Love: A Novel of Grief and Desire by Jefferson Blackburn-Smith
What kind of life can you expect to live after the love of your life is taken from you so violently? What would you do if faced with their killer? How could you possibly move on and love again?
Jefferson R. Blackburn-Smith explores those very questions in his latest novel, Love: A Novel of Grief & Desire (Black Rose Writing). Following the unfortunate collision of two families, the story investigates the intricacies of loss and what comes after.
We got a chance to talk with the author about his decision to write such a powerful story of forgiveness, grief and, of course, love.
Q: What inspired you to write Love?
A: I’m fascinated by the idea of forgiveness and how some people are able to forgive terrible wrongs. Love began as an image in my head of a man realizing he actually liked a person who had hurt him badly. That scene never ended up in the book, but it gave me a path to explore. I also believe in the complexity of the human experience. None of us are all good or all bad; how does discovering something good about a ‘bad’ person change the way you interact with them?
Q: Love portrays a multifaceted story of both grief and love, and the different ways one tragedy can impact so many lives in different ways. What was it about the connection between grief and desire that you wanted to explore in your narrative?
A: Grief and love are both such intense emotional states, especially when new, that they can feel like the experience will never end: total bliss or total despair. Grief is a universal experience of suffering, but is unique for each person. Grief can be so overwhelming that it smothers and kills the possibility of love. But love itself — this thing we all strive for — often leads to loss and grief.
Q: Could you describe your writing process for us?
A: Writing is a practice. I try to write every day, early in the morning, so I will be uninterrupted. Building a narrative is an iterative process for me; I never start with an outline or even a full understanding of where the story will conclude. I want my characters to find themselves as authentically as they can and let them drive the narrative. I may write a hundred pages or more just to find the story, or realize it isn’t there and let it go. I’ve also learned to never revise until I’ve finished a draft. It’s much too easy for me to get bogged down in editing and rewriting to make any progress.
Q: The narrative interweaves many characters’ lives into a complicated tapestry. How did you manage these connections while keeping the characters on their own individual paths?
A: After completing a good draft of the novel, I pulled each characters’ narrative out separately to make sure it worked alone. For example, I wanted to be sure that Ed’s daughters, Becca and Sandy, were fully fleshed out characters who were distinct and separate yet had shared traits.
Q: What was the hardest part of writing your book? Was there a particular scene that was especially challenging?
A: The most difficult thing was making Andie Love — the drunk driver — a fully realized character of her own and not just a caricature. Andie needed a back story that helped readers find a reason to connect with her without overlooking the terrible things that she did. Ed Gideon needed to have his own flaws, and enough awareness of them, that his interactions with the woman who had killed his wife were authentic and real.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from your story?
A: First, I hope they find Love a captivating and authentic read. After that, as Ed says in the book, I hope they realize that grief is a lie that is all too believable. In the midst of it, you feel like it will never end and you will never move forward. And grief doesn’t end, but it does change and we do move forward. We have to find how to build a new future without abandoning the former life that no longer exists.
Jefferson Blackburn-Smith was raised in rural Ohio, the second of four boys. The original free-range children, Jefferson and his brothers spent their time hunting, fishing and exploring the countryside around them and are still surprised they all survived into adulthood. Jefferson currently serves as the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Otterbein University, a private university in Westerville, Ohio. Previously, Jefferson taught college composition, worked as a telemarketer, a sales manager, a construction superintendent and a vice president of marketing. He and his wife Denise have three grown children. His other novels are available on Amazon.
