Love's Sweet Sorrow, by Richard Brawer
Why
did I make my protagonist’s love interest in Love’s Sweet Sorrow a Quaker?
For
most readers, it is the conflicts between the characters and how those
conflicts will be resolved that keep them turning the pages.
I
began writing Love’s Sweet Sorrow, a romantic suspense novel, in 2012. I
needed a strong woman as a counter to the protagonist, challenging him and
making him grow as a character, but I was having a bit of trouble creating her.
Until I did I couldn’t continue writing the book.
I put
the book aside and went to explore one of my favorite past times, local
history. Shrewsbury, NJ, a town twenty minutes north of mine, was having an
Octoberfest. Shrewsbury was founded in the 1660s and one section of the town
was on the National Historical Register.
Clustered
together in the historical district was a Society of Friends (commonly known as
Quakers) meeting house also founded in the 1660s. The article in the newspaper announcing
the Octoberfest mentioned that the Quaker congregation was giving a tour of
their meeting house. During the tour, informational
brochures were passed out. The Quaker information was particularly interesting.
Don’t
confuse the Quakers with the Amish. The Amish have mostly withdrawn themselves from
the modern world. The Quakers participate fully in present day society.
However, one of their major convictions is that they are pacifists.
Jason,
my protagonist, is the head of the legal department of America’s largest
weapons manufacturer. As I read the Quaker brochures I thought, why not make
his love interest a Quaker? What could be more opposite and create more
conflicts than having the protagonist work for a military weapons company and
his love a pacifist?
Thus
Ariel was born.
Love Sweet Sorrow opens
with Jason uncovering evidence that links his company’s CEO to international
arms dealers selling weapons to terrorists. Ariel is quickly caught up in
the chases and harrowing escapes from those trying to retrieve the evidence,
and she is forced to kill to save their lives. She withdraws into a raging
inner conflict, unable to reconcile whom she has been to whom she has become.
Jason’s
battle to expose the smugglers and convince Ariel that saving their lives was
an innate reflex amplifies their differences and compels them to delve deeply into their long-held opposing convictions and question
whether they are truly meant to be together.
Readers have said about Love’s Sweet Sorrow:
“Well written” “Fast paced
plot.” “Grabs you from the first page.” “Wonderful
character construction” “An on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller” “I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” “Quaker character adds a unique twist” “Huge moral barriers for them to overcome”
Read the full reviews and an excerpt at Richard’s website,
www.richardbrawer.com or at the Amazon page for this book.
Love’s Sweet Sorrow is available in a trade paperback and
e-book wherever books are sold.
E-book: $0.99
Trade Paperback: $11.99
A couple of the more popular links:
Also can be ordered from any
bookstore by title or ISBN: 978-0-9890632-7-2
Love’s Sweet Sorrow is published
by Vinspire Publishing, a well respected mid-size publisher.www.vinspirepublishing.com
Bio: Richard Brawer writes mystery, suspense and
historical fiction novels. When not writing, he spends his time exploring local
history. He has two married daughters
and lives in New Jersey with his wife. Read more about Richard and his books at
his website: www.richardbrawer.com
Comments
Thanks for rading my blog post. I'm glad you found it interesting.
Richard Brawer
JK Bovi