Vampires, Werewolves and Witches...Oh my.

I first must apologize for the rant I am about to unleash on all of you who are unsuspecting and nice enough to take the time to read this. It is extremely contradictory considering the release of my last young adult fiction and the impending release of the second book. But it is about something I hold very close and dear to my heart and a subject that, let's just say, is not just sore but down right excruciating. I'm speaking in reference to the first novel I wrote, The Garden of Two. Now for all of those who know me, and I mean really know me, not just checking in occasionally, you understand the sweat and soul that went into writing this. And although it is not a literary treasure like one of my favorites, Of Mice and Men, it is my version of a jewel...to me. It is my first attempt to break out from the comfort and coziness that are my books for children and write something that is longer than the goodnight story time we tell our kids. It is pure and simple. A love story centered around the ever changing times that World War I brought to this nation and Europe. A time when innocence really could be shattered and having a common cause saw nations uniting, for the first round. A time when the beauty of a garden could have you sit and still feel wonderment in its color. Don't get me wrong, I know we can still sit and appreciate a beautiful garden today. But today it is followed with thoughts about how many rain forests are being chopped down or if these plants were proper for this terrain, is it wasting water? And I believe that we need to worry and be diligent about all of these things, but for a moment, wouldn't it be nice to just be? The rejection letters that I have been receiving from agents seem to indicate all the same thing...not the popular context for today's market. It seems that if there isn't any vampires, werewolves or even aliens, then our teenagers and young adults don't want to read. it. Everything is supernatural, stranger than life and bloody and violent. Once again, don't get me wrong, if you know me I love this style of writing. I've always have. Give me a good time travel story and I'm hooked. But why can't there be room for both? Once in awhile to sit back and just take a breath. Imagine what life was like for them ninety five years ago? How did they tackle some of the issues we face today? How was it to be in love and have your boyfriend go to war with weapons we had just begun to understand? Do those issues sound familiar? Maybe things aren't so different, just they way they faced them were. I don't know, I still find this kind of thing interesting and maybe I'm in the minority, but I do believe in this story. And I have to believe that one day, so will someone else. In the mean time I will get back to writing my second novel...it's a sci-fi.