I have always been interested in the paranormal–things for which the five senses we credit ourselves with have no explanation. I couldn’t help it. With Halloween for a birthday, what else can you expect? I read tarot cards during my bohemian teenage years and to this day own a couple sets. In my dotage here I’ve finally started writing on the first book I’ve ever wanted to write–a story about witches and ancients and the fate of the earth. It’s damn slow going since it means so much to me, but most fulfilling.
It’s scary really–not because there are any spooks or goblins running around in the story, but because this book is something I haven’t found in a while–a true book of the heart. My first book, Spellbound (which will be reprinted in October by Parker Publishing), was my first book of the heart, a labor of love for the island (Martha’s Vineyard) that I loved, for the people who’d shared part of my youth (many of whom assumed they were someone in the story) and for the occult lover in me (are the women in this family witches? Only their familiar knows for sure).
As the average writer and they’ll tell you a book of the heart is a rare thing. If you’ve ever had the feeling that you were put on this earth to do a particular thing, that’s close to how a writer feels about that “heart” book. Or maybe it’s like salmon returning to their home stream to spawn–produce or die trying. But finishing this story feels like a biological imperative; the fingers to the keyboard are the labor pains.
Anyway, I’m back to writing now. But if you’ve got a book of the heart you’re working on, tell me a little bit about it. What makes it a book you just have to write?
