Philosophy in a romance???

by Rain Trueax

Since doing a word for word edit with a book from my backlist, I've been thinking more about philosophy in my books. First of all, I should define what I mean by philosophy. I am using it as a way of thinking about the universe, the world, and culture. When we look to philosophy, it is to ask basic questions as to what life is all about.What we find can be taken into our own lives to help us in the future or be discarded if it does not fit.

There are, of course, philosophers, some famous for generations, whose words many generations have looked toward for truth that fits what they know of life. But, philosophy itself is about our own way of thinking as well. It asks the question-- what principles guide your life, your decisions, your view of the world? Do you know? Do you look for books to challenge and help you form your own views?

Sometimes the thinking comes from poets and a phrase will leap out. I have always been a collector of such words. The one by Robert Frost didn't make it into Luck of the Draw, but it fits the story. "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." It has been a guiding principle for my own life that I not follow what everyone else does-- unless it fits my life.



 
The Starting Over books never fit with my other contemporaries. They don't have villains or mystical elements. Their adventures are more of the soul and how to put together a meaningful life-- adventures we all have to live if we want to walk our own path. In the beginning, I didn't see Luck of the Draw; From Here to There; A Montana Christmas; and Diana's Journey as a series. Only two of them had connecting characters. What I hadn't initially seen is how they fit with each other as slice of life books. Yes, with romance, but also ideas and philosophical thinking. 

Why can't a book for pleasure also be one  that goes beyond just he did this and she did that? Why can't it be about what helps characters and hence readers get through a turning point when what they thought was going to happen did not? Can someone find ideas for that through reading books that also entertain?

The book I recently spent a week editing, Luck of the Draw, is that kind of book. The philosophical underpinnings are ideas I had when I first wrote it-- back in the early 1970s. I am not sure of the exact year I considered it finished (it wasn't), but 1974 is the year I set it. I was young myself back then, but I had ideas about how life should work. I gave them to my hero and heroine, who were at very different points in their lives. Surprisingly maybe, those ideas still work for me today all these years later.

After doing that word by word edit of the book, I decided I wanted to write more with this kind of theme. Are romance readers open to books that delve into the philosophy of what makes life work? Are those who like philosophical books open to romance in their stories? It is possible that never the twain shall meet. I don't care. My goal is write what comes to me and try to make it beneficial for those who come across the books-- hoping, or course, that many will ;)

In Luck of the Draw there are some philosophical quotes that the heroine had picked up. She'd been to college but didn't finish her degree. She was searching and looking for something. One of her quotes has long been one of mine. "Let my love like sunlight surround like and yet give you illumined freedom." by Tagore. 

When my kids were growing up, I had that one in my wallet, tattered over the years, to remind myself to never forget how I wanted to be as a parent. I used it in Luck of the Draw as the heroine thought how she'd have to allow the one she loved freedom or it wouldn't work. It's not an easy way to live, most particularly when the one you love walks regularly into danger-- but what is the alternative?

Another quote I like also found its way into the book.

She smiled as she recalled one of her favorite Thoreau lines-- one she had memorized. “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” It was crazy but she knew this was what she was going to do. She’d launch herself and ride this wave as far as she could take it.  

There is one more from her with a bit of how it set into the story. She's telling her mother that, at twenty-one, she is going to move out. Remember, this was 1974. Many women stayed home until they married. Her mother isn't pleased at her plan. The snippet begins with the heroine speaking.

    “Are you familiar with the writer Henry Miller?”

    “This seems a bit of a distraction; but yes, he’s the one who wrote Tropic of something or other, that obscene book.”

    “Well he wrote other things. A few years ago, I wrote down something of his but didn’t quite understand it. Last night I went digging to find it. I brought it with me to tape to my easel.”

    She handed it to her mother, who read it aloud. “The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” Her mother stared at the paper a moment. “I don’t get it. Drunkenly? What does that mean? This is kind of a lot all at once, dear. You want more freedom, is that it? You can have that here.”

    “Mom, I didn’t get it either about that part, and I don’t think it means you have to be drunk but just live without the fear of doing the wrong thing and then not living at all.”

 Can a person find a way to incorporate these kind of ideas along with a romantic adventure or do literary type quotes turn off readers? When I was in college, philosophy was one of my favorite courses. The professor said I was good at it, as a compliment to how I wrote my essays. Well, these are romantic adventure essays, and the next books I write, after the fifth paranormal comes out, will all be in the vein-- Starting Over with a mix of romance, fiction, and life philosophy-- hopefully without preaching.

After the edit, there had to be a redo for the book trailer. I had had one, but it had missed the essence of the story. If you are an author, you already know this. You can write something that at the time, even you don't get all that it's about. Growth-- dontchalove it. :) Trailers aren't easy since they have to say what they can in one minute. The book is available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Luck-Draw-Rain-Trueax-ebook/dp/B008FRH9D6