My true north is the same in my personal life as in my author world. I write psychic mystery thrillers for people who know the world can be dark, but still believe courage, humor, loyalty, intuition, and human connections matter.
As a cautious optimist, I know life isn’t easy, that happy endings are not guaranteed, and that darkness exists in the real world too. But I always hope for the best, even when others tell me I’m crazy. Why? To quote my main character, psychic psychologist Marnie Reilly:
“Because sometimes you have to swim through the darkness to get to the light.”
That’s true in life and in my books. My characters face grief, violence, betrayal, trauma, and the terrible things people do to one another. They get lost. Ghosts of their past haunt them, and sometimes they break. But they keep going—unless I’ve ended them.
Marnie Reilly and the detectives trust their instincts. They protect the people they love. Detective Tom Keller, Marnie’s best friend, finds humor in places he probably shouldn’t, but he breaks the tension. Even when his timing is off, he lessens the emotional load.
Detective Danny Gregg believes bad things come in threes, and he keeps a mental list. It’s his way of dealing with what else can happen. He keeps score and prepares himself for the next thing.
What about Marnie? She is a domestic abuse survivor; her parents died in tragic circumstances a few years apart; her brother was blown up while working a drug bust, and she sees and speaks to ghosts.
But somewhere in all the chaos, my characters keep reaching for the light. Hoping they and the story’s victim(s) will survive the dark. But does the underdog always come out unscathed? No, of course not. That’s art imitating life. But without cautious optimism, what is there?
Hope is a wonderful elixir. You just have to believe. That’s my true north.
Oh, and dogs.🐾
My Books:
Check out the Marnie Reilly Mysteries series of psychic thrillers at Amazon. Just click the links below:
Divine Guidance, Marnie Reilly Mysteries Book 1
Torn Veil, Marnie Reilly Mysteries Book 2
Fatal Vow, Marnie Reilly Mysteries Book 3
Vacant Grave, Marnie Reilly Mysteries Book 4
The phrase, “true north” resonates…each word quite powerful…to follow one’s passions and curiosity, not knowing any final destination except the one that comes to us all…and the pull, lure, draw to north…yes. And those dogs…
Thanks, Jane. I did a deep dive over the weekend, realizing there’s more to my stories and my characters than I realized. Silly author. 🙄😂