Yes, Erica, There Is a Santa Claus
I totally, much to the annoyance of my teenager, believe in Santa Claus. I also believe in the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, knocking on wood, wishing on a star, and that, in the end, good triumphs over evil.
I believe in magic, in fate, in coincidences that could only be dreamed up by some cosmic force. I believe in guardian angels, and that if you want to talk to the deceased, a simple prayer or conversation directed up toward heaven--or wherever--will do the trick. And that they talk back--because I believe in "signs." I can't tell you what a sign is--but I know one when I see one.
And this, somehow, plays into my writing. Because whether or not it's articulated, there is always an element of fate and magic and a dash of love, and a wish on a star, and dreams not quite hoped for out of fear, but still longed for in some way, in my books.
I am not a nihilist. I have a dash of existentialism to how I view the world, but it's always tempered by equal parts optimism.
In that way, the underlying great hopes and dreams of our own lives somehow make it on the page. If I didn't believe good trumps evil . . . then my books would end quite differently. If I didn't believe in fate, then I wouldn't have some of my characters meet in the way that they do. In BLOOD SON , Elizabeth Martin, a comparative religion professor, travels all the way from the University of Virginia to Prague to a remote mountain to meet the one man who can save her brother from evil.
Magic? In THE POKER DIARIES, due out in a mere three weeks from Penguin for young adults (and my best cover EVER!!!!!!), Lulu, a poker player, courts Lady Luck because she needs every bit of luck a poker player can muster to get out of the jam she is in. I believe in luck. I believe you MAKE some of your own luck, but like MATCH POINT, the Woody Allen film, so much of what happens to us amounts to chance.
In what ways do your larger beliefs about religion, philosophy, angels, demons, fate, or . . . nothingness . . . influence your writing?
I believe in magic, in fate, in coincidences that could only be dreamed up by some cosmic force. I believe in guardian angels, and that if you want to talk to the deceased, a simple prayer or conversation directed up toward heaven--or wherever--will do the trick. And that they talk back--because I believe in "signs." I can't tell you what a sign is--but I know one when I see one.
And this, somehow, plays into my writing. Because whether or not it's articulated, there is always an element of fate and magic and a dash of love, and a wish on a star, and dreams not quite hoped for out of fear, but still longed for in some way, in my books.
I am not a nihilist. I have a dash of existentialism to how I view the world, but it's always tempered by equal parts optimism.
In that way, the underlying great hopes and dreams of our own lives somehow make it on the page. If I didn't believe good trumps evil . . . then my books would end quite differently. If I didn't believe in fate, then I wouldn't have some of my characters meet in the way that they do. In BLOOD SON , Elizabeth Martin, a comparative religion professor, travels all the way from the University of Virginia to Prague to a remote mountain to meet the one man who can save her brother from evil.
Magic? In THE POKER DIARIES, due out in a mere three weeks from Penguin for young adults (and my best cover EVER!!!!!!), Lulu, a poker player, courts Lady Luck because she needs every bit of luck a poker player can muster to get out of the jam she is in. I believe in luck. I believe you MAKE some of your own luck, but like MATCH POINT, the Woody Allen film, so much of what happens to us amounts to chance.
In what ways do your larger beliefs about religion, philosophy, angels, demons, fate, or . . . nothingness . . . influence your writing?
posted by Erica Orloff at 8:06 AM
8 Comments:
I believe in fate, and that there's an entity who created the world.
Conversely, my stories about characters wresting their lives back from fate's hands.
Most of my novels have a romance HEA I think it's because while I want them to have a HEA, I don't believe it. Even the one that does, the hero has a long, hard road and the heroine has many lifetimes to live before they get there.
I think one of the reasons we write--and one of the reasons people pay for books and movie tickets--is because it's pleasing to see a story work out in an orderly fashion, and for good to triumph over evil. But in real life, probably more often than we ever hear about, the bad guy wins.
As for fate...I think people largely determine their own, but there is an element of chance every time you rise from bed in the morning. Bad things happen to good people, and vice versa. All we can do is carry on, day after day after day, and hope for the best (and work hard to make it happen).
And I do believe in angels. :)
I'm a liberal, progressive Christian that believes there are many paths to the same end - reunification with God or the One or the Cosmic turnip if that's how you see that great lifeforce of love that created this and every other universe. Consequently, I do believe that good will eventually triumph over evil and that even the worst of us can find redemption in one life or another. Like you, Erica, I believe in signs...I also believe in idea fairies (who are not always kind), messages from departed loved ones (I get these from birds) and luckstealers. My characters often believe in these things as well - however, in a new project I'm working on, my main character will probably be an atheist or an agnostic - that way, not only can she wrestle with all the other problems I'm going to give her, she can have a spiritual crisis as well.
Love and Peace,
Emily
You're right. That cover for The Poker Diaries is fab and it sounds like a great read--yeah I love YA *g*
I believe in fate, in signs, and in Karma (esp Karma). I believe many of the things in our lives happen for a reason, but I also believe in free will. Funny enough I was talking to my ex yesterday and he said if poeple hadn't interfered in our marriage we'd still be married. This is incredibly incorrect. And I know deep in my heart if we were still married I would have never become a writer.
I remember in a Dean Koontz book, From The Corner of His Eye (I think that's the title), the main character described our life like a tree.
Does it play out in my writing? Yeah I think it does, at leasst some of the time. This doesn't always work for me with erotica but it can and has with erotic romance
May:
I usually have an HEA, because I really like to believe there can be an HEA for everyone, no matter how battered by life. but like you, they have a lot to conquer to get it.
E
Jude:
I agree. I like knowing that there will be a resolution at the end of a movie--even if sad, at least it's a complete circle. I don't particularly care for ambiguous endings--and I know even in the book group I am in, other readers say the same thing.
E
Emily--another person who believes in signs! :-) And funny thing . . . I often put agnostics in my book if only so they can then come to some sort of spiritual place.
E
Amie:
Thanks!
And yes, karma is big for me. What goes around comes around . . . and around . . . and around . . .
E
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