Today I guest post at With Love For Books to talk about what makes my heart beat faster. It’s a post (mostly) about books, except for the part where I discuss things like public speaking…, and Tom Hardy 🙂
What Makes My Heart Beat Faster
Hello, all you wonderful readers! I’m thrilled to be back at With Love For Books with a giveaway and a post about things that make my heart beat faster.
There are a bazillion things that COULD make my heart pound. Some of these things are not so good: the (bad) news, nightmares, public speaking.
Then again, some of those heart palpitation-inducing agents are delightful: that first glimpse of the ocean after a long stint inland, the Hallelujah chorus (I don’t care if they play it every Christmas), Tom Hardy (those lips, wow!).Â
When it comes to books, however, what makes my heart beat faster is adventure—whether it takes place out in the world or inside a character’s mind.
I have always been a particular fan of identity arc stories: the tale of how a person learns who they are and what their life path should be. It’s what I believe fiction was meant to do for us—pointing a way to self-discovery and showing us by example how a person can grow and change into who they are meant to be. Most of my favorite books—even if they aren’t books about identity per se, have that element in them. For example, I have loved JK Rowling’s The Prisoner of Azkaban, the In Death series by JD Robb, and The Time-Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.
My love for identity stories has also influenced my own writing. In particular, my Son of a Preacher Man is a tale of two people finding their own life paths and figuring out whether those paths can intertwine.
A story doesn’t have to end happily for me to be glad I read it, but if it doesn’t end well, there had better be some superb writing to compensate me for the sadness or anger I feel. I think that’s why I’m often drawn to romance novels. The world is sad enough, and my reading functions as my escape. Therefore, a Happy Ever After is a typical requirement.
I’m willing to step out of my usual genre, however. If an identity arc story includes a mystery, I’ll happily follow the clues and try to figure it out. But if a tale of self-discovery includes the discovery of a potential soul mate, all the better. If books with adventure make my heart beat faster, it makes perfect sense that I’d like a little romance in the mix as well. Because, in the greater scheme of things, it could be argued that an enduring love is the greatest adventure of all.
