Themes and Freedom ;-)

You know, I was chatting with Julia about themes — we all have themes in our work, yeah? 

Most of the time I’d tell you my theme is panic as I scream toward a deadline.

I’ve been writing my fingers off. I’ve got a deadline (surprise surprise) on the 31st for the sequel to The Terms of Release and between moving and Julia breaking her foot, having literally 6 solid weeks of company, I just didn’t get it finished as fast as I’d liked. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book. Troy and Eric are loud little bastards with a shitload of baggage, which surprised me, because I didn’t expect it, but I haven’t spent a ton of time wallowing mindlessly in these boys. After all, they’re plotty, and I’m trying to keep all the balls in the air.

Today we were having supper (meatball sandwiches and salads), and Julia asks me, what do these guys want? What’s important to their souls?

I think on it.

Eric is a wounded warrior with no idea what he’s going to do with his life. Troy is a trainer with a serious adrenaline bone and some deep fucking issues. What do they want? They both want out of their own heads.

It’s like Sage and Win from The Terms of Release, you know?

What was important to Sage? Freedom. What was important to Win? 

Freedom.

They both wanted the same things and the neat part for me was how they got to that point.

Then with Mike and Jenson from Say Something. Mike wanted everything — he wants every single thing that life has to offer. Jenson? He wants loose of the bonds that he’s built around himself (is that freedom?).

Ever the Same, which is coming soon, is about Dixon and Audie. Dixon’s blind and heartbroken and trying to raise his little girl. Audie’s trapped and scared and trying to raise his little boy.

What does Dixon want? He wants his life back. Jenson? Say it with me, y’all! Freedom.

I was in the closet and in desperate pain (I have trigeminal neuralgia, which is the most painful disease you can have and not die from it) for a long, long time (think decades) and I’m finally, blessedly in remission, out of the closet, married to my soulmate, and truly happy so maybe I’m just working out my shit. I’d been trapped a long, long time and now I’m free. 

Maybe now I get to work on setting my boys free.