My confused rant

What to do. What to do? What to do!

So, it has recently penetrated my ever so stubborn brain, that I might be writing in the wrong genre. Now, I am not saying that I would ever leave the romance or erotic-romance genre... I love it there. BUT... it appears the taste buds of the world are ravenous for well written m/m romances (erotic or otherwise). Up to now all my babies have been very hetero, of course 'Boundaries' has the added element of interracial threesome... but still hetero. The newest one, 'Cuban Matings' which is slotted to be released on October 1st has a delightfully flamboyant gay man in it and he does get his moment (or two) in the spot light. Many thanks to my friend DJ Manley for the boost in confidence with my first m/m love scene. But the main character is Max's bestest best, Anna.... very straight! Should I have put these two in the same story? Will readers accept m/m and m/f on the same pages? Does anyone really care?

Write what you know! I have... I do! I will... as I have lived in many a haunted house and have been surrounded with superstitions, apparitions and a love for anything vampirish my whole life, my newest WIP is a sexy vampire tale. You guessed it.... hetero!

Write what sells! What sells right now it seems is m/m. Can I simply switch? Could I do it justice? Yes I have gay and lesbian friends on the Internet and in my everyday 'real' life and see their love lives in the same context as any one else's... beautiful roller coasters of emotion. But, do I jump on the band wagon and write a tale of two men? Could I bring the same sensuality to that relationship that I strive to give to all my man and woman couples? Do I make this leap of faith under my own name and hope that any who have actually read my work (are there really any out there?) will follow and accept this change up?

I am so confused. I write because I absolutely love the idea that my words, which begin as floating little tickles in my brain, can go out into the world and entertain someone, make them smile, laugh or cry. But.... making a little bit of money from my beloved craft would be nice too. M/M is selling like hotcakes right now! Do I try for my slice of that pie or do I quietly continue icing my hetero cake and wait for those faithful few to come and sneak the crumbs?

A well written story is a well written story... does it really matter the gender of the lovers? Apparently it does. Oh, what to do! I'll try to let you know how this works out.

Happy Ever After?

Does a love story need a Happy Ever After ending to be considered a good story?

I know that we all like those HEA endings. Who wouldn’t like the hero charging up on his valiant steed to take his beloved away to a life filled with love and contentment? Who doesn’t want to see them walking hand in hand off into the sunset?

We all like stories that are wrapped up with nice happy bows at the end and leave us feeling that all is right in the world. It gives us all hope that even in the worst circumstances there is a chance that our on stories will find a way to end happily. Doesn’t it?

But does there HAVE to be a HEA? Is a romance still a romance if it’s not for life? Is it still as moving and heart-capturing if it leaves you weeping for the characters? Most of what I write has the required HEA, but my story A Time to Dance doesn’t. Does that make it less of a romance? I say… NO. Sometimes in life in order to see and appreciate the good, the wonderful, the beautiful, we have to also witness the bad, the tragic, and the ugly.

What about Love Story? A very good movie. A wonderful book. An extremely tragic ending.

What about Romeo and Juliet? They overcame so much and thought they had the own happily-ever-after all worked out. Another tragic ending.
So, my question you is this… Does knowing that there is no Happy Ever After make you turn away from a book? Even if it could possibly be a very good read? Do you as a reader need a HEA?