Welcome to Day 24 of the Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. The question I put out to all of these authors was “What challenges do you face in writing romance in today’s society?”

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too. I’ll put the link at the bottom of this post.

Today my guest author is Kylie Sabra and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about Kylie and her book The Singing Dagger.

What Challenges do you face writing romance in today’s society?

The world is fast-paced—people rushing to and fro with little free time. No one wants to slow down, or worse, they fear they can’t slow down or they will fall behind. Even as a professional writer and artist, I suffer from this same delusion. So. I understand it well. In this digital age where movies, news and scoops du jour are delivered to our televisions, PCs, pads and phones; I fear that people are put off at the thought of picking up a 300+ page novel. To propound this problem is the growing number of e-books that call themselves novels—many numbering less than 100 pages. I could not for the life of me figure out how people who were 20 years my junior had 30-50 books under their belts. That’s when I discovered that these were really stories—maybe novellas.

How do I react to this craving for instant literary gratification? I don’t.

Mastery of language is a magical gift. I would prefer to anguish over the exact choice of one word to achieve that perfect nuance than to bash out 20 pages, just for the sake of writing to appeal to the masses. I love to excite all of the senses when I write.

I talk about scents.

“The comforting smells of smoked sausages and boiled potatoes hooked their fingers beneath the sleeping Shadows’ noses and pulled them into consciousness. “  

I try to bring imagery to something as simple as the sound of silence . . .

“Just as suddenly, quiet quilted the room.”

. . . or the pain of loss.

“The clear sky turned sickly green. Ominous clouds gathered over the ocean and fingers of lightning beckoned Finn to the cliff’s edge. The wind whipped his golden hair back from his contorted face. As thunder hammered the earth, Finn and the climaxing gale released their pent up fury in one rending wail after another.”

I don’t believe these are things achieved without careful consideration. So my greatest challenge is not to fall victim to the demand to proliferate words, but rather to stay my course and choose my path—and my words—carefully. 

 Biography

Kylie Addison Sabra was born in the middle of the U.S. in 1956. She grew up in Texas and has lived the last 19 years in the Seattle area, which she thinks of as her forever home. She is the mother of two grown sons, Jason and James, and is fiercely proud of them both. Her husband Scott is her best friend, love and chief supporter. 
Ms. Sabra has been writing and creating art for most of her life in one capacity or another. Now, they are her full-time children to foster and grow. For the past three years she has served as curator for The Rose Theatre Galleries, a virtual gallery in the Second Life Grid. It was here that she found the courage to make art her living as well as her life.

Visited by tragedy and heart-wrenching deception, Erin retreats into self-imposed isolation. But the Fates are not finished with her and she is uprooted from her respite to face the dark forces that threaten to swallow her entirely. Aidan, fettered by his dark parentage and past, is drawn to Erin by the duties of his position and is held to her by the love she awakens in him. Bradach is powerful, beautiful, immortal and ever struggles with his all-too-human jealousy. Erin can’t understand his hatred for Aidan, nor can she shake the feeling that she has known him from some other time, but the feeling is fleeting and can’t be held to grasp. Brieanna, Erin’s life-long friend, wears wisdom like a comfortable old shawl, and her quiet confidence is just what Finn, Aidan’s brother, needs to escape the terrors that drive him. The four humans find themselves the central figures in a centuries-old prophecy and bind themselves together to fight the encroaching horrors from the south that threaten to cover the four kingdoms of Tara in shadow. Tara must now return to the magic that was such a rich part of their heritage, now reviled, in order to save the lands they love. Standing together with the four immortal Elders of Tara; Erin, Aidan, Brieanna and Finn take their predestined places as the Bearers of the Promise and the saviors of Tara.

Check out Kylie’s book, you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s the link to Rosie’s side of the tour: http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-2uU