Yesterday, someone with a long history of working forensics asked me why I write crime fiction. Well, I write a combo of crime/romance or thriller/romance but that’s neither here nor there.
I thought it through and it didn’t take long.
Here it is:
“I write (romantic suspense) crime fiction primarily because of the evil I have seen in the world, the crimes perpetrated by others, and people so hurt, so lost, that they need a message of hope. I write specifically to a crime or serial killer with an obstacle standing in the way of the main character’s ability to find the suspect as well as a subplot for the main character, an obstacle for him/her to overcome emotionally/spiritually.
Everyone has a wound, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Everyone has physical obstacles to overcome whether the huge stack of dishes caked with eggs, cheese, and no dishwasher or a crime, a villain, and the chase. These elevate people (I pray) that they see something in their mundane lives that they can relate to (the chase, the doing of, the dishes, whatever) and give them a message, one of redemption.
I was a nurse practitioner and saw a lot of evil. Patients in need, ignored. I also have taken forensics classes and I give the main character a good pile of evidence for the main character through forensics (which is a lot like performing a history and physical, examining labs, imagining, diagnosing, chasing down the ‘villain’ of the body). Also I understand redemption and prayer, overcoming physical and emotional obstacles, as well as spiritual.
And that’s why I write crime fiction.”
She emailed me back and said in her twenties she’d seen much of the same.
Yes, I agreed with her statement, “It’s heartbreaking.” Indeed it is, and folks, even by being entertained, often need a hope, for someone to understand, even if it’s on a subconscious level.
Perhaps some of you could relate on a level of fear from not knowing who you really are. Or running from abuse. The life of indecision or shame? If you are one of many who has backslidden, or never really made a decision, consider reading “Romance Under Wraps.” The message of hope and redemption are within your grasp.
Claire O'Sullivan 
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