I was blabbing with one of the MOST talented authors I’ve ever met (more about her in a
Just a pretty picture, nothing to do with the blog!
second) mainly sharing thoughts about writing, publishing, and frustration with both. Plus, of course, dogs. I first met her through dogs, which isn’t that much of a shock since books and dogs have kind of become my life.
I mentioned something about the bad rap Romance continues to receive, and she commented other than the war machine military sort of books, don’t we all write about Romance?
Hmmm. I mulled that over on the way home and for the next few days and realized I think about Relationships rather than “Romance” since relationships are the web of our lives. Whatever sort of relationship: positive, negative, adversarial, loving. Between people and people, people and animals, people and the world around them. It’s all about how we relate to each other. This brings those militaristic books into the fold, big time.
A good story, or a bad story, has to do with how the characters relate to each other, and to
the situations we put them in. How do they succeed? What is success in the context of the world we create for them?
Our own lives consist of intertwining relationships, with other people, with jobs, our environment, our loves. And not so loving, of course. These disparate threads intertwine to form the net that becomes our lives. Sometimes the net is kind of sparse, especially up close though we might have a wealth of friends far away. But it’s there, waiting for us to recognize its existence, and maybe more lines to weave in. Kind of makes me feel less lonely.
That writer? The one I met through dogs? Such a talented wordsmith, I feel so fortunate to know her and share her knowledge as one of the threads in my net. Oh, her name? Doranna Durgin. If you’ve not read her before you have such a treat in story for you, whether you prefer High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy (she has a unique take on shape shifters), or strong women who protect themselves Romantic Suspense. I’m hearing a rumor of the third book in a compelling paranormal about for-real ghostbusters and a man from…you really need to read these, the first one is The Reckoners. The third one will be out very soon, you’ll probably have just enough time to read One and Two. Enjoy!
Mona Karel Author 