Writing through the Storm

Those of you who are empathetic understand completely when I say recent years have felt like we were catapulted into an alternative universe—not merely because of dramatic changes in policy, but because of changes in what people tolerate. Suddenly, it seemed anything—regardless of how dark—might happen. Once, many years ago, I was in a situation I found nearly unbearable because it meant I was forced to stand aside and allow children I loved to be mistreated. I thought I was going to implode from the shock to my morality. For years afterward, merely talking about the experience made me physically quake deep within. The past few years have presented a shadow that echoes those times.

When I began writing THEY’RE IN YOUR MIND, I had no intention of dealing with current events beyond wildfires in California. I thought I was going to write about a dysfunctional marriage relationship. But when I write, my subconscious mind takes me…where? Into motivations and actions I didn’t anticipate—like sliding down a slippery slope in a dense fog. Characters who wanted to be challenged appeared and demanded to interact. They didn’t want to instruct. They wanted to evolve.

As I write today, the world is wrestling with the pandemic of coronavirus, COVID-19. Some are overwhelmed. Some deny it’s significant. Some are using the occasion to further personal agendas. And for some, it’s natural selection at work—getting rid of the weak as you might shove paper clutter from your desk. Regardless of what you believe about the virus, you can learn a great deal about human nature in its many incarnations by looking around. What makes people so cold-hearted they don’t care what happens to countless victims as long as they themselves can benefit? What makes others willing to risk their lives and the lives of their families to help? The range of human reaction is astounding.

Ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances: Are the circumstances in the minds of my characters the stuff of science fiction or science itself? THEY’RE IN YOUR MIND will tease you with questions you may never have considered while it sets you in a maze to puzzle through the ugly and the beautiful, love and hate. The novel insisted on being written when I kept trying to walk away. Why? You’ll have to decide. What is it that demanded to be told? I hope you find an answer which both entertains and fulfills you.

(They’re in Your Mind is currently available for sale on Amazon.com as either a paperback or Kindle book. If you purchase from Amazon, you’ll qualify to write a brief review. They’re in Your Mind will soon be offered from other outlets.)