Broken Strength

I love romance stories, but what fascinates me much more is human nature. Have you ever noticed how resilient, powerful and courageous we are? That’s exactly what I explore with my characters, especially the women in my stories. Ever heard of Kintsugi? It’s the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with gold. The result is stunning, and the philosophy behind it inspiring for character building.

Often, we try to conceal our pain. Appear “normal”, blend into society like flowers on the wall. Women who do that dive into the darkest parts of their souls. Women may often appear bright, full of kindness and compassion, but that’s not the whole truth, the entirety of who they are. For every time they have been deceived, hurt, wounded, betrayed or cheated, a small piece of their soul is chipped away, replaced with darkness.

Hit after hit, sometimes a fracture line appears, cracking it even deeper, so deep that it bleeds. I’m certain that you know that feeling. Being broken… At that moment, it seems that we can never be the same again, that those loose pieces floating in our heart will remain so until the day we die.

It’s that turning point in which I often start my stories. The moment when my heroine is convinced that she’s a status quo that will never change and that another hit, even the slightest one, will make her crumble into nothingness.

That’s the moment when I push my protagonist once more, a good hit that makes the crack go all the way, revealing her true nature, the actual fabric of her soul, the good as well as the ugly. Exposed and vulnerable, she now knows what she’s made of, and that’s an invaluable lesson.

And what about the gold? I believe it can only start mending the pieces together when she finds another broken soul, an alchemical solution that finally creates the golden filling. In my writing universe, Gabrielle finds her purpose when she understands that saving Sully is all that matters, even more than her own life. Mac is determined to heal Wes from the ghosts of his past, forgetting her own. Dylan is haunted by a monster who almost killed her, but it’s only when she acknowledges that she needs help from Owen that she realizes that nightmares may haunt others too.

Do my characters absolutely need men to heal? No. I’m convinced that they would have eventually found a way on their own, one way or another. But as they found strong men, ready to support them and stay by their side, it accelerates the healing, making the scenes clearer, sharper, more intense. They fight for themselves and for the people they love, bringing down villains and monsters, and saving the innocents.

Their weaknesses transform into strengths, their pain into valor and their hate into love. And then, just like the art of Kintsugi, gold like love heals and fills the cracks of their souls, making those women whole and strong again. And I’m sure of it, there are love and gold inside of your heart too.

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