Telling Your Family & Friends

As writers, I'm sure we've all had that moment where you freeze when you realize that you'll actually have to admit that you're a writer, as well as 'fess up to what you write. For some, it's easier than others.

Since I started out writing straight category romance, it wasn't difficult to tell anyone who would listen that I was a writer. I proclaimed it loudly and proudly. I even told anyone who would listen about my first rejection letter. But the years passed and I didn't sell, and I didn't proclaim anything as loudly.

And then I changed the tenor and voice of my writing. I started playing to my strengths which were strong, hot love scenes. And suddenly, I found myself writing erotic romance. And I kept the news to myself for a while.

Until on a whim, I wrote several erotic short stories and submitted them to a call for submissions. Ultimately, they didn’t sell that time. But when another call for submissions crossed my email, I did some minor editing and sent them in.

Lo and behold, several of them sold. I was so stunned that it took me several days to even believe it. And then I had a thought. "What am I going to tell my parents????? Do I tell my parents?"

And my mentor, wise woman that she is, said: "If they would be horrified and upset...no. If they'd just be embarrassed to tell their friends...yes."

Well, I didn't think my parents would be horrified and upset. In fact, I didn't even think they'd be embarrassed to tell their friends. The problem was that they'd want to read the stories and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. I still remember when I had just gotten out of college and my parents read my very first manuscript. It was horrible -- 110 pages total. After reading it, both my parents praised my writing (as parents are wont to do).

Then my dad asked, "So, um, where do you get some of your ideas? Are they from your imagination or um, real life?" He was talking about my sex scenes -- which were hot even then.

I looked him straight in the eye and asked, "Do you really want to know, Dad?"

He shook his head no."So, don't ask."

But they're incredibly supportive of my writing, always asking what I'm working on, etc. So I decided that this was a something to be told in person – good news is always better that way. I waited several weeks until I was visiting them. And I was so excited that I could hardly wait.

We went to dinner after I got off the plane. And at the restaurant, I handed them each a business card with my pseudonym and tagline. They read it, then looked up at me with a slightly puzzled look.

"You're supposed to ask me who Chloe Devlin is," I prompted them.

They played along and were extremely surprised and delighted to find out that I had actually sold something. I do think that the type of story startled them. I won't say shocked because, to me, that implies disapproval. And nothing could be further from the truth.

But I can truly say that my family is great. From that first wonderful reaction from my parents to my brother-in-law who says that he has a whole new respect for me, to my sister who tells him not to get any ideas from my stories, to my brother who thinks what I write is "Suhweeeet!"

My extended family has been equally as supportive. I've proudly told them about the sales, letting them know exactly what the stories were like. Most of them will probably never read the anthologies – but that's okay. They're still proud of me and what I've accomplished.

And that love and support is perhaps the best feeling of all that came from selling a few erotic short stories.