Closed Door

Photo of hallway with four closed doors

My books are family stories, and family stories include falling in love. My books are also what are known as "closed door" romances.

There are multiple reasons for that. One reason is that I am uncomfortable writing anything else. But the more important reason is that what happens behind that closed door is a conundrum for me. Father Andrew Greeley, a popular author of both stand-alone novels and mystery series in the late twentieth century, created controversy with his views on sex and intimacy within marriage. His views resonated with me, but not always with the Catholic Church.

The conundrum for me is that I believe that sex and intimacy in marriage can be healing. They can be an affirmation of love. They can deepen the bond a couple shares. But there can be a darker side. Sex and intimacy can be misused as instruments of control; can be used as a punishment or reward system, and for me, that corrupts everything in a relationship.

I believe that what happens behind the closed door is private. My characters have pregnancies and children, so we know in a very vague sense what is happening behind the door.

What I show my characters doing is interacting in loving, positive ways in all the public spaces of life. I show compassion, I show devotion, I show helpfulness and caring.

In the final analysis of life, what happens behind the closed door is an incremental piece. Critically important, but minute in the overall picture of life.

There is so much fiction out there. There is truly something for everyone. I know some readers are not interested in my "closed door" stories. They are the only kind of stories I am comfortable writing, and it is important to me to write the kind of stories I like to read.

I will keep doing what I am doing. Writing stories about ordinary people facing life's challenges, getting help from family, friends and community. Stories about people falling in love and getting married and having children. Stories about love and loss, about healing and recovery. Stories about ordinary people navigating the often turbulent waters of life. And stories about ordinary people not seeing how their ordinary lives are important, until a critical event shows them how much they matter.

I want my stories to be emotionally evocative. I want my readers to laugh and cry. To feel all the feels, and to walk away with a warm belief that hope is warranted, and happiness is available.

And the door will stay closed.