Aliana has a question for me today to kick off our week!

What was the hardest scene or story you’ve written and why?

Well, if you’ve been around here for a while, or read my books, you know I write very light-hearted romance. Yes, my books are steamy, but they’re light. There’s not a lot of heavy scenes or anything dark. So hard for me has come in the form of the opposite of what I write.

The hardest scene I’ve ever written was Claire’s scene where she detailed the high school rape by her boyfriend. I can’t imagine what she went through. Knowing there are people out there who’ve been through the same made me want to get it right, but also respect the victims.

There’s never a time when it’s okay, but unfortunately it happens. I wanted to show one person’s story. No, it wasn’t based on any facts. It was purely fiction. I know everyone handles painful and difficult situations differently, and this was a fictional interpretation of what one person could have done.

But it was hard. Impossibly hard. To imagine the situation was painful. To write it and have to feel what she went through was… I can’t even explain. If you’ve read Lush & Lovely, you know Claire was still dealing with what happened years later. It’s been over a year since I’ve written that book, but I still remember it. I remember the scene because it stuck with me. It was hard. I didn’t want to write it, but I felt like it needed to be told.

I hope it was done well.

Thanks so much, Aliana, for your question! If you have a question, send me an email (mary (at) maryethompson (dot) com) with Q&A in the subject, or post it in the comments below, and I’ll answer your question right here on the blog!

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