Kindle is blowing the publishing industry wide open. For the first time, authors are choosing to self-publish and completely by-pass the traditional publishers and democratize the whole process. This gives readers so many choices that they might not have had otherwise. Certainly, some self-published works are not of the highest quality, but many are, sometimes more than the traditionally published works. Instead of having their choices directed by publishers, readers can choose completely by themselves. Beyond that, Kindle allows folks to carry quite literally thousands of books with them wherever they go. This can do nothing but increase literacy and promote reading. With Kindle Unlimited, this is especially true.
I worked as a teacher librarian in a high school for many years before retiring so I think I have a pretty good handle on the answer to this question, at least at the high school level. Many schools' English departments have only literary fiction when in fact, most teens prefer genre fiction. There is a false idea bouncing around out there that genre fiction--fantasy, sci-fi, horror, romance, paranormal, etc--is less important or has less literary merit or depth than literary fiction. I used to hear over and over, "Why do we have to read such depressing books?" It's a fair comment. If we want to increase literacy and love of reading, we need to provide kids with what they want to read. In my school district, I was the first to develop a large graphic novel/anime collection. As soon as I did, a whole new bunch of students began to come into the library and kept coming into the library because I was offering them what they wanted.
I'm not sure about all of my books, but I feel The Bastard of Saint Genevra is similar to Amy Tan's books, particularly The Hundred Secret Senses. Having said that, I don't think about other authors' styles when I am writing so this question might be better answered by my readers.
I am already working on a rewrite of Greenwich List. It is my first book--a novella actually--and I want to fill it out and make it into a full-length novel.
I generally get up before my husband--no particular time but usually between 5 am and 6:30 am and write until my husband gets up often at 9 am. This gives me between 2 1/2 and 4 hours of solid writing time. I do this seven days a week. I love my writing process so I rarely feel like I need to take a day off. I have also done Nanowrimo several times as well as the 3-Day Novel Contest. When I do this, particularly with the 3-Day Novel Contest, I write much longer hours.
I don't believe in writer's block. What I think writer's block actually is, is a problem with self-judgment. I think that when writers get stuck it is because they are judging their ideas instead of just starting to write. There is a quote that is attributed to Hemingway: "The first draft of anything is sh*t." When I teach writing to beginning students, I start with this quote. This frees us to write without worrying about mistakes or quality. Instead, we can get our first draft down and make the corrections in the editing process, where corrections belong.
When I published my first book I thought, "Yay, I'm finished!" but much like with tattoos, one is never enough. I thought I would be done with Greenwich List, however, six books in, I'm happy to say that I was wrong and I am still writing. The process itself is not much different, but my attitude is. I will never run out of ideas.
Think about self-care. Do what you can to make things less stressful. Go for a walk. Have a bath. Take a nap. Cuddle your dog. Whatever works for you. Meet with other writers--face-to-face is best if you can. Even if you don't discuss writing, you all have a common interest and that makes for friendships, and human connection reduces stress. Most importantly, watch your self-talk. Instead of criticizing yourself, give yourself praise, or at least, give yourself a break. Writing is hard and it is something that not everyone can do. You deserve a pat on the back.
