Pick A Lane

I don’t feel sorry for Bud Light. Not one bit! Why? Because they thought they’d be successful by continuing to change lanes when all they did was crash and burn. When they first sent Dylan Mulvaney the can with her face on it celebrating her journey, if I was so inclined to drink beer, I might have chosen a bud light just to be supportive of a company that supports trans rights. But after all the backlash, the weaktits tried to course correct and offered zero support to Dylan, who faced the full brunt of the assault from MAGA world. Bud Light thought they’d capitalize on a brand-new market but then ran away like scared little boys. They still haven’t recovered because that’s what a company gets when they try to weave in and out of several lanes without picking one. Alternately, Disney stuck to their guns, picked a lane, and remained there. They continue to fight with Deshitass, and hopefully, they will ultimately prevail. Sure, Disney is a big corporate giant that has probably not been the most supportive company in its entire history, but at least Disney didn’t flip-flop mere weeks after declaring their support for the LGBTQ+ community. Then there’s Barbie, the movie. The movie is unapologetically feminist, features a trans-Barbie, and has basically thumbed its nose at the MAGA extremists. Not only did they pick their lane, but they revved the engine and flew down that highway on their way to probably one of the highest-grossing movies ever made. Good for them!

All these recent made-up controversies got me thinking about writers who choose to pick a lane and stay there versus folks like me who weave in and out like a drunken monkey. The difference is that while I write in many different sub-genres that could be perceived as not picking a lane, my politics and core values are squarely in the left lane. On that, I’ve never wavered. I’ve also stated that I have zero interest in writing a mainstream romance with heterosexual characters. I’m a sapphic writer and will remain a sapphic writer until I die. But am I making a mistake by not creating a brand or picking a lane? Recently, I’ve been writing romantic thrillers based on the characters from my Asset Management series and have been told that’s my lane. Certainly, the relative success with those sales might indicate a certain truth in that statement.

I have three more books coming out next year, allowing me to continue to speed down that lane. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I can stay there. My need for variety, to color outside the lines, and take chances will undoubtedly be my undoing. I can’t help myself. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, and like Bud Light, when I change lanes again, I’ll probably feel the sting of failure. Just like the advice to keep politics out of your books, advising me to stay in my lane is the good advice I just can’t take! If you’re the kind of reader that enjoys variety or likes surprises, never knowing what kind of novel you’re going to get, you may want to check out my backlist…plenty of books to check out there. If, on the other hand, you like the lane I’ve recently driven in, the third book, Love Bonds, in my romantic thriller series is now out worldwide. I invite you to check it out. I can only hope it does as well as the previous two books in the series. You can make that happen for me and give me the leeway to write those less successful books in the future!