There are two things in fiction guaranteed to sell: sex and nostalgia.

If you’re like me, you watched in horror as a poorly written smut book shot up the best-seller lists, so it’s not likely you’ll write the next 50 Shades of Anything. But the second option is up for grabs. In case you haven’t noticed, there seems to be a plethora of books, movies, and TV shows set in the not-so-distant past. We’re talking 70s and 80s. You know, the years we lived through!

Authors like Rainbow Rowell are seizing the moment on the rush to nostalgia. And her teen readers love it. After all, they’re reading about characters who may have been their own parents. TV shows like Stranger Things are not only set in the 80s, the entire production reflects the production styles of the time. Check that one out on Netflix or just Google the opening credits and you’ll see what I mean.

While a few of you may be mortified that the younger generation considers your childhood a fascinating taste of American history, I, for one, am rejoicing. One of the difficulties of writing contemporary fiction is keeping up with modern technology, trends, and language. Have your characters texting each other and, by the time your book is published, we may be using holograms sprouting up from our iWatches. And we know better than to slip current slang into our dialogue. In six months, it’ll be ancient history.

With nostalgia writing, however, we know exactly what our characters have at their disposal. Not much, right? Got a flat tire? You were stuck changing it yourself or walking to the nearest phone booth. Younger readers will be fascinated by “life on the frontier.” Older readers will nod and reminisce along with you. As for slang, we’re finally free to go for it! Your readers expect it to be a lost language, so no one is going to write you off as out-of-touch.

Since settings from the 1970s on aren’t considered historical fiction, we’re not held so tightly to the standards of the armchair historians. After all, we’re simply remembering our past. If you haven’t given nostalgia writing a try, this may be your time. So start flipping through those embarrassing yearbooks and see what sparks an idea. You get a trip down memory lane. Your readers get a great story!

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Ron Estrada is the author of the Cherry Hill series, a regular columnist for Women2Women Michigan, and contributor to The Novel Rocket. You can find out what he’s up to at RonEstradaBooks.com.