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Writers' Nook
The Fuzzy Lines of Fiction
 hen exactly does real life cross into fiction and vice versa? It seems the more we read, the more we see stories as inseparable from reality. It's true that one mimics the other, probably because at their heart, both reality and fiction share the same experiences, evoke the same emotions and tap into the deepest core of our beliefs. When we bring politics into fiction, the result is the same.
The lines become fuzzy between reality and fiction. As more and more candidates announce their decision to throw their hat into the political ring for the 2004 presidential race, people's lives will be dissected under the microscope of media and popular opinion. In my hardcover debut, The Heartbreaker (9-03), I involve my hero and heroine in this political world. The same world we will all be living during the fall. In The Heartbreaker , decisions made for political gain long before my heroine's birth come back to jeopardize a political candidate's run for president. Real life imitating fiction or fiction imitating real life? Trust me, my story is purely fictional.
For those who have come to know and trust my stories for their light-hearted and family-oriented feel, don't worry. At heart, the problems that plague my characters Sloane and eldest Chandler brother Chase are born out of love and family. The story is exactly what you've come to expect from both me and the Chandler men! In fact, I revisit the meddling parent in dual ways. While the meddling of my heroine's maternal grandfather represents the darker side of Raina Chandler's matchmaking and meddling in her son's lives, it is only Raina who allows her children to truly follow their hearts and find their own happily ever after. For me, that is what fiction is really all about.
When Chase meets Sloane in a D.C. bar, he believes he's escaped the ties of small town life and is embarking on a new phase of his career. Neither plans anything beyond a one-night stand, but one-night stands can have unanticipated consequences. For Chase he discovers that the redhead of the night before is the political cover story of the year. His choice to protect the senator's daughter until the story can be released at the time best for her and her family is heroic, but also jeopardizes the career he's put on hold for years. Sloane never asked to be illegitimate. It was just a fact of her birth. But the subsequent cover up by her grandfather and a lifetime of belief that Senator Carlisle was her true father is just as hard to grapple with as finding the identity of her birth father. All play out in a way that may change political destinies forever.
As the candidates take their places in the political ring this fall, I'm sure we'll no doubt see family pasts and private scandals trotted out in front of the public. At the heart of any political scandal is the matter of choice. It is no different with my characters. That's where the line between reality and fiction blurs. That's also why romantic fiction has such intensity and vividness. It mimics our reality to the degree that we can feel the characters' emotions and understand their plight. As they wind their way through the book we experience anticipation. When it turns out well for them we find relief and satisfaction. Perhaps there isn't such a line dividing fiction from real life, but you won't know until you discover it for yourself. Find out by reading The Heartbreaker and talking it over with friends over coffee as the political races heat up.
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