Dancing in the Light

Dancing in the Light


Featured songs: “December” and “Where the River Flows” by Collective Soul


(Warning: as Elizabeth would have facetiously said in the Jayson Wolfe Story, this music has some really great “screaming guitars.” I confess to loving some good, solid rock and roll sometimes, but this music might not be for everyone. My oldest son LOVES this band, and his influence rubbed off on me. I really like these songs! And they seemed to suit Wade’s personality. He came to life when I listened to Collective Soul.)


This book starts out with a very hard situation, but I would hope my readers trust me enough to know that when something bad happens early on in a story, something good will happen before the story ends.


One of the points I want to make about this story is a life principle that I have very strong feelings about. When it comes to choosing a person to marry and share your life with, it’s not so much the presence of dysfunction that should be a concern as it is their attitude about it. Are they aware of it and capable of overcoming it? I’ve seen good marriages bring out the best in people who came from dysfunctional homes. And I’ve seen marriages fall apart because one or both spouses weren’t willing or capable of acknowledging their dysfunctional behavior and attitudes. Wade’s relationship with Marina—and the way it ends—are in my mind a type of parable that illustrates this principle.


And then Wade finds Laura, the love of his life, but she comes with her own brand of baggage, much of which will be addressed more fully in the next book.


Previously I mentioned that this book got personal for me as it was being written. I had written the fact that Laura had a friend who had committed suicide, and I had it clear in my head that in the next volume, her own depression would lure her toward the same thing. I was sitting on my bed with my laptop, well—on my lap, and wearing headphones. My daughter came in to tell me there was someone at the door. I clicked the save icon at 7:01. I know because I checked the time later. I walked down the stairs to be met by two police officers who had come to tell me that my brother had taken his own life. From there forward, writing about the suicide issue in this story became very poignant for me, to say the least.


The song I’d been listening to in the headphones, which I’d paused when I went to the door, was a song I’d been listening to over and over all day. I’d felt drawn to it without really knowing why. It’s called “When a Man is Wrong,” by Seal. I’ll just leave it at that.