Opioids. Human trafficking. domestic violence. sexual violence. These are all topics that I have delved into in my work. No, I don’t write sensational exposés or insightful nonfiction. I write commercial thrillers and page-turning novels that aim to captivate readers and cheer them up on sleepless nights.
My biggest motivation is to entertain people. I live for the art of storytelling. I love creating rich worlds and complex characters that captivate you and keep you spending hours. So why did I choose to introduce readers to such a gruesome and creepy real-world issue like human trafficking? Because I’m not only a commercial artist, but also an invested citizen of the world. Because there is. Like everyone else, I scroll through Google News and wonder how the world will survive today. Whether it’s a suburban domestic suspense or an international crime thriller, I can’t help but inject contemporary issues into the plot. That’s my way of understanding the world. That’s how you anchor the reader in your world.
I don’t shy away from difficult topics. After all, I write modern thrillers, and what’s happening in the world today is the basis of thrillers. (Let’s grow old by binge eating and drinking) Law and Order: SVU—All episodes were ripped straight from the headlines and included nice interactions between characters discussing moral dilemmas regarding social issues regular). I also believe that if you want to elicit a reaction from your work, you need to tickle people’s nerves. Is this a wise approach to captivating readers? I think so. We want people to empathize with our characters and their experiences. We want our readers to have an opinion and an emotional response.we want them to feel. (I always say I’m not completely heartbroken by one-star reviews. If you pissed off the reviewer that much, you obviously hit a nerve.)
I’ve written a variety of thrillers, and through them I’ve tackled many serious issues that were resonating with me at the time.Organized crime and drug trafficking lie of salvation.Misogyny in the corporate technology industry perfect life. Human trafficking Keepers’ Promise.sexual assault in pale moon. Even I feel uncomfortable sometimes. So how provocative should we be when addressing social issues? Whatever your book calls for! Or whatever you think you need to tell your story, as long as you understand your audience. Of course, not all social issues are deeply divisive. Although unpleasant to read, I think we can all agree that human trafficking is bad. I hope we all agree that racism is bad. What about domestic violence and sexual violence? bad. But immigrants? Reproductive rights? Gun control? Environmental protection laws? Vaccines? Huh! Dust off your boxing gloves and get ready to enter the online debate ring.
In my latest thriller, lost sierra, I found myself dealing with some heading issues. I also wrote this book in the middle of a pandemic while quarantining at home with a newborn, so needless to say, my heart was in a twisty place and the world’s ills were weighing heavily on me. Meanwhile, the world felt like it was cracking and falling apart, and all I could think about was how I was going to raise my daughter in this dark apocalypse we were in. The only way to make sense of it all for me was to write about it.
The toll the coronavirus has taken on communities of all kinds, from urban to rural, widening income inequality, a resurgence of white supremacist beliefs, a silent opioid death epidemic, and the decline of small rural towns. , all of these are the causes. exterior.
Are my views on these topics clear through my writing? Maybe. I think if you’ve read enough of my work, you’ll know which way I lean. But I try not to let that be the main point. I aim to explore these topics from both sides. From victims and perpetrators to bystanders. Even people who don’t know what’s actually going on. Those who are genuinely trying to help and those who are simply trying to pay lip service to solutions.
Whenever we focus on hot-button issues, such as the rights of a particular community, health care, immigration, sexism, racism, etc., our characters end up having opinions about them. After all, you can’t let your characters live in complete neutrality when it comes to such timely issues. If you’re doing your job right, your characters are living, breathing humans, and they definitely have different opinions on these topics. As the author, you need to decide how much those opinions reflect your own. Exposing personal beliefs through writing certainly carries career risks. We live in an increasingly polarized society, where even the slightest hint of leaning left or right, up or down causes a polite exodus of readers in the good direction, and a polite exodus of readers in the not-so-good direction. could cause a complete Twitter mob.
One of my favorite authors, Karyn Slaughter, has tackled all sorts of dark issues in her books, from child abuse to sexual violence to the deep racism in her home state of Georgia. Although provocative, I don’t think this issue would normally be divided by reasonable, decent people.Then came false witness A contemporary thriller set in the heart of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. She hasn’t been shy about her views on the coronavirus.in the book, She explores some of the big issues highlighted by the pandemic, including the housing crisis, school underfunding, the treatment of prison inmates, food insecurity, and the divide between the haves and have-nots. And for the first time, her views on these things came through quite clearly. She did not appreciate that she incorporated her own opinions into her work, and there were also many angry readers of hers. What was Slaughter’s reaction? She writes contemporary thrillers that focus on trauma. This was a story that needed to be told, and she wasn’t going to ignore the real situation unfolding around her.
So how can we maintain neutrality, or at least impartiality of thought (if that’s what we want), when exploring contemporary issues? Personally, I aim to explore the duality of all things that are divided.
I spent my childhood and adolescence in Northern California. The Golden State is certainly a vast and diverse place, but I have to admit that I was surrounded by people who were more or less like-minded. My opinions on certain issues were never challenged, so it was ironclad. And although I considered myself “secular,” my worldview was certainly limited. In 2016 I left San Francisco and headed to Dallas, Texas. Talk about the culture shock you experienced during a particularly tumultuous time. As you may remember, this year has been a very divisive year politically. And for the first time, I was surrounded by people who didn’t always share my views.
They could have refused to join the new community and their vastly different beliefs. I could have isolated myself. But instead, I decided to look at how people experience the same world events through a different lens. My husband and I have spent the past seven years living in multiple regions, including the Rocky Mountains, the South, and even Europe, during which time our country has experienced tremendous social upheaval. I’ve now seen so many contemporary issues through the eyes of people across the United States and internationally, and I can use that to add depth to the characters’ experiences.
I have a favorite scene lost sierra My main character, Daphne, is an intelligent but painfully naive young woman from Berkeley, California, who insists that there is no excuse for the ignorance and prejudice she encounters in her rural mountain town of Sierra Ridge. Her pal Logan agrees that she has no excuse, but she counters that she is not without reason. He went on to explain how people in very isolated communities come to hold such views. How much resentment worsens. How people can become discouraged and lost, even though the path forward seems clear to Daphne. This is a bit of a controversial scene (trust me, it’s hard to defend white supremacists, even if it’s just a character’s opinion), but in the most important scene in the book, she is 1 I think this is an example of how to add depth. Participate in all work discussions to generate thoughtful exploration of all issues.
Your story is what you tell, and only you can decide how deeply you want to explore every topic you write about, and how timely or real you want it to be told. Sure, it may ruffle some feathers, but it can also spark some thoughtful discussion.
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