In this morning’s writing sprints, the leader casually dropped this sentence, “And you, Miss Calia, have a release tomorrow…”
WHAM. It really is real. Restore the Night releases tomorrow. Wow. I almost cried. Again. This book, I swear.
This was by far the most coordinated, detailed launch I’ve done. The only thing left on my checklist is confirm I scheduled release-day graphics and posts. Whoops. Hence this post.
Oh, and celebrate.
What the heck is that? (LOL)
If you’ve read the book, YAY. If you haven’t, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? (I mean that nicely, okay?)
But first I wanted to explain one thing. When you finish the book, and go to the super-secret bonus chapter, here is some insight into the writing of that scene. Part of it was imagined long ago when I did my research for the story. I knew that deck…or lack thereof… would eventually get resolved. And when it did, there would be a grand celebration with friends and the biker family who took in these two misfits and named them “theirs.”
What I didn’t count on was how it occurs in the timeline of real life.
See, all the Destroyers books fall in a detailed timeline. I keep an actual database of characters and events, which also include real-life events, so I can cross check to see if X happened before or after Z.
And this bonus scene happens NEXT October. Whoops.
So… if it seems far-fetched that my two characters are so happy and at peace, it’s because these two characters NEED all the happy ever after they can get. If that doesn’t mesh with the future reality, that’s my error…or my wishful thinking that maybe, just maybe we’ll be a better society by then.
Transition time: About the research for Restore the Night and a book recommendation.
In order to explore Jewish characters, I relied on several sources and a sensitivity reader. Some of the sources included literature.
One book stood out. It’s quoted in the book’s dedication. The title is Night. It was written by the author, activist, and survivor, Elie Wiesel. He won a Nobel Peace Prize. It is a very “small” book, only 120 pages. But within the cover live some of the hardest truths our humanity faced, fought against, and still haven’t triumphed over.
Like, “Not everyone carries God’s sacred spark” in their hearts. That we should not trust man* to always do what’s right.
I know this lesson personally, but not nearly with as much loss and pain as the author endured. It was smaller, less “dire,” but still threatening.
It goes like this: My significant other of that time when my children were small hit me. It was not repeatedly, or hard enough to require a hospital or anything. But just enough that I still can find the scar on my lip after 25 years. Just enough that every time I apply lip liner, it catches on that spot marring the line and forcing me to go back over that spot at least once.
It permanently changed my life and my trust.
Many people now feel that way since this month started.
They and I are scared and scarred by the loss of trust. Especially since mankind has proven repeatedly that love comes with enormous risks. You might get punched in the face.
Loving your fellow human means opening yourself to some who would rather not have a world where you exist.
That is dreadful. And all too real.
Which is why I write and read fiction. It’s easy to imagine a backyard party with bikers who have black children, or their pack brothers and their wives who celebrate their Jewish faith openly in that kind of setting. That kind of tolerance is rare in real life, or worse, met with the villianous hatred my antagonists portrayed.
And YES, that pamphlet was real. It made its way into my HOME during that time of my life where I collected a scar on my lip in and my soul.
But finding family, non-blood-related groups, has been common throughout time as well. Whole communities have banded together based on ideals. They have worked hard to toss out: tyranny, abject greed, despotism, and imperial war machines. It does work.
When it is darkest, light seems brighter. And light is precious. Keep yours lit. Find your family. Find your HEA.
*read as “humankind” or what you will.
