by Susan Daffron, author of the Alpine Grove romantic comedy series, the Jennings and O’Shea novels, and former president of WPN
People often ask how I write novels but almost no one asks why. I mean, let’s face it—unless you’re JK Rowling, being a writer doesn’t tend to be incredibly lucrative. But with the state of the world as it is today, I confess that writing has become an escape for me. In my novels, white supremacists aren’t killing people in the streets, elected officials are capable of speaking in complete sentences, intelligence isn’t a sin, and people care about nature and the planet we inhabit.
I write about a world I want to live in, where people fall in love, embrace compassion for living beings, and take care of their beloved pets. When I’m writing, my mind is filled with those images instead of the vitriol I see on the news. I like to spend time in that mental space, so that’s why I write. When people read what I’ve written and enjoy it because it’s taken them away from their cares and worries for a while, I feel as if I’ve provided a service.
Life is short and I believe it’s okay to take a little getaway to a place where people always live happily ever after.
Why do you write?