While I was at the ACFW Conference a week or so ago (yeah, I'm still banging on that drum), I pitched an idea to an editor for a historical I've got floating around in my grey matter. She smiled politely and even nodded in the right places, but she didn't go for it. The problem with my story is that there's not one Amish character in the dang thing, and besides Yoders and lots of cows getting milked, the only other kind of historical they're acquiring is prairie romance...which is basically the same thing but with tall grass.

But that didn't stop me. I knew this particular publisher was also looking for contemporaries with humor and mystery, so I pulled out a story I've been working on with a buddy. It's a wacky crime solving tale with 2 widowed sisters-in-law who live in a retirement community. The editor smiled and nodded, then asked me which genre I wanted to write in, historical or contemporary? Serious or humorous?

Ummm....all of the above?

Let's just say that appointment went on a non-stop trip to Nowheresville. It did, however, force me to revisit my stance on the issue of writing in only one genre.

Question: Does a writer have to write in one genre only?
Answer: No

Did I seriously say that out loud? Yep, and I do so knowing such a view goes against what most every agent and editor will tell you.

Question: Who in the bleepity-bleep do I think I am disagreeing with the all-powerful and wise publishing professionals?
Answer: A Big Nobody

But (and I've always got a big but) that doesn't mean I can't hold a differing opinion. The thing about writing in two genres (and I don't advocate writing in many more than that) is if you have a passion, why restrict your storytelling to a particular box?

Oh, I know. It's a marketing nightmare. It makes branding nearly impossible. Readers won't know what to expect. Blah, blah, loud and obnoxious raspberry noise.

Call me schizophrenic (go ahead, I've been called worse) but I honestly do have a passion for each of these stories even though one is set in the pre-revolutionary war era and the other is modern day. I thought I'd solved this dilemma by writing time travel, which encompasses  any time period. It was a great idea literally speaking, but money-making wise, not so much.

Question: So as I sit down to write today, what story should I work on?
Answer: Umm. Yeah. Great question.

Maybe I'll just crawl back into my Regency pigeon hole and nest for the winter.