Somehow, someway, I had to recreate a book that I was too upset even to remember well. The local battered woman's shelter gave me what I needed to make it happen, including care for my baby while I feverishly wrote. Some of the niceties of my previous research were lost, and the characters were a touch more dysfunctional than they were before, but I finished Heart's Desire on time. It was a Romantic Times Top Pick for multicultural romance in July 1998, and I still get e-mails and letters from readers telling me how much they enjoyed it. Please check out the pages I put up about domestic violence.
Violence is a cancer that's invading our society at every level.
I believe it's unrealistic to think that we as individuals can stop the epidemic of violence that's sweeping our communites, but we can reject it in our lives. The family is the foundation of society and we need to excise abuse and violence in our homes. Many women feel they have no control over their lives. I don't think that's true. I had to give up a comfortable standard of living, a home we'd just purchased, and my dreams of a happy family.