Tag: miracles

Please Note: "The House on Black Lake" has been adapted to screenplay. To view provocative trailer go to Home Page.

Ramey Sandeley, the Hero of "The House on Black Lake" is physically perfect, which means he has a price to pay. He is internally scarred due to the suicide of his mother, a tricked marriage, and the loss of something so dear his fate is in peril. Perfection gives him the right to anything he desires, yet he is incapable of having his deepest needs met. The man is tortured, conflicted, and lost, yet on the surface he appears to have it all.

There are other suffering heroes in novels of romance that share this curse, and others who face physical disfigurement  Each is charged with the same challenge - to find love with a woman who will overlook flaws and accept without judgment. Alexandra, the heroine of "The House on Black Lake", says of Ramey, "If beauty is nothing without a dark river running through it, then Ramey Sandeley has more than God gave him, he now claims the greatest of God's gifts."

Alexandra is possibly more evolved than other women, as she has experienced life as "a freak". The right side of her face was paralyzed after the birth of her first child. A vow at St. Joseph's shrine, "Truth for Beauty" cured her malady but left her with a price to pay. She must seek out her rightful destiny in return for her unmarked face.

The Phantom of the Opera is the quintessential story of a scarred hero, both inside and out.  I love the film with Gerard Butler. The following are the top romance novels with flawed/scarred heroes. Information is culled from discussions with fans and Amazon Romance forum.

1 Exposure by Susan Anderson

2. The Prize by Julie Garwood

3. Envy by Sandra Brown

4. Home Fires by Luanne Rice

5. Simply Love by Mary Balogh

6. Ravished by Amanda Quick

7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

8. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

9. Feral Warriors Series by Patricia Palmer

10. The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey

11. Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz

12. The Lover by Robin Shone

13. The Lord of the Desert by Diane Palmer

14. Winter Garden by Adele Ashworth

16. The Gentle Pirate by Stephanie James

17. Captive of Sin by Anna Campbell

18. Music Box Danseur by Marlene K. Slade - the story is about two men, but many  women seem to love this book about mismatched lovers

19. Midnight Breed Series by Lara Adrian

20. Dark Hunters Series by Sherilyn Kenyon

21. Defeat the Darkness (Paladin Series) by A. Morgon

22. The Indian Rose by Emma Daniels

23. Troubleshooter Series by Suzanne Brockman

24. Beneath the Surface by Marie Rochelle

25. Comanche Heart by Catherine Anderson

26. To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

27. Bengal's Heart by Lora Leigh

28. When Seducing a Duke by Katherine Smyth

29. Dream Warrior by Sherrilyn Kenyon

30. The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter.

31. Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey.

 
32. Exposure by Susan Anderson.

33. Warriors of Poseidon, Alyssa Day

34. Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath

35. Tapestry by Karen Ranney

The prelude to "The House on Black Lake" describes a woman's experience of having her face paralyzed after the birth of her first child. The paralysis comes nine month's to the day since she laid eyes on a charismatic man that turned her "perfect world" upside down. After living nearly a year as a recluse and viewing herself as a freak, she makes a pilgrimage from the U.S. to St. Joseph's Oratory where the faithful are said to be healed. Coincidentally, the man resides in Montreal, nearby the sacred spot, although he is more akin to heathen than saint. She kneels at St. Andre's alter and makes a vow ,"beauty for truth" - an unmarked face for a pledge to seek her manifest destiny. Unfortunately, that means she must give up everything she has been taught to believe. Soon, her life is in shambles and she begins to sorely regret the pact she made in the sacred church.  In order to find resolution she travels to Montreal to confront the man so that she can regain some measure of closure and peace.

I personally experienced a similar miracle, a divine intervention, at the Oratory and believe it holds special powers, but one must always be prepared to pay a price for a miracle, as nothing is given back without a debt to be paid. In some ways "The House on Black Lake" is my repayment, as it is a story of transformation and redemption.

A visit to the sacred place is a powerful experience, both for those who walk away healed, and those who seek a spiritual experience. Rarely does one see a wall filled with the canes and crutches of those who have walked away healed. More can be learned about St. Andre and details regarding visitations can be found at:

http://www.saint-joseph.org/en_1001_index.php

Photograh from "The House on Black Lake" taken during filming of trailer at Chateau Tivoli in San Francisco. Picture depicts scene from novel in which Alexandra succumbs to charms of French Canadian artist, Andre Labat in St. Agathes Des Mont, outside Montreal. Features Anastasia Blackwell and Tosh Yanez.

Earlier this year I started a group called WAM JAMS!  to create a community of writers, artists and musicians to  meet and create original work. Collectively we have bargaining power and a far wider reach to other communities to barter and share resources and talents. By doing so, I felt we artists could create our own philosophies and change our country and world from the inside out.

I also created the group for greater autonomy and control over my career and success. I was weary of banging on the door of the gate keepers, trying to play by their rules. I found myself reediting my book to fit the commercial desires of agents, and seeking to change my look or attitude for acting auditions. I was performing the roles of women that did not reflect my depth and complexity or the deeper and more profound issues of my women friends. I listened to stories of years of rejection slips and genius in isolation, working against the status quo - many driven to the point of giving up, and felt the need to do something. I saw in the hopelessness of others an opportunity to help artists find their way to their dreams - and this has become my mission.

As with bands of animals, communities are created to protect the individual and to fulfill their needs. We have the opportunity to create new dreams, to visualize a totally unique and visionary view of how we would like our communal world to evolve.

Alexandra, the heroine in my book, makes a promise at a shrine in return for an unmarked face - Truth for Beauty. As I finished my book I realized that I, like my dear heroine ,had a price to pay. The truth is that I made my own deal at St. Joseph's shrine. I suffered a paralyzed vocal cord after the birth of my son and the affliction was deemed permanent. I was an actress and voice-over artist with a powerful voice. How was I to live the rest of my life as a freak who could barely speak above a whisper? My vow at the shrine of St. Joseph - to follow my manifest destiny in return for the return of my voice led to the downfall of all I believed important in my life. But it also created this book and pushed me far beyond my former boundaries. It fostered independence, autonomy and free thinking. My two sons, educated in truth,see no boundaries around who they may someday become.  It is my supreme desire to find the eternal truth, unencumbered by the laws and mores of society, that drives all of us.

And so I made the decision to lure other artists out of hiding and have them tell their stories, expose truth, create new forms of art - a renaissance out of the darkness of the commercial age. My goal is to create something new and spectacular - a blend of theater, music and art - something the world has never seen. We turn to cable and blogs - longing for truth lost inside boxes and on screeens. But I envisioned something far more human. As in all social upheaval change starts with one voice - and in my case this voice is a miracle of God. In one human being lie all the mysteries of the universe.

AB