byzantine, Viking, American Revolution, or Victorian. She’s even sexed up contemporary settings, Steampunk, and Greco-Roman mythology. She has been published by Cleis Press, Go Deeper Press, Ellora’s Cave, House of Erotica, Story Ink, Loose Id, The Naughty Literati, and her own imprint, Viridium Press. She began writing historical fiction with romantic elements during National Novel Writing Month 2006, switching to erotica when all her characters suddenly demanded to have sex.

Social media and other authorial links are listed here!
Find out more about what I write here!