This week, in the spirit of St. Valentine, Carrick Publishing is proud to feature debut author Mariam Kobras. (The Distant Shore, Buddhapuss Ink LLC, January 2012).
I had the honour of being asked to read this story in its pre-publication stage. To my delight, my thoughts found their way onto the beautifully designed back cover: “Kobras delivers a story of love that transcends time and crosses continents. poignant and beautiful . . . Fans of romance will appreciate her fresh voice.”
And now, in the author’s own words…
Today, it began to snow.
It’s the end of January, and this is the first snow this winter. The world looks quieter, prettier, almost as if nature is taking a break, catching a breath before the riot of spring.
The cat has curled up on his favorite plaid blanket, right here beside me on the couch, and I have my favorite mug filled with fresh coffee close by. It’s so peaceful in the house, no one else, no movement, no noise.
I’m feeling a bit like Naomi right now—Naomi from The Distant Shore—who has run away from her life and love, to live in a small fishing town in Norway.
She spends hours sitting at her desk, staring out at the bay, and the changing weather, dreaming of what she might have had, could have had, if those cops had not stormed into her house and destroyed everything for her.
She dreams of Jon, the one love of her life, who was arrested that night, dragged from their bed and taken away. It was the last time she saw him before she fled Hollywood, and the glamour of his stardom. She dreams of hearing his voice, hearing him whisper to her in the still of the night, feeling his arms around her, even while she knows she will never return to him, or share his life again.
While for me the stillness of the snow goes on, Naomi is woken from her reverie one day in February, when the door of her hotel opens, and Jon walks in from a winter storm. Imagine the turmoil, imagine how she feels, seeing him again after so many years, so many lonely nights later.
There is no choice for her. She loved him before, and she still loves him now.
What she thought had been lost forever is within reach, and she grabs it without a second thought.
For a while, Jon becomes part of the winter stillness of her slow, ordered life, until Hollywood and his fame claim him back. Naomi follows him back to Los Angeles and to the house where they were once lovers. Now, older, wiser, she can see that there are good things here, a new life, a new chance for them. It takes them a while to grow into a couple, into a family with their son, Joshua, but they manage to transport the peace they found in tranquil Norway, to sunny, chaotic California.
Maybe Naomi should have turned Jon around on his heels and kicked him out the moment he appeared in Halmar. Maybe she should never have let him into her apartment, her bed, or her heart again. Her life would certainly have been easier.
As easy and smooth as the world looks under the cover of a blanket of snow, soft, silent, undisturbed. No upheaval, no stalking fans, no worries.
But also, no passion, no love, no music, and no songs. Naomi has no choice.
The moment Jon opens that door to her hotel, he opens her door to freedom, to creativity and to finding her own self. He is her way of finding herself, freeing her from the burden of her family, and heritage, and allowing her to be a different person, the one she really wants to be.
So, she doesn’t hesitate. She wants it all: the love, the excitement, the new life with the creative work.
Looking out at the snow right now, I have to admit that I’m with Naomi. I’d step out into the light too, I’d reach for the stars.
Oh wait – I did.
I left behind my boring housewife life to be a writer, and now an author.
Only it wasn’t a rock star like Jon Stone who opened that door for me, but a NJ publisher.
Rock star, publisher—same thing, at least they are in this case—door openers, both of them. You need someone, at that moment in your life when you decide to commit to living a creative life, someone who will give you the validation.
Someone who will tell you that, yes, it’s worth the time, the effort, the work.
Someone who will tell you that they want you to go on, who will assure you that yes, you really are good at what you’re doing, and please don’t give up, and to learn to value yourself.
Maybe even someone who—like rock star Jon Stone—will make you lunch and put it in front of you when you forget to eat.
So you see, The Distant Shore is not just a romance.
It is, in the truest sense of the word, a love story. It’s a story about love.
The love for a person, for a child, for music, and for creativity.
It’s even about a love for the sea.
If this makes it a romance, I’m fine with being called a romance writer.
And I’ll keep on being one.
This was the twelfth stop on Mariam’s “Love is in the Air” Blog Hop & Giveaway. We hope you enjoyed this post and will join us Thursday at Jane Traver’s Tweet Treats for a review of The Distant Shore.
Buddhapuss Ink is giving away copies of Mariam’s book, along with some pretty terrific (and very romantic) gifts, as we count down to that most romantic day of the year—Valentine’s Day!
Want to enter the giveaway?
Leave a comment for this post for one entry. We also encourage you to “Like” this blog and follow it! Tweet a link to this blog including the hashtag #TDSBlogHop for another chance to win.
Want more chances to win? Visit http://buddhapussink.blogspot.com/2012/01/distant-shore-love-is-in-air-blog-hop.html for all the info!
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We’d like to thank Mariam for joining us today as part of her Blog Hop. Be sure to follow Mariam on to her next post!
Donna