Making people cry

People sometimes tell me that my book’s ending makes them cry. And that makes me happy.

Not that I want to cause anyone any angst. Readers usually mean that the ending has moved them somehow, that they related to it deeply enough that their emotions overflowed. What could be better news for a writer?

I am hoping, when telling my stories, to use the tools of fiction to communicate truth. Are my characters real? No. Is the situation real? No. Is the transformation real? Yes.

I’ve often thought that fiction allows us to experience things we would otherwise never know. If the fiction is “real” enough, we gain a memory of something we didn’t have to physically experience. Yet, in experiencing the fiction, we become more compassionate for those who have experienced it in fact.

This has been known to change the world. Look at The Jungle. How else would people have discovered the misery of the meatpacking industry? Certainly few had ever walked those blood-soaked floors. Yet they read that book and felt something. It caused them to take action. And lives were changed.

What books have changed the world for you?

 

About the, you know, sex…

I wrote to my dear older friend to tell her about launching Daddy Issues. She’s someone I’ve known for years and really respect. She’s also the matriarch of an astonishing family and one of the most spiritual people I know. So, I had to warn her a little about the, you know, sex.

She wrote me this:

Whoo Hoo, yippee, hooray for you… I’m proud of you… Keep in mind that our sexuality, explicit or otherwise, is part of our humanness and should be celebrated, especially when we come to terms with, AND WRITE ABOUT, it… Your writing, it seems to me, is a blessing and a step forward. It’s your unique take on life. Now, go bask in the bounty of good all around you, and that includes your talent…

So grateful for that vote of confidence! And for the truth that I believe as well: that we should celebrate our completeness, see ourselves as whole, not as bits and pieces where some parts are good and other parts are bad.

It’s all good.

Why I wrote Daddy Issues

I got a new insight into this Bible passage this morning. I’d never understood the last part before:

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. (Matt. 11:5,6)

Suddenly this morning, the last part meant to me, “Blessed is he who is not offended when I help people most others don’t like.”

Which is kind of why I wrote Daddy Issues. To shed light on things some folks find offensive or disturbing. And yes, some people are offended by some of what I wrote. So I’m doubly, triply thankful this morning for those of you who are not. You are changing the world.

Daddy Issues published

Thrilling Thanksgiving. Even though I was thousands of miles away from family, I still had the super-charged excitement of publishing my debut novel, Daddy Issues.

I have a lot to be thankful for, indeed. The support of my family in this quest, many friends who have stood by me, beta readers who gave essential feedback, and the many vendors who added their professionalism to the final product.

I send this out in to the world hoping it will increase understanding about the issues it addresses: intense sexuality, relationships in the face of mental conditions, parent/child dilemmas, and finding one’s inner truth.