“Like Lightning in a Bottle”
by Anne Stuart
Every now and then a writer has something absolutely fabulous happen to her. All the stars are in alignment, the gods are smiling, and life is good.
About twenty years ago I wrote what still remains possibly my favorite book ever, NIGHTFALL, and the circumstances were blessed indeed.
I’d been busy writing romances for the Harlequin American, Harlequin Intrigue, and occasionally the Silhouette Intimate Moments lines. Series writing is always full of rules: I had editors count how many times I said “bitch” and “bastard” (and if you’re familiar with my work you know my hero and heroine tend to think of their true love in such cantankerous terms). I’ve traded two “bitches” for a “bastard” when I really wanted it, and made a mostly unsuccessful attempt at behaving myself. As anyone will tell you, I’ve never been very good at being good.
I wrote books where the hero was the son of a mass murderer, or he thought he was the reincarnation of Jack the Ripper and the heroine was the reincarnation of a victim. I had heroes pretending to be crazy, heroes who were unrepentant cat burglars, disfigured hermits, 1930’s pilots, shapeshifters before they were popular, ghosts from the Valentine’s Day Massacre, fallen angels. I broke all sorts of rules and had a good time doing it, but everyone kept asking me when I was going to do a “big book.” It was a time when most series writers were moving out of the category business, but I kept writing my edgy books and staying exactly where I was. Whenever I came up with a proposal for a mainstream romantic suspense novel it was turned down and ended up going to Silhouette Intimate Moments (and both times becoming a RITA finalist – NOW YOU SEE HIM and SPECIAL GIFTS). I finally gave up trying to please anyone and began writing historicals, having a wicked good time with them (literally) when out of the blue Jennifer Enderlin, then at Penguin/Signet called up my agent and offered a six figure contract for two romantic suspense novels.
After being flabbergasted for a few hours I said yes, and the idea appeared to me like manna from heaven. I’d had no plans, no ideas, and suddenly it was all there before me. I took all sorts of bits from the news – Norman Mailer got a murderer named Jack Henry Abbott paroled on the basis of his poetry (and his own ego) and Abbott ending up murdering someone. There was a famous crime in Philadelphia where a teacher murdered a woman and her two children, though the two children were never found. One of our endless Middle Eastern wars was on, giving me good role models for the father-in-law, and it all came together in a book so good it could cure cancer.
Now I’ve been told that’s a very offensive thing to say – that books can’t cure cancer. But I’m basing it on Norman Cousins’s classic work, ANATOMY OF AN ILLNESS, where he discussed how laughter, watching Marx Brothers’ movies, cured him of a wretched disease. It seemed completely logical to me – I think music or any art form can do the same thing. When a book or a symphony or a movie speaks to you so exactly that you’re transported to another dimension then your body fills with all sorts of good stuff like endorphins. Stuff that will heal you. Personally I think that’s one reason athletes are healthy. Not because they exercise, but because being a professional athlete requires you to get in “the zone” which is exactly where those endorphins etc. lurk.
NIGHTFALL can cure cancer for some people – if it happens to speak directly to their fantasies. It could, presumably, make other people ill with its intensity and darkness before the ultimate redemption. I consider it a great gift to be able to write books that are that powerful. Many reviews of my work say “Anne Stuart is not for everyone” or “not for the faint of heart,” and while I wish everyone could love my work I know that’s impossible. At least I take comfort in the fact that few people are lukewarm about my work, and about NIGHTFALL in particular.
(BTW Norman Cousins was a good man, a peace activist but a sexist pig who believed women didn’t belong in the work force. No one’s perfect).
A book like NIGHTFALL is like lightning in a bottle – no matter how powerful your will and your talent, you can’t make one happen. It’s one of those rare, blessed times in a long career that carries you through the less inspired times, and reviews, sales, etc. mean nothing. It’s my badge of honor, and I wear it proudly.
NIGHTFALL is a March Monthly 100 for only $1.99! Grab it today!
