Pursuing a Rogue Route to Publishing

By Sandra L. Young

In life, I tend to adhere to the expectations of polite modern society. But in my publishing journey, I’ve ended up pursuing a more adventurous, rogue route. 

For my three-book Divine Vintage series, I dared to defy genre, wrapping romances around historical mysteries and a ghostly sizzle. You may know that cross-genre books aren’t the easiest to peddle to traditional publishing. Some publishers and agents are cautious, saying they don’t know where to place it on a bookshelf. 

But thankfully, that didn’t keep me from landing a small press contract, because I definitely enjoyed the challenge of swirling all the different components together. While those novels haven’t hit bestseller status, they are appealing to a happy niche audience with reviews averaging 4.5 stars.

Like many aspiring writers, I wrote these first drafts a dozen years ago. Gathering knowledge from webinars, classes, articles, etc., I continued to refine and improve the manuscripts over the years–expanding them from romances to full-on genre joyrides. 

You see, the books weren’t mysteries when I wrote them. In Divine Vintage, the modern-day heroine knew exactly “whodunnit.” Tess’s goal was to prove her visionary revelations to the hunky, skeptical descendant of the accused murderer, and hopefully clear that man’s name. But as time meandered on, I realized this book and its companion tales begged to encompass true mysteries. Like a patchwork quilt, I reworked them to stitch in suspects, suspicions, and red herrings. 

With my love of historical fiction, I was further compelled to enhance the dual-timeline POVs. Those heroines’ tales span from 1913 to the 1980s. Phoebe, Ellen, and Liza are great, plucky characters who demanded—and deserved—their say. After all, a couple of them lost their lives much too young. 

Lastly, I’m a major social justice advocate, having managed nonprofits for several years. New plotlines and characters emerged, pleading to insert themselves. Divine Vintage came to feature a homelessness plot with a veteran whose PTSD triggers addiction and estrangement from his family. He becomes a reluctant but necessary addition to solving the mystery. In Divinely Dramatic, the leads help a teen who has run away from a challenging family situation. 

So now we have a jaunt of slow-burn romances with mid-level heat, balanced against historical mysteries, social justice side plots, AND the ghostly interventions. They’re all tied together by vintage clothing threads. 

The vintage aspect, at least, remained true from these novels’ early days. In Divine Vintage, Phoebe’s 1913 story is told through her diary entries and Tess’s visions of the past, which are introduced through the catalyst of trousseau clothing and accessories. In writing the initial novella-length stories, I drew from my passion of collecting garments and jewelry over three decades. 

My collection fills a small bedroom, and now offers the fun advantage of anchoring my social media and book branding. I’ve really enjoyed sharing one of my offbeat, favorite hobby topics through these novels. 

In releasing the finale to the fashion-forward trilogy in May, I also embraced another measure of risk. The Ghostly Diva is a prequel as I decided to maintain the order in which I wrote them. Since there’s a very lifelike ghost in the book, I also gambled to include “ghostly” in the title, thinking it might attract a paranormal-leaning audience. 

In brutal hindsight, The Ghostly Diva title instead may put off readers of romance and women’s fiction, while some paranormal fans will prefer a darker-edged read. Ah well, we live and learn. 

When Diva and Divinely Dramatic were published this year, I reached another crossroads decision. What path to pursue next? Stay the course in the cross-genre lane…or pivot?

Book four is truth-based historical fiction. Screech! Swerve! Pivot!

The Eighth Wonder of Lillian Sinclair is set in southern Indiana, highlighting an Edwardian hotel heiress who sacrificed love and happiness to protect the family legacy of constructing the largest freestanding dome in the world—until she met a much-younger, wounded soldier. The magnificent, restored landmark still welcomes guests today, though the sulfur-rich mineral spas have been capped.

I suppose that’s another way I’ve gone rogue with my stories: these books are all set in Indiana. Not exactly a hotbed among literary settings. But with the Lake Michigan shore highlighting the Divine Vintage series, and the incredible domed hotel anchoring Lillian’s tale, I hope the locations are intriguing. 

Oh, and for this fourth book, I’ve careened into the querying fast lane–a road rife with rejection potholes. No bites so far, but I remain hopeful since the opening pages earned a bronze medal in the prestigious Historical Novel Society First Chapters’ Contest. 

So, am I swinging firmly into the historical fiction lane? 

Nope. My next two WIPs are pure women’s fiction, without the mystery and ghostly side trips. 

Perhaps I should adopt a motto: “I refuse to niche.” In life and in creativity. Though these bookish side trips may complicate my ability to make a splash, I relish the challenge of attempting various genres and tropes. And for me, knowing that there are readers who appreciate and applaud those efforts makes it all worthwhile. 

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When she isn’t writing, Sandra L. Young loves performing. She’s even written and presented two short plays. One of her most memorable onstage roles was as Mrs. Kendall in The Elephant Man, when the troupe won the Indiana state competition. To round out her love of the arts, she sings with a trio and a praise band and dabbles in poetry—including taking first place in a regional contest. To check out her Divine Vintage book series and see pieces from her vintage collection, visit  https://sandrayoungauthor.com. 

 

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