I write about things that are hard to read, and they’re not for everyone. With my most recent WIP (work in progress), I went in search of beta readers to check for accuracy. I wanted them to read it to make sure I represented the situation well and didn’t add too much information so as to make readers too uncomfortable. But I want them, you, uncomfortable enough to be more attentive. You’ll see why in a second.
At first, I thought my target audience was women who’ve been abused. Until I tried to get the above mentioned readers. One woman said that even though she was several years out of the situation, reading about such things was still too difficult.
But I thought these women—the ones who are hurting and in difficult situations—were my target audience. And then as I typed about it to a fellow author, I realized this book—it doesn’t have a title yet—is about helping them, but they are not my readers. Their family and friends are.
Why?
Well, let me start, or rather interrupt, with the note from the author at the beginning of the book:
Many times I’ve wondered why God has me write my heroines with so many issues. His general reply is that there are so many women, hurting and without hope, who might be helped by my words and who might find the mustard seed of hope of a better future that they need.
This is such a book. Some of the content (spousal abuse-physical, emotional, and sexual) is difficult to read. It was difficult to write. I didn’t want to, but Leah’s story begged to be told, and I couldn’t write it any other way. I tried. I wanted to. But, in the end, I couldn’t.
Her situation may have been extreme, but I know, even in my naive cocoon, that many women experience something similar both within the confines of marriage and outside of it, though I have never met any that I know of.
I pray as you read (book title) that you open your hearts to the reality that many women live in abusive situations and feel they have no other choice, even when they do. Pray for someone, even if it’s you, to recognize the signs of abuse. They’re not always obvious. Pray for the women to find the courage to know they are not alone. Pray that they understand that they can live lives unafraid and loved.
It’s a hard thing to write about abuse. I’ve done it before, but this book was SO extreme that I struggled. A LOT. God and I conversed— well, I argued. He remained steadfast—for several weeks, maybe longer. I didn’t want to write about another abusive situation. And this one, well, I didn’t write most of the things that God showed me that some women have to go through. But they were in my head. I cried tears as I wrote. Every time I read it, I see those images. For me, reading and writing are like watching a movie.
But lest you think there is no hope in this book, there is. The book starts sad, but Leah finds hope and healing, and of course, she gets a happily-ever-after, ‘cuz I don’t think it’s a good romance without an HEA. And this one is the FIRST of an eight-book series. As of right now, it has the tentative title of the I Am Series, but I think that’s going to change.
And, the rest of the books, to my knowledge, do not deal with abuse. And they all have titles, I think. They definitely all have at least one main character. :) I don’t know their stories yet, but that’ll come in time.
So, if you’re okay with hard topic books, make sure to watch for my newest to release in sometime this spring. I will make sure to let you know the title and show you the cover when the time grows nearer.
And because I’m curious, what are some hard topics you’d like to see more in Christian fiction?
And to celebrate our birthday bash, I’ll give one commenter (by midnight cst 3/8) an e-copy of Broken Freedom, another of my hard topic books.
Blessings,
Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer—in that order (mostly). She writes or reads inspirational romance of any genre. Even when she’s busy homeschooling, doing laundry, or fixing dinner, reading or writing are not far from her mind. She is president of her local writing group, and blogs regularly for InspyRomance.com and at gingersolomon.com.
Some hard topics, in particular ones about abuse. I can not and will not read. See my mother married my half sister’s father and he was abusive. When she tried to leave when I was just a month shy of turning two he came home and caught her. My mom had left him the week before and he threatened to kill everyone in her family and his if she didn’t go back. She lost her life trying to leave again, and he got away with it because no witness would come forward. I witnessed it but was too young to testify. I was tormented by nightmares of it until I was 16 and finally got confirmation from my grandmother that it was indeed a memory and that helped the nightmares stop. So as the child of a victim of abuse I can’t read things like this. It just makes me angry all over that because she was with him and went back to him I grew up without a mother and her mother emotionally abused me my whole life growing up. When talking hard topics I prefer ones where they don’t have a choice, like mental health or physical health. Not something where they have options if they just take them and stick with them.
Hi Ginger, if the topic of abuse is dealt with honestly but not gratuitously then I don’t mind tackling the book- I can always put it down if it gets too much. I think that books like this need to be pretty clear about the content though, so that readers go into the story aware of the issues.
So many of my students come from abusive homes and their journey through life is heartbreaking- the reality of life is so far from God’s ideal.
Blessings:)
I think its great to actually have this subject covered. Why do I say this its because at least 4 friends I can think of straight away have suffered abuse mostly mental abuse and a couple of these were well educated women. It took for one a course at the school on recognising abuse in children etc for her to realise she was a victim. (The abuser who verbally and mentally abuses is very subtle). I love reading books that give information to readers and informs us. I also hope that these types of books reach someone who is in the situation and gives them hope.
I think books that touch on hard topics like addiction whether its gambling etc. It can give others hope. I say gambling as before mum became a Christian she was a compulsive gambler. She would bet all her pay on horses and lose it all. If she had been a gambler when the pokies etc were around and when you could get credit she probably would have lost it all and more. Becoming a Christian she stop gambling almost overnight.
Prayers to you Cassandra, for the path you have walked.
The other topic which I like to see dealt with in a sensitive way is depression
So sorry to hear your story and what an awful thing to happen.
Hi Ginger! Over the last forty years as a pastor’s wife and teacher, I saw lots of heartache and am often haunted by them. Abuse, especially substance abuse is rampant. Our extended family and friends have had heartache. Life has enough troubles on its own, so I read for entertainment not hard topics of abuse. Best wishes.
My prayers are with you, Cassandra. No one should have to suffer what you and your mother had. My heart breaks when I see this kind of pain. I too was married to an abusive husband, and I had to actually run for my life and hide for a few years to get away. ❤️
I can understand about it being too painful to read sometimes, I have a very hard time reading the recounting of the abusive events…once after reading athe prequel of a story I contacted the author and said I need to know if there is more of these scenes cause if so I need to put this book down now….? She promised it would be okay, and it was not only okay, but cathartic for me in many ways!❤️
I am so sorry for your pain, Cassandra.
This is WHY I write these books. And I know they are not for everyone, but I think we, as a society and more specifically as the church, have ignored the reality for far too long. We need to recognize that some women deal with these issues and don’t know how to escape them. It’s even harder when children are involved.
I plan to make it abundantly clear about the content at the beginning of the blurb, which I haven’t written yet.
While I don’t go into a lot of detail about what my character endured, she shares about some things, and we see her scars, both internal and external. The story starts after her husband is dead.
And you’re right; God did not intend for us, any of us, to live with abuse or in fear.
Addictions and depression are definitely hard topics, and ones that are seldom acknowledged. Depression, especially, gets a bad rap. “Get over it. Be happy.” As if it were that easy. LOL
I know at least one of my future books in this series will deal with depression to a certain extent, so we’ll see how God writes that story.
I’ll have to pray about the addictions. I’d have to do some research. I may contact you in the future to delve into your memories. ;)
I understand, Renate.
Like I said, I know it’s not for everyone. The book is less about abuse since the story starts after her husband is dead, and more about hope–surviving with God’s help, finding love again, and learning to live without fear. But it also tackles recognizing that there are ways to tell if someone is being abused. One just has to pay attention to the signs.
Oh, Paula Marie, this is SO what I want in my books. I want to help hurting women. That’s my call.
Most of the book doesn’t talk about the abuse, but the aftereffects. Still, it might be difficult for abuse victims to read, and I will put that caveat on the blurb, so no one goes in unsuspecting.
I agree that depression and addiction are often left out. I would add anxiety to that list as well. Not your everyday worries, but full-blown anxiety. I can usually handle hard topic stories but often have to read them in smaller doses, not straight through.
It is the journey through to the other side that is worth reading about, Ginger! I sincerely hope I get to read this one of yours!
Dont put me in for the book.
I believe that hard problem areas like this should definitely be addressed, if done right.
There are many areas of abuse, and I have read about some of them and how they were corrected. A hard road to be sure. But there is daily hope in Jesus.
Thanks, Paula Marie.
Yes, there is hope in Jesus. I’m not sure how people without him make it.
I like hard topic books because they offer hope for what may seem like hopeless situations, though as you’ve discovered the target audience may not be what you originally thought. As far as depression/anxiety there are many causes, including mutated genes that get stressed somehow and turn on that switch which may make it hard to write about. I’ll message you on facebook about something. :)
Hard topics, right, Andrea. I know that depression is just like other diseases. There is usually an underlying cause, not just emotions. It’s a shame society expects us to be “happy” or _________ all the time and doesn’t account for internal things that are out of whack. It’s getting better, but I think there’s a long way to go yet.
I’ve read Broken Freedom and while I did enjoy the book, I still think it was a hard one to finish. I usually get too involved in the story and end up feeling their emotions too raw sometimes. (Probably why after all my training in Clinical Psychology, I ended up pursuing a strictly academic environment and making sure I didn’t repeat my internship experiences to deal with patients.)
I like reading fiction to escape my reality and fill my basked of feel good moments (in reference to Liwen Ho’s recent post), but every now and then I try a book with a hard topic. They usually mess up with my feelings big time and I avoid reading too many of them (definitely not in a sequence). But I definitely aplaude you for going there. If it’s hard to read about it, I imagine the emotional involvement with creating the characters and their emotions is even harder.
Broken Freedom was another hard one, yes. It was one of the reasons I didn’t want to write this one. But God had other ideas, and so I write.
And yet, both BF and this new one end with happily-ever-afters for my heroines. Hope, faith, love. That is what I write about.
We all go through dark valleys, some of our own making, some at the hands of others, but we can, with faith, emerge on the other side better.
I would like to see a fiction book where the main character is dealing with a mental illness such as, depression. I think fiction books with hard topics can be beneficial.
I don’t mind hard topics but I do generally spread those books out so that I don’t read them back to back.
How do you mean anxiety, Mandy? Like panic attacks? Fear?
Small doses is how I read non-fiction. :)
I agree, Kerri, if the book is written with care. I hope I’ve done that. That’s one of the reasons I want multiple sets of eyes on it. I want to make sure I’ve not crossed a line with too much description. And it’s a very fine line.
Definitely, MJSH. Too many is too much. God was generous in the spreading of my difficult books. Broken Freedom, my other book that deals with abuse, was written a couple years ago.
I like a “hard topic” book every now and then. I think it helps develop empathy for those in real life dealing with that situation. I think books about the struggle of being a single parent and children facing poverty are good “hard” topics.
Thanks, Ellie.
Drug addiction is so rampant here that it affects all families to some extent. Most of the books I’ve read where drugs are mentioned are the romantic suspense books that typically depict the bad guys as being drug dealers that go to extreme measures to avoid being caught. I don’t find these books very believable personally. I’ve read very few good books that address drug and alcohol addiction in a realistic way.
I don’t read “hard topics books” as much now as when I was younger. (I’m 58). But I do think they are needed.
Ginger, I so appreciate people like you who can write the hard topics. I just can’t. And that’s okay because we need different kind of books out there for people to read. In saying that, I find myself staying away from the hard topics of the books I read. Not sure why, but I generally go for chick-lit types, women’s fiction, which can vary in hard topic topics. :) Thank you for your calling and obedience to listening to God.
I totally get why those who have struggled with abuse wouldn’t want to read about it. A lot of people read to escape life’s struggles. Having experienced cancer with my dad, it’s the last thing I want to read about before bed or when relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. But books with tough subjects can definitely help others understand or emphasize with those going through that situation.
Ginger, I’m reading your post and thinking that the hard topics covered in books should be for everyone; however, the people who can relate the most are the ones who experienced it first hand. For example, I was empathetic to people with cancer…their families… BUT when I was diagnosed myself – this is a first hand experience that you can never relate too unless you’ve been in the same shoes.
Thank you for covering hard topics! I believe your books will find their audience :) Blessings!
I agree at one stage when mum was really sick and looked like she may not make it I started reading a book about someone dying from Cancer I just couldn’t read it cos although mum didn’t have cancer she was dying. I then picked up another book to read and the Matriarch in the story died and it was not long after mum passed away and I was at the cricket reading and crying due to the story. Then the next one had a little boy in it who had lost him mom and he was upset because he couldn’t remember her voice and I was crying with him cos I was at that point I couldn’t remember mum’s voice.
I think sometimes there are times we can read books and sometimes we have to choose a different one to read.
I think depression and anxiety are excellent topics to address. I know how hard it is to suffer from depression and be taking medication for it, and still have people tell me that because I’m a Christian I should be happy and have joy. It’s just simply not that easy. Also, my youngest daughter suffers from anxiety and has to deal with some of the same negativity. Addiction would also be a good topic, considering how prevalent it is in today’s world. And, it doesn’t even have to be drugs considering there are so many other things out there that people are addicted to.
I appreciate hard stories IF they are written by Christian authors who also include the path to healing and peace. It helps me to remember that there is a God who cares and wants better for us. It is sometimes frustrating, though, when your own circumstances don’t get better as quickly as they do in the book.
Drug addiction is an issue in some of our schools, but not to cocaine or meth or weed. Kids are hooked on prescription drugs. It’s so sad.
I would say that I have no knowledge of drug addiction, so I don’t know if I could write a good story about it, but I have no knowledge of physical or emotional abuse, and I still wrote several books. If God leads, I will follow. :)
Ironically, I stay away from hard topic books most of the time, too. They’re hard to read at times (and write), and like several people have commented, I read to escape–not that my life is bad. :) Mostly, reading keeps me from focusing too much on my own aches and pains. :)
Exactly, Arletta.
Thank you, Natalya. Even if I wrote it for only One person, then that is enough.
Yeah, books tend to gloss over how long it takes us to heal–whether physically, emotionally, or otherwise. The book I referenced covers a LONG period of time for her healing. And it’s a process, for all of us. So many things are. And we are a give-it-to-me-now kind of people. :)
Such an important topic and I believe this will help many others.