WICKED WEDNESDAY
It's my pleasure to have Sadira Stone on Discover... today. This is a wickedly good and insightful take on Wicked Wednesday.
Thanks for hosting me today, Brenda! Truly, the generosity of the author community is astounding.
For Wicked Wednesday, I’d like to address the reason many romance readers will shun my latest book, and why I wrote it anyway.
What’s the best choice for her child? Sacrifice her own happiness and settle for a neglectful, cheating husband? Will that warp her child’s notion of what love is and scar the child for life? Or should Anna strike out on her own, work out the best co-parenting arrangement she can with Brock, and be a strong, loving single mom?
Anna chooses the latter—obviously, since she’s a romance heroine and needs to get free of this loser to find real love. 😉 But she faces a mountain of resistance from relatives—her own, her ex’s, and her new boyfriend’s, who find her very wicked indeed for prioritizing her own happiness. After all, she’s a mom now, and a good mother is always selfless, right?
That last bit is what I’m pushing back against, having felt the scrape of that outdated expectation my whole life. I’ll spare you the details; suffice to say I get where Anna is coming from and refused to accept lousy treatment from someone who should have loved me and our child. Instead of being selfless above all, I think a mother’s most important job is to be a strong, loving role model, especially to her daughters.
In my view, raising your child to believe women’s happiness doesn’t count is wicked.
And I’ve encountered plenty of women my own age and younger who call me wicked for that point of view.
Others would call me wicked for portraying a pregnant woman as interested in intimacy, even though many pregnant women feel very amorous, especially during the second trimester. But that old Madonna/you-know-what dichotomy rears its ugly head. Wickedly, I dare show pregnant Anna as a woman in love—all the way in love.
I’m bracing myself for the negative reviews.
Why write the book, then? Anna and Diego’s meet-cute scene appears in Christmas Rekindled, Book One in the Bangers Tavern Romance series, and readers asked for their story. Besides, no book will please everyone, so why not write the book of my heart?
I adored writing Anna and Diego’s love story. A sweeter, more devoted cinnamon-roll hero you’ll never find—and he’s a chef! How could Anna resist?
Thanks again, Brenda, for this chance to meet your readers.
Delicious Heat: Bangers Tavern Romance 3, is available from all major online booksellers.
Order your copy of Delicious Heat today! https://books2read.com/deliciousheat
Sadira Stone
Just ordered the book, Sadira. Can't wait to read it. And I don't understand how I missed Book 2, so I had to order it, too. Happy New Year to me! ;)
ReplyDeleteDelicious Heat sounds great. I don't get why people might criticize it--it's not 1950, for Pete's sake. Good for you for writing the book of your heart. Sorry you evidently had to go through bad times to understand your character, though. I'll bet this book ends up helping others who need that little nudge to appreciate themselves.
You are such a great supporter of fellow authors, Dee!
DeleteThanks for your kind words, Dee.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Brenda, for hosting me today!
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you. Looks like you're getting lots of positive feedback.
DeleteOh my! I LOVE your premise and YES, raising a child to believe women's happiness is second to everyone else's is wicked.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and God's blessings with your new release.
PamT
Thanks so much, Pamela!
DeleteI like the premise, and can attest to the fact that raising a kid in a toxic atmosphere (even one that includes both parents) is a gazillion miles from being selfless.
ReplyDeleteI agree--realizing that unhappy, argumentative...etc.... atmosphere is not the best for children--is having their best interests at heart, although it may not always seem like it! And here's to writing what you want!! :) all the best.
ReplyDelete