I'm super excited about this, and in fact, I'm so pumped that I can hardly contain myself! I've got HUGE news to share with you! This year I turned forty-one, but I still feel like a kid. Technically, I'm a Gen X cusper because I was born in 1981, which means I relate more to them than Millenials since we're the kids-of-divorce-generation who were left to our own devices and highly unsupervised, but I'm tech-savvy, unlike the older Gen X crowd. It's hardly surprising that I didn't grow up, considering my first "real job" was as a software beta tester and doing tech support, which is just a way of saying that I tested video games back in the day.
I've always loved games! Aside from books, games were a way that I could escape from my childhood. I read a lot of paranormal, horror, and science fiction. Romance came later, but earlier than expected, because I used to have a babysitter named Sherry Luv. Yes, her name was really love, just not spelled the same. She used to have a thing for romance novels, specifically historical romance, and the ever-popular Harlequin paperbacks and books that heavily featured Fabio on the cover. I learned a lot about sex from fiction and the Playboy magazines that my father would leave in the downstairs den bathroom when I'd infrequently go on visits. I think he asked me once how I "knew about all this BDSM stuff" *rolling eyes* and I didn't have the heart to say, "Really, Dad?" So, I stuttered something to the effect of having Internet access and doing research for my writing. What did he expect? I've been reading romance and looking at porn since elementary school. We were the kids on the back of milk cartons and survived a time when there were actual commercials (e.g., advertisements that split up your favorite show before streaming existed) that asked, "It's 10 pm. Do you know where your kids are?" True story.
I've decided to go old school with my writing and allow you to be the main character with interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories through an app available for Android and Apple devices. I also made the first "episode" a prompt so that you can create fanfiction with the same characters and world. It's hardly revolutionary since books and games have paved the way for interactivity.
I'm so thrilled to share interactive stories with you. I'm seriously passionate about it, and I love supporting a new platform that's women-owned, and most of the creators are women or diverse too. Considering that I used to work in the gaming industry, which is still largely male-dominated, I love seeing women do innovative things, and chatting with the VP on Discord was refreshing. When I saw it on Tech Crunch, I knew that readers would LOVE being part of the story. The romance writing community is mostly women, and we support one another. Women should support other women, so I'm excited to be a part of this and share it with my readers!
You get all this and more when you sign up to be a patron through my website. It's like Patreon, but the difference is that it's through my site instead. See, I'm old, and I remember MySpace. I'd hate to publish all this AMAZING content through Patreon, and then, in five years, it doesn't exist anymore. Not that I think they're going anywhere, but history has a way of repeating itself.
For five bucks a month, you'll get access to all the eBooks on my website in a Welcome Gift .zip file, any re-release or anniversary editions, new books as they come out, rough draft chapters as I'm writing them, bonus scenes, behind-the-scenes tidbits, early looks at cover art, polls that you can vote on, and other bonus content such as interactive stories or games. Trust me! It's going to be baller! (I just moved to the Philadelphia suburbs, so I've been picking up new vocabulary and catchphrases.)
Anyway, you can sign-up and try it, and if it's not your thing, you can cancel at any time. Learn more by clicking here. Again, I'm just happy to be here, and I feel so grateful that all of you stuck by me through a messy divorce, remarriage to the most wonderful man, going back to college as a non-traditional student, and finding my way back. Your support means everything to me, and I feel so lucky to have met so many incredible people through the writing community. Thank you for supporting me and allowing me to share my fictional worlds with you!
xoxo,
-A.C.
