Not very often, thankfully, life tosses in a time of great challenge to you on
many levels. I am sure that many of you are nodding your head in agreement. Such
has been the case in my real life this past few weeks. My mind is only just
today slowing down from the whir to be able to grasp something as "normal" as
writing this blog. But in the greater picture of life, it is also these moments
of great challenge that can provide a clearer perspective on your life. Maybe
get you to slow down a bit, or reassess your time and goals, maybe organize
things a bit better to make life less stressful. There is no way of finding the
magic cure-all for such moments in life--they are going to happen and it is in
how I handle these times, what blessings I find, or lesson I learn, that will
make the difference.
Interestingly--and perhaps it touches a part of me that has before experienced
these moments--it is why I like to write about heroes and heroines, who for the
most part (depending on the era) may have ordinary lives that are similar to
yours or mine. Granted , we may not be experiencing firsthand ,what they are
experiencing in the story, but perhaps there is a scene or a thought that the
character has that you might find a kinship to. I enjoy reading about
characters who seem ordinary, until something prompts them (internally or
externally ) to step out of the ordinary and deal with life in an extraordinary
way. The everyday hero/heroine--who may not wear a cape, who may not be totally
alpha male or female, but--who when faced with a challenge or obstacle--suddenly
becomes the designer of their own fate.
In DIARY OF COZETTE (Harlequin
Spice, Oct. '08) my heroine is a homeless woman in Victorian England faced with
surviving the best that she can, experiencing the harshness of life in matters
of romance, lust, and greed. In my upcoming medieval historical, TORTURED (Harlequin Spice,
Aug. '09) my heroine is faced at a young age with losing everything--forced
into slavery, she faces mortality daily and is given choice of the same fate or
remain as a slave. She has nearly given up hope when one day a prisoner arrives
who may be the link to her past and her door to the future.
The man or woman who when faced with life's challenges meets them head-on. I'm
not saying that because I faced the challenges in my life that I am a hero of
sorts. But it does give me hope that maybe I can help someone else through a
similar difficult time, or be slightly more prepared for the next time when the
blender goes into high in my life! What kind of characters do you find kinship
with when you read? Or do you look for the polar opposite in characters to read
for enjoyment?
Amanda McIntyre Timeless Passion!
www.amandamcintyre.net
4 comments posted.
I love reading about alpha males and females - and I agree with you, I like when they make their own destiny!
(Kelli Jo Calvert 4:34pm February 2, 2009)
I enjoy all types of characters. I enjoy reading about others lives that wear a different shoe than I. This helps me to walk in theirs when I meet them in life.
(Darby Lohrding 12:22pm February 3, 2009)
I think generally I feel kinship to characters who are ordinary enough to relate to, yet placed in extraordinary circumstances. They don't have to be 'like me' for me to enjoy reading about them (for instance, Scarlett O'Hara is pretty much my polar opposite--I'm much more of a Melanie Wilkes type myself!), but I do have to know and understand where they're coming from to appreciate them.
(Kristina Cook 5:04pm February 3, 2009)