Not in the sense of genre romance, but Romance in the sense of an affirmation of the centrality of the heart in human experience. Of the perils of our alienation from nature, and because Romance gives us a break from the sheer awfulness of life (Byron: “And if I laugh at any mortal thing, Tis that I may not weep.”)
My question is: can novels help people learn better (learn again?) how to think?
Yes, reading novels is a form of escapism.
But can they draw people into stories and then use those stories to train people, not what to think (blech) but how?
Those of you who know me personally know that this past year has been incredibly difficult. Yeah, I know I’m not alone. COVID etc. But in addition to the social upheaval, my personal life was turned upside down as well. First, my dad passed in April. And now my mom is gone, too. January 9.
She’s got her prince. If she can figure out how to keep him…
I am not even sure how to process it, to be honest. Looking forward to when this is all something that happened instead of something that is still happening.
In the meantime, I have been getting some writing done, although work has been a bit slower than I would have liked.
Now the second book in the series, Fo Fum Flarey, is available.
Here’s the description of Fo Fum Flarey:
A tale about love, life choices — and how trusting the wisdom of old stories is sometimes the best choice of all.
Marion Flarey has finally found him. Fletcher Beal. Her Prince. And when you find your rich, handsome Prince, everything is settled, right? The fairy tales say so! You live happily ever after. No more questions, no more stress. But as much as Marion loves those wise old tales, there’s a limit to their magic. How is she supposed to make her place in her new prince’s world — especially when Fletcher is always busy, flying around the country, exploring new domains and adding conquests to his kingdom? The stories don’t say. To make matters worse, her family is gripped by stories of their own — and Marion can’t figure out what’s going on. Her mother is distracted and unhappy. What secrets is she hiding? And then Marion’s brother, Ace, shows up in town — and Marion learns why he left. He’s a thief. He stole from their family. Worse yet? He stole from Marion’s prince. Can Marion unravel her family’s secrets? Can she rescue her brother? Can she put her broken family back together again? And should she even try? Or will her family’s crazy problems sabotage Marion’s life, robbing her of the one thing she wants most: a happy future with her sweet, rich, sexy prince?
