What makes you feel alive? The answer to that is probably different for different people. It can be simple, as I suspect it is for two of my sons as they sail down a snowy mountain on their boards.
But it also can be complex, because humans are complex and carry around old patterns that dictate how we live our lives.
I have often said that I like to put my characters in danger, push them to an edge and see how they manage to not only survive but thrive. I do not want to go through what my characters do. I feel alive when I take a sip of my morning coffee. I do not want to stand toe to toe with a killer or mob boss. But the heroine in my first Crimson Romance title, Dancing with Detective Danger, does.
Heroine Sterling Aegar is not afraid of danger; in fact, she loves the thrill of it. Working as a private investigator with her sister Lacey, she can hold her own. When a gun is pointed at her, she breaths in more air and her heart pumps hard. The thrill is what lets her know she’s alive. The more peril, the better.
But she mistakes numbness for fearlessness. Too many deaths and losses early in life have convinced her that everyone leaves. Instead of accepting the risk of loving Detective Ben Kirby, her former lover, she has put him and any possibility of true love safely behind her emotional walls.
However, numbness of the spirit does not allow spontaneous, joy-producing living. Sterling has to confront old wounds and learn that “alive” changes when healing takes place. And at that point she can make genuine decisions, not follow patterns she believes keep her safe.
Sterling’s journey of facing inner conflict is a common aspect of living people face or ignore. But on a more lighthearted level, we can all finish the statement, You know you’re alive when… For myself, I feel most alive when I see a pattern for what it is and make a choice. It’s a rush I enjoy. But I also enjoy the rush of diving into the brisk waters of Lake Michigan. I know I’m alive when I slice through the water and every sense is touched. I know I’m alive when I watch kindness between people and can pause and admire it fullheartedly. (Yes, I made up that word.) I know I’m alive when I feel the wind and sun on my skin as I ride my bike. I could go on and on but I’d rather learn how you would finish the sentence.
You know you’re alive when…
Dancing with Detective Danger is on sale on Amazon for the month of February for $1.99 http://a.co/i0ur8cR
2 comments:
I know I'm alive when I'm hiking trails with my camera, watching for wildlife. It's a thrill to capture the beauty of nature with my lens. I know I'm alive when I finish writing a scene that I'm particularly happy with. That gives me courage to keep writing. Great post, Lynn!
Love this post. Thanks to both of you. I know I'm alive when I wake up every day filled with happiness and plans for my latest story. But first feed four cats and off to my computer I go while hubs sleeps. He works at night. And yes, I never want to have the angst my characters survive through but what fun to put them in a mess and save in the final moments.
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