It has been a difficult month. I won't bother going into all that's gone wrong or who's to blame, as there are plenty of writers doing excellent work on that. (Check out Substack for some of the best independent journalism happening in the US right now.)
I want to talk about how to escape all the awfulness unfolding. Actually, escaping it is kind of the business I'm in. It's what I do for a living. I write stories designed to sweep their readers into worlds where none of the bad stuff is happening. Or at least, only the bad stuff I've woven into the fabric of the tale–and that bad stuff always exists for a reason, always is made right in the end, and always makes sense. Unlike the real world.
In romance fiction, there are unspoken rules. We have unwritten contracts, really, with the readers. That's what makes genre fiction genre fiction, that contract with the reader. You know when you pick up a mystery that there will be a sleuth who will follow clues and face danger to solve the crime.
In the romance genre, you know a lead character you'll like, root for, and identify with, will face and surmount apparently insurmountable obstacles and find their soulmate along the way. Sometimes said soulmate is one of the obstacles!
In romance you know this character, your character, is going to triumph in the end. And if the writer has done their job, you will stand up and cheer when they do.
You can't worry about the state of the world when you are in the seat of a roller coaster, right? A great novel is always a roller coaster ride. They sweep us away so thoroughly that they make it impossible for the outside world to dull the thrill of the ride.
And then we put the book down, feeling a little bit lighter, and maybe a little bit more empowered, having just experienced, vicariously, the triump of our character. Because we become them, you know, while we read their stories. It's really us facing the bad guys and beating them, winning the prize and the undying devotion of a worthy partner. We feel uplifted and empowered as we experience our heroine's triumph.
This was the theme of a great scholarly work, Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women, edited by novelist Jayne Ann Krentz, which I recommend very highly to fans of the genre and to readers in general.
And speaking of stories that will sweep you away...
Here's one now! And it's absolutely FREE.
MAGGIE SHAYNE'S
OKLAHOMA CHRISTMAS BLUES
The Audiobook
Narrated by Traci Odom
Every week, my publisher, Oliver Heber Books, is uploading another chapter of the McIntyre Men series Book 1, Oklahoma Christmas Blues.
Right now Chapters 1-4 are up, and the rest will follow weekly until the entire book has been published.
Here's the link to that playlist. If you hit the SUBSCRIBE button, you'll get notified whenver a new chapter is added.
Four More Free Audiobooks!
My book isn't the only one going up for FREE IN FULL on the Oliver Heber Books YouTube Channel!
Also going up in their entirety are:
One Knight's Stand by Tanya Anne Crosby
MacKinnon's Hope by Tanya Anne Crosby
Lady and the Wolf by Elizabeth Rose
Shades of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom
Alt text for above: A vertical row of 4 images taken from the covers of the listed titles. The first, One Knight's Stand, is a beautiful blonde woman in a purple historical gown in the arms of a man, with a castle in the background. The second MacKinnon's Hope has a castle and snowy background with the red book cover wearing headphones. The third, Lady and the Wolf, is a gorgeous blue image, blonde woman facest camera in off-shoulder gown. Beside her a white wolf. They both have vivid blue eyes. The fourth, Shades of Honor, shows the torso of a woman with long brown wavy hair, wearing a a pioneer-era floral gown, with a barn in the background.
Besides these five which are uploading weekly, chapter by chapter, in full, there are also multiple sample chapters from other popular OHB titles on the Oliver Heber YouTube Channel.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and click the LIKE button after each chapter. It helps our algorithm.
So enjoy a little escape.
Today it's on me.
As for me, well, today, I have put on a "Relaxing Classical" music station, and I'm diving back into the creation of Honky Tonk Cowboy in hopes I can sweep myself away, into the story.
See you between the covers!
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