Do You Want To Be A Voyeur?
Thank you, Me & My Girls, for this fantastic review!
I decided on a whim to take a look at Eagle Cove on audible and found some great reviews. I particularly liked this one because it mentioned disappointment in the "contrived" break-up.
“Thalia is supposed to be a professional counselor. However her specious rationalizations posses the type of convoluted knots that should be impossible for a Cirque de Soleil performer to negotiate.”
Isn't that a fantastic line? (spelling error notwithstanding). I've actually given a lot of thought to characterizing Eagle Cove, and the Thalia Chase: Sex Therapist series, in the romance category.
In fact, I recently removed it from the category due to some feedback on the romance aspect of the book. Was the break-up contrived? Well, Thalia didn't think so. :) However, putting it in the romance category has caused readers to focus more on the relationship between Thalia and Amara than the other relationships in the book which, as a writer, I wanted readers to weigh equally.
Romance will be a part of every book. Thalia, her friends, her family and her clients will all struggle with relationships, romantic and otherwise. That's the whole point of the series, to allow the reader to be a voyeur into the deeply personal inner workings of Thalia's relationships. Where I hope to grow as a writer is in my ability to journey that deeply into myself in order to expose the level of personal I desire to convey in the stories. It is NOT easy.
I talked to my wife Carol this morning about that very thing. Seventy Six falls is proving to be difficult to write. And I worry a bit that it will be difficult to read. I'm having to balance creating exactly the right amount of connection to one of the characters without going too far. The problem, each person's center of gravity is unique. And for me as the writer, I'm deeply connected to the character. So I feel everything to the max.
I can't wait to find out how it is received.
Coming Fall 2016
