Am I the only lover of dark and terrible stories out there? Okay, I get it. Backbone is not a romp in the park. It discomforts. It disturbs the status quo. That’s because I play in the shadows. I go where the heart and soul don’t want to go but must go to heal the wounds that this world inflicts. I know that it isn’t easy to dwell in dark places even for the space of a book. But reading shouldn’t always be easy—even for readers of romance. Surely romance isn’t only about sweetness and light and everything nice. Where would this world be without Jane Eyre? That tragic and painful but ultimately up-lifting story. Which is not to say that fun and light don’t have their place. We all have that child of faith still living inside us that thrives in the bubble of innocence and joy. But there is also power in doing battle with ones demons; though, I admit, it’s easier to slip by that war, if possible, and ignore the wounds that won’t heal.
I write about a happiness that comes as a gift longed for but given up on in the long trek of torments that can beset a person. I write about a happiness that my characters can’t have at first because it must come after the struggle that purifies and transcends crimes and regrets and loss. Yes, there is darkness. Yes, there is ugliness. Yes, my characters look into the abyss, and the abyss doesn’t just look back at them but yanks them in. But can there ever be a transformative victory without the struggle?
I must believe that even people at the absolute nadir of their lives and hopes will rise and share in the happiness that is strangely, and possibly unfairly, one of the only experiences some people will have. Those lucky, charmed people. My characters aren’t charmed, or at least they aren’t charmed for long. But in the end, they rise out of the muck and flame like brilliant suns. Of course, people have to be willing to go on my character’s journeys with me to share in this. They have to bear the discomfort and not look away. I know that you’re out there. But how do I find you, my kindred spirits?
Who wants to brave the dark with me?
