Unable are the Loved to die
For love is immortality…
~~Emily Dickinson
This is one of my favorite ED quotes. It’s one of the truths of this world and this season that will never pass. And, yes, it’s the emotional core of my first ever Christmas novel.
I hear from readers daily who love the deeper and darker elements of Mallory and Pete and Polly’s story. AND from readers who are railing that I would do something so realistic, when lighter and happier novels are what a lot of us think about reflecting a “holiday” spirit.
But what better message could there be to wrap a story around, than that those we love are always with us, even after their gone?And, at least for this writer, how should I show the reader a path to truly believing this truth, other than to begin with what this time of year can feel like if we’re still clinging to the loss of someone important in our lives, rather than the love that they will always bring to us whether or not we still have them physically?
Yes, Emily Dickinson wrote a lot about loss. Yes, I do, too.
But I sense in her poetry, which I’ve been obsessed about since I was an intense little girl, her search for hope and healing and purpose–despite the difficulties of her life. I’ve been on that path myself since losing a good bit at a very young age.
So, when it came time to create images of little girls missing their mommies and husbands moving on from losing wives and grown women learning to trust and belong when their formative years were all about betrayal and being separate–you had to know I’d be painting with a brush that doesn’t gloss over reality on its rush to the happily ever after dream I want my characters to claim.
The title of this second book of my heart is Christmas on Mimosa Lane. And I’ve created the most beautiful Christmas morning I could have imagined.
However, that morning happens in the very last chapter and the very last scene of the book.In that moment of understanding, each of our characters find the immortality that love can bring into an open and trusting and hopeful life. It’s a difficult journey to get them and us there, but a rewarding and heartwarming and inspiring one.
Which isn’t all that realistic a story, after all, when you look at the world playing out around us. In fact, I find what we discover in COML pretty fantastical, all things considered. But it’s my dream this year–for my characters and each of you.
May this be a holiday of forever love for us all!
Related Emily Dickinson Articles:
- Forever is composed of nows
- To comprehend a nectar requires sorest need
- It’s good we are dreaming
- Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door
- Hope is the thing with feathers…
Related holiday posts:
- If this were your last Christmas, what would it be?
- Past, Future and Present Christmas
- Holiday Hangover
- Holiday Memories
- Hope for the Holidays
- The BEST Holiday Memories are Made From the Darnedest Things
- Holiday Traditions, Symbols and Themes
Tags: Amazon, Anna DeStefano, anna’s world, brainstorming, Christmas on Mimosa Lane, Contemporary Romance, creativity & inspiration, ebook, Emily Dickinson, Excerpts, Kindle, Montlake Romance, reader guide, romance writer, Trifari, Women’s Fiction, writer
