Hi, guys!
There’s a trend here lately, leaning our society toward sensitivity, and it’s creeping into literature. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for being thoughtful in your actions and your words. There’s no reason to hurt people unnecessarily.
It’s just that…there have been a lot of books throughout time, especially lately, that have been considered controversial.
But let’s be real here.
Sometimes…that’s exactly what we need.
Here’s what I mean by that.
Books about tyrannical governments can show us if our own government is…maybe taking advantage of its citizens.
A book about suicide might be the one that cues someone into the signs their secretly suicidal friend is sending out. That might be the book that gets someone the help they need.
Maybe someone in denial about the abusive, manipulative tendencies of their partner will read a book that features an abusive relationship and identify with the character.
Maybe they’ll be in denial about it still…until they hear someone else comment on how abusive and manipulative the love interest was, citing little behaviors that the real life person is dealing with on a daily basis but minimizing and hiding from others. Or until the love interest gets a little more abusive and kills the MC. (Or if you want a happy ending, maybe they try to kill the MC, but the MC fights back for the first time, and wins. Who knows.)
Maybe that’ll show the real life person that they need to do something about their own life before it’s too late.
A book about sexual abuse might show someone that they’re not alone and give them the courage to reach out. Knowing I wasn’t alone was all it took for me to tell someone what happened to me.
My point is, not all books need to be about role models who learn lessons from every experience in their life. Not all books have to feature relationships that are #goals or love interests worthy of being a book boyfriend.
Sometimes literature needs to show us the grit, the worst case scenario.
Sometimes it takes seeing the bad to realize what we need to do to fix our own lives, and books are a safe way to do that.
Sometimes books are meant to show us the less pleasant option.
Other times, they’re just meant to be realistic.
People have flaws. People make mistakes.
People do bad things and hurt the ones they care about.
It happens, whether it should or shouldn’t.
It’s part of being human.
So stop banning books because they aren’t fluffy enough. Stop banning books or shaming authors for having the guts to write about difficult topics or mean people or abusive relationships.
Sometimes, that’s exactly what we need in our books.
To show us what not to do or put up with. To challenge how we see things.
Now, the is rant over…Lol.
Guys, The Gem of Meruna rereleases in just a week and a half! I’m so excited to have this book out the way it should have been released the first time. It’s been a long time in the making, but it’s finally going to be made right.
Don’t forget to preoder your copy!
I will be hosting a giveaway, I’m just waiting for the books to get here before I officially open the entries. Just in case they get damaged or lost in the holiday mail or something.
So stay tuned. As soon as the giveaway copies get here, I’ll be announcing it. There will be stickers and magnets and bookmarks to accompany them. As with the Soul Bearer giveaway, the winner chosen from my email subscriber list will get a copy of my novella, Annabelle, as well.
(I just got a freaking amazing review for that one from Magic Book Corner, btw. If you haven’t yet, check out themagicbookcorner.com for loads of book reviews.)
Anyway, I’ve been busily editing Where Darkness Leads and hammering away at writing my new story, as well. I started on some formatting for World for the Broken.
All in all, last week was super busy.
Keep reading. Keep writing.
Later.