I cheered on the New Orleans Saints yesterday along with many others in the country. Sorry, Colts fans. If you'd seen the bizarre Saints' win over the Redskins this season, you probably would have seen this coming. They were destined to win it all.
During the day-long Superbowl hype on television, I watched a story with James Brown on the plight of the ninth ward in New Orleans and how it still has a long way to go toward rebuilding. I was moved to see these people talking about how they lost everything. The New Orleans Saints gave these people a glimmer of hope.
Hope.
That message is at the heart of Broken, my upcoming novel that will be published in May.
So what in the world does that have to do with the Super Bowl, Travis??
This is why.
Broken is about a woman on the run who has lost everything including hope. She ends up running to a place from her past. That place is New Orleans.
A climactic event happens in that very place that James Brown highlighted: the ninth ward. I can't give anything away, but Laila's journey in Broken is one of hope. It's an intense, harrowing journey.
In an interview recently on his successful career, James Patterson said that people need to be entertained. I think more than that, people need hope. The Superbowl reminded me of this, and reminded me again why I write.
Labels: Broken
