When I write, I start with a
story that I just need to tell, but I always try to fill it with things that I
think collectively entertain. I like there to be some suspense or mystery...sometimes
action. I insert real-life issues (politics, genocide, racism, hate) into
whatever world I'm building, hoping to spark something within the reader. I
almost always include a budding romance, but most of the time I keep it PG.
For me, I'm drawn to a book
based on the plot, but completely saturated by the relationships between the
characters. In real life, first/new-love is so powerful; I find myself writing
it into most stories. The best books are the ones that can affect me viscerally
and cerebrally. I do my best to try and deliver that to you, the readers.
The
next book I want to publish, Uncut
(current title), started out as a story about hate. People can feel some pretty
powerful emotions toward the unknown. Uncut
focuses on hate concerning sexual orientation and racism. But, it’s largely
about how the two main characters deal with that hate and build something
beautiful despite of it.
I’m
getting closer to my sales goal from Incineration
and Burning Ascension to move forward
with Uncut. It’s the most romantic
and visceral book I’ve written. They say that there’s a fine line between love
and hate. I think it’s more like those emotions elicit such a powerful response
within us that it’s sometimes more fluid and less rigid of a line. It’s why we
do and say mean things to our loved ones on occasion—our hold on our emotions
loosens and some nonsense slips out.
Uncut felt like it had to have a
stronger romantic presence to compete with the hate—to show that despite living
the worst-case-scenario, something beautiful and strong could develop like a
plant bursting through the scorched earth after a fire.
So,
no matter what recipe you need to love
a book, just know that your writers are trying to find it for you. Know that
when you really hate a book, that author was still trying their best to reach
you. When an author hits a home-run for
you, that’s exactly what they were trying to do.
Happy
reading :)
