This quote from Toni Morrison has been the motivation for most of my books. Maybe all of them.
It’s not that there aren’t plenty of books out there already. But I remember, when the Recession hit and I was laid off, how badly I needed a book that would tell me everything was going to be okay. I couldn’t find one. I had to write it. That was Cherries in Winter.
One summer, when I wanted a good beach read, I probably could’ve found one. But I wanted one about surfing as a metaphor for life, one that didn’t have a predictably tidy ending. So I wrote one. That was Beach Glass.
I love books. They’ve been my best friends for my entire life. And every now and then there’s a story that wants to be told, and I’m lucky enough to be the person it taps on the shoulder. That’s happening right now, and I’m writing that book.
If there’s a book you really want to read, but you can’t find it because it hasn’t been written yet, don’t argue with Toni Morrison. Write it.